Amazon to sell real Christmas trees this year

NEW YORK (AP) - Watch out for the 7-foot box on the doorstep. Amazon plans to sell and ship fresh, full-size Christmas trees this year.

But a live tree is no paperback book. Amazon says the trees, including Douglas firs and Norfolk Island pines, will be bound and shipped without water in the usual sort of box. They'll go on sale in November and be sent within 10 days of being cut. Amazon says they should survive the shipping fine.

But will people buy a Christmas tree sight unseen? Tim O'Connor, executive director of the National Christmas Tree Association, said choosing trees and hauling them home is part of the fun. The association estimates that only about 1 to 2 percent of the 27 million real Christmas trees purchased last year were bought online.