There are lots of excellent reasons to buy a fresh Christmas tree rather than an artificial Christmas tree and there are equally good reasons to buy a fresh Christmas tree on-line rather than from a tree lot or a big box retailer. Buying a fresh Christmas tree on-line is convenient, it is good for the American economy, it is eco-friendly, and, very importantly, it assures the freshness and quality of your real Christmas tree.

Each year more and more purchasers choose to purchase their fresh Christmas trees online. Online purchases are increasing at a rate of between 25% to 50% annually.

The following tips will help you with your online purchase.

Tip No. 1: USE SPECIFIC SEARCH TERMS TO NARROW YOUR ONLINE SEARCHES

As with any online searches, the selection of key search terms is the key to quickly finding quality, fresh Christmas trees. If you use "Christmas trees" without specifying "real" or "fresh", you will end up sorting through hundreds of search results promoting artificial Christmas trees rather than real or fresh Christmas trees. By narrowing your search terms by adding "fresh" Christmas trees or "real" Christmas trees you will more quickly locate find the retail sites offering real or fresh Christmas trees.

Tip No. 2: MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE ONLINE REAL CHRISTMAS TREES ARE FRESH

The key to assure freshness of a real Christmas tree purchased on-line is to make certain that the tree will be cut fresh and shipped to you within 3 to 5 days after it is cut. If the website does not indicate that its trees will be shipped fresh, either contact the website and ask what their timeframe is for shipping their trees after being cut or go to another website.

Tip No. 3: MAKE SURE THAT THE ONLINE REAL CHRISTMAS TREES ARE QUALITY TREES

If you want a quality tree, you should make certain that the online retailer from whom you purchase your fresh Christmas tree guarantees that the Christmas tree is either a premium or Grade One quality in accordance with the United States Department of Agriculture quality grading for Christmas trees. For a copy of the USDA quality standards, see www.ams.usda.gov/standards/christtr.pdf.

Tip No. 4: MAKE CERTAIN THAT THE WEBSITE OFFERS CUSTOMER SERVICE

When buying a real Christmas tree online, make sure that the online retailer offers customer service through either a 1-800 number and/or online shipment tracking.

Tip No. 5: IN PRICING, COMPARE APPLES WITH APPLES AND ORANGES WITH ORANGES

In pricing your online real Christmas tree, make certain that the prices you are using for comparison purposes are truly comparable: same species, size, quality and whether the quoted price includes or excludes shipping costs. With respect to shipping, some online retailers include shipping in their pricing and others add shipping and handling to their price at checkout. Don't be surprised.

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