Competitive Edge Products | Infopia Comparison

A Quick Explanation of Our Main Website and Infopia.

We often get questions about two sites people run into that have our logo and products on. They do not have the same pricing.

Competitive Edge Products, Inc. Purposes:

Our main website is where we do most of our business. For this purpose, the majority of our offerings will have very competitive pricing and certain guaranteed offers such as free shipping. The example I wish to illustrate here is concering our Lifetime Sheds category page and the resultant pricing.

We had a customer order a shed size measuring 11' x 21' over the phone. On our website, we do not have a shed listing measuring 11' x 21'. In fact, Lifetime Products does not even make a shed that large. To achieve this size, we take the base model, 6415, and than add 2.5 ft. extensions until we reach 21' in length. At the bottom of our Lifetime Shed category page are a series of links for specifically sized sheds, which are larger than the base models. To simplify the process for those shoppers who wish go it alone, we link to those sizes on our Infopia site.

Competitive Edge Infopia Site Purposes:

The Infopia site exists for two purposes: 1, it allows us to quickly list products to eBay and 2, it allows us to list multiple SKU's to the same page. So, in the example of the 11' x 21' Lifetime storage shed, we see that there are a series of SKU's that make of that product page, a 6415 and 3 qty. 0125's. This page allows a go it alone customer to quickly add the product to their cart and checkout. However, you will notice both on the Lifetime Shed category page on our main website, as well as at the top of the Infopia site, there are no guaranteed free shipping offers on these sheds or any other product listed on Infopia (though many products are listed specifically as free shipping on Infopia). This goes back to purpose 1 of the Infopia site on eBay. eBay charges fees for the final value of your sale price. To minimize these fees, and by implication lower the price for the customer, we sometimes do not include shipping in the Infopia shed prices because eBay will not charge selling fees to shipping costs. So, in the case of the 11' x 21' Lifetime Shed the price is $2699.99 with shipping at $375.00 for a total of about $3075. However, if a customer were to call in and speak with a salesman, we would put together the same size shed for about $2895.00, as of the date of this posting, by using the pricing on our main website and putting to together the different models to form the 11x21.

This business practice is not meant to trick or decieve, which is hopefully plain from the fact I am publicly writing about, but is meant to offer convenience to those who want convenience, and better pricing for our eBay customers.

Please leave your comments here if you have any other questions concerning our pricing methods.

Related Competitive Edge Products, Infopia, and Lifetime Shed Posts:
Lifetime Sheds | Resin.
Competitive Edge | New Products.
Competitive Edge | eBay.
Lifetime Outdoor Shed.
Lifetime Sheds | Product Reviews.

Basketball Backboards | Types of Materials Used

What material is best for your Basketball Backboards' system?

Basketball Backboards Overview:

I have previously posted on this information concerning basketball backboards' materials used on basketball systems. In this post I will try to go beyond what I had previously said and go into brand names and manufacturers.

Basketball backboards in the market currently have just about the exact same materials between manufacturers. These are mainly glass, acrylic, polycarbonate, and plastic. under each of these headings are several patented names, but not much real difference in construction.

Glass Basketball Backboards:

Glass is glass no matter who you go to for your basketball system. The only real things to be aware of when you are shopping for a your basketball hoop are: how thick is the glass, and how thick is the frame.

Thickness of the glass is important for many reasons, which I will not elaborate on too much here, but not for the rebound of the ball. Thicker glass typically only gets better strength in the event something were to collide with the backboard; i.e. a rock. Many salesmen will try to sell you on better rebound with more thickness, but this is not neccessarily the case. The bigger determining factor is actually the thickness of the frame. Typically, if you are getting a glass basketball backboard you ought to be getting one that has at least a 2 inch thick frame. This will assure you the most optimal rebound. Anything less than this will possibly cause a wiggle in the backboard throwing off your shot.

Acrylic Basketball Backboards:

Acrylic is considered to have the next best rebound, though the difference betwen arylic and polycarbonate rebounds is minimal. Acrylic backboards were more prevalent a few years back, but many manufacturers have moved away from their production in hopes of increasing the strength of the backboard using other materials. Just like glass, acrylic is acrylic except for this time there are some brand differences in the market. Whenever you see the word "fusion" in the name of a Lifetime basketball system, this always refers to acrylic. Spalding and Goalsetter each only use acrylic in the names, so there should not be any confusion with what are getting through these 2 suppliers.

Polycarbonate Backboards:

Polycarbonate was designed into basketball systems for its increased strength. Polycarbonate is said to be 30x stronger than comparable acrylic models. Acrylic, over time, has been known to crack when exposed to UV radiation after many years, thus losing its strength. Polycarbonate is supposed to eliminate this, creating a longer last basketball system. Polycarbonate is the same material used in the production of bullet proof glass, though none of the basketball systems, which use this material, would be considered bullet proof. Polycarbonate is mostly used by Lifetime Products and Spalding in some of their lower end systems. Polycarbonate is polycarbonate, but with Lifetime the patented name is Makrolon and Lexan. Spalding just refers to it as polycarbonate.

Plastic Backboards:

Plastic has the most diversity in available types, i.e. plastic is not the same plastic between suppliers. Lifetime Products uses what is called polyethylene plastic, which is a polymer of the alkene, ethylene. Spalding uses what they call eco-composite, which essentially is recycled plastics. Because of the source of the plastic used by Spalding is not really well known, it is hard to determine what is the plastic's chemical makeup. Both manufacturer's use this material to make a quick, cheap basketball backboard for their lowest end models. With this material you get the cheapest of options and a beginner system, but you also get a potentially very long life. As evidence of this, consider Lifetime Products claim of their plastic (HDPE), which they state ,"... will not fade, crack, or peel when exposed to the sunlight." Plastic would have what is considered the worst rebound of the choices already listed.

Hopefully this gets you a good feel of the materials available on basketball backboards. Please leave any comments if you have any questions or any other helpful differences you know of between these options.

Basketball Backboards Related Links:

Baskeball Hoop | Acrylic vs. Glass.
Portable Basketball Hoops.
Goalsetter | Mammoth Basketball Hoops.
98865 Basketball Backboards | Mammoth Style System.

Lifetime Chairs | Color Difference

There is no difference in design between the 2803 and 2804 Lifetime Chairs other than color.

We get questioned fairly often on the 2803 and 2804 Lifetime Chairs on what the difference is between the models. The difference is very simple - color. The 2804 is what is called by Lifetime Products white granite, and the 2803 is called almond. But, that is it. The structure and design are the exact same. The weight and dimensions are the same.

Probably the confusion that some folks are having with these models is that Lifetime Products previously had what they called an Accent model. This model, 4409, featured similar looks and design but the seat and back were both shorter than the full size 2803 and 2804. Also, this model was only available in Almond coloring.

Why buy the 2804 model Lifetime Chairs over the 2803 model?

Of the 2803 and 2804, the 2804 model is the more popular product for us. This is probably due to the neutrality of the white granite color of this model. White granite refers to a white color with tiny grey speckles. This allows the chair color to go with a larger variety of color schemes in a meeting room than the Almond color, which tends to need more specific surrounding colors to make it work well.

If you have any other comparisons between the 2803 and 2804 models, please leave your comment on this post.

Related Lifetime Chairs Post:

Lifetime Chairs | Padded Seating.
Lifetime Chairs | Accent vs. Full Size.

Goalsetter Basketball Systems | Mammoth Basketball Hoops

How do Goalsetter Basketball Systems compare to Mammoth Basketball Systems?

This will just be a quick point counter point post to illustrate that gains and losses of either system.

Goalsetter Basketball Systems: Reasons to buy:

• Goalsetter warranty also covers dunking in the breakage clause (as of the time of this post).


• The offset pole design used on their basketball hoops features a more durable design and better weight distribution for heavier models like the SS MVP and SS All-American.


• Greater selection of high-end glass backboard models with many variations - there are more than 5 different basic models to choose from, and several options on each of those models to customize the system.


• Different options are avialable on the lift mechanism providing you opportunities to either save money, or have a more convenient way to change the height of the backboard.

Mammoth Basketball Systems: Reasons to buy:

• Lifetime Products includes their rim in their Limited Lifetime Warranty whereas the Goalsetter rim warranty is graded based on the quality of rim.


• A Mammoth Basketball Hoop is about $400-$800 cheaper on average than comparable Goalsetter models.


• These have a lock mechanism the prevents tampering on the height adjustment mechanism.


• Lift mechanism on the Mammoth Systems are easier to use, just squeeze the handle on the back of the unit and push it up or pull it down. The Goalseeter adjustment mechanism is a crank and can be somewhat cumbersome to adjust.

There are many other point and counterpoints that could be mentioned here, so please feel free to comment if you know of other relevant comparisons.

Related Posts:
Portable Basketball Hoops.
Mammoth Basketball Hoop.
Lifetime Basketball vs. Spalding Comparison.

Camping Equipment | Kodiak Canvas Tents

Kodiak Canvas Tents vs. Traditional Material Tents.

Kodiak Canvas Tents are among our top sellers on our website. These tents tend to be more pricey than traditional tents, even when comparing tents of the same size. This will be a short post just to explain some differences between canvas and traditional synthetic material tents.

Canvas Tents, to start off with, tend to be a lot heavier than other tents. Most of the weight is due to the canvas material, which is a very thick and heavy fabric. To give an example, the 6055 10 x 10 ft tent we carry weighs about 75 lbs. whereas a tent with the traditional synthetic material of the same size would weigh around half of that 75 lbs. Because the fabric is so heavy, the pole structure also tends to be a lot heavier than the synthetic tents, since those tents tend to have poles that are skinny and held together by a narrow bungee cord like cable making them very light weight.

Another point to consider with purchasing a canvas tent is that canvas tents do night wick water on the inside. If you are a regular camper and use a synthetic material for your tent, you have probably noticed in the mornings that water has accumlated on the inside of the tent. This is because most synthetic tents do not breath through the walls, meaning the water vapor you exhale while you sleep gets trapped on the inside of the tent because the air is unable to escape. Canvas, while still being water proof, tends to be a lot more breathable so you do not get that kind of water accumulation on the inside.

Finally, while you might pay upwards of $100 or more for a comparable sized canvas tent, canvas tends to have a lot longer life than other tents. For that reason, Kodiak Canvas Tents offer a limited lifetime warranty on their units. This tends to eliminate fear of tears and weaknesses in the construction of synthetic tents since all parts of the tent are built to high standards of construction. To emphasize this point of how well constructed these tents are, our supplier recently had a contract with the United State military where the government purchased 100 of these tents and sent them for the Army to use in the Middle East where the climate can be very harsh.

Portable Basketball Hoops

When do you need Portable Basketball Hoops vs. Inground Basketball Hoops?

There is a time a place to use a portable basketball hoop and when to use an inground basketball hoop. The implied uses from the product names makes a very clear distinction that one is portable and one is not. But why the choice? Hopefully we can give you some things to think about as you make your selection.

Portable Basketball Hoops Reasons to Buy

Starting off with portable basketball hoops, this design is revolutionary for the consumer basketball line since it gives people great flexibility in when and where they set up their basketball court. If for instance you had a small driveway which limited your space to play basketball and park your cars, using it for either one or the other, the portable basketball system would allow you to move the hoop out of the way to park your cars and move it back into place to play basketball. If you do not own your property on which you live, the portable system gives you the option to still have a basketball court since you would not have to put the system into the ground. Do you get bad, windy, stormy weather during a certain part of the season? A portable basketball hoop will allow you to easily put your system down to keep it from blowing over, which could have done damage to both the system and your property.

Inground Basketball Systems Reasons to Buy

Inground basketball hoops have a slightly different use than portable basketball hoops. Inground systems are perfect for when you have dedicated space to use as a basketball court such as a sport court or a larger driveway. Use an inground system when you do not foresee needing to set up and take down your system on a regular basis. An inground basketball system is also great when you do not have to worry about bad weather damaging your system or trees falling on the system due to the bad weather. Because portable basketball hoops are portable, they do have a possibility to tip over if the unit is abused during play; having an inground system largerly removes that problem since the pole is either anchored or partially emerged into ground. Related to this would be the materials and varieties available in either an inground basketball hoop or a portable basketball hoop. Inground systems have many options that provide you a glass backboard (same material as used in the NCAA and the NBA). Because glass is heavier than a comparable size backboard in acrylic or polycarbonate, nearly all portable basketball goals do not have a glass backboard because the exceeding weight that puts on the rest of the system and the increased likelihood of tipping over. So if playability is a major concern, an inground system that provides a glass backboard would be another good reason to look into an inground hoop.

With that said, there are probably a dozen other reasons to go with either an inground hoop or a portable hoop. Hopefully this has touched on some of the reasons you need to consider before making your decision. Any questions or any other advice, please comment in the comments section.

Related Posts:
Lifetime Basketball vs. Spalding Basketball.
Mammoth Basketball Hoop.
Glass vs. Arylic Basketball Hoop.

Lifetime Chairs vs. Padded Seating

Lifetime Chairs comparison vs. Padded Seating Folding Chairs

We get a lot of questions about which folding chair would be best for a particular situation. We have several suppliers for folding chairs and all of them differ in quality and comfort. If we are ever asked about which seat is most comfortable, we almost always direct them to Lifetime Chairs. The next question we inevitably get asked is "Are those padded?" When we answer that no they are not, most every customer turns their nose up at them and asks for a different model. On the surface, this make sense, but hopefully this post will enlighten future folding chair shoppers of things to consider.

Let us first talk about folding chairs in general. In nearly all cases, folding chairs are made for convenience. They are to provide a quick option to set up a room for a meeting or get together and quickly be able to take down the room for clean up. Comfort has really not been at the top of the priority list, otherwise folding chairs would probably more likely resemble La-Z-Boy recliners. Because of this, most chair designs have had convenience more than comfort in mind. If this is not so, please inform me of a time when you sat in a cold metal chair for a couple of hours and actually felt comfortable and relaxed in it. My guess is those instances are few and far between. With that in mind, we will examine design features of a typical metal folding chair and Lifetime Folding Chairs.

Because of the convenience factor, and low cost for production, metal folding chairs have traditionally had a mostly flat seat and a short, slightly curved back. In most all cases, people do not share these same features. Most people's butts have some curvature to them and their backs most likely have a slight arch going up and then arching forward at the shoulders. Because of this, a metal chair design naturally goes against that natural shape of a person's body. As mentioned before, this is probably most likely because of low cost for production, but it might also be that metal does not give you a whole lot of room for shaping that other materials might offer. Now consider the same metal chair, now with just an inch or two of padding on the seat, and typically an inch or less of padding on the back. Although this will be more comfortable than just the metal chair by itself, the pressure points are still the same because the flat metal seat and slightly curved back are still pressing on your body in the same unatural places, just with a pad to soften the blow.

Lifetime plastic folding chairs seek to get rid of these traditional problems by changing the makeup of the chair itself. By nature of the beast, blow molded plastic, like what Lifetime uses on their products, gives you a lot more flexibility in design since plastic can be shaped to exact specifications with a mold. The design of Lifetime Chairs is to provide a natural shape and curvature so it supports the butt and back in all the right spots. Having sat in both a Lifetime chair and a metal folding chair with padding in a church setting, i.e. multiple hours at a time, the Lifetime chair is by far the most comfortable seat. You also need not worry about sturdiness since these chairs also have a steel frame.

With that said, Lifetime folding chairs come at a cost as well. On average, they are usually priced about $5-$10 more per chair than traditional metal folding chairs. The back on Lifetime chairs are also taller than those on metal folding chairs so they usually require either the Lifetime folding chair cart, or a larger cart to accomodate the high backs. Also, blow molded chairs tend to be upwards of 3 times the thickness of a metal chair and about 2 times the thickness of a padded chair meaning more space is needed to store Lifetime Chairs. If these costs are worth it to you, the Lifetime Chair is more than suitable for your needs. If any of these these costs are a problem to you, you ought to stick with the traditional metal folding chair.

Lifetime Chairs Related Links:
Lifetime Folding Chairs Products Comparison.

For more information on ergonomic (back and butt) support, please see our posting below:
Office Chairs Bungee Band Seats Reviews.

Lifetime Storage Sheds vs. Other Vinyl or Resin Shed

We get a lot of questions from customers about how Lifetime Sheds stack up against other plastic or vinyl sheds. This is a particularly important to understand when one is considering a shed that will greatly enhance the longevity of the unit when compared with traditional wood sheds. It seems the best way to illustrate the difference is to explain the materials Lifetime Products uses in their construction. In particular, Lifetime uses what is called High Density Polyethylene Plastic (HDPE). This material has the longevity of plastics in general, but is more flexible than vinyl. This is not to say that Lifetime Sheds are weak in the least as the walls and roofing are all steel reinforced, along with the roof, which has all steel trusses.

The reason Lifetime went to this material was to allow it to hold up better to day to day use and potential accidents. When talking to Lifetime Products about this material in particular, we discussed a test, though not entirely scientific, that was performed on HDPE and vinyl. The test consisted of people pitching baseballs as fast as they could against both of these materials. What they found was HDPE tended to absorb the impact of the baseball, never breaking it, and the vinyl tended to shatter due to its inherent rigidity. This test has plenty of application for day to day use with your shed. For instance, if the kids are out playing with a baseball, rocks, or any other hard object around the shed, it is likely if they were accidentally hit the shed, chances are you will not be replacing a wall. Or, if during your use you are storing something that is particularly hard to move around inside and were to hit the wall, chances are you will just have to maneuver it again instead of putting a hole through the wall. In general, these sheds are going to hold up better overall when compared to other vinyl and resin sheds.