Jewellery News and Reviews

The difference between heading to your local flower shop and purchasing flowers online is primarily just convenience. While you may be able to find a cheaper iPod online, such is not really the case with a flower delivery. Generally, a big national name will be serviced by local florists anyway, so the prices are usually comparable. There are other points to consider when ordering blooms online though.

First of all, when buying flowers via the internet, you’ll need to be aware who you’re ordering from. Since anyone can open a website, you’re not necessarily ordering from an established florist. Some mom-and-pop flower shops service just a small area and have a website taking online orders for local deliveries only. Other times, a national website will be equipped to handle online orders, yet will expect local affiliates to fulfill the arranging and delivering for them. A third possibility is that you’re ordering from floral growers, brokers, shippers or marketers that ship unarranged flowers in a box by overnight air. It’s easy to assume that all flowers are delivered by hand in a beautiful vase, yet when you’re ordering from these guys, they will send flowers in boxes and you’ll need to do the arranging when they arrive. If the price seems “too good to be true,” then you may be ordering directly from a grower.

There are a number of “order gatherers” online who pocket a nice commission before having local flower shops pick up the slack. “Consumers receive less than what they pay for and have little recourse for resolving problems,” explains Amy Stewart, author of “Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful in the Business of Flowers.” She adds that order gatherers often appear local but are usually based elsewhere. If you’d like to avoid the middle man while ordering flowers online, then she advises checking out local business directories like www.bbrooks.com or www.flowershopnetwork.com.

When choosing flowers online, find a florist with years of experience, has industry credentials and provides consumer testimonials. Look for secure ordering, a satisfaction guarantee and a seller that has won awards. Many people prefer looking up local flower shops, but some national sites have a good reputation, such as www.ftd.com, www.proflowers.com and www.teleflora.com, to name a few. Be aware that the middle man sites may be scooping a nice commission before passing on the order to a local florist, who fills up to dollar value, resulting in less flowers than you anticipated.