Shade Sail - need a good one that won't break the bank - Page 2

Joeaksa · 05-05-2010, 03:28 PM

Home Depot has a very good selection. Lowes not so good. Then Google brought up a lot of hits.

Might have to get some of this, looks like a nice option.

MotoSook · 11:48 AM

You'd think a guy with money burning a hole in his pocket could get a hold of these pretty easily, but nooooO!

The AceHardware website was a dead end. Even when their website indicated the item I wanted as "in stock" a call to India (yes, I called their number...but spoke to someone in India) to confirm status resulted in , "sorry sir, but we do not have any in stock and the website is off by 24-48 hrs on the status." Sure, 'cept I called 3 or 4 times throughout last week. India doesn't have it instock...

So I kept looking and waiting and waiting for someone to have some blue 16'-5" sails in stock. Finally called Cymax, an online retailer that had free shipping, and they were able to promise a drop shipment from Coolaroo (in stock there!), but they couldn't offer expedited shipping. Coolaroo couldn't help unless I was willing to pay $50 more each to buy from them directly, then pay the expedite fee. EEEEK!

Cymax was nice to work with though. The girl who I made contact with followed up on her end and called me back when she promised and didn't make any false claims or promises they couldn't keep. So I rolled the dice and hope to get them before Memorial Day.

Here's a link to Cymax's Coolaroo sail. They also sell the sand color ones in this size for $95 each. It seems blue is a high demand color.

Coolaroo 16 ft 5" Triangle Shade Sail - Ocean Blue - 433505

MotoSook · 05-20-2010, 10:16 AM

BTW - just about every online retailer drop ships from Coolaroo in California. So it seems. So when Coolaroo is out of stock, they all show out of stock, or some expected ship date....based on Coolaroo production.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Cool, I decided we need a couple more of these, thanks for doing the research.

MotoSook · 05-20-2010, 11:53 AM

John, if you call Cymax, hit extension 550. The girl's name is "Coral" (yes, like sea coral), and very pleasant to work with. The smaller sizes are much cheaper than the 16'-5" ones I bought, and if I had a smaller patio, I would buy the small ones and get creative with how they overlap each other.

W/R Coolaroo. They were nice too, but they couldn't help me. I offered to pay them the UPS fee directly to expedite the shipment, but they weren't set up to do it, and they couldn't undersell their retailers.

MotoSook · 06-08-2010, 11:35 AM

Man I hope noone ordered from Cymax on my recommendation. Over 2 weeks and I still haven't heard from them. So I called and was told the item is out of stock and it isn't expected to be instock until after the 4th of July!

What a scam. My payment was essentially a short term loan to Cymax. When I told them to cancel the order I was told it will take 1-4 days and someone will call me to confirm. WTF! Issue a refund to my CC immediately.

I confirmed with Coolaroo the items were instock before I ordered through Cymax. Minutes between calls. I'll give them a day, then I call my CC company and get the charges reversed. Never order from Cymax.

jyl · jyl's Garage

No worries. It has been raining constantly here, all thoughts of needing another shade sail evaporated. Maybe if the rain stops this week . . .

rattlsnak · rattlsnak's Garage

good timing, i just got one off of EBAY for @ $65.00 bucks. Came to the house in three days from AZ. not looking foward to the install though.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

I found an e-bay store which had the 16.5 foor shade for $29 each, but you had to buy the turn buckle kits separate. With shipping & tax, three shades are $175. They are in Texas, so hopefully the delivery will be quick.

john70t · 07-29-2010, 09:11 AM

What about a want ad for used sails at local sailing clubs?
May require a little stitching in the center to tighten it up, but it would be big and cheap.

MotoSook · 07-29-2010, 10:33 AM

I actually gave up on this idea. I wanted them for the graduation party we were having for one of the kids. It's been so windy and stormy here this year that I'm probably better off having never put them up. I've already loss 1/4 of a tree in the back yard, and I'm chopping one down over the weekend as it's leaning beyond salvation.

True I would have taken down the sails, but then it'd be up and down and up and down. Too much for for now. I'll probably just build something permanent one of these years.