There are many retailers of artificial trees in the market - from huge department stores to niche website merchants and from deep discounters to premium retailers. With all these options, it can be difficult to find a retailer you can trust and an artificial Christmas tree that will look beautiful year after year. Our goal is to provide you with important tips that will help you find the best artificial Christmas tree to meet your needs.

If you're searching for the perfect artificial Christmas tree, make sure you are purchasing a tree that meets your quality expectations. We have found that there is a very wide selection of artificial trees sold online, and you should take the time to research different websites to learn about these companies and the quality of the products they sell. A few questions you should ask yourself based on the website are:

• How much variety does this retailer offer?
• How does the website look overall?
• What is the quality of the product photographs? Can I actually see details of the trees?
• Does the company offer branch samples?
• What else does this retailer sell? Do they specialize in artificial Christmas trees?

When researching artificial Christmas trees, you should pay close attention to the quality of the product. Some important product attributes include branch tips, tree stand, center pole, lights, tree construction and product photos.

Traditionally, the quality of an artificial tree has been based on the number of branch "tips". Everyone knows that it's not festive to have a Christmas tree with a clearly visible center pole! Many companies list the number of branch tips in the tree description. This metric is a good measure for how full the artificial Christmas tree is. However, you should consider more than just the number of branch tips, as some tree species naturally have fewer, but larger, branches. For example, a 7.5' Scotch Pine has just over 700 tips, while most other 7.5' trees have thousands of tips, because a Scotch Pine has very long needles in nature and therefore has fewer tips as an artificial tree. Since it is virtually impossible to compare trees across manufacturers, we recommend you look at a close-up photo of the whole tree to see if it looks "full." Inspect it to see if you can spot the center pole of the tree. If so, that's a telltale sign you're dealing with a tree of inferior quality. Be careful of low-resolution photos, as they may mask serious imperfections in the Christmas trees.

In addition to looking at how many branch tips the artificial Christmas trees have, you should also look at the product photos to assess fullness and quality. If the online retailers offer super-zoom photos, this is a great way to see if the center pole of the tree is visible. Note that if the photo quality online is poor, it will be very difficult to tell whether the tree is full or not. Keep in mind that you can manipulate the shape of your artificial Christmas tree by shaping the branches yourself, so take the time to look at branch close-ups to see what kind of outline you can customize with your tree.

Having a high quality tree stand is also important as you consider purchasing an artificial Christmas tree. Avoid plastic or cheap metal stands that may break while you move or set up the tree. You should also look for metal legs with rubber feet to prevent scratching on the flooring. The color of the stand may also be important if you are purchasing a colored artificial tree. Some retailers ensure that the color of the stand is the same as the branches, which is a nice feature if you don't use tree skirts.

Finally, the construction of your artificial Christmas tree can make a huge difference when it comes time to set up the tree. Make sure the construction of your tree is "hinged", not "hooked." A "hooked" tree is less expensive, but it requires a very time-consuming branch-by-branch assembly because you will have to manually attach the branches to the center pole. A "hinged" tree is much higher quality, as its branches are already attached to the center pole, and they naturally fall into place as the tree is set up.

When shopping online, we recommend you carefully inspect photographs of the tree you are considering. Close-up photos are especially important for trees that have True Needle™ technology or other methods that claim to add realism to the branch tips. Look for websites that provide "high resolution, zoomed" photos of complete trees so you can look for details of quality and craftsmanship. Some retailers offer close-up photographs of the branch tips, which will allow you to see how realistic the branches are, and how much "fill" they may contain. Fill can be important for trees that have realistic branch tips but different material closer to the middle of the tree. Make sure you can view a high-resolution photograph of the Christmas tree in order to gauge the level of quality. Many trees look great at low resolution but lose 100% of their allure and beauty when you see them in person.

Looking at the materials the tree is made of is also important when assessing quality. PE plastic tips-like exclusive True Needle™-are the highest quality, followed by PVC plastic tips. In general, PE plastic tips are molded, thus yielding a more realistic texture and look than PVC plastic tips, which look more like shredded paper. However, the quality of the branch tips varies dramatically depending on material quality and coloring. For example, high quality PVC tips with color and texture variations may provide a more realistic appearance than low-quality, single-color PE tips. The best way to judge a tree is in person, through a close-up photo, or through examining samples. Preferred retailers allow you to order branch samples to review the quality in person before making a purchase.

You may find it frustrating to compare trees across retailers, as most retailers sell exclusive trees that are unavailable elsewhere, and there is a vast array of artificial Christmas trees available on the market. To help narrow down your options in purchasing an artificial Christmas tree, you should ask yourself a few questions:

• What color do I want?
• What needle length do I like?
• How important is the material to me? (PE molded tips? PVC tips? Color variation?)
• How much am I willing to spend? Keep in mind, a good quality artificial tree should last for years and years, and if you find a quality retailer you can trust, it should offer a good warranty and back it up. Also, be careful of deals that seem to be too good to be true - unless you are confident of the quality of the artificial Christmas tree you are purchasing, you may be disappointed when it arrives

Getting the Lights Just Right!

Why are prelit trees so popular?

When you buy an artificial tree, you're saving the time and hassle of untangling and stringing your own Christmas lights. Most manufacturers provide a variety of options, including clear lights, multicolored lights, and other configurations. Premium retailers offer Color+Clear™ lights, allowing you to change from clear to multicolor to both, all at the touch of a remote button.

Many people think "the more lights the better." Manufacturers will often skimp on quality by reducing the number of lights; others pack the tree so full of lights that the glare hides the poor tree construction. Quality retailers carefully craft trees with a naturally aesthetic lighting aspect, giving the tree a warm, festive winter glow.

To judge the quality of tree lights, make sure the lights are UL-approved and have standard features like "anti-twist" bulbs and a design supporting continued lighting functionality even when one burns out. Always check the length of the warranty; make sure the company selling you the tree is the company that backs up the warranty: otherwise you will be passed on to a third party.

Finally you should be careful when looking at LED lights. Many clear or white LEDs give off a very harsh light, unlike regular light strands that have a warm glow. Select retailers now offer Candlelight LEDs that look almost exactly the same as regular light strands, while still offering the benefits of LED lights.

If you like to change the types of lights your tree has year over year, then an unlit artificial Christmas tree will give you the flexibility to customize and change the lights as you please.

Size & Shape: Pick Your Favorite

The most common tree height is 7.5 feet, as measured from the floor to the top of the tree. Trees 9' or taller are popular in rooms with high ceilings, and 6.5' trees are popular for smaller rooms. 4'-5' trees are popular for table-top locations. When determining the right tree size for you, make sure you remember to allocate extra space to your tree topper. If your ceilings are 8 feet, and you have a large tree topper, you may not want to have a 7.5 foot tree!

The standard tree shape is "full"; trees for smaller spaces are called "narrow" or "slim." We suggest you consider the tree diameter to help you pick the perfect tree. This measurement is taken at the very widest point of the tree, so if you don't mind a few tree tips touching a wall or a piece of furniture, the true space occupied by the tree will be 6"-8" less than the reported diameter. Also, you can always shape your artificial Christmas tree by bending up the branch tips that are close to walls or furniture. Another important consideration is the shape of the tree; you should look for artificial Christmas trees that have a natural silhouette. If the tree is "pencil-shaped," it probably doesn't look like a real tree. If you are looking for a space-saving tree, we recommend a tree like the Fifth Avenue Flatback Tree , which is designed to look like a full tree while taking up half the space. To save even more space, there is also a tree called We Put Baby in a Corner. This tree is actually only a quarter of a regular-sized tree; in a corner it looks festive and full, while allowing you to save a significant amount of space.