Any good online plant shops

Does anyone know a site where you can agree on the delivery date? Perhaps for Saturday or after 5pm? I don't really care what it costs, it's just a big pain to order anything that arrives with post as we aren't at home during the day and to arrange a re-delivery to our local post office takes days.

 

I see very few eCommerce companies that tackle this. There are solutions though (assuming they still exist, its a while since I checked) - for example a delivery company that delivers to a Petrol Station chain - you get a TEXT when it is there, and collect whenever convenient.

If you get lots of home deliveries you can get a Courier Delivery Box - like the Hippo - although probably only cost effective if you do lots of home-shopping.

Many people have mailorder items delivered to their work address - depends on your employer obviously! An always-in neighbour would be an alternative (although some companies won't deliver to an address different to your credit card, to reduce fraud)

T&M's site is one of the worst eCommerce sites I've seen - doesn't even remember you, let alone show you the delivery state of you orders, or past orders to help you reorder. I ordered some seeds about 2 weeks ago, they hadn't arrived after a week so I sent an Email to the Help address on their web site (no Contact Us form provided) and got an automated message back saying it would take them 3-5 days to respond. Why? If I phoned them would they put me on hold for 3-5 days? Why can't they answer emails promptly, its a task that is time-shifted, so they can fit it in when they like, unlike phone calls - heck, if they are busy and they had decent functionality on their website they could pay their staff piecemeal rates to do it from home in the evenings.

Anyways, another week has passed and I haven't heard anything from their "Support" although the seeds have turned up (but not the freebie plants that I ordered at the same time).

Mind you, not sure Unwins is any better. I tried to buy some Petunia seed from them a couple of months ago. On the Flower Seed page I clicked on "P" and it said "Nothing found" (note that "Q" and some other letters are greyed out, so it obviously thinks that there products beginning with P available). Actually, clicking on any of the available "First letters" doesn't work, but type "Petunia" into the Search box and several are offered. I've tried several times out of curiosity, it hasn't been fixed, and still broken (as of now!)

FWIW I build a ssytem that is used for large eCommerce sites for a living - indeed it has been used to built the sites for two major seed companies. Any T&M staff reading this send me a message, the outfit who uses my eCommerce engine could make your site SO much better!

 

Try SECRET GARDEN FOLK Andrew16189 on Ebay - very honest and reliable. I had 1 plant that died soon after I received them. I told him - he replaced it and gave me another as compensation. Can't ask for better than that.

 

I am trying plant connection for the first time,they have free Postage.

 

Crocus do have an option that allow you to state where deliveries should be left if you aren't in. Good if you live somewhere safe (like we do!) and stuff is fine to sit outside your house during the day.

Kristen, I've had similar experience with T&M. Ordered some bamboos that were on offer via BBC Gardener's World Magazine. They took ages to arrive, no communication and when they did eventually appear, they were quite weedy, arrived in 2 seperate packages (and on different days) and one of the bamboos was not what I ordered! All I got was a note in the box saying they'd replaced it as they were out of stock! Not the best of customer service! But perhaps T&M think they are so big, they are above that sort of thing?

 

I bought 5 of those Fuschias two years ago and they are certainly not hardy in my part of the Midlands - none of them survived what was a fairly mild winter.

I've bought 5 more this year and only three of them were alive when they arrived. I've complained to T&M but had no reply yet.:dh::dh:

I really hope the three I have left (which I am looking after especially carefully) will grow into good bush Fuschias, because the blooms are a lovely colour in the brochure.:thumb: