I was really nervous buying this tree online because some previous reviewers said it looked sparse andsee-through. We took a chance and are so happy we did. The tree looks amazing once it's fluffed & decorated! 7.5' of Christmas beauty. 😍GENERAL NOTES:I think we got our tree with tax included for just shy of $201. Similarly sized unlit trees with comparable tip counts were selling for $350 - $1300 on other sites and Amazon stores. This one seemed the best compromise to get the look we wanted for the price we were comfortable paying.The price did fluctuate a little bit in the week prior to us making our purchase so keep an eye out to make sure you get the best deal. We ordered on a Saturday and it was delivered the following Tuesday afternoon. Prime for the win!!We didn't have any issues with the tree, so I can't speak to how well National Tree Company would have handled anything. It had lots of positive reviews so I felt pretty confident we were buying a well manufactured product.This tree is way bigger than our old one - height, diameter, tip count, etc. I think the bottom was 5' across. If your floor space is limited this model might not be the best. We put ours in an open corner so it wouldn't impede traffic between our living and dining rooms.We purposely bought this model because it was unlit. I hate when the pre-lit strands go out, so I'd rather string it myself. (See decorating tip #1 below to save yourself some trouble!)The tree stand itself was quite sturdy. The trunk pole was held securely with a hook screw. Zero wobble! Our 27" tree collar jussssst barely fit around the stand. Also, the bottom branches were actually being propped up a little near the hinges by the top of the collar, which was 10" tall. Thankfully not a case of them trying to claim it was 7.5' tall tree with no branches on the bottom 2 feet like other trees I've seen.Flat clothing boxes fit under the tree, but larger boxes & bags had to be placed in front of the tree. (See 3rd photo for reference.)This is a BIG tree. If you're used to a smaller tree and want your tree to look full, double up on lights, ornaments, garland, etc. Also, we've never needed a ladder to decorate our tree before but we did for this one.If you've got little ones (or animals), you might want to consider wall anchors.No noticeable smell that I recall.SET UP:You MUST take the time to fluff this tree - there are a **lot** of tips. (Sorry, forgot to get the photos while we were in progress!) It took my husband and I just over an hour to get it fully fluffed.After some trial and error, we discovered fanning the tips in a spiral worked best...one up, one right, one left, one forward, one down, etc. It really helped fill up the space. Adjust as needed when placing ornaments. The tips were easy to move but they stayed in place once we were done.The bottom section has 10ish main hinged branches. Each of the main branches then have 3 mini branches and several "guard" tips at the back so you can't see the trunk of the tree.The middle section has the main hinged branches that split into 3 as well. Guard tips at the back as well.The top section doesn't have hinged branches, just tips to fluff. Also nice to note is that the top isn't one single tip that's a foot long to help it make the manufacturer's advertised height. It was the same height as the rest. I was pleasantly surprised about that. The top was also very sturdy, no visible bowing or listing to one side. No issues with the tree topper being too heavy.We were REALLY pleased that there wasn't the dreaded "section gap" once we were done fluffing. (You know, the ones that a full garland is necessary to help hide the trunk between sections?) Those guard tips closer to the hinges help fill the visual space nicely!We lost maybe 3 individual needles during fluffing and decorating.DECORATING TIP 1:String the lights as you're fluffing, trust me! We learned the hard way. You can always adjust light placement once the tree is ready for decorations. If you string the lights after fluffing, there are so many tips that you're almost fighting to get past the outermost ones.Also, because the tips are so dense, buy about 50% more lights than you think you need. Otherwise the tree will look a bit dark. Again, trust me.DECORATING TIP #2:We placed a folded towel under the tree stand to keep from messing up our 70 year old hardwood floors. The towel enabled us to **very carefully** spin the tree as we were stringing lights and placing decorations.We kept the towel under the stand when we wrapped the collar around it just to be safe with our floors during the holiday season.TEAR DOWN:Once I got all the lights & decorations off, tear down took about 45 minutes. Just compress the branches, stick it in the bag, and presto. All ready to go for next year.I managed to move the bag by myself across our house from our living room to the storage spot with no dragging. I don't recall how much the tree + stand weigh, but it was manageable for one person.I think between set up and tear down there were a total of 10 individual needles that fell off. Minimal loss in my book.OVERALL:So, so pleased with this tree. Great value for the money! 5+++ stars for us. I can see us using it for years to come.We really enjoyed how it filled our space with Christmas cheer but didn't overwhelm the rest of our decor. Seriously debating a pencil tree from the same company for our dining room next year.If you're on the fence about this tree, buy it, I think you'll be glad you did.Happy decorating, fellow Amazon-ers! 😊