Plants Delight's shipping costs

Are extremly high.

I finally received my catalog this week and had a great time looking through it. I found 4 plants that I really wanted, so I looked at the order form for the first time. It would cost me $26 just in shipping costs for the 4 plants that I wanted....I don't think so. I guess I will have to hope that I can find them somewhere else or just do without them.

Just incase anyone has any of these to share or know where I can get these, this is what I wanted to buy:
1. Dicentra scandens "Athens Yellow" - climbing yellow Bleeding heart
2. Juncus effusus "Blonde Ambition" - Golden Corkscrew Rush
3. Lilium formosanum "Formosa Lily"
4. Lobelia siphilitica "White Candles"

I guess I just need to vent, as this was a big surprise to me.

Donna

Donna
Why don't you post a comment in the Watchdog.

Paul

Where is Plants Delight?

Near you Shoe,I ordered from them a couple times,years ago,I was very happy with them,Pretty shocked to see new shipping prices,:(

Shoe,

It's in your neck of the woods...Raleigh, NC. It's Tony Advents Nursery.

Paul, I looked in the Watch Dog (saw your comment too), and many people mentioned their high prices for plants. I guess I could mention the high cost for shipping of 4 plants.

I just posted my comments in the Watch Dog.

Donna

This message was edited Saturday, Jan 11th 2:52 PM

Donna, I have tons of seeds for the Lily v. Philapensis if you care to try from seed. :) They are supposed to bloom the first year.

I have to jump in and give my 2 cent's on this one!

When I order hosta from the west coast, like from Naylor Creek the shipping is quite a bit but I get the plant's I want.

There are several west coast nursery's that I would LOVE to order from but after I see the shipping I just look elsewhere.

Now with Plant Delight's nursery I could care less what they charged me cause to get some of T. Avent's hosta is worth it!!!!!

I have placed a VERY SMALL order this year and there will be PLENTY of room in my box for your 4 plant's! PD has a minimum to NJ for up to 8 plant's and I am already paying it so if you want the plant's I will just have them shipped with my order!!!!!

SoCal e-mail me your zipcode and I will see how much it would cost to ship them to you from my house!

Can you tell I am a PD addict????????????? hehe

sue

Ruby, I also am a PD addict! I adore their offerings, but, as everyone now knows, their shipping costs are very high. Also there is the minimum order of $35. And if you order something they are out of, the whole shipment gets cancelled if it falls under the limit :(

But the plants I have ordered have been far superior from any other nursery.

'Shoe, since you are close-by, you can just drive to pick up an order during their open house. Want a side-line *hint hint* -- picking up orders for us and sending them on ;D

Ruby42, your generous offer to SoCal is exactly why I was wanting to know the location of PD. (I knew that name rang a bell.)
I was wondering if their shipping charges went up because of "packing and shipping" charge. Postal rates haven't gone up that much in the past yr or so, so what may have gone up is PD's packing/handling charge.
So...was just wondering how it would work if a DG member who lived near a certain nursury and went and bought plants for someone on the other side of the country, then mailed them to them...wouldn't the shipping charge be much much less.
I don't often get to Raleigh, but think we have some members over that way. And if I decide to go over that way for some reason, I'd be willing to volunteer picking up a few items.

You haven't asked for my two cents, so here it is:

I've just seen the Plant Delights catalogue for the first time. It looks like a sophisticated, professional operation, offering a startling array of interesting plants. I certainly understand the attraction.

The prices seem a little high, but they do have some unusual things.

A couple things struck me right away..., the copywriter has a sense of humor. Some of the jokes work. But, some are pathetic (no one bats 1000).

Then there is the rather pejorative notion these people have that "not everyone has been trained to be a good customer." And then they go on to train us..., actual sentient adults, in how to behave so their lives are more pleasant. At first I thought this was part of their humor.

Then you couple this with the idea that there is a minimum order and that, let's say, MY entire worder would be cancelled if THEY were out of something, causing MY order to fall below THEIR minimum. Excuse me, but did anyone ever teach them how to be a good vendor?

Now to the shipping prices:

I have 16 nursery catalogues here on my desk. Plant Delights is the second highest of them all.

All in all, a rather interesting service concept.

Adam.

The shipping to NJ (and the east coast) is $16.00 for up to 8 plant's then they add $2.00 a plant after 8!!!! It does not go by weight at all because some of the hosta that I recieved were 3-4 eyes and pretty BIG!!!!!!!!

I checked shipping to SoCal ( i think I got the right zipcode) and a 3 1/2lb box was $10.00 and a 5lb box is $12.00!!! That sure is a pretty big difference don't you think!!!!!!!

SHOE PLEASE DON'T TEASE A HOSTAHOLIC!!!!!!!!! hehe

sue

hehehehe...Sue, ain't I devious!?? ;>)
(actually, it was rather un-intentional! But now I'm grinning ear to ear!) (or is that "eye to eye"?)

My hunch is that Tony Avent has spent his lifetime building up his business to the point where he isn't willing to mess around with the "bargain-hunter" customer (hey, I've got a wide streak of the "WalMart mentality" in me, so I'm not saying it's a bad thing!)

But Plants Delight is proud of what they offer, they offer some unusual things you won't get elsewhere, and they're willing to settle for fewer sales and more $$ each sale.

In contrast, here's a little story.

A few months ago, I read each and every Michigan Bulb customer comment for the Plants By Mail site (there are something like 400 comments for this company - I don't recommend trying to open that page!) A pattern emerged: Michigan Bulb offered EXTREMELY cheap perennials and bulbs. This made their plants affordable and appealing to almost every gardener, regardles of experience or discernment. Unfortunately, new gardeners and tiny "liner size" perennials are a BAD combination, unless that gardener is willing to research what they've got to know what to do with it. And is willing to take a few lumps as part of the learning process.

As most of us know, that didn't happen - Michigan Bulb developed a reputation as a source of plants that wouldn't grow; and people lined up to demand refunds. I'm not defending MB, or saying they didn't send out some bad/rotten/dead plants, especially toward the end. But I think their business model was flawed from the beginning.

And I think companies like Plants Delight looked at what happend to MB and decided they weren't going to compete in the "lowest-priced-operator" arena. Instead they chose to sell larger, unique, higher-quality plants, and refuse to apologize for their prices. (That attitude can be taken to an extreme, too - I'm sure they've seen a drop in sales as the economy slowed; would-be customers opt to find less-expensive alternatives for the plants they covet.)

I am a devout subscriber to the theory that you get what you pay for. I'm not a bargain hunter. I have no doubt that Plant Delights sells absolutely unique, immortal plants that drop seeds with 150% germination rates.

But I am also a devout subscriber to the notion that, after 30~odd years of education and career success, I don't need a fellow hoping for a bit of my money to talk down to me in that particular way, telling me under what infantile conditions he's willing to accept my money to make his day easier.

Come on boys and girls, who is this nurseryman, the Mick Jagger of exotic plants?

Adam.

Definitly not the Mick Jagger type........


More like the Bob Marley of Hosta Breeder's!!!!!! hehe

sue

Well, I understand what Vols is saying. Matter of fact, at the mkt I sell at I oftentimes look at my competitors prices, and then set mine higher (not lower)! My stuff is very good (I leave the "questionables" at home until I can bring them up to my qualifications).

I'm not sure of the "talking down to customers" that PD does in its catalog...don't have one.

However, in this thread, SoCal was perfectly willing to pay the price of what PD was offering per item but it was the exorbitant shipping charge that turned her away. The shipping charge/packing/handling should have no bearing on the quality of the product...so that seems to be where the problem lies.

I need to "chime" in here with my 2 cents worth too...

I have purchased several wonderful items from Plants Delight Nursery for the past few years. Tony Advent is the owner and plant conisseur of exotic, hard-to-find, and unusual plants at P.D., that don't sell for bargain basement prices.

His cataloge is a work of art (in my opinion), and in fact, the covers are designed by an artist, plus, you can get them screen printed on tee shirts, too. Having kept many of the P.D. cataloges over the years, I not only enjoy his satirical humor, but his attempt to "poke fun" at controversial issues. Enough said about the cover of his cataloges.

The true "love of his life" are unusual plants for the discriminating buyer, plant collector, Hostaholic (I hear ya Ruby42), or Aroid lover (didn't forget you Lupinelover). YES!!! YOU PAY MORE for exotic plants! YES!! His prices are high and going higher!! YES!!!The shipping charges are outrageous!!! I agree with everything y'all have said!!!!

However, there is one simple undeniable truth....I LOVE ALL THE PLANTS IN THE CATALOGE AND WANT ALL OF THEM!!!!!! Sooo, with my emotions laid out on the table and my piggybank getting emptier my the moment, what is a gal suppose to do????

I'm just thinkin' out loud, but does ANYONE (I'm on my knees beggin') live close by Plants Delight, who might want to take a "look & see", at his Spring collection??? AND...who might want to see if a group of us plant lovers were to purchase a few plants "in bulk"...could we, would we, get a price break???

I would be more than happy to chip in a couple of dollars to help defray the cost of the person from D.G. who spends their time & gasoline, to make a "Spring Run" for us Plants Delight fanatics???? Uummmm....like I said, it was just a thought!

Yup Shoe, your right on target there. They carry some unique plants, and many of them are their first time out into the public.
I have so many nurseries around me, and many of them carry some unique plants themselves, but the the ones in the PD catalog just caught my eye immediately.

Thank you Sue and Shoe for the kind offer of possibly getting the plants for me. I don't want you to go out of your way and spend all that time, so I am letting you know, that I can do without these plants for now. There are so many other plants that I would like also, and I can get them out here.

Shoe, this is a quote from the PD about shipments:

" Before we got into this business, we thought companies were making lots of money on shipping..maybe so, but it is not the nurseries. After careful analysis of the time required to take the order, pull the order from the growing area, prepare and wrap it, pack it, fill out the shipping paperwork and acquire shipping containers, there is NO WAY but to lose money on shipping. Therefore, to be like our federal gov., we are dedicated to continue this nursery tradition.

I guess this is to make us feel ok about the High Shipping cost. Not me, as this is what a Catalog business is for.

Nough said,
Donna

Many fine nurseries seem to be able to ship plants in excellent condition without outrageous shipping prices. And many of his offerings are available elsewhere at lower prices for the same size and quality. Seems to me prices are unnecessarily high at both ends... And I don't take kindly to any condesending either. While I am on this rant, I'm not so sure the cover mocking 'Titanic' is appropriate either... Have enough years gone by where that is 'funny'?

'Shoe, Sue, if either of you is offering to do a run to PD, count me in!!!!!! As with Shirley, I would be more than willing to add some to the postage cost to make the mileage for you :) Puh-leeze????

I made out a lust-list for $300. The cost of shipping made that completely insane, so you get an idea just what kind of a nut I am.

HAH! I know the feeling..so easy to spend $$.

At this time I know better than to take on any extra responsibilities, HOWEVER, should for some reason I decide to head over that way I'll post here first! (Sounds like IF I go I better hook up the trailer!)

My two cents...worth maybe half a cent... I shop around and usually prefer to start my perennials from seed. However, if I find a decent, healthy plant I've been looking for and it's expensive...I usually don't care how much I have to pay for the plant or shipping. Having said that, I seldom pay what I consider too much for a plant. Having a greenhouse myself I know what it takes to keep plants healthy, and unless the greenhouse is in the frozen tundra, it isn't much. However, some plants are several years old before they a considered sellable, and after a few years there are lots of hours of care tied up in a plant.

It basically all boils down to how bad you want the plant. I'm afraid I don't want any of this nursery's plants *that* bad.

Hey Shoe,

If you decide to take a "road trip" sometime in the future, please let us know and make sure to hitch up the trailer! You could fit a whole lot of plants into it :~)

HAH...I could start a 'delivery route' ,eh?

"Delivery Route"...from coast to coast! What a road trip that would be :~)

Sure! Pack up the family and make a journey like Cala and gang did last summer!

After working on the Plants By Mail and Watchdog sites, I'd suggest these alternatives for less-common plants:

Avant Gardens: http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/13/
Fantastic Plants: http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/131/
Trans-Pacific Nursery: http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/1662/
Native Plants of the Northwest: http://gardenwatchdog.com/c/1063/

Go Vols Thank you Thank you!I have been looking all over to find the place I got my Gunnera Manicata from!Trans-pacific!Did you see the Gunnera?Wow,again THANKS!Rtdr.

Thanks Terry, I will have to take some fun time and peruse these sites.

Donna

You're welcome, rootdoctor! Donna, good luck with your search - I know how you feel. I'm always tempted to order from ForestFarm, until I review the shipping costs from Oregon to here :(

After reading through all these posts there is one thing all of you are forgetting. If for any reason your Plant Delight plant arrives in anything but sterling condition, they will replace it. We live in America....and so far the government has not decided to regulate plant prices. So for that very reason, there are hundreds of nurseries out there. You have a choice to deal with PD or not...just as they have a right to decide what to charge for their services. None of us have any idea what their overhead is. So that siad, I don't think it fair to judge a nursery on anything but its plant material. If you were being FORCED to buy only from PD that would be a different story. Amen. PS Adam..lighten up...they've got a good sense of humor...and if their intent was to rile certain people with that sense of humor, they have succeeded!

I have to say in defense of P.D. I bought a couple of lycoris bulbs at $15 each. I never spend that much on bulbs but these were so cool I had to have them. Both of them croaked no blooms no growth nothin!!!
I called their customer service and got the run around and no satifisation. I posted a negative comment on the Watchdog.

A few weeks later I got a personal Email from Tony Avent who had seen the comment. He sent replacement bulbs last fall and was very concerned about the comment on the Watchdog.
I planted them and we shall see if they grow. I have to say I was impressed by the attention I got.

Paul

Paulgrow,

I'm very happy to hear that Tony Avent at P.D. came through with replacement bulbs for you. Any reputable nursery should and would! However, if you had NOT written your negative comment in the "Watchdog", would your replacement bulbs have "slipped between the cracks"? Makes a consumer begin to wonder?! IMHO, Customer Service should NOT have given you the "run around", if you had notified them in a timely manner regarding the demise of your bulbs! Hope the replacements will grow and give you beautiful blooms :~)

SoCal, my math comes out the same as yours. $46 for 4 plants and $16 for shipping. $60.00

Golddog,

Sorry to say this, but the shipping was $26.00 by itself for the 4 plants, which comes to $76.00. That is what my comment was about.

Dale, yes I know they carry quality plants and some unique ones to boot, but the shipping charges are way to high for me. There are so many other type of plants that I can buy and love, and use that $26. to purchase more plants with.

Donna

Exactly Donna and it is your choice. But we should not knock PD because we have NO idea what their cost of doing business is and I am certain that they are not making money on shipping. I got a fern that UPS had done in and it was replaced immediately with no questions asked. Another fern met the same demise in the same order but they were out of them. Without prompting, they replaced it when more were ready...several months later. So OK...their plants are and expensive and perhaps their shipping is high but in my opinion, it is balanced with the service and quality of plants and we have free choice to deal with them or not. I, for one would never hesitate to deal with them if it is something I really want.

Well said Dale, and I agree with you there. I have paid a high price for a plant when it was something I couldn't find anywhere else or I just really had to have it. I hope you understand that I am not knocking PD down at all, I just made a comment about the shipping costs that day, as I was in shock when I went to place my order.

Donna

The shipping to So. Ca. (accross the country) has to be the reason for this $26 in cost. Here I was complaining about my $16 and you are asked to pay $26. I have the same problem ordering from Heronswood or Joy Creek. It has to be Fedex and UPS's rates.

Too many negatives and neutrals in the Watchdog for me to consider ordering.

Hola ya'll , I just now made it here.

I am a HUGE fan of their catalog. (I read catalogs for entertainment and educational purposes as well as just to buy stuff! ;-))

I Do plan to order something from them- I have bunches of stuff marked on the "wish" box they kindly provide BUT will have to pare that list down mercilessly.

Living n social security as I do, I try to gt the most bang for my buck that I can.

But consider this: they guarantee everything (within reason). They make plant exploration trips to a lot of foreign countries, then propagate, which takes time, water, patience, etc and you may have failures. And then with the new phytotox laws, it will be even more of a hassle.

PLUS it takes years to get enough stock built up to offer things.

The owner is the editor and writer of humor. Not eveyone
gets or appreciates everything ANHYone writes...but I did not take offense at the statement made, which Anto cited.
I just thought it the writer's attempt at humor, and a little irony added in.

I DO plant to order something to see what I get, and how the service is. And will share my opinions at that time.

Just based on their catalog, there is NO comparison with
Michigan Bulbs! (I HATE catalogs where they draw or computer-generate images instead of showing real fotos.)

Also, when purchasing, I always consider the propagatin possibilities... long term...in order to determine if it is worth my precious bucks.

After all,m the ess I spend on what I want, the more I will have for OTHER things I want or deed (like travel, etc.)

Lavanda