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Where is the Best Place to Buy a Fire Pit?
If you're looking to update your patio or backyard, fire pits or fire pit tables are the best way to add some warmth and comfort to your outdoor space. Whether you end up buying a wood-burning fire pit, or a propane tank fueled fire bowl, adding pleasant flames to your backyard has never been easier.
Where should you be looking when you're shopping for a fire bowl? Will you save money buying from a retailer? Should you shop online on sites like Amazon? Should you buy directly from the manufacturer? There are many options when it comes to purchasing your next outdoor centerpiece, and if you want to know the pros and cons of each, you're in the right place.
Manufacturer Direct: Pros/Cons
Buying directly from the manufacturer means that you are purchasing the fire table from the people who built it, which comes with a lot of advantages. Choosing a brand or company that you like can make shopping for the exact fire table you need very easy, seeing as you should research the different brands of fire table out there whether you're buying from the manufacturer or not.
Granville Fire Table
The biggest advantage of buying directly from the manufacturer is that they have a full history of your purchase and what model of fire table or bowl you have. This might not seem important, but if anything happens to your fire table, this means the company is in the best position to support you, whether it's a warranty claim, or just teaching you the best ways to care for one of their outdoor fire pits.
When you shop directly with the manufacturer, you don't need to deal with a middle man when it comes to supporting your purchase, which makes everything a lot easier and faster for both sides. Your fire table may never need support, and you may never need to call the company that made it, but having the option to do so is always better than needing to drag it back to a store that is busy handling hundreds of other brands.
The second advantage of shopping directly from the manufacturer is that you can choose a brand you like and instantly have a full selection of every fire table, bowl and pit they offer. For example, if you like the sound of the durability of Outland Living products, you can go right to OutlandLiving.com and see everything they sell. You never need to worry about something being in stock locally.
If seeing a fire table in person before buying is important to you, you can even reach out to the manufacturer to find out whether any stores nearby have some in stock or on display. It's a great option for people who are less comfortable buying a product they've only seen photos of.
Finally, the manufacturer's price points are more consistent than hardware stores are going to be. It always costs the manufacturer the same amount to make and sell a product, so you can always know that you're getting a good and fair price. There is a chance that a local store could have a sale on fire tables and that you could save some money, but the consistent manufacturer's price is going to save you months of waiting hoping to get a slightly better deal!
Cypress Fire Pit
Hardware Stores: Pros/Cons
Buying something from a local hardware or big-box retailer has one big advantage that is vitally important to some shoppers, and that is that you can see a product in person before buying.
Sometimes you only get to see the box, but the physical experience of seeing your new propane fire pit, or the different fire pit styles on offer, is a very important part of decision-making for some shoppers. It also helps that many stores will have multiple gas fire pits on display so that you can see multiple options and choose the best fire pits for your outdoor space.
Of course, sometimes a hardware store isn't going to carry all of the options that a company offers, so if you see something you like at a hardware store, it's worth checking out the company online to see their different fire pits. Some companies offer natural gas, high BTU or different colored variants of the same product you see in hardware stores online. So even if you shop in-person it's worth taking a look at the manufacturer's website to see if there are other options or accessories that you would need.
Deluxe Fire Pit
In Conclusion...
In the end, if you're comfortable shopping online, there is little reason to not buy your fire table directly from the manufacturer. Even if you stop by a hardware store to see fire pit accessories or different options for large or small patios, it's worth following up on anything you find in-store online. Better access to customer support, a wider selection and exact installation instructions provided by the manufacturer are benefits of shopping online that can't quite be matched by an in-store experience.