My husband and I had an appointment at a Direct Buy in New York City. After the sales pitch, we were given the opportunity to view the catalogs of affiliated manufacturers. We were mainly interested in furniture (case goods and upholstery) and home furnishing items (fabric, accessories, etc.). The highest quality level of these items were on the low end of what I would term "mid-quality" home furniture. Several furniture manufacturers were low-end mass-market type. I was disappointed to find that only a couple of the furniture manufacturers I was interested in were participants of Direct Buy. That said, the pricing structure of the two manufacturers I was interested in, which had a couple of case good pieces I wanted to price out, was virtually the same as what a smart shopper will negotiate at their local furniture store. The high membership fees become ridiculous in this scenario. We also saw that a number of products actually had surcharges applied to them. These surcharges make purchasing from Direct Buy more expensive. We also noticed that home electronics and applicance items were not competitve to what one could price out at the local PC Richards or other electronics stores. Direct Buy is not the place to go for appliances/electronics items--there is heavy competition for these items and many places one can go to find the best price. While we were sitting with the Direct Buy sales associate, my husband called his contact at the electronics/appliance store we have purchased from for years, priced the exact model of an item available from Direct Buy and found that the Direct Buy price was in fact more than $100 more expensive. All this said, the high membership fees that Direct Buy charges may be of value to individuals who first and foremost have many, many purchases to make, i.e., a whole house to purchase for and are the kind of people who: (1) Don't have the time or inclination to research the best price among retailers. This is quite understandable, it takes time and effort to get the best value for your money!! (2) Are willing to settle for lesser quality items (for the money) in purchasing items for their home--this is really a point about making sure you purchase enough items to justify that hefty membership fee! (3) Doesn't like to negotiate with sales people. This is really a good point to make in favor of a Direct Buy kind of place--many people in the United States don't like to do this & Direct Buy has already done it for you. You're not getting the best price or best quality for your $$ but at least you're not paying full retail!

Sorry, he could have been, but it was so long ago I did this research I can't remember now. The part about being a community college professor is all I remember. I did find my email from Andrew Bunting in 2010: The Sequoia sempervirens we have on campus which does sometimes parade under the name of "Swarthmore Hardy" is from a plant we got from the Coker Arboretum in 1994 (i.e., the North Carolina/Venable tree, also marketed by Camellia Forest as 'Chapel Hill'.). We don't having any other old plants on campus. We do have a plant of Sequoia sempervirens that is about 30' feet tall that we got from the Barnes Arboretum in 1980. So I guess he means the larger S.s. on the Swarthmore campus, is the North Carolina/Coker/Venable tree. I can't say for sure because in spite a couple visits to the campus, I never noticed either one! As I said though, having owned clones of both for a few years now, they sure do look identical, so it corroborates Bunting's account. Now would be the time for someone to propagate the Barnes/U Washington clone! Sadly it isn't always easy. In 2016 I sent Cam Forest S.s. cuttings I collected at some elevation in the coast ranges after driving around for a day looking for one I thought would be in a 'cold spot'. It was a frost hollow at 1400'. Alas, the attempt to root them failed.

Comparing the Shade Store and Steve’s Blinds is like saying a Cadillac is analogous to a Hyundai. They are two different product offerings for entirely different consumers. The Shade Store has designer fabrics like offerings from Nate Berkus, Chilewich, Novogratz, etc (real noted designers, not just using the word ‘designer’). The fabrics and hardware are very high quality and you won’t find any cheapo parts or flimsy valances made of plastic. They are aiming to provide a neutral modern aesthetic of on trend grays and beiges. If you want peach or blush go elsewhere. They are also super expensive and you can find similar offerings from mainstream brands for far far less money. Most of their products are interchangeable with offerings from others (I.e. roller shades, sheer shades, Roman shades) but they have a couple unique lines that seem to be innovative—gorgeous Horizontal blinds in unique wood and metal (not just plain white ones for a country kitchen available from every blind maker under the sun) and their XL Vertical Blind product are examples. They also have the exclusive fabrics mentioned. I will be using two large shades from them in my project but going elsewhere for the rest due to their sky high pricing that can make rip off artist Hunter Douglas look reasonable and the fact that their motorization systems, while reasonably priced, don’t seem to have any plan for future upgrade or support—when a shade breaks you have to buy a new one if out of warranty. In summary look at their stuff and see if you find it unique enough to justify the price. If not then get a similar product from many other vendors, maybe even Steve’s Blinds. If you want to spend twice the money for manual and get motorized, call a local blind expert to consult with you as there are many considerations and I would not just order from online vendors.

I wish I had read this before I bought a Yardzen package. I am in the review/feedback stage of our draft design now, and am so disappointed. Others above have exactly captured my feedback so far: the time it took me to gather everything required for me to submit the design request feels wasted at this point, because the draft feels nothing like what I requested or envisioned…almost the opposite. My disappointment is deep. I will painstakingly input all of my and my husband’s feedback tomorrow (on our laptop since their process doesn’t allow mobile) and see how they do the second time. From the simple fact that they show us replacing features I specifically said are staying (like existing fencing), to the fact that the exterior design shows the wrong roof, window and gutter colors (that we paid good money for!)…I’m not happy. Hoping the second draft is a major improvement.