Please help me learn about how to buy a pool

We decided to buy an above ground pool and would greatly appreciate any advice. We checked the Better Business (BBB) in our area for contractors but there are only two in our area. Is there another way to find one? We don't know anyone with a pool to ask. We are in Langhorne, Bucks County PA
We are complete newbies and don't even know the questions we should ask. I am going to start reading here and learn. Can anyone recommend an installer? I see that SAMs sells pool packages so is it better to buy there and find someone to install or better to go to a pool store and have them guide us? Thank you in advance.

We are shopping for a pool ourselves, think we will be going with an inground pool but would love to hear about your above ground pool when you get it if we change our minds.

I would appreciate the same info but for New Jersey :D

This is an excellent question, which many people would like answered.

Unfortunately, even after 25+ years in the pool industry, I can't answer it very well because the right answer for Camden, NJ is probably not the right answer for Dalton, GA, Little Rock AR, San Jose CA, Tampa Fl, or Windsor Ontario.

Checking the BBB is good; asking people who have pools they LIKE is good; checking references is good. Distrusting slick sheet sales claims is very, very good.

But honestly, pool purchases are somewhat risky. At least 1/3 of people who buy pools end up regretting it, either because of problems, or because they find that pools are more work and less fun then they imagined.

If you've never had a pool before, one method that has worked for quite a few people, is to buy a $500 - $2,000 Intex pool, and use it for a season or two. If you enjoy that, and can handle the maintenance, then it's MUCH more likely you'll enjoy a better pool AND you'll be in much better position to make a knowledgeable purchase.

That's the part we can help with -- if you service your pools with the methods we teach, it will take much less work and less money than it would otherwise.

Ironically, the BEST answer for my part of NJ, North Central, isn't the right answer for Camden, NJ.