Community Chat

[Sweetbay magnolia]

Uh huh, @SharkE - like in a closet or attic, but "shrouded", to keep the dust at bay.

I do keep mine up in the house proper, all year, just 'cuz I like it that way.

I would imagine, too, that moisture takes a toll.  The pre-prelit trees could be stored in the damp crawl space or basement but the lights add a new consideration.

[qvcfreak]

@Another new name Sue, I did cut it in chunks but it had hundred of wire twist ties that were very tightly strung. I couldn’t even get my wire cutters in. The lights are in pieces on the floor and second photo are the wire twists from one section only

[151949]

It's disgusting how these prelit trees are so pricey and the lights only last a few years. This will be our 8th Christmas in this house and we are on our third tree. 

[Mominohio]

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@Diamonds22 wrote:

Doesn't Bethlehem Lights have a 5 year warranty? I bought a Santa's Best tree in 2014 & this year one of the functions didn't work & I called Santa's Best & they sent me out a new tree within 5 days & told me I didn't have to send the other one back. Santa's Best had a 5 year warranty & they stood by it.

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Wow! @Diamonds22

I cannot believe in this day and age, they came through for you like that!

I would have expected they wanted me to pack up and ship back the tree, jump through hoops, click my heels, spin around twice and spit into the wind (and prove I did it all, along with my original receipt), just to get them to make it right! LOL

Thanks for posting that. We will need another tree soon, and it's nice to know that company stands behind the warranty without a bunch of hassle!

[Mominohio]

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@SharkE wrote:

Leave the tree up all yr.?

@Sweetbay magnolia

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Trees will last longer and perform better if left constructed and simply covered with a sheet or a tree storage cover, and stored complete and intact. 

Scrunching and bunching to get them back in the box or in those tree bags does a lot of damage to wires, bulbs, and foliage. 

[qvcfreak]

@Mominohio, I did store it back in it’s original box in the garage. I have lots of room so this year, I will leave it erected and just cover it with a sheet. Thanks

[stevieb]

It seems there are more and more problems with the supposedly 'high end' and 'sophisticated' prelit faux trees... They keep this up and everybody is either going to junk the whole notion of a tree or go back to real trees... In fairness, it isn't any single brand nor is it just trees sold on QVC, though their's tend to be so pricey... My HOA bought three large and lovely new trees a few years ago (not from here) for the building lobbies and they worked for exactly one year... The second year, some of the lights failed to work but a few tweaks had them usable. This year, the trees had to be restrung because so many of the lights were out... Of course, there was no useful CS or warranty. I'm glad I've stuck with more reasonably priced basic prelit trees. They might lack all the bells and whistles, lights that twinkle and change color and so on, but they still work...

[stevieb]

I think those who skip the pre-lit option, assuming they stay available, might have the right idea... It's a hassle to string lights, but, at least for now, the trees are less costly and you're not paying for something you can't use!

As for leaving trees up, the issue many people are going to have is they don't want to see the tree all year and they just don't have any room to leave a tree up. I know I don't!

[Venezia]

@qvcfreak- Thanks for this post.  I've been wavering about whether to get a prelit tree after I ordered one from QVC a few years ago and it stopped working within hours (one section went out and we kept having to jiggle that bit to get the lights to come back on).  So I sent that back and haven't dared buy another one.

Well, I did crack and buy the BL 34" tree that was a recent TSV; had to return the first one because a wire was broken.  Sent the replacement back because the wires looked dodgy, plus one side of my tree was all white lights and the rest of it was multi (it was supposed to be all multi)!  I think all these things out of China are so mass-produced that the quality is very questionable.

I keep thinking that, if I buy a high-quality unlit one, I can put whatever lights I want on it.  After all, it's only once a year.

You did a great job salvaging your tree.  It looks beautiful.

[qvcfreak]

@Venezia, thank you. I’m with you. Never getting another lighted tree or anything prelit for that matter