Comments regarding F.W. Schumacher Co., Inc.

I ordered seed in April of this year for my business. It arrived (with no invoice or receipt) and was correctly labeled. It was subsequently treated and germinated. Germination was poor, but more importantly, it was not the species I ordered. Correct genus, wrong species. I have been working with the genera in question for 30 years and I am certain it was mislabeled. I contacted Schumacher with questions and possible replacement. NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER. NONE. I have used them sparingly in the past as they rarely carry the seed I need. However, I will not check their site again. Poor (non-existent) customer service and careless sourcing.

I ordered seed via their website in December 2016. The ordering process itself was labored and a bit contentious. After placing the order and emailing my Paypal info, (as per one of the payment options offered on their website), I received a phone call from Schumacher requesting payment. I said I was using the Paypal option as described on their web site. This was met with expressions of displeasure regarding Paypal payments. Well -- if it's a payment option offered on your website -- don't badger customers who try to use it! Finally, I was told (grudgingly) that they would send a Paypal payment request. The same song and dance occurred when I ordered more seed a couple months later.

When my seed order arrived, one of the items on my order was omitted. Another red flag (I realize mistakes happen sometimes, but it wasn't a large order and their customer service had already proved itself suspect). I emailed Schumacher, who later sent the missing item.

The seed itself did not live up its relative high price. Germination was poor on a couple items (which which I have repeatedly had good success previously). Moreover, some of the items that did germinate were misidentified ("Chaenomeles sinensis" seed proved to be Chaenomeles cathayensis, for example, and "Pseudolarix amabilis" is a Taxus of some sort).

I would be reluctant to order from this company again.

F.W Schumacher the worst company I have seen. I tried several times to make their order. In my letters do not respond. Once a month sent a bill that was no longer needed. I do not recommend them to deal. There are many other suppliers.