Nipa Hut Gardens and Gifts

Posted on July 12, 2010, updated July 27, 2010 I actually had a good experience with them before this one. Last year I bought a cogshall mango tree from them. It didn't do well over the winter (my fault - I didn't keep enough water on it), so I wanted to buy another from them this Spring. The tree I received was poorly packaged, and it arrived broken. Since their Ebay auction guaranteed that I'd receive an undamaged tree, I took photos of the tree, box, etc and contacted them for a replacement. I asked for a replacement tree, they demanded I ship them the damaged tree first at my expense. I didn't see any point in spending $20 when they guaranteed I'd receive an undamaged tree, so I told them I'd be happy to return it provided they pay return shipping (since the damage was their fault). What happened next was an exchange of emails and Better Business Bureau emails and responses in which Nipa Hut never once addressed my request that they pay for the return shipping but instead concocted more and more crazy concerns (including eventually saying that I must have killed the tree and that's why I didn't want to return it). In the end, I'm left with an overly-short and useless mango tree and they have my money. For a company that wraps itself in the cloak of Christian service, they sure didn't display any (proving the point that companies that have to blatantly advertise their religion must not be good at actually practicing it in real life). There are many better places to buy mangos from -I've since bought several from other providers who shipped me very healthy and well-packaged trees.

I've ordered Morninga and Neem plants from them, which are very very rare to get as a seedling. I got the morninga plant in very good condition and the neem which had only 4 leaves but still looked ok. What i missed when i ordered from them is, we can change the shipping methods if we want the delivery to be faster. since i just left it with the default the plants spent 9 days in shipping. May be because of the shipping stress, my neem plant doesn't seem to recover and it died. But the prices they charge are very very reasonable for such rare plants. I will order from them again, may be the same plants once more with a faster shipping method.

On April 28th I placed an order with this company. I ordered an avocado tree and a lychee tree. I requested UPS ground service which was my first mistake. The trees were shipped by Nipa Hut on May 3rd and arrived at my house on May 7th., because I was not home on Friday. The trees were not redelivered until May 10th. The lychee tree was dead and the avocado was in terrible shape. I couldnt believe the package was not left at the door. I contacted Nipa Hut with pictures of the trees expressing my disappointment and was told I should have been home Friday and maybe I shouldnt have requested UPS ground service. Basically I felt like they could care less. The emails I received from them were horrible. I had to go back and read my first email to see if I said something wrong but I couldnt' find a thing. I couldnt tell you if they have quality plants or not. I didn't get mine in time to tell. I guess the best advice I have is do not order UPS Ground from them or your trees could arrive dead and no one at that company cares! Please take the time to read our email exchanges below: (My first email!) These plants just came in and are in horrible condition. The Brewster Lychee is dead and the avocado leaves are all falling off. I am very disappointed. How can you ship trees that stay boxed that long. They are dead by time you get them! (Their response) Well for one it was delivered on Friday but no one was there so they had to deliver today Not sure how that is our fault that they sat all weekend in a hot warehouse They were shipped out on Tuesday and your email address was part of the UPS tracking information Scheduled delivery date was Friday May 10th but no one was there to accept the package Please provide pictures of the plants packing and contents of everything and we will try to make a UPS claim however they are going to say they tried to deliver it on the scheduled date Thanks Peter (my second email) Well it was in a hot warehouse from Monday until Friday. Like you said below, my email address was part of the UPS tracking information and it showed me they shipped on the 3rd which was Monday, not Tuesday as stated so they were in a hot warehouse for 5 days even if they delivered on Friday. UPS could have left it at my door on Friday but did not. I walked outside my door and it was sitting there today. I am not sure they even came by Friday. I had no door knocker or anything. Please let me know what you are going to do. I have planted and watered these trees but it does not look like they are going to make it. You can tell by the pictures especially the Lychee tree. Are you going to resend me trees or what happens from here. I need to know if I need to contact my credit card company. I have ordered lots of trees online and never had this problem before. The response I got from you below did'nt sound like you cared too much. Did you ship it that I had to be home to get it? Did they have to have a signature? If so why was it left with no signature today? I have attached the picture for your review. Thanks Jackie (Their second response) Hi Jackei The package label was printed out Monday and they picked it up Tuesday morning. I will be calling UPS in the morning over the issue to see what they will do, also you had the option of paying for 2nd day shipment, 3rd day or even overnight as well but you chose to ship it ground, I did not force you to ship ground that was your choice. If you want to threaten me I will not be able to help you. Again it was delivered on Friday but no one was home and it sat in a hot warehouse all weekend, again not sure why it was my fault you were not home for the package. The mango is still alive and will recover fine if you follow the directions according to the planting instructions. We have had plants in boxes much longer than this with no issues, such as when we send to CA. It was probably due to a hot warehouse that UPS uses. I did not pay for signature so that is an issue I will talk to UPS about however had you bee home for the package this would not even have been an issue. Once we talk with UPS over this we can see what the next step will be, also if you scrape the lower portion of the lychee you will also see that it is still green and will recover if you follow the directions in the planting instructions Peter (my 3rd email) I am by no way threatening you! I have learned a hard lesson here. I never ordered a mango, I have no idea what you are talking about. Don't worry about it! I didn't realize I would offend you by having a legitament complaint! If UPS would have left the trees at my door on Friday, I would have them. Just a suggestion, maybe Ground service should tell your customers that the trees could arrive dead! I guess UPS has bad information in there system or maybe you are not so HONEST. Check out the tracking information.....it was scanned by UPS out on the 3rd !!!! I have been ordering the trees pictured online like crazy to plant in the country. This is the first bad experience I have had, I could have been a good customer for you. Deuteronomy 25:15-16 You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. For the LORD your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly. Sincerely, Jackie Steward (Their response) Hi You did threaten, and you are correct that was an avocado not a mango which will survive if you treat it correctly. When people come to me nice and non confrontational I bend over backwards to help, but when they threaten as you have done it does not make us want to help. I ship 2000 plants or more a month with very little problems, many of them in longer transit times than yours. I will still be asking questions to UPS for some answers but again it was your choice to ship ground and not be home on Friday. You should be careful with quoting scriptures as your example in previous emails are far less biblical then you make yourself out to profess. Be careful lest you be judged by the same standards you profess or believe you profess. I am quite sure you have been less than nice to many of the others you have bought plants from as well, I can only tell they way your confrontational emails that you have had lots of experience dealing with problems. Since you want to call me a less than honest I am glad you are no longer our customer, go and cause problems with others and quote your scripture to them so they know you are a true Christian in word but not action. Peter (my final response) Go back and read your first email you sent me in regards to my complaint! It was awful. You sounded very disconcerned and I was in no way threatening you! If I made you feel that way I am sorry! All I was wanting was understanding!!!!! I was very very disappointed. I just re-read my first email and I do not see where I went wrong or started off on the wrong foot with you. Don't worry, You will not have to bother with me as your customer. I have never had a problem like this before and your opinion of me really doesn't matter. I am not the one in business here. Did you see the UPS shipping notification? Wow! I am truly amazed how you handled this whole situation I don't even know what to say. I definately wouldnt want to respond with the ugliness I have gotten from you.....so I wont! Keep your money and I will keep the lousy plants! Jackie NOW THAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ITS BEST!

Ordered 3 plants from Nipa Hut a couple months ago, 2 of the plants are doing great, guess what happened to the third plant. Great company and great service. I will definitely order from this company again.

Friendly service, Awaiting mango plant. Their ebay website is also great. One of the few who actually carry exotic tropical plants.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the company so far. They specialize in rare tropical plants/trees. I actually discovered them in ebay, and Peter (the one who's assisted me so far) is VERY friendly and easy to talk to. I ordered an avocado tree (Lula), a nam doc mai mango tree, and a carrie mango tree. Asked him to pick the best trees that they have available and his response was, "No problem at all. We will make sure to pick out plants that will make you pleased... Thank you. Remember always let us know how we can help. I don't want one time customers; I want lifetime customers. You are also welcome to contact us with any plant question even if you did not buy it from us. We answer hundreds of e-mails a week with plant problems etc and are always willing to help anyway we can with your experience". I haven't received my trees yet but will post again and let people know how they'll be when I get them. Thanks Peter! :)

I just got my order today, had the same problem as the other two with getting the error message but I got the email confirmation, telling me order was processed and when it should be shipped and when I would have it, and sure enough it was here right on schedule. Larger than I expected as well, ordered the Theobroma Cacao, and its easily 4ft tall, I am very pleased.

I ordered a Theobroma Cacao tree and I received, rather quickly, a wonderfully healthy, big tree! I did encounter the same problem the previous poster did regarding the error message. Similarly, though, I received a prompt confirmation e-mail of my order. I would definitely order from Nipa Hut again!

I've just made my first purchase with this company. The site was secure and while there was one issue with the state pop-up choice on the order page, everything else went smoothly. I will ammend this feedback once my plants arrive to describe their condition and the overall experience.