Who to purchase from online?

Only eBay seller I've ever bought a few plants from was this chap. Not exactly cheap, but I was really impressed with the condition of the plants.

Items for sale by greenfingersjim | eBay

Nick

 

What sort of plants are you looking for Scotty ( perennials / shrubs ) ? I've lost count how many online nursery I've used or browsed

 

Most local nurseries, need the help of locals under the current conditions, if you talk to them, maybe you can come to a sensible arrangement. The following is true, make use of local butchers, greengrocers, nurseries. These businesses will close without your support. We buy some plants from big companies, these companies phone us with news about other companies folding, and cancelling orders, because they have no custom, use them or lose them, give your local businesses a try, at least a phone call, I cannot get bread and milk in any of the big stores, but my local Butchers is getting a supply daily, with lttle queing, I am in a fortunate posission, I am not relying on local trade (because we recently moved in), give the local a call, before queing with the zombies.

 

I'm sorry to say that the same sort of selfishness being shown by stockpilers etc is being shown a nursery/garden center around 20 miles from me.
It was on our local news today that they are throwing away thousands of plants and are trying to claim Government money. The reporter asked them if they'd tried any other way of carrying on business. They said they'd tried to set up mail order and also selling at the gate but it was too consuming of their time so they've sent the staff home on 80% wages.

Absolutely disgusting behaviour and I hope they go bankrupt.

 

Sadly I can't see a better plan on offer in that instance ...

As JWK says you can't set up an online business overnight (I have some knowledge there as that's part of my dayjob). No issue getting one set up off-the-shelf "instantly", but you then have to populate it with descriptions of everything, and photographs ... and maintain stock levels so you don't sell when all-gone, which a "walk in and help yourself" nursery simply won't have, particularly where goods are perishable and changing-quality-related. Setting up connection from Website to whatever in-house computer system they have for accounting etc. is also a time-consuming technical stumbling block. Can be done manually of course ... but rarely "overnight". Compared to bar-code-at-till having to manually input all online sales would be labour intensive and significantly increase cost. And once on the web customers have to then find you. People searching for the business by name will find it, but searching for "XXX plants" requires that Google has a ranking for the company ... and that certainly doesn't happen overnight, so the newcomer would be listed well down the Google results :(

Even John Lewis is struggling to maintain Bricks and Mortar alongside Online

Also I am doubtful that the delivery companies are able to take on any new customers at this time ... they will be short staffed, and all their existing customers that did both online-and-shopfront will have moved to 100% delivery-only.

I've not seen government offering handouts for perished stock, although that might come. Apart from 80% of furloughed staff wages everything else is basically "deferred payment" so very little help in keeping a business afloat as all the fixed costs still have to be paid, and I expect a garden centre has plenty of those - rent, rates, loans, and no idea how they will fair with contracts for plants supply that they now cannot sell ...

 

These are still advertising and i still get emails. Mr. Fothergill, DT brown,Suttons and Dobies. They might take longer for the order to be despatched, i don't buy from T&M anymore because i don't know what I'll get.

 

Hubby got a email from a local gc saying that they're doing orders over the phone and free delivery for orders over £30. @Scotty2088 If you can find out if your local gc do that, that will be good.

 

Sorry @Kristen , please refer to @Logan 's post.

Also, our local council has offered to buy plants off them and collect them as our landscapers etc are all still working as they work alone or in pairs. The miserable old git just isn't interested, he just wants money.

 

Several good solutions like that around which is heartening .. .although I would have thought councils would have contracts for plants ... might well be that they (e.g. from Holland) can't be fulfilled for transport reasons.

Yeah, there will always be those ... but I'm doubtful that there is actually enough money in the scrounging route for anyone to actually find it worthwhile, although no doubt there will be some who manage it.

Government has told me I don't have to pay my VAT this quarter, nor my mid-year income tax ... but before you celebrate (on my behalf ) they are only deferred until end of the year. If I borrow money from my bank it will have a government backed guarantee, but my bank will still require a personal guarantee as they always have done, so if the business actually goes bust they will take my house ... despite the government's guarantee. (Actually I haven't asked my Bank, this is what I read of Regular Highstreet Banks, the bank I use is excellent and has even thought of flogging its punters PPI, Insurance, or any other non-banking junk, and they haven't been repeated fined £billions for dishonest/illegal behaviour like the likes of Sharkleys)

Pleased to report that I had similar experience (my post now on previous page Who to purchase from online? )

 

Conincidentally just after posting that ...

... I had a call from them. Turns out he is not only Phone-answerer but also delivery-driver! Phoned to tell me when he would be arriving and asking for directions.

"Have you got Satnav?"

"I think there's something on my phone that can do that ..."

Ah, OK. Old-school ...

... so I gave him directions that he has written down

 

Hi folks

I said I would give some reviews on the companies I chose to use.

Jackson’s Nursery
Buy Plants Online - Online Garden Centre and Plant Nursery

I ordered a substantial amount of perennials from this company all in one go. They arrived well packaged, although they took over two weeks to arrive from order, I emailed them to discuss delivery and they never got back to me. The planets themselves were in very poor condition. Some almost dead and we shall see if anything comes from them. Thoroughly disappointed and would not recommend. Cost, I can’t comment as I’m not familiar with plant prices.

For all my other purchases I used eBay, specifically three sellers. My findings.

premier young plants
premieryoungplants on eBay

I ordered 9 plants in 4 varieties from this seller. They arrived very well packed, arrived in 3 days of ordering. The plants very healthy, with some in flower which were intact. They equally sent me more plants than I ordered in one variety. Not sure if a mistake or a kind gesture for ordering so many. They all arrived well watered and not dry. Highly recommend and their eBay feedback is 99.5% positive.

flowersgreen1
Items for sale by flowersgreen1 | eBay

Just the one plant ordered here, took a couple of days longer to arrive but arrived in 4-5 days. Again very well packaged, plant in excellent condition and well watered. This company included invoices and additional support information which made them come across as more professional. Again I would recommend.

Jackieclems
jackieclems on eBay

99.9% positive eBay feedback. Just one item ordered here but it arrived in 2 days from order. Again plant was very well packaged and secure, and arrived in fantastic condition, well watered.

So my overall experience of ordering online is that in fact small, local companies and perhaps enthusiasts that use eBay to sell their plants, provide a much better service and much better quality of plant than that of online retailers such as the one I used. I wouldn’t hesitate in using eBay to buy plants and shrubs again.

Scott

 

The nursery is local to me and to be honest the prices are high and the plant quality isn't the best, and garden furniture is unbelievably expensive, shame really I like to shop local where possible.