Trees

[fairyrune]

Can somebody please explain to me why it would cost between forty and fifty dollars for me to go to a farm and cut down my own Christmas/Yule tree, when I can go to Loews or Home Depot and get a perfectly nice pre-cut tree for twenty or thirty dollars (less if it's on sale)?

Is it because of insurance or something? You'd figure it would cost less, since they don't have to pay somebody to do the work.

Basically, why are they asking me to pay extra to do a job they'd normally be paying somebody else to do?

Comments

[paleshadow.livejournal.com]

Because they can, I'd say. People are willing to pay for a lot of experiences - standing in the snow and chopping down their own Christmas tree is something that's gotten romanticised.

[fairyrune]

You're probably right. Next thing you know, they'll be charging even more because they'll have snow machines going for when Mom Nature doesn't provide the white stuff.

[sunshyn689.livejournal.com]

difference being, last year i spent 20 bucks on a tree from Home depot and it was falling apart in about 3 days. this year we spent 40 on a tree we cut down ourselves, and a week later, it hasn't lost a single needle.

[fairyrune]

See, our Home Depot tree lasted pretty nicely last year. The problem we had with them was that we had an extremely difficult time trying to find someone to wrap our tree up, and then they didn't bale it properly.

My mother got a lovely tree at Lowes last year, so we're going to try them this year. I just can't afford to pay that much for something I'm going to be throwing out in a few weeks anyway.

[odogonefishin.livejournal.com]

I never took down my tree last year - of course it's about 2 1/2 feet tall and plastic

[paleshadow.livejournal.com]

I'm sure somebody in Texas or California has thought of this already. :)

[trongersoll.livejournal.com]

Are you really asking this? the local place has a lot more/higher expenses than the place out in timbucktu using machines to harvest thier trees.

[woodchuck665.livejournal.com]

Home Depot probably gets their trees from an huge tree farm out west where the cost per tree is minimal due to economies of scale, mechinization & farm subsidies. A local grower wouldn't benefit from those things because they're a much smaller operation.

Or the local grower is selling you the "experience." And to that I say pfffft.

[fairyrune]

You would be right, except for the fact that the "local" places charge five to ten dollars less for the same trees that they've already cut down themselves.

[fairyrune]

It's probably the "experience" thing, since the cut-your-own farms I called told me they charge less for pre-cut trees.

[tdisdead.livejournal.com]

I'd actually agree with both.