With the end of the summer drawing near, more and more Americans consider getting a lawn vacuum to ease up their weekend chores. After all, it’s not always that you’re in the mood to rake up the leaves in your backyard – it usually gets quite tiresome and time consuming, no matter how much you want to exercise and spend some time out in the open. This article will try to demote some common misconceptions about lawn vacuums and provide you with some do’s and don’ts if this is the first time you are shopping for one.

The first premise when you shop around for a lawn vacuum is that you must keep in mind you will have to use the good old fashioned rake at some point again. It simply makes no sense, most of the times, to use a leaf vacuum to gather each and every single leaf from your lawn. You are usually much better off, both in terms of time spent and physical effort, to use the vac to get the bulk of the leaves, then to rake the rest up in small piles and put them in can liners.

Next, you shouldn’t either cheap out nor get the most expensive lawn vacuum. Do your homework, learn a bit about the model you are considering, read up on the volumes it can do and see what specifications experts recommend for the size of your lawn. And since it’s 2011 and we are in the “Web 2.0 Age”, see what people have to say about it in some online forums, or what some bloggers recommend and commenters reply. The Internet can be a great way of learning from others’ bad experiences rather than your own.

Also, remember to look for coupons. A lot of major retailers sell lawn vacuums these days, and a great majority of them frequently offer certain rebates. Like, for instance, you can get the same item for 25% off (I’m sure you have a neighbor who would like a vac as well, don’t you?) or get a 10% cut if you are a frequent buyer and have had purchases of a certain threshold in the past. I won’t elaborate much on this, I’m sure you already know more than me on who’s selling what in your neighborhood and how to get a coupon.

Last, but not least, remember that you can usually get better deals online than in your corner store. Major online retailers have less overhead related to rent, personnel, showrooms and what not, which translate into lower prices while they can still keep the same – or even better – profit margin as the average neighborhood store. Once you have made up your mind on a certain model, do check with some online shops and see if their prices match the ones your corner store offers.

All in all, I strongly advise you to do your homework before getting a new lawn vacuum. Granted, they don’t cost a fortune and you’d probably be happy with the first one you lay your eyes on, but why not get one that, let’s say, costs 30% less in exchange for thirty minutes of your time?

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