Comments on: Save Money By Going Local for Flowers, Balloons

By: centsandthecity

centsandthecity — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:11:31 +0000

Great points. Though I like the ease of ordering online, I’ve never really been happy with the product for the price paid.

By: k

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:18:02 +0000

Don’t know about 1-800-Flowers, but ftd includes delivery in merch amount, hence my comment WRT “out of delivery area” charges. They will also suggest reducing stem count of expensive flowers, or substituting other flowers.

By: k

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:13:20 +0000

If you order flowers for an overseas recipient on the ftd website, please click through to the appropriate country. Many items available in the US are not available outside the US (anything labelled “shipped direct in a gift box”). Also, other countries have different customs – vases aren’t provided, wine/food baskets aren’t available…

By: k

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:06:42 +0000

Directly calling a florist in the recipient’s vicinity saves $$ because:

1. you will avoid the service fee and/or shipping charged by online floral delivery firms.

2. local florists can tell you immediately what they have on hand – so if you want something like an item you saw on a floral vendor’s website, you will get instant feedback regarding whether or not they have that container, the specific flowers, specific colors, etc. It might not be exactly what you had in mind, but you’ll find out right away what you can get for the amount you’d like to spend. Floral websites can’t provide instant feedback. If you don’t have anything specific in mind, ask the florist for a florist designed bouquet or dish garden that includes flowers/colors you know the recipient will enjoy (and you can let them know that Grandma despises anything pink and throws up at the sight of carnations).

3. Local florists know hospital/nursing home policies (e.g. Mylar balloons only in ICU; plastic containers or baskets only in some areas on nursing homes).

4. You can find out during your conversation whether or not the florist you called deliv ers to the recipient’s area – sometimes, florists have specific delivery areas and charge extra to go outside those areas. If that’s the case, you can ask the florist to recommend someone who does deliver there.

5. Be nice to the local florist and take any time zone differences into account. Many florists are not open Sundays (except, in some cases, for funeral orders). Speaking of funeral orders – please have the deceased’s name, name of the funeral home, and time of service. .

Sorry for the long post, just some interesting tidbits I picked up from a temp job.

By: Observer

Observer — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:33:10 +0000

Think global, buy local!

By: mary ann

mary ann — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:28:49 +0000

I owned a balloon/florist shop before I retired. 1-800 Flowers charges the customer a delivery charge, in addition to the service fee, and when they send the order to the delivering florist, they (1-800 Flowers), do not give the delivery $ to the florist-they keep it!! Actually, the delivering florist receives 80%, and that is it. When we complained about this, 1-800 told us to put less stems in the arrangement to make up our delivery fee !!

By: Oscar79

Oscar79 — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:47:00 +0000

I agree with Jim. Some of my family members live more then 4 hours away, they live in Europe. Of course it’s good to buy local when you can.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:34:27 +0000

True, but what if this person lives 4 hours away?

By: niki

niki — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:27:20 +0000

I cannot believe how much people will pay for that stuff! The dollar store has mylar balloons for a buck a piece and matching solid colored latex balloons 2/$1.

Shoprite has bunches of assorted flowers 3/$10 everyday.

Even picking up a nice potted houseplant could run only $10-15 at Home Depot or Lowes.

It doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg to make a nice gesture to someone!

By: TStrump

TStrump — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:38:07 +0000

Buying local is always the best way to go.
Besides getting a better, fresher product, it’s a great way to make valuable business contacts.
Sometimes, cheaper isn’t always the cheapest in the long run.
With flowers, why call one of those ridiculous 1 800 numbers and pay the extra markup?

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:50:48 +0000

We try to support our local merchants at every opportunity.
Great idea to Google area that is not in our immediate area, although for flowers we have had great luck and good prices from our local florists.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:07:12 +0000

I have done this before and can attest to the fact that you can save. Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out which florist or shop to buy the flowers from, but you can get a better price, quicker shipping and fresher flowers.

By: mapgirl

mapgirl — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:32:14 +0000

If you are familiar with the area, try calling up your local mom and pop store. I still order anniversary/Mother’s Day flowers from the florist/nursery that did my prom corsages 20 years ago. They’re still open and still proudly thriving.

Seasonal and local are keys for buying flowers. A lot of Valentine’s Day carnations are grown in Mexico with a ton of pesticides.

Alstromerias are the worst. They got old and drop all their flowers really fast. I like daylilies a lot b/c once you pluck off the pollen bits, the cut flowers will last for 2-3 weeks very easily. Roses are overrated. Mums are lovely too.

By: carla

carla — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:55:42 +0000

I always go local for flowers (usually the farmers markets) not necessary to save money but to support local businesses. Saving money is a bonus!

By: Martha

Martha — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:10:40 +0000

That’s a really good idea Thomas! It seems that you can get a pretty good arrangement for $30, and you probably could get a better deal if you ask for the seasonal arrangement. I’ll have to try that the next time I have to purchase flowers.