I have no knowledge of Christmas trees right off hand. But I am guessing you paid a pretty penny for the one you already bought. I would not give up on it I would pester and threaten them until they did something about it.
That's what they want for YOU to do, give up. Threaten to write terrible reviews on the internet about them.
And did you say you knew the head writer at Better Homes and Gardens? (lol) It's not a lie, I'm sure you've read articles in BH&G and you feel like you almost know them. Done!

....Jane

I have a couple of pre-lit artificial trees.One is a Bethlehem Lighting (our family room, kid oriented tree) that we bought at the Christmas Dove. We purchased it at one of their stores, not online. I am happy with the tree. Our has a combination of clear and frosted white lights for a really soft lighting effect. Would recommend the tree. We paid about $700 for a 9 foot tree. Don't know if this is too "cheapie" for you though.

I bought a pre-lit "corner tree" for my dining room (1/4 of a tree) from treetopia.com. Excellent customer service. The tree came with damage to the electrical cord. They sent me a replacement immediately and requested that we donate the first tree to charity eliminating the hassle of repacking and shipping back. Pretty inexpensive (under $200)- but looks good.

Hope I am not insulting you with these brands and price points.

I bought an 8' noble fir from Tree Classics in 2003, it has white lights. They didn't offer LED back then so I have no idea which kind of light is better. I've never had any problems with my tree or the lights. It arrived quickly with no problems. It looks great. Over the years I've never seen any artificial tree elsewhere that looks better.

Before I ordered it, I ordered the sample branches of all the types of trees which helped me decide which type I liked the most. I liked being able to do that, it did help to look at the types before deciding. I just looked at the Tree Classics website and they do still offer that option, you just have to type in sample in the search window to find how to do it. The sample branches cost $25 which is then a credit towards any tree purchased.

My tree has lasted for 6 holidays so far with no problems at all. A couple individual lights have broken every couple years when we would take it in/out of storage, but they are easy to replace with standard replacement bulbs from any local store.

The tree looks great, but it does take up space and is heavy. I squish it together with bungee cords to store it in it's box each year, then when I take it out I have to separate and fluff each branch when I set it up (wear gloves). Cheaper trees with less branches may not need that.

If I did it again I'd probably go a slim version to save space in the room and to make it easier to move around. I also learned to mark the places where the tree divides with some clear tape so that when I take it down I know where to pull to separate the sections, the seams completely disappear otherwise and the first year it took me forever to get it apart.

Oh, and if you ever need to remove a broken light bulb, turn off the lights first! Otherwise, if you touch the wires exposed by the broken bulb you'll get shocked. Trust me!

After years of buying fresh Norfolk Pines, only to have them dry before Christmas Eve, we gave up and I purchased an artificial tree from Tree Classics.

I LOVE this tree. For a nominal amount they send you a large box with a branch of all of the different types of trees so you can see the color and feel the "needles."
If you buy a tree, that amount is credited towards your purchase.

Some of the types of trees only come in certain heights, however; my husband built a stand to attach ours to so it would be taller.

I even use the remaining branch samples at Christmas by using them as garland.

The tree is full of lights and looks quite realistic; I use spray that smells like fresh trees and many people have thought the tree was real.

I keep writing nice responses to all of you and they don't make it to posting. I will try again later, but I really thank you all! I am reading it all and it's so helpful, and no, my tree wasn't more than 700 it was about 400 with the sale and discount code. I wouldn't pay more than that unless or, ahem until, I win the lottery.

I have a Frontgate Noble Fir Slimline 10 foot LED tree and I love it. It is very full, easy to decorate, has a remote light switch, nothing to clean up after. I leave it set up, have a cover and rolling platform for it which my handyman appreciates. It fits great in the corner of my dining room and when lit it places a wonderful ambiance in my home. If I remember right I paid over $800, but I would buy the same thing again in a heart-beat. If you like that pine smell, there are sprays and candles, so not a problem. The customer service at Frontgate is fabulousl

It's so weird but I have not found one single review online anywhere for the Hammacher "world's best" noble or fraser fir trees except ones just quoting their website or referring back to them. Did anyone ever see one in person?

The only fake Christmas tree company I can recommend is Treetime. I've been burned one too many times by other sites that claim the service and product is the best. Go do the research on Google. The only one that has the best reputation is Treetime.