I got a Nantucket vinyl arbor that I’ll be installing this weekend.  Now I need to pick up some vinyl fencing.  My problem is that I want the Certainteed Bufftech Manchester model (pickets go thru the rails vs glued to one side of rail.)  However, there are no dealers in my area that sell the Bufftech line.  I can only get it from online dealers.  There is a dealer in the area that sells the same style under the Futuretech brand name. 

My question is, are all of the brands basically the same?  The dealer in the area still has to order the product but I can pick it up and bring home myself rather than paying the ridiculous $140 s/h charge on top of the even more ridiculous $125 residential drop off fee.

What should I look for in a vinyl fencing product? 

The directions say to just install the vinyl post into the ground.  Are these fence posts sturdy enough to withstand ground pressure? I guess they are but I was curious.

I wasn’t going to set them in any concrete.  I was going to dig about 2-3ft down, put the posts in, and then fill the whole with some sort of aggregate.  Does that sound correct?  Is dirt fine?  Or should I go with concrete.