1-800-Flowers.com: Timely, but Costly
Written: Jan 09 '03 (Updated Jan 10 '03)
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Shopping for flowers is not something that I do very often. Special occasions, like anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, etc., are about the only time that I think about this type of gift. And when I do think about it, I often turn to the internet, to make my purchase. One site that I have used in the past is 800flowers.com, a web service that can be used for purchasing flowers, plants, and many other types of gifts.
What Does This Site Have to Offer?:
Most people who logon to this site come here for the flowers, but the site has more items for sale than that. Here is a breakdown of the various areas to shop for merchandise:
Flowers- First and foremost, this is a web service that is dedicated to the purchase of flowers. In this area, you will find a wide assortment of choices that includes roses, wildflowers, tulips, lilies, and others. Some of the floral arrangements also include other gift items, as part of the package, like a giant Hershey’s Kiss, a box of chocolates, birthday cake, etc. You can just browse through the selections at random, or choose one of the links that will display selected items for specific occasions, like birthdays, weddings, get well, etc.
Plants- All sorts of plants are available here, like juniper, lily of the valley, bamboo, cactus, etc. Just like with the flowers section, you can search by special occasion, by season, by department, by brand, by price, etc.
Gourmet- Food items are the featured merchandise in this area. Here, you will find such gift ideas as fruit baskets, vegetable baskets, turkey, gourmet cheese, tea baskets, coffee trays, and so on.
Sweet Shop- Chocoholics and others who crave the taste of sugar will enjoy this area of 800flowers.com. You can select from such items as chocolate cheesecake, candy cake, chocolate covered strawberries, gingerbread cookies, and other assorted goodies. Some of the gift items are strictly food, while others combine food with some other piece of merchandise, like a teddy bear or cookie jar.
Unique Gifts- If the food, plants, and flowers don’t spark your interest, you might want to check this section. You will find such gift selections as jewelry, candles, stuffed animals, picture frames, and other miscellaneous gifts. This is a good place to browse through if you cannot decide on a gift to buy. Many of these gifts are the types you would not likely think about on your own, and would not likely find in your neighborhood department store.
Specialty Boutiques- Similar to the Unique Gifts section, this area includes more unique items, although what you will find here is more in line with items that you could easily locate in a nearby shopping mall. Some of the choices here include fine China, crystal, music boxes, tools, and gift selections for kids.
Other Services:
800flowers.com has a few other service offerings, accessible from the home page. You can purchase paper greeting cards, e-mail greeting cards (actually, this is just a link into americangreetings.com), e-mail bouquets of flowers, or join a monthly gift club. With this club, you first select a category of gifts (roses of the month, cake of the month, chocolate gift of the month, coffee of the month, etc.) then you select the duration of your gift (3, 6, or 12 months). Your recipient will receive a different gift, from your chosen category, for the duration that you selected.
Costs of Shipping:
This service adds shipping charges to all purchases, and the price can vary, depending on your desired speed of service, the items purchased, and the date that you want your merchandise to be shipped. After you have completed your order, you will be asked to enter the state and zip code of the shipping destination, along with your desired date of shipment.
Shipping charges with this site are rather pricey. It varies slightly, depending on the spped of service that you need, but the standard shipping rates are basically as follows:
0 to $14.99……$4.99 shipping
$15 to $29.99…$7.99 shipping
$30 to $49.99…$9.99 shipping
$50 to $74.99…$11.99 shipping
$75 to $99.99…$13.99 shipping
$100 to $149.99..$16.99 shipping
$150 to $174.99..$19.99 shipping
$175 to $199.99..$24.99 shipping
$200 to $249.99..$29.99 shipping
$250 to $299.99..$34.99 shipping
$300 to $349.99..$39.99 shipping
$350 and up…….$44.99 shipping
The exception to the above table is for orders that are shipped directly from a florist. If you order something that is delivered directly from a florist, the shipping cost is $9.99 for any flower order. Certain other items cost even more than the amounts on the above table, but only slightly.
If you need your delivery faster, then you will need to add even more money. For second or third day delivery, you will need an additional $10. And for overnight delivery, you will need to pay an extra $15.
Final Thoughts:
800flowers.com is a useful site for purchasing flowers and other gift items. When I first logged into this site last year, I assumed that this service was nothing more than a giant, on- line florist. I didn’t know that it had so many other gift items for sale.
The web site itself is fairly good and easy to navigate. Many of the merchandise items overlap each other. For example, if you click on the link to look at flower arrangements in the “Love & Romance” category, there’s a good chance that some of the selections that you see will be the same as those in other categories, like the “Wedding” category.
Most Flower orders and other perishable items are shipped to you from a local supplier, to ensure that they arrive as fresh as possible. When I have used this site, my order was placed with ease and it was delivered on the exact date that I requested. The flowers were delivered fresh and new.
All is not rosy, however, with 800flowers.com. If I had to point out one negative to this site, it would definitely be the shipping prices and the prices of merchandise in general. As you can see from the above table, shipping costs are quite high with this site, and you don’t get much of a break at any price level. Even if you were to purchase $350 in gifts from this site, your shipping charge is high- $44.99. That’s equal to roughly 13 percent of the total cost of the gifts. Regular prices are costly, too. Take the “Tear Shaped Vase with Red Roses”, for example, which can be found in the wedding section. This includes a vase and an arrangement of 12 roses. The regular price? $74.99! It is often offered on sale for $49.99 or so, but even that price is high. You can find much better deals at your local florist. The selection might not be as good as 800flowers.com, but the price will be substantially less.
If you choose to use 800flowers.com for a purchase, you need to be careful around the busy shopping days of the year for flowers and gifts, like Valentine’s Day, Sweetest Day, Christmas, etc. If you procrastinate too long, you may not be able to get your order shipped when you need it. Or, you might be able to get the shipment on your chosen date, but only if you are willing to pay additional shipping. Since you can select an exact date for shipment, there’s really no reason to wait. You should place your order as far in advance as possible.
800flowers.com allows you to type a special message, to be sent along with your gifts, to your recipient. It doesn’t allow you much space to be creative, though. There is a limit of 150 characters in your message (roughly 40 to 60 words), but that should be enough, in most cases, to express your feelings. And if you’re not the creative type, you can select from one of the site’s standard, preset messages.
800flowers.com is a pretty good site, and it does come through in a pinch. But you pay for this reliable service with higher than average prices and high shipping charges. If there’s a reliable florist nearby and you need to send a gift locally, then you might be wise to shop there instead. But if you need to send a gift to a distant location and you don’t mind the prices, then 800flowers.com can come in handy. The products, while costly, are above average in quality and the service is dependable. That’s enough to give this on- line service a marginal recommendation.
Recommended:
Yes
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