How To Avoid Pitfals And Really Save Money With Your Outdoor Shed
Trying to save money often leads to losing more - especially when you are not informed and take wrong and hasty decisions. However saving money from your outdoor shed is possible - there are enough cheap storage sheds with good quality, and there are other options to go affordable as well. Let's explore how and where to find cheap storage sheds, what are the possible problems when buying such and what other routes you can take to own an affordable storage shed. | Photo by quinn.anya at Flickr |
Quality Issues With Cheap Storage Sheds
Everything that is cheap hides the risks of quality issues. In highly competitive businesses like selling sheds the companies can't keep too high profit margins. So thinking that the expensive sheds on the market are overpriced is usually wrong. Most companies can't afford to sell you on high profit margins because their competitors will offer you better deals, especially online (see for example the great prices in our store) - so usually the expensive sheds costs much simply because there are good materials and quality work put into them.
Then does buying a cheap storage shed mean that you are buying low quality product? Not necessary. You may just do some reasonable compromises with the materials, size, look and functinality. You can choose a metal storage shed instead of wooden one for example. You can get a small shed instead of large one if you don't need that much space. See for example this Arrow Hamlet 6'x5' Outdoor Storage Shed - it's cheap, but it's still a great product. The low price comes because ReStockIt is a big company and does regular promotions and because the shed is small and simple. Not because of quality flaws.
When choosing a cheap storage shed make sure that you are not doing compromise with the quality of the work and the materials. The thickness of the walls must not be less than the same in the expensive sheds. The guarantee should be there no matter how affordable the shed is. Getting smaller size, less function or simpler look shed to save money is fine. Getting low quality work is not, because such sheds will simply not live long enough and thus will cost you more money and nerves long term.
Other Possible Issues When Going Cheap
If you find a great deal online - beautiful and large shed for much less than you have seen on other places - be extremely careful. Such a shed can be of low quality as we discussed already, or worse - it might be offered by unreliable companies. Sure, it sounds great to pay just $300 for a cool large arrow shed, but what if you never receive it because the company is registered in some iceland and is nothing but plain scam?
Always research the companies you are buying from. This is easy to do online - if someone have ever been a victim of fraud, chances are there will be comments and complains on sites and forums. Just put the company name or URL in the search engine you like and you'll find what others think about it. If you don't find any comments and the website is too new, you'd better stay away.
Try to find also comments for that specific storage shed - is it cheap because the quality is low? Someone may have complained in some forum, blog or Twitter.
More Options For Cheap Storage Sheds Please!
What if buying cheap isn't the best option for you? Don't worry, there are other ways to save money:
- Build your shed yourself. Yes, from scratch! See how to build the foundations, the roof and the door. For general DIY guides check some great instructables
- Buy a storage shed kit. Building from a kit is easy, fun and really saves money.
- Buy second hand. Maybe this isn't great idea, but hey - it saves cash!
Don't listen to the pessimists who think you can't buy cheap storage shed. Just be careful, patient and researchful. If done wisely, buying cheap is usually a wise decision.