Comments regarding Flowers by the Sea

I have had positive experiences with them so far but I have to say that their shipping increased from $21 last year to $42.00 this year. Will definitely have to shop around. Ridiculous!!!!

"On Dec 1, 2022 12:48 AM, Flowers by the Sea responded with:

UPS rates have increased sharply over the last 16 months. Their rates are based on fuel prices, which all of us have seen skyrocket. We very much wish this was different, but our shipping charges are based on UPS rates. When they go up, ours go up as well."

I have been buying salvia from FBTS for several years. In the past, while I found the prices and shipping to be quite high, the quality of the plants was fine. This year, I ordered close to $300 worth of plants. I am an experienced gardener and the plants were planted in sunny spots and given sufficient amounts of water, fertilizer and lots of loving care. 6 weeks later I still have no flowers on any of the 12 plants so I contacted FBTS indicating that I thought there was something wrong. Despite their "Money Back Guarantee" (and the fact that over the years I have spent thousands of dollars at FBTS and never once lodged a complaint) they basically told me that whatever was wrong with the plants was my fault and to go away. What terrible customer service and how foolish can they be? They have just lost a very good customer who consistently purchased plants from them just because they couldn't and wouldn't do the "right thing." If they had even given me a partial credit for the "non-flowering plants" I would have been satisfied. Now, I am not only out the $300 for the bad plants from FBTS, I also have to buy several new plants that actually will flower. Extremely frustrating.

Posted on June 15, 2017, updated June 13, 2018
Made my first purchase from FBTS and I am very satisfied! Plants very well grown. Packing maybe not as tight as I've received other plants from other companies, however the plants came in good shape. Prompt service and fast delivery. and a GREAT selection of salvias!

"On Jun 14, 2018 1:57 AM, Flowers by the Sea responded with:

Hello:

We had not received a phone call or email (I personally poured over all the logs) until this morning, just before you posted your review. I am sorry for the delay, unavoidable as it is. You will be contacted shortly for a resolution. We absolutely guarantee delivery of superior plants, and never brush off customer problems. Thank you for your understanding.

Kermit Carter "

Positives:
- Healthy plants
- Carefully packed
- Plants bloomed within 1-3 weeks of arrival
- Great selection of Salvias
- Wish / watch list is great

Not so positive:
- Prices rather high for size of plant
- Shipping is average-high, wish it were better
- Your plant reviews do not show up immediately on website, nor confirmed ever - you wonder if you wasted your time...
- Proactive communication could be improved (see below)

I had to reach out to them after receiving my shipment short 1 plant. Granted I'm glad they did not ship out that diseased plant, they did not reach out to me first beforehand letting me know and providing options. Whatever the reason (small business, forgot, etc) the fact that customers have to reach out to them asking what happened and why the shipment wasn't complete is not a good first experience.
I waited another 1.5 weeks to receive a replacement plant also in good condition. However, again during that 1 week of back and forth, while they would respond to most emails in a few hours, they again required me to follow up on status despite them stating they would update on a specific day.

Beautiful selection of plants and everything said here is true. But really the prices are out of reach for most people because shipping East of the Rockies is crazy expensive. $30 for two small plants.