Why Avonlea Gardens?

 A letter from our President

Today’s market offers many choices for the consumer.  With those choices comes the responsibility to make wise decisions.  I hope to provide some information that will help you navigate through the sea of choices on YOUR horizon.

First of all, let's discuss the Big Boxes, an industry term used to describe industry giants such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, and Penney's just to name a few.  The Big Boxes can offer good pricing on seasonal specials.  The problem, however, is just that.  These are seasonal specials and when they are gone they typically won’t return.  The next season will introduce yet again different models or products at new seasonal prices.  Recently, I visited a friend in Orr's Island, Maine (and the lobster was fantastic by the way) who bought a “Big Box” table and chair ensemble.  When assembling the set, he discovered that one of the chair legs was broken.  This can happen even with the best of brands and retailers.  Upon attempting to fix his set, however, he was told the set he bought was now "out of stock" and it was unlikely the set would be offered for the next season.  They didn’t have repair parts and because they were out of stock they could not replace the chair.   If he were missing a bolt or a piece of special hardware, he would have to go to a local hardware store and try to find something that would work.  He was told that he could bring the set back and exchange it for another set of a different style or that they would give him a refund.  To my friend's dismay, he liked the set more than any other sets the store offered.  He had also already invested the time to transport and assemble the set, so you can imagine his disappointment when he learned he would need to disassemble, repackage, and return the set, for replacement furniture he did not like as well.  I reflected how ironic it was that this became our discussion while seated on his patio enjoying his table and 5 of the 6 chairs in his set.

Next we have the "website masters".  These are companies that develop websites that sell products for others.  Now there is a difference between a company that has there own product and needs help and hires out their website development and the companies I am addressing here.   These companies typically have lots of websites for various products, but no products of their own.  For companies of this category, the website is actually their product, not the furniture found on the url’s.  They advertise and sell other company’s products and then have the stocking company fulfill the orders.   These companies offer lots of choices, but buyers suffer when they try to reach someone who knows about the product.  Unfortunately for the consumer, wholesale importers with warehouses of product and no customer service are supplying many of the products "website masters" sell (for a handsomely marked up price).  So who really knows the product?  Who can answer your questions once you get past the nice photos and the standard template descriptions?  Try to call them for designer oriented questions or color decorating advice when wood hues are indistinguishable on website photos…  What about assembly questions?   But they do have every i dotted and t crossed when it comes to restocking fees and every add on charge that focal group webmasters have come up with.  I recently viewed one of these websites, a competitor, who charges a 20% restocking fee in addition to shipping charges, inbound and outbound on a product they promote as "Free Shipping" and a no questions asked "Return Policy".  I put a pencil to it and found that their free shipping when combined with a no questions asked return would cost the consumer at least half of the original purchase price to get a refund.

Lastly we have the local Patio Furniture Store or Garden Center.  At least here you will get some good customer service.  The down side is that your local stores are usually "volume challenged".  What I mean by that is because they are selling to a local clientele, they don't enjoy the volume that provides them opportunity to purchase at extremely attractive pricing.  Ironically, these local garden stores typically purchase from wholesalers because their volume doesn't allow the large quantity discount purchasing that a national market provides.  Add to that the overhead of the "Brick and Mortar" store and the labor dollars they must spend for the cajillion hours associated with retail.  After all these costs are realized and then past along to the customer, prices just can’t compete with the volume and streamlined methods of the Internet Retailers.  The bottom line here is that you will typically have a much smaller selection and pay a lot more (usually at least double) for a product purchased from small local retailers when compared to shopping wisely online.

So what makes AvonleaGardens.com any different?  AvonleaGardens.com is a website for Avonlea Gardens®, a division of Avonlea International, Inc.  When you purchase from AvonleaGardens.com,  you are purchasing from the manufacturer with no middlemen adding to the cost.  This, coupled with our large sales volume, allows us to sell to the consumer at below wholesale prices and still make a modest profit for ourselves.  We work closely with our own manufacturing facilities to ensure high quality design, manufacturing, packaging, hardware, ease of assembly, and variety of product line.  We use only the finest Balau wood for its strength and durability.  Balau is rated by the Timber Council as "stronger and more durable than Teak" but not on the endangered species list and has been endorsed by HGTV's show "Outer Spaces", which specializes in patio and backyard design.  We use the finest joinery techniques in the industry with Mortise and Tenon joinery and we use Stainless Steel hardware for its durability, strength, and non-rusting or corroding qualities.  We use Sunbrella fabrics for our cushions and umbrellas.  We stock our warehouses in Melbourne, Florida not only with product ready for shipment, but also with parts and hardware to support our customers after the sale.  We create and maintain our websites in-house and don't participate in slick or deceptive terminology meant to take advantage of a customer with a problem.  We have Customer Service people ready to help you, who have been trained in both the products and in design considerations for your patio or backyard areas.  We have an extensive product line and we add new products every year to allow you to add matching pieces to your collection.  We offer our own care and maintenance products, and our Customer Service Specialists are trained on these products as well.  We arrange shipping right to your door and if you have a shipping problem, we will work with you "live and in person" to get it resolved.  If your product is damaged as part of shipping we will file the claim for you and get new parts or furniture shipped out to you.  All we ask is that you inspect the furniture when it arrives and note any damage on the shipping paperwork.  Simple through and through because that’s how business should be.

Sincerely,

Robert George                                                           

President

Avonlea International, Inc.        

Mr. George is the Founder and President of Avonlea International, Inc.  An engineer and furniture designer, Mr. George is responsible for most of the designs in the Avonlea Gardens product line.  Under his leadership, Avonlea Gardens was recently recognized by Smart Money Magazine as a  “Smart Shopper Best Buy”.  Mr. George has published papers on “Tropical Woods: Care and Maintenance” and “Making the right Patio Furniture Decision” and has appeared on television as an expert in Casual Furniture Design and Application.