Comments regarding Sandusky Valley Nursery

Posted on May 10, 2018, updated October 5, 2018
Received order in 2 weeks; plants are healthy and look good well packed for shipping,2 were sold out but he says will send them to me mid summer in containers with no extra shipping charge.This nursery beats prices on every other nursery and plants are fine.

I ordered two Bush Clover (Lespedeza) plants and they sent me three bare-root plants. Plants were well wrapped/packaged and arrived in great shape. I potted them up and within days they all started to leaf up and take off. I am very pleased with this company, they sent healthy, sturdy bare-root plants that took off as soon as they hit the dirt, fast shipping and a good job of packaging. I hope to do business with them in the future as they have some unusual plants that I cannot find locally.

I ordered two times from this company.
1st time I placed an order and didnt get any confirmation for a week or two, so I begin wondering when is it going to be shipped and if my payment was received. Then John emailed back with shipping info. I got the shipment without few items which I ordered. It took few emails and about a month to get my refund.
Second order I placed - again no corresponding or confirmation, again not everything was available, one of the Paw-paw plants came with almost no roots, it never leafed out and died of course (was planted in the fall), John never replied anything about this issue.
My conclusion is that its not worth it buying from this place, you end up getting tiny plants that dont always have a great root system. There is absolutely no customer service or any consideration of your conveniences.

I was hesitant initially to order from this nursery, as it had received some negative reviews, but the prices were great, and the nursery is in Ohio, where I live. Also, on Google, the nursery got several good reviews recently, so I went ahead and decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did! The plans were three times bigger and three dollars cheaper than other Seaberry plants that I ordered from another nursery (Jiovi). The other nursery sent me pathetic-looking sticks that have some sort of fungus growing on them, and the tips of the little twigs are dead. The ones from Sandusky valley are huge, with large, healthy roots and lots of green buds, and they were shipped at the perfect time for planting. Definitely pleased.

OWNER: John Failor
WEBSITE: //www.svnursery.com
EMAIL: buckeye5@bright.net
ADDRESS: 682 CH 44, Nevada, OH 44849
PHONE: (740) 482-2578
Information obtained through Better Business Bureau of Northwest and West Central Ohio and Southeast Michigan, and my credit card bill.

Paid $140 on April 19, 2015 for plants. No contact whatsoever: no email, no phone, no confirmation. But $140.45 of my money WAS collected immediately on April 19. Here is what I did to resolve situation when I heard NOTHING (ABSOLUTELY NOTHING) from Mr. Failor:

1) I complained about non-receipt of order through Paypal on May 1. I received no response from seller. "I have NOT received this order. I have received NO communication from seller, even though he has $140.45 of my money."

2) I called Sandusky Nursery at 740-482-2578 (as provided by seller's website, http://www.svnursery.com) on May 7, 2015 at 2:36 PM. I let phone ring for 1 minute and 58 seconds. No one answered phone, and no answering machine came on for me to leave a message.

3) On May 7, I sent seller three emails to ohiobuckeye1997@yahoo.com, an email provided me by his website (www.svnursery.com), and I quote:

a) "Where is my order, placed nearly 3 weeks ago? I have received no communication from you. If you have not shipped yet, please cancel the order. (2:45 PM).
b) Shipping address again confirmed, same as originally provided in order. (2:51 PM)
c) My phone number again provided, same as originally provided in April order (2:57 PM)

As of May 10, 2015 at 2:34, I had still received absolutely NO communication from this company. I can prove all of my statements made above.

4) A refund was finally received from Paypal May 21, 2015.

If indeed Mr. Failor is a small operation, then he should do whatever it takes to provide the customer service required by the exchange of money for plants. Why be in business otherwise?

Silence is NOT a satisfactory solution.

I ordered 2 varieties of Serviceberries on August 7th. Called him to adjust my order to 3, and he was helpful and informative. The 3 plants arrived August 12th in good shape, healthy and leafy. So far, so good. His rating on Ebay is extremely positive, FYI.

I ordered about a dozen tree seedlings this fall. The plants came very quickly and they are in very nice condition. They look like from a nursery, not from a common gardener.

I've had chance to communicate with the seller. He is very knowledgeable about the plants.

I understand people's frustration not able to get hold of him. He runs a one-person shop. He has many things to do in addition to checking on plants online. Just give him some time.

I'd order from him again if he has the varieties I need.

I ordered 5 black mulberry seedlings. They did arrive a week late, so I was worried. The instructions on their care were clear and thorough, and the trees were in fantastic shape, even after such a long trip. They have been in the ground for nearly 4 weeks, and are thriving. At this point, I am very happy. I will say that when I had some buyer's remorse about the variety and emailed the company, they did not reply. I was disappointed about this, but for the price, I will consider it an experiment. I will likely do business with this company again. I do wish their communication was better, but I really appreciated their handout. So I guess we are even!

I bought some willow starts from them. I got them and was happy with the starts, they were small with very good roots which is what I was after since they will grow better with better root systems. Overall I am happy with my plants.

I ordered some plants, shrubs and fruit plants for fall time planting. I needed them shipped later in the season and I got them in november as I wanted, as I was out of the country for a while. They came in good, moist roots ready to go into the ground. I am happy with my purchase. I will look at more stuff in the spring time.

Ordered an english oak for fall planting time. Came last week and it looks good. Thx.

I placed a very small order, thank goodness, for a columnar English Oak. Card was charged immediately. Never received confirmation, replies to emails, or the product. Plain old fraud. Never had this happen. Do not do business with this company.

I've bought a number of trees, two different times over about the past three years: paw paws, serviceberries, black haws, buffalo berries, etc. Trees are doing very well; I've lost a few, but considering the difficult growing conditions on my property (a hollow that floods in the winter & dries to powder in the summer), SVN's success rate here has been good. Also, the seedlings are inexpensive and a lot of less-common natives are offered. I'm already planning my next order.

I bought 3 persimon trees this past spring. At first I was worried that they were not leafing out in spring. I emailed them and they replied that this is normal for persimons since they are slow to leaf out sometimes About a week after that they started to leaf out and grew well the rest of the year. i am happy with the plants.

First I have to say the 1st time I ordered from Sandusky I got the plants I ordered and was pleased but the second time i ordered I got an email from him saying that he was out of what I ordered ( Its been so long ago that I dont remember what they were) so I replied to send me chestnut trees instead and here it is 8 months later and have not recieved anything.

Posted on September 30, 2012, updated September 30, 2012
I purchased 5 dwarf cherries this past spring and they are all thriving. I now just hope we don't have a brutal winter here.

I bought a large number of plants. The price and selection is very reasonable. The plants arrived in good shape but were taped and bundled tightly together and labeled with orange plastic tape. It was very hard attempting to open the bundles and not damage both the labeling tape and plants. Many "tape labels" were damaged in the process. Furthermore, whoever wrote the labels could not write legibly and the ink on the tape faded fast. I attempted to decode the labels not very successfully. Most of the plants did survive but are unidentified and the season is almost over, I though I could id them eventually; but, it is difficult attempting it over the internet.

I believe if I had only bought a few plants I would not have much problems. But, I have the survivors of 3 dozen, mostly unidentified plants.

We purchased 2 goumi shrubs from them this past spring. They are both doing well. They have both shown good new growth. They look like they are going to do well here. I am happy with the purchase.

This was our first purchase from them.

I bought 2 nankkin cherries from them this past spring on ebay, they are doing good. I have had to water them alot with the drought going on, but they are now 18 inches taller than when they came, now if i can be patient to wait for the cherries.

Don't buy from this guy.
I ordered 3 American Hazelnuts from him back in spring 2012 and he sent me 3 sticks with roots and now it's summer and they have leaves on them and they are not all hazelnuts .
He won't answer my emails.I have emailed him 2 or 3 times

I Ordered some Buffalo Berry, from this company. Delivery was prompt, plants were what I expected. I had a question after delivery, and sent them an email. I got a prompt response. I would do business with them again.

I have ordered from this company twice. The first time was in 2008. My order was slow in coming, but arrived in early may. This year( 2011) I ordered later, and the order also arrived in early May.
All the plants are doing quite well except the one my husband broke when he tried to move it last year. I ordered another one this year. The plants came in wet newspaper, so I put them in a bucket of water for a few hours. I then planted and kept watered. They took off and the 5.00 plum I bought in 2008 is just as big as the 30.00 peach I bought the same year.
Great plants and no problems with this company. I just wish I had more room. Maybe I can buy some trees for my neighbor!

Bought $40 worth of plants. Black pussy willow ,butterfly bush and honeysuckle vines.Took money off my card instantly. Does not respond to emails or phone calls still no plants. If anyone can tell me what I can do to have this guy taken off the web please reply to miltoneileen@yahoo.com. This place is a complete scam and rip off.

Purchased some seedlings on Aug 12, 2009 as of Oct 23, 2009, I have not yet received any items. The seller will not respond to any e-mails, or phone calls. There is no doubt I have been scamed..Please do not order from this nursery

Placed an order for a variety of fruit trees. So far they are doing the best of all the tree's I've ordered (from various places) this season. Going to place another order today!

I ordered two Paw Paw trees and a rare lilac bush. My order came very quickly and was well packed for shipping. The trees and bush look wonderful and were planted as soon as I opened and got them ready. I am very happy with this company and have had wonderful communication.
Lee Ann

I am a Country singer in the Nashville, TN area who purchased some Nut trees from Sandusky Valley Nursery recently. Order was placed in July and my order arrived about 2 weeks later.

I now have myself some English Walnut trees which are shooting out fresh leaf buds. I am very happy with the service at Sandusky and will continue to order trees from them. With Pecan & Filbert trees on the the way it is sure to be a nutty life!.. lol

God Bless!!

Keepin' it Country,

Jason Rogers

I bought 3 plants of ebay (Aronia, Fusion Quince, Lycopene Berry) on June 9th, 2008. They arrived June10, 2008. Plants have leafed out beautifully with no problems. They were 10" twigs, which I expected for the $3-$4 price tag. I will buy from them again!

I ordered plants from Sandusky on May 2, 2007, I have still not received any plants I have emailed them twice. The first time they claimed their suppliers hadn't sent them yet, this was in July. I then asked for a refund and they won't reply to my email. DON"T BUY from this outfit they are thieves!!!!
I am in the process of repoting them as a fraudulent website.

On May 5 I sent a seventy dollar check--which was cashed-- to this company . I started on eBay where I won one item for, I think 3.95. His eBay page suggested I go to his webpage for more choices. I did and ordered approximately 66.00 more in plants. It is now September 3 and I have yet to receive my plants or have my money refunded. Also he has refused to answer emails. This constitutes the single worst business experience I have ever had. I have complained to BBB also.

I ordered 2 elderberry bushes back in the 1st week of march, it is now may and i still haven't recieved them. I emailed the company in mid april and they said it should arrive soon and still they haven't! If I knew it was going to take this much work to get the plants I wouldn't have ordered them. It is past the time to plant shrubs in my zone now so when i do get them it will take more work to get them through the summer months. Very disappointed.

Did not send my order for 3 forsythia and 1 salix for 4 months.He would not answer the phone or e mails.i finally had to send a letter threatening to report him to 3 separate organizations who deal with business fraud,which this surely felt like.he received my letter on fri and I got my order on tuesday.No apology-No explanation-no touching base to let me know if there was a problem.PLUS he charged my order to my card before it got sent out which is the worst business practice.He gets no more business from me.

I ordered a bunch of butternut trees and sumac from them. I was very happy with the order and will order form them again. All of the butternut came up and just 2 of the sumac didn't.

I ordered 2 spice bushs on June 21. As of this date I have no bushes and have never had any contact with John. I have emailed him several times threw his website and his email address with no response. I have a claim dispute ongoing now with pay pal. I'm glad to hear he has sent some plants, I thought he was a total fraud.

I ordered 2 Pawpaws, 3 goumis, 1 american elderberry, 3 aronias,1sweet shrub and 1 sweet mockorange in January 06.
I received all of them, but the paw paws, early April, perfect time for NJ. Small plants, but healthy and well packed. They all came to life almost immediatly and are growing well.
I was ready to give this company a positive rating regarding the price and the quality of their plants.
BUT, I have to change to neutral, the 2 paw paws due in back order for late April are still missing.
I sent 3 emails asking when I should expect them and telling them that if they don't have paw paw to send me 2 serviceberries instead, but never got a answer.
So, if you are ready to test your luck, it can be a good deal, but if you are use to get what you paid for,and receive a answer when you ask a question you may be disappointed.

I never received 3 plants ordered in March and promised for late April delivery. I sent John 4 e-mails, asking him to please substitute another plant if unable to get the ones I ordered and were still out of stock -- no response. Also, one of the plants never did come out of dormancy, and I asked John for advise on getting the plant to grow. Again, no response. If he is so busy, obviously he's making money, so let him get some help. That's no way to run a business!!

I had difficulty communicating with John. He did not respond to emails, and did not send the shrubs I ordered when he said he would. It took a phone call on a Sunday morning before he sent a partial order. He said that the others were out of stock, and that he would refund my money through Paypal. However, six weeks later he had not done so, and did not respond to my email. Again, I needed to call him long distance (and pay for the call!) before he finally refunded my money.
The shrubs that I did receive arrived in good condition and were packed expertly.

Could not get owner to respond to email regarding why hadn't received order. Contacted PayPal (thankfully, my method of payment) for step 1 where they contact seller for info. Still no response. Filed official claim with PayPal and still no response. Finally received order even though still no explanation.

Not the kind of business I want to deal with.

I ordered 7 bushes and 6 nut trees from Sandusky Valley. I thought at just under $4 per plant, if any were bad or if the company were disreputable I wouldn't be out much. Just received my bundle through the postal service and all the plants were healthy and starting to leaf out. They were bundled securely and the roots were moist. Each plant was labeled with a hand written red tape marker.

They are all very small but I can't beat the price. I will be ordering from them again.

The only (I hesitate to say negative) thing I found was, I left a comment on the web site and didn't receive a reply. I chalk it up to being a busy season.