The Emissary garden stool is the LBD of interior design right now, like Starck’s Louis Ghost chair was a few years ago. They’re popping up everywhere: House Beautiful, Elle Decor, even Architectural Digest.

At $300 a pop they’re considered a steal by most designers, but if you’re not Richard Mishaan and you don’t have a custom tuxedo in your living room, the cost of which could snag you a new Cadillac, then spending hundreds of dollars on a piece of pottery may not fit into your budget. So what do you do when you want stay on trend and conscious of the bottom-line?

Get online.

Case in point, the Emissary stool. I was all set to plunk down $250 after Target.com announced an outdoor sale. I wavered and I waffled and I wondered and, in the end, I missed the sale. Within a weekend they shot back up to full price.

Remiss by this White People Problem and unwilling to accept defeat, I took to Google and searched for “Emissary Garden Stool”. Not after 2 pages, or 3 or 4 or even 5, but 6 I found Phil Michael Trading Company. There they were, at half the price of Target.com, with free shipping included! This had to be a scam, right? Wrong. It all had to do with operating costs.

In my search I discovered some online retailers do not keep their own goods in stock. This a term called drop shipping. When an order is placed an online retailer will transfer the order directly to the manufacturer or wholesaler, who then ships directly to the customer. The online retailer makes a profit on the difference between the retail and wholesale cost. This method can have some hiccups but generally runs smoothly and keeps overhead low, which means companies like Phil Michael can offer products at a more competitive price then big box stores, like Target.

I think the proof is in the pudding:

This will look great next to the dresser and provide another place for someone to park their messenger bag/glass of wine/butt. Win win!

With great effort comes great reward, so start believing there is always a better deal to be had and get googling!