Artifical Christmas Tree Buying Advice Needed...
 

I just have a very little tree that I decorate each year, but am thinking about buying a nicer / bigger tree. I want it to be 5-6.5 ft tall (it will be sitting up higher on a piece of furniture) with tons of pre-strung incandescent white lights.

Do you prefer flocked or un-flocked? My current tree is slightly flocked and really "glows" from within when lit w/ white lights...but don't know if I want a large flocked tree...? If you have a flocked tree, do you have a piccie?

What should a fairly good artificial tree cost? What is a good price?

I'd plan on paying $300 - $500.00 for one that has some flocking and lots of full limbs with tons of lights.

Here's a link to Balsam Hill Trees.

Blue Spruce Christmas Tree | Balsam Hill

Jeanie - that's a realllly purdy one - SO full! Geesh, trees are spendy, aren't they?!

Our tree is old and my husband thinks it's too hard to put together, but I'm not sure I want the pre-lit trees, I'm so fussy with lights and some have led lights that seem so bright, but it seems like that's all they sell now in the quality trees. Here's an interesting thread on another forum, and while the thread is old, it great, because it's been updated and recommended places have been reviewed. artificial Christmas tree; Frontgate? Balsam Hill? - Home Decorating & Design Forum - GardenWeb.

Good thread, interesting! Hadn't heard of "Tree Time" and they seem to have pretty good reviews. I had to laugh at this gal who interacted with Balsam's cust srvc dept, lol: "After calling and having to wait a long time to be helped, the man told me I hadn't "gotten to know" my tree yet and needed to get "intimate" with it. I AM NOT WANTING TO MARRY the tree"

Prelit trees are great, but they only last a few years, I wouldn't spend more than $500 on one. The new ones are much easier to put together, ours is in 3 pieces.

Boscovs, Michaels, Sears, Kmart, and Walmart usually have good, reasonable trees. Our most recent one is from Sears. I'd be afraid to buy one online because you can't feel how strong the branches are or anything online.

Lol, I didn't read every post, that is so funny. I was just looking at the Tree time site, couldn't get the prices to load on IE so I switched to chrome, lol, yikes they are expensive, $800 (it's half priced). Lots of people have recommend the GE brand sold at Home Depot, I think I'll have to check them out too, once we get all the stuff on the tree, you really can't see the tree. My first one I got at Michaels and it was really great, but they have sold really great ones for long time.

But can't you just replace bulbs if/when they burn out...in other words, why do they only last a few years? Do they start looking scraggy or something else?

Thanks for the suggestions - I didn't think of Sears or Kmart, good idea!

I'll check out Home Depot. Yesterday I was looking at Lowes (in person) and my gosh, those trees are just sparse looking - and they're not cheap! I don't know how they get away w/ charging so much for these darn trees.

I don't have buying advice, there are so many to choose from now, but definitely see it in person, not online. The quality of the branches and needles really varies.

Personally I don't like flocked. I have an amazing tree I still love that was around $300 at Walmart about 9 years ago. Some of the lights quit working over the years, and I couldn't find out why, so I added extra strands. I thought about getting a new tree, but the newer ones were not nearly the same fulness and quality of my old one. Mine looks so real people always touch it to see.

One of my friends has one from Costco, also about 8 yrs old, and again, the new ones are not as nice.

BTW, I love artificial trees, and not having to worry about fire hazard of trees that dry out here in about 1 week, and the mess of dropping dry needles all over.

I like artificial flocked trees, outside as part of a scenic decoration, but I don't care for them indoors. It seems extra fake... Surely the snow would have melted off in the warm house?

I'm not a fan of pre-lit trees either. The lights always seem to break and you have such a limited amount of replacement bulbs. And when a whole section is out, forget about finding the culprit. I have ended up cutting off the lights of every prelit tree I've owned. Plus, even though I never do, I like the thought of being able to change up the decor by using white or colored lights.

I have a 10ft tree made by The Christmas Tree Company that is is my absolute favorite of all time (over $400 fifteen years ago). Unfortunately, after using it faithfully for ten years I then moved into a house with regular height ceilings. I was contemplating having it cut down so I could still use it, when I was out "junking" with friends (what we call our girls day out hitting the local thrift and consignment stores), and I saw a tub with Christmas tree branches that looked exactly like mine! I could tell by the poles it was smaller than mine, and when I saw "The Christmas Tree Company" on the bottom pole, I bought it immediately for $20!!! Thankfully, all the pieces were there :)

Yeah, in the past I always thought they looks sparse, my Michaels one is so darned thick, there's no way you can see the trunk. The problem is you have to put it on a branch at a time. I never thought about the necessity of bulb replacement, to buy a whole new try because your lights burned out? Holly landfills, that's ridiculous.

Wow, lucky you, the shopping fairies were with you that day!

Your post reminds me I don't want to buy a pre-lit tree at all. I have some clear bulbs that look like pearls that I love and I also have colored lights that have the option of only showing one color at a time, which I love and never get tired of. So at least I have narrowed the selection down a bit.

A section blew out and we couldn't find the culprit. Hopefully this is better now with the led lights.

Sears and kmart are awful most of the time, but they get pretty good trees.

Very spendy!

They usually come with replacement bulbs and some even with extra fuses.