Curious why we’re always recommending you buy your hardtop online? Well… here’s why! It boils down to seven main reasons. A special thanks to Maria, one of our readers, for reminding us about #6.
#1 Stores won’t have them set up, online has pictures
In a perfect world, we could walk into a gazebo factory and see all of the available gazebos fully set up. Most people think this is what happens at big-brand stores like Target, Kmart, and Walmart.
It’s not. When you walk in and ask for the gazebos, you’ll be directed to a section where you will see just the boxes. The boxes might have a picture or two on them… but online will have many pictures, and you will even sometimes get a video from the manufacturer to see how it looks.
#2 Stores and online have the same return processes
After you set up your gazebo (hardtop or softtop), you might not like the look of it. It happens!
If you buy in store, you will still have to ship the boxes back, or at the very least package them up and bring them into the store. Online, all you have to do is reseal the packages and send them off with the return label that can be printed automatically.
#3 Stores have a much more limited selection
Walk in a retail store and they will have one to three gazebos available – at best.
Online, you have access to every hardtop gazebo under the sun. The ones they sell in stores aren’t usually even that good!
#4 Stores will often add markups – they have to!
Stores have to pay rent, employee wages, and a whole host of other costs. You are eating those costs in your gazebo payment! Everything in the store is marked up a few percentage past the “real price”.
Go online for the “real price”. Retailers like Amazon don’t have to deal with overhead, and they can almost always get you a better deal.
#5 You don’t have to lug the gazebo home from the store if you buy online
Last but not least… who wants to lug some massive boxes into the car, drive home, and carry them again into the backyard? Get it online and they’ll be right at your doorstep – you might even be able to convince the mailman to bring them back for you. (Leave a note on the door if you aren’t home.)
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Still not convinced? Go to the homepage and check out some of our rock-bottom gazebo prices, then walk into a local store and compare them (this one is our favorite). You’ll run out, back to your computer… and back online to purchase! Good luck and happy shopping! 🙂
(Oh, and you’ll also avoid something like the below…)