The next time you place an order online for flowers through a website that is not a local flower shop, here are some things to think about. Websites like Flower Shop Network, FTD, Bloomnet, Teleflora, and Pro Flowers are all companies that make money off of providing customers with the convenience of ordering online. They make it easy to order by providing thousands of pictures of arrangements that you can choose from at a price that seems very reasonable. The arrangements all look amazing and full and it is as easy as clicking on the picture, putting in the address and paying with your credit card. Though this seems like the way to go, the chance of the arrangement you picked out being delivered like the one in the picture is very small.
Here's Why . . .
Once you place that order, that company immediately takes out anywhere from 20-30% of what you spent on your flowers for their service (this is on top of the 8-10 dollar convenience charge they have automatically added to your order.) After that they try to find a flower shop in the same zip code or close that will take the order. However by this point the flower shop they send it to is only getting 70% of what you spent and have to take out delivery, labor, and the cost of the vase or container, leaving a small percentage for the flowers. This means if you buy a 100 dollar arrangement through one of these websites, only about 50 dollars of what you spent is going toward your flower arrangement. A lot of times, quality local florist reject these orders because it would hurt their business to either make the arrangements nice and not make any profit or to send out skimpy arrangements and get a bad reputation. This causes your online order to often be sent from florist to florist until it ends up at a florist that doesn't mind skimping on your flower arrangement. Good quality local florists that are forced to take these orders end up coping in other ways, like raising prices to customers that call or come in. These scams have increased flower arrangement costs and decreased flower arrangement quality as a whole.
So Please Please Please from all of us local florists,
BUY FROM LOCAL FLOWER SHOPS DIRECTLY!
It's cheaper, has the convenience of online ordering, and will guarantee quality arrangements!
Like Arapahoe Floral,
call us at 303-220-7515 to get the quality flowers
sent, that your loved ones deserve!
Need help finding a local florist in your area or in the area of your family and friends,
check out http://www.floristdetective.com/
and here are some tips to filter through the websites that claim they are local.
From the Florist Detective:
Tips to Avoid Being Fooled by Flower Order Gatherers
•Check the Home and About Us pages for the physical address of the business.
•Ask 'What is Your Address?' when you call on the phone. If they decline to provide it, consider calling another florist.
•Check the Contact Us page for a local phone number. It should match the area code of the location to where your flowers are being delivered. If the contact information consists of an email address only, be suspicious.
•Call the local phone number. If it is answered 'Flower Shop' without providing the name of the florist, ask which shop you've called. If they provide a different answer than the one you've dialed, you may have reached a gatherer/broker.
•On the phone, ask for the business' location and driving directions. If they fail to provide these details, consider calling a different florist.
•Ask the florist to itemize all charges. Be especially cautious about companies that charge relay fees, same-day fees, service fees, shipping fees and handling fees. Local florists generally charge for delivery (which you also pay through a broker) but the other surcharges are completely avoidable when ordering direct from the florist who will actually make your arrangement.
•Google the phone number. If it appears under many different business names with different locations, be suspicious.
•Be aware that just because an ad or website name says "City Name Florist", it doesn't mean the company is located in or actually delivers to that city.
•If following a link from a search engine ad, find the site's home page. Order gatherer sites often contain directory-like links named after states, provinces and cities. Each page will appear virtually the same except for the city name.
Tips to Avoid Being Fooled by Flower Order Gatherers
•Check the Home and About Us pages for the physical address of the business.
•Ask 'What is Your Address?' when you call on the phone. If they decline to provide it, consider calling another florist.
•Check the Contact Us page for a local phone number. It should match the area code of the location to where your flowers are being delivered. If the contact information consists of an email address only, be suspicious.
•Call the local phone number. If it is answered 'Flower Shop' without providing the name of the florist, ask which shop you've called. If they provide a different answer than the one you've dialed, you may have reached a gatherer/broker.
•On the phone, ask for the business' location and driving directions. If they fail to provide these details, consider calling a different florist.
•Ask the florist to itemize all charges. Be especially cautious about companies that charge relay fees, same-day fees, service fees, shipping fees and handling fees. Local florists generally charge for delivery (which you also pay through a broker) but the other surcharges are completely avoidable when ordering direct from the florist who will actually make your arrangement.
•Google the phone number. If it appears under many different business names with different locations, be suspicious.
•Be aware that just because an ad or website name says "City Name Florist", it doesn't mean the company is located in or actually delivers to that city.
•If following a link from a search engine ad, find the site's home page. Order gatherer sites often contain directory-like links named after states, provinces and cities. Each page will appear virtually the same except for the city name.
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