Tempted

The offers seen in the magazines and newspapers have big colourful pictures, special offer prices and wild claims, how can you manage without one?

Magazine and newspaper readers offer

Well as with most things buyers beware, read the small print carefully try to find out what size of plant you will receive.

The picture nearly always shows you what the plant might look like in the future, the picture is chosen to entice you.
Do a little research on google for problems, check prices on other sites and make sure you know the delivery costs.

The pictures usually show a fully grown plant but how big a plant will you receive.

There is no such thing as a bargain plant, there has to be a reason, usually, it is size make sure you know what size you are buying.

Check out our guide to online pot sizes and find out what they really mean.

Most reader offers are safe to buy, no paper or magazine will risk its reputation on inferior products.
The offers are organised through existing mail-order suppliers so there should be no problems with delivery and quality.
Mail order suppliers often use them as loss leaders to collect new customer details you may find you will receive emails and mailing from them unless you opt-out.

Delivery costs for big items, it might be cheaper to buy from a local store.
Things can go wrong with deliveries check which courier they use.
Plants may be smaller than you expected.

What to watch out for

Delivery costs

Check out the delivery costs, they are often hidden until you reach the checkout. Often multiple purchases have a maximum cost and it may work out cheaper to buy in bulk. If you live in Northern Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Wight lookout for postcode surcharges. Some couriers have different surcharge areas so it pays to shop around.

When will they be delivered

You might have to look carefully at this, so make sure you know what you are buying. You might be ordered for delivery in the future eg buying bedding plug plants in January for delivery in April.
Sometimes sellers can get swamped and it is not unusual for orders to take 3-4 weeks to be packed, check at the time of ordering by email and save it for future reference.

Delivery options

Plants are relatively low value and most sellers will try to balance cost versus speed, but they are perishable so choose a seller that offers quick delivery.
Try to find out which service they use, some are better than others. check for complaints.
Not normally at home during the day, most carriers will leave the parcel with neighbours or hidden this should be mentioned when ordering.
Ask what days they dispatch, some sellers will only send out early in the week to avoid parcels being held up in distribution over a weekend.
It is normal for sellers to stop dispatching plants in very hot or cold weather.

Substitutions

Check if there is a policy on substitutions, you should be told in advance.

Returns

Check what would happen if you need to return your purchase if you change your mind it is normal to pay the return delivery costs.
If the plants are faulty you won’t have to pay return costs. most problems can be sorted out by email and pictures.

What size will it be?

Read the description it should tell you the actual delivered size this is normally buried somewhere in the description, make sure you know what you are buying, don’t assume it will match the picture. check out our guide

Remember what you have ordered.

Keep copies of order forms and emails, as it can be hard to remember what you ordered. We often took irate emails and phone calls from online customers complaining about lost deliveries and damaged plants. However when we investigated it was for items that we didn’t sell, so it might be worth checking before complaining.

What if it goes wrong.

you have 7 days to make a complaint under the distance selling regulations, but with plants it may take longer for the problems to appear, you are still covered under the sale of goods act as long as you complain within a reasonable time.