Flower delivery

[la79al]

I was hoping to send my mom flowers for her birthday but the cheapest I can find, including delivery, is $50. And they weren't super awesome flowers. Is this about standard? I'm really trying to decide if I can do better hitting some flower places myself and talking DH into delivering them for me.

 

[LSU25]

Yeah that's about right. We use FTD through Ebates an usually get 10-15$ back

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Yes, that is abut what I pay through ProFlowers. The flowers from them have always been great though! They always last a week or more, and if you have any problems, they replace them.

I usually shop through sun shine rewards or upromise and get a % back.

 

[MAJPLO]

Unless she is far enough away that you can't deliver them yourself (or DH) I'd skip the regular florist. One of my favorite things to do is to choose two bunches from the grocery store florist and combine them. I either get two mixed bunches or one mix and one rose bunch, ask the person working to combine them and they are beautiful. Or I buy a vase at a discount store and combine them myself. Costco has great flowers too that you can do the vase thing with also. Way more for your money than the typical florist shop.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I would opt for the grocery/WalMart/Costco/Sams club options its way cheaper than a florist.

You could also google for a coupon for the proflower/1-800 flowers ect. Sometimes you can snag a $10 off coupon.

 

[luvdzny]

I work in the floral department of a grocery store. We often take orders from out of state customers for local delivery. Our delivery charges start at 9.00 with a 25.00 minimum. You can get a nice arrangement delivered for under $40.00. You might want to check grocery stores in the area.

 

[midwestdee]

Just my opinion, but there is something special about receiving a delivery of flowers. Unless I was poor, if it was my elderly mother - I would pony up the money without a thought. I guess I'm thinking about this because I just had surgery and my former coworkers (the 3 of them have retired) sent me flowers! They were not only beautiful, but what a lovely surprise during a less than fun week. I appreciated that so much.

 

[donac]

I have sent flowers many times to our parents but I stopped a couple of years ago when the arrangement I got from FTD was okay but not worth the money I paid for.

Dh and I now just go to our local grocery store and pick out some flowers and have then set up a nice arrangement.

I do know that there is something special about getting flowers delivered. Both mothers always knows that they are from us since we are the only ones who send them flowers.

You might call a local florist. They might be a better price.

 

[sk!mom]

If your mom is local, I would go with the grocery store flowers too. I love getting flowers so DH buys them often. He used to do a mix of having the florist deliver on special occasions and just randomly stopping at the grocery when he'd think of it. After a while we noticed that the grocery flowers were lasting much longer than the florist so he know solely does that. Why not go to the grocery, pick out what you want and see if they deliver. Some groceries do.

I could tell many stories of people I know being burned by florists after they went through FTD. I've personally seen so many rip offs that I won't do it. You pay for something gorgeous and then the local florist they contract sends whatever thinking that the sender is far away and will never know.

 

[valee]

If you're looking for a florist to make a delivery out of town on the internet, please take the extra step to make sure that your online search for "Florist Small Town USA" gives you a florist in that town. There are lots of online floral middlemen who appear to be located in Small Town, who will happily take your order and payment online, and then contact a florist actually in the town and place the order. If I don't see an address in the community, I keep looking. When looking for businesses actually in the community, I've had success with finding a name on the Small Town Chamber of Commerce member list. I always tell the florist how I found them, figuring that it's good for them to know that their C of C membership literally paid off with some business.
Dealing with the actual florist allows me to give all the design details and delivery direction directly to the actual florist, so there's less chance of the message getting skewed. I've gotten some lovely arrangements sent by telling them how much I want to spend and any particular preferences (tall/short arrangement/he likes blue flowers/she hates babies' breath), but leaving the selection of flowers and design to them.
I was actually embarrassed once when I sent flowers to a friend's grandfather's funeral. I called the small town florist and ordered a $25 arrangement, figuring that would be a token arrangement showing my respect. What I didn't know was how inexpensive flowers were there. They delivered a huge arrangement that was the second largest arrangement of many at the funeral home. My friend says her family still asks about that nice lady who sent all those flowers, even though it's been years.

 

[dhuba]

As a former florist, I would tell you to avoid going through a third party like Proflowers, and call a florist in the town you want the delivery in. You will be able to talk to the actual people who will make the arrangement and see what is available. When you choose from a picture online, frequently those flowers aren't available at the florist they transfer the order to, and they will substitute and sometimes not to your liking. When you talk to the actual florist making the arrangement, they can tell you what they have and you will most likely be happier in the end.