<p>Thanks all for all the reccomendations. I hate buying things that I cant see or touch, unless it is something easy to return. LF, beautiful trees and got a kick out of a Christmas tree being almost 4K, on sale!</p>
<p>GA, when I first looked, I saw more under 250- then couldn’t retrace my steps. Ha. My brother bought a gorgeous artificial years ago, off season and deeply reduced. So great that you have to stand next to it to see it’s not real. </p>
<p>We have a formerly pre-lit artificial tree. I will not buy a pre-lit tree again. </p>
<p>One by one the strands of lights died over several years. I found I was adding strands of lights on top of dead lights. Last year the tree was still in great shape, but half the pre-lit lights were dead. I decided to get rid of the dead pre-lit strands of lights, so I ripped out the dead strands, which took a lot longer than I anticipated. I finally cut them out because they were so well attached, and couldn’t be removed any other way. One bottle of wine later I had a non-pre-lit artificial tree and hundreds of pieces of light strands scattered around the flipping floor. </p>
<p>I may get an artificial tree this year for the first time. (Haven’t told my family yet, however.) We will be in Hawaii over Christmas, and I’d like to come home to a decorated house, but I don’t want to leave a live tree inside for 10 days.
I like the trees with LED lights. They should last a very long time and use very little energy.<br>
Love the Balsom Hill Trees, but can’t justify the price tag. Cosco looks like a good option. I think I’ll check them out in the store, first.</p>
<p>We bought one from Macy’s and I believe a 2nd narrower and shorter one from there as well. It was 75 or 80% off and very inexpensive. It opens and closes like an umbrella and has endured quite well over the years. We gave up the larger one and the smaller one is about 5 or 6 feet and fits nicely in a small corner. It only has two parts that join the the middle. The other one had many more sections. I believe ours has pinecones wired onto it, that came that way. Ours came pre-wired with lights but we took the lights off and drape it back on every year. H shakes it out and vacuums it before and after the holidays, stores it in a plastic bag, in the original box in the garage. I think we paid about $50 or so for each of the trees, but can’t recall.</p>
<p>We are all highly allergic so do much better with the artificial tree than we ever did with a live one.</p>
<p>Eastcoascrazy’s experience is exactly why I won’t buy an artificial tree. Whenever I find an artificial tree I like, it’s prelit, and I know the tree will easily outlast the lights and then I have another headache. I actually think prelit trees are a marketing technique to sell more trees. How many people just go buy another one instead of dealing with taking the lights off?</p>
<p>My largest tree is prelit and so far has lasted 11 years without incident. The lights all still work. We got it on a deep discount from American Sales in mid January. Our family room tree was another January special- 27 years ago. My best deal, however, was my 7 foot tree from a church rummage sale for $5. I think trees are a little hard to buy if you don’t see them in person- there are so many that don’t look very good up close. On the other hand, when you cover them in lights and ornaments, they all look pretty good!</p>