Comments regarding Eldon Tropicals

This business does not respond to emails at all. Ordered an Indian clock vine 3 gallon from them in April and paid via PayPal. Was super excited to get it. Received absolutely nothing from them in terms of communication about my order and I now had to file a case in the resolution center after sending 2 emails that received absolutely no response at all. Such a shame as it seems this was once a reliable place to shop but no more. Buyer beware! I hope I can get my item or the money back.

I placed 3 orders that never shipped. Orders placed on 2/3/21, 2/24/21, and 4/10/21. I emailed the owner with no response and then emailed again. Owner responded stating she had sent an email to me and was waiting on response before shipping. I never received this email and responded and asked for the plants to be shipped. 2 weeks later and plants still have not shipped. I recommend looking into Aloha Tropicals or Brian's Botanicals. Aloha tropicals has shipped $2000 worth of plants very quickly.

I ordered plants 8/24/2020. I was charged immediately.
I did not receive any confirmation of my order so two weeks later I called, left a v/m and sent an email. I got a nice email back explaining that the system must have failed and that my order was in line to be shipped out after Labor Day and that I would get a tracking email.
9/11 I emailed when I did not get an email - Briggita replied that she had the flu but would ship Monday.
9/24/2020, 31 days later, still no tracking information, no response to subsequent emails and I'm out >$100.
This is no way to conduct a business.

"On Sep 24, 2020 1:13 PM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

You have requested cancellation of order and refund via PayPal several weeks ago (beginning of Sept)- which was recorded and PayPal was processing it. Amount was taken from my account 9/11.
Our site clearly states, that we whip within 2 weeks of placing order- but because of USPS was hopelessly backed up the last several weeks and packages were delivered in 7-16 days instead of 2-3 days, we held shipments to areas with lengthy back up. "

I ordered from Eldon on 6/20/20. I recieve an automated acknowlegement that they had received my order and they charged my credit card, immediately. After a month I emailed asking for a status and never heard back, I emailed again a few days later asking for an update and again, never got a response. This Saturday it will be 8 weeks since my order with no response and I will follow up with my credit card and get my money back. I don't want to do business with a company that has such poor customer service. At this point, she's had two months to check her email and let me know what's going on and everything else is extranious.

"On Sep 24, 2020 1:06 PM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

Your plants were delivered as per USPS Priority tracking. This was a replacement shipment, since original shipment got stuck in transit for more than 2 months. Maybe at some point, will be delivered .......
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I ordered from Eldon Tropicals on April 29th, 2020. Given previous reviews, I thought my plants would be delayed quite a bit, but I was ok with that given how healthy the plants looked. And especially with covid affecting shipping and material procurement (which I totally understand, I run a small business and have been directly impacted by delayed shipping timelines), I thought that my order would be quite delayed. Unfortunately, it is July 9th and I have yet to receive my plants or even communication from them.

I've contacted them 3 times. One time in mid-May to add a few more plants to my order since they hadn't shipped yet, a second time in early June to tell them that my credit card would expire by the end of the month, and the third time two weeks ago to ask about my order. I have not heard from them after they added more plants to my order on May 16th.

And again, I am totally fine with the delay. COVID-19 has impacted so much, so I understand that. What I don't understand is the lack of communication. A quick sentence saying that items are delayed for another month, that they'll get to my order soon, etc. would have been appreciated. 

Ordered a Puya mirabilis on 5/20 and was charged. Emailed Brigitta Monday, 6/8 as I had not received any shipping notification. She emailed back promptly that day and stated the plant would be shipped that week. On the 16th, over a week later, with no shipping notification I emailed again. No response. I emailed again on the 17th, no response. This is a difficult to find plant and I was very excited to find out this nursery had it. Very disappointed.

Service is non-existent and pathetic. Order for 10 plants was placed on May 23 and received an order confirmation email. It is now July 13. I have emailed, called 1-800 number, and called cell phone during different days, weeks, and months. Absolutely no response. I rarely leave negative feedback for anything. I don't understand why you would have an online plant business and then do nothing? I am a reasonable person. Any communication would be appropriate, so I know what is going on. I WOULD STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE.

Placed an order a month ago for 2 plants, both stated available and no indication of been delayed of waiting x amounts of days for shipping, my bank was charged 2.5 weeks later, i emailed the company asking for status -no response- called the 352 area code phone listed on their web left a voicemail called again a couple days later the 800 number left a voice mail again will see when and if they response.. no customer service what so ever - I wish I would have read these comments before spending my money and energy on this joke of a company

I ordered two plants from the company close to where I live and a week later had not received any information, although my PayPal was processed the same day I ordered.

After a week, I called. No answer. I called a second time. I finally did a PayPal 'complaint; hoping to get a response. I did.

The company said that they had up to 14 days to ship and they had been at a plant show, and both of these were on their web site. I did find the 14 day number on a 'shipping tab' which I didn't even see the first time around and never saw where they posted anything about being away for a plant show. I wouldn't have minded a delay if I knew it was happening.

I was told on Friday that she would be back at work on Sat and would check into the order and get back. No word, and on Tuesday I sent them another message through Paypal. They cancelled my order and issued a refund which will take up to a month to process.

All I really wanted was someone to talk to me and send me the plants! All in all, a disappointing experience.

Placed my order for 2 Vanilla Orchids on April 15, 2018. Paid in full immediately!! Order confirmation sent same day.
Inquired about my order April 21st via email. Brigit responded back April 25th, Planning on shipping either today 4/25 Or 4/26/2018. As well as a tracking number.
Here it is May 3, 2018. Have not received my order nor has anyone responded back. Very unhappy customer!! They were quick to take my money!! Still have not recevied my order!!

I ordered 2 plants, both listed as in stock. Almost 3 weeks after placing, paying, and receiving confirmation of my order, I called and left a voice mail requesting a status update. No call back. I left another message a day or two later, and got an email that said my order would be going out the following week. Really? I sent an email that basically said why does it take an entire month to send an order. My plants came early in the next week. Never got an email with an explanation, which I requested, or a call, or any other communication. The plants were actually quite nice, but not nice enough to make up for such bad customer service.

"On May 17, 2017 6:03 AM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

Very sorry for delay-. Yes, plants were shipped 3 weeks after placing order.- should have been shipped sooner. "

Posted on April 18, 2017, updated April 18, 2017
Posted on April 17, 2017, updated April 18, 2017
Ordered 2 vanilla plants. After a couple of weeks hadn't heard anything. Made several attempts to contract them in which they never returned phone calls.
We finally received an email response that stated they would be shipped by next week. It stated We would receive an email with our tracking number.
The poor excuse they used was they were behind because they were waiting to ship to colder climates. This is garbage as we live less than a 2 hour drive and are actually slightly warmer during the winter. How does another order to a cold climate affect shipping to a warm climate?
It's now been 2 full weeks since this sorry excuse for an excuse was sent to us. We still have no response. This reminds me of contractors who keep making excuses instead of doing work they've already been paid to do.
There is no excuse for not skipping as they have received payment confirmed through PayPal and the weather here has been more than warm enough for the past month.
Guess they want to wind up on the news.

"On Apr 25, 2017 11:52 AM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

Ouch- this hurts -
Our website clearly states, that we will start shipping Vanilla plants beginning-mid April. in 2017. I've received a less than friendly email from customer, which also included specific threat- and this feedback - so decided, to cancel order & issue PayPal refund.. After that received 'additions' to this feedback and 3 more, emails, with some more threats and accusations , that were totally personal in nature and as such unacceptable.
.We are a small family owned nursery, and we do our very best to serve our customers, and fix every issue that comes up right away.."

Posted on February 7, 2015, updated March 16, 2015
One of the worst online store. I ordered Grewia asiatic plant from them. Got only order pending email from them. Payment cleared within a day of order via Paypal. Sent an email to seller after two weeks, again no reply. After three weeks of initial order, received USPS package with semi-dead plant. Tried all I could to save plant but it completely died a week after arrival.
Lesson learned never purchase from this vendor.

After I placed my order through the web site in March, there was no news for several weeks. Eventually I sent an e-mail asking if they could estimate when my order would be shipped. They replied that part of the order should arrive about next Tuesday, the rest has not been shipped because the plant hadn't broken dormancy. Nothing happened, nothing ever arrived. I have inquired several times since, never got a reply, and it is now almost July. I regret very much that I have to give them a negative rating, as I know they have been a reliable vendor in the past.

In early January, i ordered 4 plants. In mid- March, 2 plants arrived. The plants I received were well packed and are doing well. It took numerous emails to receive 2 plants. After 4 months and 6 emails I cancelled the remainder of my order. Communication and status updates were very poor.

"On Jun 5, 2013 10:22 AM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

We are very sorry that customer was not happy with our service. Ginger plant was not shipped with order, since it did not break dormancy Refund on ginger & full shipping charge for whole order was refunded promptly."

My experience with Eldon's did not go well.

After placing my order I waited four or five days and did not receive my tracking information. During this time I realized the payment method I used had a hold on it due to an address change so I sent an email to inquire about my order. Their response was oh sorry no your payment did not go through. Most companies notify you immediately if there is a problem so it can be rectified, Eldon’s did not. This really surprised me especially since I had previously communicated with them about my interest in several plants.

When the plants arrived, one of them had light brown spots on the leaves but we repotted it anyway. This was a free plant, I'm guessing because of the issues with the payment although that was never made clear.

I waited about a month or so as I recall to update Eldon's on how the plants were doing. I informed them of the brown spots on one plant and that another plant had died. The third plant was holding on and the fourth plant had grown a small leaf. Their response was you're overwatering. Excuse me but the brown spots supposedly caused by overwatering were on the plant when it arrived....so, WHO WAS OVERWATERING the plant???

They did replace the plant that died with another small plant, one leaf died on the replacement plant and the other leaf went limp, this plant has not grown any new leaves.

This experience left me with plants that barely made it through the Summer and I would be very surprised if they survive the Winter. The worst thing for me is being told it is my fault and I’m to blame, what happened to “the customer is always right”???

I have been a gardener for over forty years and know how to water plants. One of the plants that I supposedly overwatered I have grown for years and know how to take care of.

Not only was this an aggravating and disappointing experience it was a waste of time and money. Why would I want to be a repeat customer or refer anyone to Eldon’s?

"On Oct 14, 2012 9:15 AM, Eldon Tropicals responded with:

I am really sad & disappointed- After not being able to sleep after reading feedback- checked hundreds of orders- trying to identify customer- by 3 am, I’ve found the customer in Auburn & then checked all correspondence with customer(15 emails) and then remembered…. - We have really tried & tried to satisfy this customer ....... The plant- Alocasia plumbea nigra- that the customer has complained about , that 'it lost all but one leaf' - was promptly replaced with another- growing in 5" pot- it even had a small pup (USPS Tracking nr:
9405503699300090806703) . ...- NEVER heard any acknowledgment-as to receiving free replacement plant- or any complaint about it ........... The other plant- Alocasia African mask( sanderiana) - that 'developed brown spot on the middle of leaf' ( was a bonus plant) - as per my own personal experience- can happen by overwatering and /or bad air circulation – this was just a suggestion about possible reason for ‘brown spot’ –& definitely not a criticism of gardening abilities -since all plants are different -needing different care & many have different sensitivities . Just to recap :July 24th- received a really unfriendly email –scolding me for suggesting over watering …… but in spite of this unfriendly email – questioning the quality of our customer care - (that he read about on Dave’s) etc - his replacement plant was shipped out shortly after ., - In any case- all this happened late July - Did not hear from customer since 7/24/12- replacement Alocasia was received first week of August -Now it is mid October . Last contact w/ customer was prior shipping replacement plant on 7/24- nothing since …….As to not contacting him about declined cc- unfortunately declined credit cards are more frequent now- we try to run charge a second time about a week later- if it does not process- we contact customer- but I do not think it would be proper to repeatedly ‘push’ for payment- maybe customer just changed his mind ……… Order was placed 6/12- paid for 6/17 –shipped 6/18 . We are really sad, to find out 2 ˝ mo later here- that customer is unhappy even with replacement plant …….

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