Online florists???

donna723

Well-Known Member
Has anybody got any recommendations? Any bad experiences? There are so many and I've heard both good and bad about some of them.

For the last several years I've just given my grown kids a card and money for their birthdays, maybe take my son (who lives here) out to dinner too on his birthday. My daughter's birthday is next Tuesday and it will be a difficult one for her. She lives 600 miles away from where we live, separated from her husband now, going through a divorce, and she'll probably be alone (with my grandson) for her birthday. As much as I want to, I can't make it better for her but I thought maybe a nice unexpected floralarrangement would brighten her day just a little bit. I just don't know which one to order from. There's so many and I've heard that some of them send the wrong thing, send wilted broken flowers or don't send them at all. Any suggestions?

:bdayiggy:
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
You don't have to use an on-line florist to send flowers... your local "trusted" shop will be part of a network... you order and pay there, and someone else in the network does up the arrangement and delivers (and local then pays remote firm...)

We've done this before - I was working a thousand miles away when Mom had surgery, and I sent flowers to her, from where I was, using this method... and got exactly what I ordered.
 

CrazyinVA

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I've had good experiences with ProFlowers. Flowers come in a box and have to be assembled, so it's not as dramatic as an FTD bouquet that's delivered, but they are always fresh and beautiful.

If you're going to go the local florist route, you may want to check Yelp or Google reviews for florists in her area and contact them directly. I've had good luck and bad luck with FTD florist deliveries.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
I was under the impression that if you order them through your own local florist and they are sent through FTD, that it ends up costing more. I did this once and they tacked on all kinds of delivery charges, etc. and it ended up costing more. Is that right? I've only done this a time or two and that was years ago.
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
husband sends me from ProFlowers a few times a year....always lovely. Assembly for these if they come with a vase means adding water. They ship in a wet sponge-like wrap around the stems.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Donna - when I did it, the extra charges were something like $5 on a $50+ order... which I didn't consider excessive. But it has been a few years since I did it, so... not sure what it would be now.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Orders sent through FTD are filled by a local store. They do NOT have to look like the bouquet in the picture and can be very different. Teleflora has the same policies, or did 2-3 years ago. We encountered this more than once with each service. A relative of mine used to work for a florist and the stories she told about the substitutions and differences between what was ordered and what actually was sent were shocking. Sadly, most floral shops know that the person ordering the flowers will not see the actual arrangement and the person receiving them will likely not have a clue what was ordered. So the less reputable ones can easily get away with shoddy work and not get caught. This does NOT mean that all or most of the FTD and/or Teleflora florist or arrangements that are sent via those services will be awful. It is just easier to get away with less than quality work when you order through a service like that.

I recommend finding a local shop in her area and calling them or ordering online. You can often call a hospital gift shop or hospice organization and get the names of local florists that they use. You also could contact the maternity ward of a hospital in her area to get the names of good florists. Or if you want to let us know the general area she lives in, maybe one of us would know a good local florist. Or you can use the online yellow pages to find florists in her area.

You also could consider an edible bouquet or a cookie bouquet.

Find an actual florist and to avoid the many online order gatherers and unscrupulous businesses that put ads all over the web but really don't do anything but take orders and inflate the prices enormously. This webpage gives very good information that will help ensure that your daughter gets a truly lovely and special flower delivery.

One quote from the link I posted is very true: You will always receive the highest level of customer service possible when you deal directly with the florist who creates, arranges and delivers your fresh beautiful flowers!

Let your daughter know that I am sending birthday wishes, cyberhugs and lots of support her way! I am sorry she is having such a rough time right now.
 
S

Signorina

Guest
I have had good luck with ProFlowers. Please check the various coupon sites for a discount code. My only issue is that the shipping has gotten more and more expensive and often sends me into "sticker shock" after I've chosen an item. A little trick is to register on the site and "leave" the item in your cart for a day or so. Often times, ProFlowers will send you a discount in 6hours+ or so to encourage you to complete the purchase.

The flowers have always been gorgeous though.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
husband sent me a dozen roses from ProFlowers for out 15th anniversary a few years back. They were truly lovely and lasted for almost 3 weeks! They did arrive a day late because there was a wreck involving the delivery truck so they sent 2 dozen instead of 1!
 

Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I used to use ProFlowers to send my mother flowers out of state. I found them to have a steep fee compared to calling the florist direct. Even local florists charged an extra fee to call the florist in the other state.

I ended up using the Internet to find a florist close to my mom and then calling them direct on my cell phone (no long distance charges). It was the cheapest way to send flowers since I was eliminating the middle man.

I will say that ProFlowers did send pretty arrangements.

~Kathy
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I have called local florists in the area that I was sending flowers and talked to them and that worked out well however I am going to recommend something a bit different because its a birthday and you do have a grandson there...Edible Arrangements! I have never had anything bad from them. I used to send them to my father regularly because he was the man who had everything and he loved getting this lovely basket of fruit that looked flowers and you could eat it! It tastes so wonderful. Go online and check out the arrangements and pick one that will be perfect.
 
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