Patio Furniture

Company Name: Southern Cross Trading Company
Website:http://www.lewisfirst.com/southerncross/

Description: Southern Cross Trading Company is a small artisan shop located in New York. They make outdoor patio furniture made from Cherry. The wood is harvested from US Forestry approved forest that enables a sustainable harvest of Cherry trees. There furniture styles are very unique in that they inherit the Mayan style of patio furniture. The shopper will either love the style or hate it. I have found the furniture to be comfortable when I tried it for a few days. The selection is limited to a few pieces. The cherry wood is ok for outdoor use but may not be as well suited as the cedar, redwoods and cypress.

The quality is good, the craftsmanship is outstanding and the customer service is great. This furniture is only available at retail stores. Search the internet for the company name there will be several vendors selling this brand. I used to call the owner on occasion to check on orders. He was always nice and willing to talk.

Type of Products: Chairs, Lounges, Tables, Benches and Swings

Favorites: It has to be the Mayan chair. If you want to have something that nobody else in your neighbor hood has, this is the chair for you. You will need to get the ottoman as well.

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Company Name: Uwharrie Chair
Website: http://www.uwharriechair.com/

Description: This manufacturer is a high end wood outdoor furniture manufacturer. The styles are all unique and only found at this company. They have common styles of patio furniture but that add an extra flair and splash of style to make their furniture stand out from the crowd. The quality is good and will last a long time.

This furniture is not cheep. In fact, it is rather expensive. If you want the style and are looking for a specific look, this is your place. Just be prepared to spend a bit more. There are several online internet stores that sell this patio furniture so take a look around.

They offer 13 collections of wood patio furniture. There are styles for every type of backyard. They also offer about 30 different colors ranging from whites, darks, reds greens and blues. A good store will order your patio furniture in any color available. The shipping time is about 2-6 weeks depending on the season.

Type of Products: Dining/Deck Chairs, Rockers, Swings, Gliders, Occasional Tables, Dining Tables, High Dining, Tete-a-Tetes, Chaises

Favorites: I like Plantation series, specifically the 3011 chair in white.

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Store name: Old Growth Again
Website: www.oldgrowthagain.org

Description: Old Growth Again redwood furniture is a redwood only patio furniture manufacture and reseller. They are located in northern California. They manufacture all their own furniture using environmentally friendly policies. They firmly believe in a sustainable harvest of redwood trees and forests. Old Growth Again uses three types of redwood, new, mature and old growth. Each age of wood has its own properties related to disease resistance and durability. Each age group cost more based on how old the wood is. New growth is less expensive than the old growth.

This company also makes really really durable, thick patio furniture. This is probably the best quality wood patio furniture you will find anywhere. It does come with a price tag however. I also like the various styles of furniture that this company makes. There are pieces here that are truly unique in the patio furniture industry.

Type of store: Brick and Mortar with internet sales.

Types of products: Patio furniture selections include Benches, Swings, Chairs, Tables, Adirondack, sets and many other products related to outdoor furniture. Only redwood is used.

Customer Service: Their customer service good. It may take a day or two to get your answer but they are really good a getting back to customers.

Sales Knowledge: Excellent. They make it, they know everything about it.

Quality: Exceptional ( my highest rating). The wood is twice as thick ( and heavy ) as other patio furniture. They only use quality stainless steel components. This is the best you will find. You will however pay a premium for this quality.

Shipping: Average, the items may ship later than promised based on availability.

Price: Average ( see notes about quality )

Selection: Good

Notes: Really good furniture. I would buy this if I had the money. If you like redwood and can afford this great quality, look no further. Give them a call, they are really nice people to talk too. They will take the time to answer all your questions. They are pretty busy during the spring months take that into consideration.

Improvements: I would recommend they offer lower priced options. There are many customers that can’t afford the price. I am not suggesting to reduce the size/thickness, but to somehow offer products that may fit a tighter budget. How about a few specials, or closeouts?

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Store name: BackYardCity.com
Website: www.backyardcity.com

Description: This is another internet only store. I think they drop ship all their orders from manufacturers. This is pretty much a store that resells other products. The selection is average along with the site design and usage. The prices appear competitive to other stores selling the same items. I would only buy from this store if the price was less than other stores or I could not find the items anywhere else.

Type of store: Internet Only

Types of products: Patio furniture selections include Benches, Swings, Chairs, Tables, Adirondack, sheds, sets and many other products related to pool, outdoor furniture. The patio furniture is made from all kinds of materials including teak, cedar, redwood, recycled plastic, aluminum and others.

Customer Service: Their customer service average. The customer service policies are very much what you would expect from the industry.

Sales Knowledge: Average.

Quality: Good, they do not manufacture any products, just drop ship from other companies.

Shipping: Good, most all products shipped on time.

Price: Good

Selection: Good

Notes: There is not much detail about the store or who they are on the website, just the product information. I called the store to get some information and the sales staff was not very helpful. The person I spoke with was eager to get me off the phone if I was not going to buy something. There is average selection of products and the overall experience was average. The site design and navigation works but lacks information found on other sites. I would use this company if I could not find the products I am looking for from another vendor.

Improvements: I would try to improve the sales knowledge of the products and be willing to spend more time with customers. The person on the phone indicated more than once that they are really busy and needed to help other customers.

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Store name: PatioFurnitureUSA
Website: www.patiofurnitureusa.com

Description: This is strictly an internet store. They have a warehouse in Omaha Nebraska where they do store some of the more popular items. This internet only store is part of a larger group of stores ( netshops ) that sell just about anything and everything. There are actually several stores related to patio furniture including Adirondack, Teak Gazebos, benches, patio swings and more. Navigate to this site and then to the netshops logo to see the other stores. This company will drop ship most products directly from the manufacturer to the customer’s location. They primary shipping company is Fedex.

The sales staff and customer service handle about 200 stores. There is good knowledge of the products but not the type of knowledge a manufacturer or small reseller would have.

Type of store: Internet Only

Types of products: Patio furniture selections include Benches, Swings, Chairs, Tables, Adirondack, Gazebos, sets of all types and just about anything else related to outdoor and patio furniture. The patio furniture is made from all kinds of materials including teak, cedar, redwood, recycled plastic, aluminum and others.

Customer Service: Their customer service very good. The customer service policies are very much what you would expect form a larger store.

Sales Knowledge: Average.

Quality: Good, they do not manufacture any products, just drop ship from other companies.

Shipping: Good, most all products shipped on time. Good communication with customers.

Price: Good

Selection: Excellent

Notes: This is a very good internet store. They have good security, know how to handle customers and answer the phones on the first ring. This is a large company in that there are over 200 internet only stores they own and operate. It is like going to a big box store except using the phone. Good selection of items in many different materials. Websites are very well organized and easy to navigate.

Improvements: the one area for improvement would be the sales staff is a little more knowledgeable about their products. Their business model however makes this very difficult in that they have a sales staff that must know thousands of products in 200 stores. They would be able to direct you to some items of interest but you would be on your own to find specific items.

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