The scoop on 'Gurney's Seed & Nursery'

Company Profile   Gurney's Seed & Nursery Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4178 Greendale, Indiana 47025-4178 (United States) Phone: 513-354-1492 Fax: 513-354-1290 » E-Mail them » Visit their website Recent reviews: Past month Past 6 Months Past 12 Months Positive 2 21 23 Neutral 1 10 13 Negative 5 24 29 This company is affiliated with Gardens Alive! This company offers a variety of gardening supplies and seeds. This company specializes in: Seeds: Vegetables Other helpful information: Member of Mailorder Gardening Association

Feedback History and Summary   197 positives 80 neutrals 208 negatives

Comments:

Rating Author Content Negative southgardner (1 review) On June 29, 2009, southgardner Tuscaloosa, AL wrote: I can almost echo the same complaints of other posted negative comments. I placed an order in March 2009 through US mail with check enclosed for a dwarf pomegranate. The check cleared the bank. Near the end of the shipping schedule for my zone, I had not received my order. Sent an e-mail to customer service, received an apology for the inconvenience and was told a re-ship would arrive in 2-3 weeks. Didn't receive the re-ship near the 3rd week, send 2nd e-mail and was told the delivery date would be March 2010! Requested refund, was informed to expect refund in 30 days. After reading the posted comments, I am not very hopeful that I'll actually receive a refund. Company representative comment on July 01, 2009: On Jul 1, 2009 10:12 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with: Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. Positive Liquidambar2 (1 review) On June 29, 2009, Liquidambar2 Mount Vernon, KY wrote: I gave up last summer trying to start my own sweet potatoes , so I put in an early order for them at Gurney' s in Feb.2009. They arrived in the mailbox-US mail on a cool day in late May (perfect). I planted them, and there were a lot more than the 50 plants I ordered. They were very healthy and took off pretty good. They are doing fine, we will see what I will dig up this fall, but so far I am really happy with them Positive nobluefood (3 reviews) On June 21, 2009, nobluefood Portsmouth, OH wrote: I ordered several times this season. most orders were fine, simple transactions and reasonable shipping time. everything was as described. one order, for two clearance priced (and cannot find elsewhere!) fruit trees did become a bit of a comedy of errors. they could not ship a Honeysweet pear, they were out of stock. to their credit they did not just substitute. after a couple weeks I emailed asking for a refund. this went on for two months, but each time a different customer service rep DID respond very quickly, and promise to forward to billing. but this was just not happening. finally they had an end of season clearance, and I emailed asking in lieu of refund, just ship me a Bartlett pear (which was on sale for approximately what I had paid for the Honeysweet). after several back and forths regarding possible amount I might owe (I refused to pay anything, actually) this was agreed upon, and they shipped an ENORMOUS caliper semi dwarf (more expensive) Bartlett pear, who is leafing out nicely. because they'd run out of the cheaper standard Bartlett pear trees. I definately will continue to do business with Gurney's. I am of fixed income, and I have to order what I can, at sizes and prices I can afford. each year I deal with all the "disreputable" nurseries, and have found that with patience I get what I ordered, or replacements, and they do fine. Negative Dunover (2 reviews) On June 19, 2009, Dunover Penrose, CO wrote: I had planned to do quite a bit of ordering online this year, collected catalogs and decided to order from Gurneys. Long story short.. I order a cherry tree, blueberry and some raspberries. Did not get the cherry tree shipped notice and called to find out. They happily told me that it would not ship until fall. In Colorado that is the worst time to plant a tree, we are too dry during the winter, we have irrigation now!! Confirmed this via my local nursery. Was told by Gurnerys that I could not get a refund until the rest of the ordered arrived....waited...waited and then called with plans of exchanging the tree for some blackberries.Told the person that, and 45 minutes later was told that a check would be in the mail, what, I asked to exchange for berrys?? opps she messed up and canceled the order...no going back.. Was not able to get the berries unless I did a "new" transaction to buy them with my credit card.. BTW I paid originally with a CC....6 weeks later, still waiting for the "Check" and 10.00 we are sorry coupon was promised....contacted them again and smuggly told that they had refunded my cc weeks ago? Ok..great communication here! My thoughts.... 1) Henry Fields, Gurneys, Springhill Nursey are all owned by the same mother company a Scarlett something or other. 2) Customer service is terrible! 3) Website sucks... does not really tell you the RIGHT date item will ship... so only THEY know... Also the website does not let you know that items are OUT OF STOCK,,and will sell them to you. Am ecommerce web developer and these 2 options are easy peasy to fix! No excuse there unless you want to get peoples money and fix it later, in my mind I order alot of items online, not just gardening stuff and this experience was bar none, the most unpleasant and a bit maddening! If you do order, I would recommend calling to make sure you are informed of shipping dates and stock levels... not the website Company representative comment on July 01, 2009: On Jul 1, 2009 10:14 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with: I apologize for not replying sooner as I have been out of the office. Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. Negative dirtbert (1 review) On June 17, 2009, dirtbert Watkins, MN (Zone 4a) wrote: I ordered sweet potato plants from this company back in December of 2008. Product, according to the invoice, was packaged on May 5th. However, it was not shipped until June 5th. Obviously, the plants were completely dead and moldy when they arrived. After several failed attempts to contact the company over the phone, I was able to reach customer service over email. The company did agree to a full refund, however the amount of the refund was almost half of what I had been charged for the product. I have yet to see any refund at all, much less the paid price for the dead plant material. I had been a loyal customer of this company for many years prior to this bad experience with their customer service. Company representative comment on June 19, 2009: On Jun 19, 2009 10:09 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with: Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. Negative schrock (1 review) On June 12, 2009, schrock Carson City, NV wrote: My advise is don't do business with Gurney's. However if you do decide to do business with Gurney's don't order online, instead order over the phone. The website does not reflect actual inventory. If Gurneys is out of a product and you order online you will not be notified. Also they send out their refund as a check in the mail. Example I ordered two apple trees among other items and they were out of stock on the apple trees and I was not notified. I was told I would not get my refund for the apple trees until the last item in the order is shipped. My order was placed on 4/26/09 and I did not start receiving my order until 5/17/09. I did not receive all of the items in my order until 6/10/09. Today is 6/12/09 and they have not mailed out my refund check yet. Also their after hours phone support is in India. Need I say more. As far as their product goes the strawberry's that were shipped to me were in a descent condition but not the greatest. I had about a 75% success ratio. The bare root trees that I ordered were no more than a twig. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they sprout and survive. Company representative comment on June 19, 2009: On Jun 19, 2009 10:07 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with: Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our sincere apology for any inconvenience we may have caused. Our Customer Service Team is checking into the issue you had with your order and will do our best to rectify the problem in a timely manner. We will be contacting you directly with a resolution. Negative sillygal (1 review) On June 05, 2009, sillygal Morrison, CO wrote: I ordered from them over the past 2 years. Overall, only the strawberries grew well. Everything else was subpar for the price they were charging. The almond tree was promised to be 2-4' and all I got was a 1' stick which was dead. Money-back guarantee is FAKE. While they are pretty good at sending replacements, if you ask for your money back, they'll only offer a replacement certificate (or plant replacement). This happened when I asked for a refund. Instead, they send me a replacement cert! I advise sticking with your local garden centers. I've found much bigger/healthier plants usually lower prices at places like Home Depot and Costco. Company representative comment on June 08, 2009: On Jun 8, 2009 1:40 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with: Thank you for your inquiry. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience we may have caused you, and we ask that you consider giving us one more opportunity to provide you with world class service. Please understand that our company is based on 100% Customer Service. We are trained and qualified to answer any questions you may have or assist you with any problems that may arise. Neutral PAULJ (1 review) On June 03, 2009, PAULJ Albrightsville, PA wrote: I ordered on 4/8/09 their HEIRLOOM RAINBOW BLEND TOMATO to be shipped 4/26/09. I called and spoke to Dave on 5/20/09 and asked were my shipment was. He told me they had a freeze and would ship in a week or two. I wanted to cancel the order and was told I had to wait till I received the order. I received them on 6/3/09, this is to late to plant were I am at (90 days to maturity) we get snow in October, and the plants were mush in the package when I opened them ( were they frozen in shipment?) No tomatoes this year. I will buy all my plants locally from now on. NO MORE MAIL ORDER Negative chipbeam (1 review) On June 01, 2009, chipbeam Plymouth, MA wrote: Never never never again. I ordered three items about two weeks ago. I got an email with a link to check the status of my order. I was not too happy to see that two of the items were going to be shipped in the fall -- not the best time for planting here in cold New England (indeed, now, June 1 is ideal,,,,,) Wondering where the other item was I went to the web site using the link. It only showed one item, and back ordered till fall. I could not see if other items had been shipped or not. I called, and went through auto attendant hell, till I got a human (likely not in the US) who could not have cared less. He informed me that the other two items were now out of stock and been cancelled. I asked why I had not been sent an email to that effect. He mildly apologized, but said that is how their system works. I cancelled the rest of the order, made sure I am off their mailing list, and will never consider them again. I would rather pay a bit extra for good service to a company that cares about its customers. Positive dragon_tale (1 review) On May 30, 2009, dragon_tale Germantown, MD wrote: Generally speaking, Gurney's is worth doing business with for as long as you are not in a hurry to get the plants and have patience for them to correct their mistakes. Pros: - Cost is lower than many other online nurseries, especially considering the $25 off for new customers. - Plants arrive 99% healthy. - Offers some of the more rare plants that cannot be found elsewhere. - Charge is applied only when the plants are ready to be shipped. - "E-mail" customer service is responsive and VERY helpful. Cons: - Shipments arrive slower than many of the other online nurseries. - One order is often divided into multiple shipments without advance notice. - When an item is out of stock, the website does not update the info. In addition, Gurney's will substitute the item at their own discretion without informing the customers first. - "Telephone" customer service is not most helpful, although they do try. And if you have time to read the rest of my review, here are the details... Issue - website does not always list when the plant will be shipped (i.e. spring or fall). --|||-- Resolution - info is provided in shipping e-mail. When I wanted to exchange to a plant that can be shipped immediately, it was relatively easy to do. Issue - when exchanging a fall shipping plant with a spring one, I could only exchange for items that are not on sale. --|||-- Resolution - the customer service rep on the phone did what he can to work around this in their system. He was not exceptionally clever and I had to wait for a long time. BUT, he did tried to help. I ended up exchanging a full price item and order the climbing rose that was on sale separate and pay the extra shipping. Luckily the shipping cost was low. Issue - when item is out of stock, substitution is sent without advance consultation or even notice. --|||-- Resolution - my Whopper Strawberries were replaced with Camarosa Strawberries (also very nice but not what I ordered). I e-mailed customer service and they immediately offered to refund the cost of the item and have me keep the 56 Camarosa Strawberries they sent. Issue - shipments took quite some time to arrive. No shipping status is available for tracking. --|||-- Resolution - grow more patience and plan ahead the next time. Issue - one order is divided into multiple shipments. Sometimes one shipment can arrive a few weeks after the previous one. The shipping confirmation does not inform the customer when the remaining shipments will arrive. The confirmation only indicates what is being shipped. --|||-- Resolution - treat the shipments as surprise presents. You never know what you will get next and when. It's fun. Issue - because the shipments always arrives late and somewhat unpredictable as to which one will arrive next, it's difficult to be prepared to plant the plants as soon as they arrive. --|||-- Resolution - the plants from Gurney's are very healthy and well prepared, I was able to hold off on the planting for as long as two weeks after receiving the plants. Again, in general, Gurney's is a decent online supplier of plants. They provide a good variety of products at a very good price. But if you are not picky about what plants to get, I would highly recommend shopping from BulbsDirect.com. They sell very healthy plants at very low prices. See my comments for them under the company's review page. Happy Gardening! Positive scout_dakota (2 reviews) On May 29, 2009, scout_dakota Trenton, NJ wrote: I didn't what to expect when I ordered from this company. The reviews seems so negative. But I was pleasantly surprised, even impressed their service. My order came in a couple of weeks, everything was fresh and alive and thriving. The packaging of the plants was the best I have ever seen. And I am not easily impressed. Maybe they've change management or something, but I will continue to order from them because they have given me the best product and service from a internet order ever! I am happy with my 6 new bi-color butterfly bushes and they are now planted (and still alive) in my garden. Negative enunciat (2 reviews) On May 26, 2009, enunciat Webster, NY wrote: I have been a long time Gurney's customer. Last April, I ordered 6 raspberry plants. 3 were dead upon arrival. I scheduled a replacement that was supposed to be shipped this spring. I called to check its progress in April and was told that it would ship out at the end of April. I called again in the middle of May to find that they had cancelled the order. They said that they had sold out---- apparently it is company policy to ship new orders before reshipments. They said they could send me the plants next spring- ?!?!?! I requested a reimbursement, tried to cancel another order I had going with them (they suspiciously said that it had shipped out already that day- fine- I will refuse delivery), cancelled all catalogues, and removed my email address from their mailing list. I am finished with Gurney's and, because they are a sister company, with Henry Field's as well. They didn't even apologize! Terrible customer service. Negative LandscapeOH (1 review) On May 24, 2009, LandscapeOH Centerburg, OH wrote: We just sent a letter to Gurney's: WE ORDERED FROM YOUR COMPANY (USING A DIFFERENT NAME) ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO AND YOUR SERVICE WAS BAD, SO WE UTILIZED OTHER ONLINE COMPANIES. WE OWN OUR OWN LANDSCAPING COMPANY AND TRIED A SMALL ORDER FOR OUR HOME GARDENING FROM YOU THIS TIME AND YOU HAVE VERY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. DO YOU KNOW THAT THE TIME IT TOOK YOU TO SHIP OUR ORDER, WAS TOTALLY UNACCEPTIBLE AND UNBELIEVABLE. IF I PROVIDED THAT SAME SERVICE, I WOULD NOT HAVE A CONTRACT AT ALL. YOU ALLOWED US TO ORDER ALL THAT MERCHANDISE; WHILE YOU KNOW YOUR INVENTORY AND DID NOT SAY THAT MUCH OF IT WAS NOT IN STOCK. I HAVE MY OWN CALENDAR/FREE TIME AND SCHEDULE, BUT YOU SHIPPED WHEN IT WAS BEST FOR YOU AND WHEN MY BUSINESS DID NOT ALLOW TIME TO BARELY GET MY OWN PLANTING DONE. YOU SHIPPED THE ORDER IN PARTS; REMINDING ME THE OTHERS WOULD FOLLOW OR YOU (FINALLY) DID NOT HAVE IT AT ALL! BUSINESS IS BUSINESS AND YOU JUST SHOULD NOT ALLOW THE ORDER TO GO THRU IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE PRODUCT; AS THERE ARE MANY OTHER GREAT SUCH SERVICES ONLINE TO CHOOSE FROM. YOUR SERVICE SUCKS!!! Positive artworksmetal (1 review) On May 14, 2009, artworksmetal Timberville, VA wrote: I ordered 2 trees and a blackberry. They were shipped in separate packages several weeks apart. Everything arrived in great shape. With a $25 off coupon, the price was excellent. Negative bobmisi (1 review) On May 12, 2009, bobmisi Brooklyn, CT wrote: This company cannot get an order shipped to the correct address. A month and a half and and 6 phone calls later I have no seeds yet, and they should be in the ground by now. The one thing they did get to me was yellow onions. The problem is , I wanted red onions. Seems they were out of those so they decided yellow would be okay. WRONG .... When you call, they cannot help because COMPANY POLICY , prohibits them from giving a refund or sending another shipment because the order they shipped to the wrong address has not gotten back to them. UPS tracking numbers don"t work and they give me phone numbers to call to try and locate the package.Why should I do their work, I made no mistake. Then they get rude and say I'm going to put you on hold, and leave you there, never to return. AVOID THIS COMPANY . THERE ARE COMPANIES OUT THERE THAT ARE REPUTABLE, AND HAVE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENTS THAT WILL HELP YOU WHEN THERE IS A PROBLEM. This company is an internet / mail order company that only exists on paper. It is afiliated with several other questionable entities which also have more negative reviews than positive reviews. You can do much better, stay away from this company. Positive WendyRN (3 reviews) On May 06, 2009, WendyRN Coeburn, VA wrote: Very early this year, I ordered multiple tomato plants from Gurney's. My plants arrived at my house the second week of April. They were beautiful, but I live in Zone 6, and our last frost date here in the mountains isn't until mid-May. I potted the plants, kept them in a relatively warm shed and babied them, but they were not happy and soon were droopy and mostly dead. I called Gurney's and spoke to a customer service rep who was very pleasant and helpful. She quickly set up free replacement of my plants with no problems. My new plants arrived today and are even prettier than the first ones. Negative indigosd (1 review) On May 05, 2009, indigosd wrote: Oh, where do I start with this horrible experience? When we started getting catalogs this Winter, we began the long process of careful planning for our garden this Spring and for future harvests of nuts, fruits and berries. Gurney's use to be in South Dakota so we decided to place our order with them. That was our FIRST mistake! I had an original order for over $350.00 but when I phoned in the order on 30 March 2009, many of the items on my list were not available. [I am on my knees saying prayers for Divine intervention for that!] I placed an order that came to $264.70 on 30 March 2009. That amount was charged to my credit card on 30 March 2009. I waited, waited and waited. Finally I got #69937 Watermelon seeds and #69948 Gotta Have it Sweet corn seeds. I planted the watermelon seeds in peat pots and placed them under my grow table to germinate. [We start all of our seeds and the Burpee tomato and Cucmbers were already 4 inches tall. My $4.95 packet of 12 watermelon seeds germinated one plant. I waited for the rest of my order and I finally got #15300 Candy Onion plants for $14.95. If it wasn't so awful I would be lol. They were no bigger than the eraser of a pencil! The Butternut Trees #13323 that were $9.50 each should have been listed as twigs. They were 8" tall and the diameter of a toothpick. The Contender Peach tree #65837 at the price of $31.95 was 24 inches tall and about 1/4 inch in diameter. The Heritage Raspberries #084732 cost of $10.95 at least had some size but they still have not had one leaf. I was still waiting for #65808 Honey Sweet Pear Tree for $28.95...I called Gurney's to ask about the Pear tree to find out that it was NO LONGER available. hmmmm..it was available when I placed my order and I paid for it. I asked to have the $28.95 refunded to my charge card immediately. Guess what? Gurney's has a policy of NOT REFUNDING your money to a credit card. They will issue you a refund check that you will recieve 4 to 6 weeks after YOUR FINAL order is shipped! This was 30 April 2009 and I was still waiting for shipment of 3 different potatoes, Asparagus [3 orders], Honey Berry bushes [2 orders], Sweet Potatoes [1 order], Pioneer Soft Neck Garlic [1 order] and 2 orders of their Shady Places Hosta. I was speaking to someone in the call center, three times I requested to speak to the Supervisor. Three times I was put on hold and this man would come back on the line and NO SUPERVISOR. Finally after paying for 30 minutes of long distance charges, I get to speak to "Brad". No employee id #. He was rude and abrupt. Again, I explain my concern and he said that it was the Company Policy to not refund to credit cards. I asked to Please speak to his supervisor and he told me that there was no one else to speak to-he was it. I requested a mailing address and phone number to the headquarters of Gurney's and he told me that there wasn't any mailing address or phone number. He was in charge of Customer Service. He told me that he would cancel the rest of my order and that a refund check would be sent. I requested that he send me an email with a reference number so that I could track the refund and he said that he would send me an email. I have never received an email from "Brad" as promised. On 1 May 2009 I called Gurney's Customer service again. This time I spoke to a "Crystal" who seemed to be helpful. She agreed that I should get a refund of $228.50 for the canceled order. I requested that she send me an email with a reference number and she agreed to email me. I have not received the promised email. Today, 5 May 2009 I once again phoned "Customer Service" to ask about my refund check-again put on hold, again spent 30 minutes on the phone that I paid for only to be disconnected after 30 minutes. I called back immediately and asked to be reconnected to this person only to be told that they couldn't do that and I would have to speak to the person that answered. aaarrrggg So....I am still waiting to have my money returned to me and it comes as several checks-not one and MAYBE I might get it before July?! Oh, and the final blow is that I paid 15.95 shipping for my 2 packets of seeds and that is not refundable. This is for the $4.95 watermelon seeds that only one germinated! so, I paid $26.35 for two packets of seeds! If I didn't need my money, If I hadn't spent hours on the phone and paying for long distance charges, If I wasn't a year behind on the growth of the trees and shrubs, etc...this would almost be funny! You couldn't make this up it is so bizarre. Here is my advice; NEVER consider buying anything from Gurney's or compaines owned by them. You will be very sorry and lose your money. Does anyone have a phone number or mailing address for the company Headquarters? I really need my $228.50 returned. I would also like to turn them into Better Business but I don't know which state to do it in. Should I complain to my state or who? Happy Gardener but a shafted Gurney's EX customer, indigosd Company representative comment on June 08, 2009: On Jun 8, 2009 1:00 PM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with: For this customer the entire matter was taken care of and she was fully refunded for her order. Neutral Express128 (6 reviews) On May 04, 2009, Express128 Arlington, TX wrote: Purchased some cherry trees along with raspberry, strawberry, and others. Trees arrived in good condition coming out from dormant but strawberries were in bad condition, most of them were dead. Called customer service and another was sent out next day, this time they arrived in a somewhat pleasing condition, watered for a week and they did fine. Other items such as raspberry have not shipped, they keep on changing the date. Its been 3 1/2 weeks and my raspberry,coffee plant, blueberry, and pomegranate have yet to come. Positive ecoman1 (3 reviews) On May 02, 2009, ecoman1 Independence, KY (Zone 6b) wrote: I was nervous about ordering from this company after seeing so many negatine reviews, but I wanted a Sundance apple tree and Gurney's is one of only two nurseries authorized by Purdue University to sell them. I ordered two apple trees in January '09. Received confirmation, and they showed up on March 18, optimum time for planting. Five weeks later, both trees are vibrant. I am pleased with my experience. Negative brandywinefran (3 reviews) On May 01, 2009, brandywinefran West Chester, PA wrote: I have ordered from Gurney's fairly often over the last few years, but will find another supplier next season. First, UPS Basic is unacceptable. Tracking OFTEN shows that my items have wandered all over, literally passing through my town before landing at a distribution site three counties away. THEN they're to us sent via USPS, adding nearly a week of additional transit time. And considering the long delivery time, very expensive! It takes them FOREVER to ship, and the estimated ship dates change almost daily. I have an order in now that will ship more than three weeks after ordering (if we're lucky!), which means that it will arrive more than a month after my order (maybe). Don't solicit business if you can't fill the orders in reasonable time! A CSR I spoke with this week was unable to understand a word I said. He finally just said "computers down call back later." I have (reasonably and pleasantly) expressed my problems with UPS Basic to the company when the service was begun. No use, a lot of "we're not responsible for shipping time" stuff. Maybe if you didn't take weeks to fill the order, THEN use the worst way of shipping, your customers would be satisfied! On May 2nd, 2009, brandywinefran added the following: Also, someone mentioned that they\'re cutting corners to save money. Doesn\'t that mean they\'re cutting corners to keep more of the shipping fees we have paid? Their shipping is certainly NOT any less expensive than other merchants, and it certainly is much slower, plus more damaging to the plants. PS--my delivery dates just changed AGAIN! On May 5th, 2009, brandywinefran added the following: Surprised to receive a shipping confirmation e-mail this morning for 4/20 order (two plants). E-mail stated delivery via UPS Ground--wonderful! But on my order information on the website, delivery stated UPS Basic--BOO! So we\'ll be waiting at least another week for delivery. Also, the delivery dates for my second order have been moved up AGAIN. Unacceptable. On May 7th, 2009, brandywinefran added the following: Today I received Dmail from Debbie at Gurney\'s. I\'m posting my reply here, for everybody\'s information: \"I was VERY surprised to find out this morning that Order #xxxxxxxxxxx had been actually sent UPS Ground (instead of Basic) and was marked \"Out for Delivery\". I hope that your company continues to ship UPS Ground. Order #xxxxxxxxxxx, placed April 30, has had its delivery date moved up almost daily (including today), and now says \"Delivery May 14-May 28\". Unless it ships today, the earlier date is not possible. The later range of dates will have the order arriving nearly a month after placing. First, the uncertainty of a consistent expected delivery date is beyond irritating. Second, the constant e-mails about sales and specials are pointless if your company can\'t fill the orders in a reasonable time. Third, using UPS Basic is frustrating for the customer, and bad for the plants. I simply do not want to deal with the uncertainty of your delivery issues, since this is not a problem I have encountered with any other garden company I deal with. The fact is, once an order is placed, the customer has absolutely no idea if and when it will ship and arrive. This is not the first growing season I have experienced these problems, and I have been forced to cancel some orders because of delivery problems. Thanks.\" On May 12th, 2009, brandywinefran added the following: OK, it\'s now a few days later, and no response from Debbie about second order. Order not shipped, delivery date has changed, maybe twice. Just another e-mail would have been nice, even if it was just to say there\'s shipping problems, or whatever. Why bother contacting me if you aren\'t going to respond? On May 15th, 2009, brandywinefran added the following: It\'s now Friday, May 15--still no word from \"Debbie.\" Order still marked \"Not Shipped\", but delivery date reads May 18-May 21--I don\'t think so! Plus, now the gooseberry plants are no longer on the website, so I can only assume they are not available. BUT--on the 13th I received another e-mail proclaiming another sale on their small fruits and berries! I was furious, since my 4/30 order for gooseberries and raspberries is lost in limbo somewhere! What a scam!! Take the money, don\'t ship the plants, ignore the customer. On May 15th, 2009, brandywinefran added the following: I just saw that I had a new D-Mail, from Donna. She apologized for the delay and informed me that the plants should arrive early next week, which I take to mean the 26th, or so. Really don\'t want the plants sitting over long weekend, but at least we\'re making progress! Company representative comment on May 15, 2009: On May 15, 2009 11:46 AM, Gurney's Seed & Nursery responded with: Replies were sent to the customer on May 7,13 and 15th. A rush was applied to her order and it is shipping, gooseberries included. Positive floatingfeather (2 reviews) On April 28, 2009, floatingfeather Indianapolis, IN (Zone 5b) wrote: I am a first time customer. I heard rave reviews from a couple ladies I work with and I thought it would be so easy to just web shop and then wait for my plants to arrive. I also thought that taking part in a 'special' would make it worth my while. I placed my first order online from Gurney's. Each of the grasses I ordered stated "for each offer ordered, get 1 plant". So I thought great!!! I ordered 2ea Fountain Grasses, so that in my mind would lead me to believe I'd qualify for at least one plant free, as it states 1 to 2 $5.95. Ok, then I ordered Golden Forest, 3ea of those, and it states the same statement about the "offer" and I thought I'd get at least 1 free plant. I also ordered Gracillimus Ornamental Grass, 4ea of those and the "offer" for "3 or more $5.45", so again I'm led to believe I would get a free plant. On early morning on 4/27/09 I emailed their customer service thinking I'd get a response and it was just an oversight. No response. So today the 28th I called as I just had my account number and order number, but not the printed out pages I had at home to 'question' the "offers". I was told I did not qualify for the "offer". So what is the offer?? Is it hidden on the page somewhere?? I'm confused and angry at the same time, and I doubt I'll do any reordering with Gurney's in the future. I'll just go back to supporting my local nursery. On April 28th, 2009, floatingfeather added the following: I too wish I had found out about this site BEFORE I got so excited about ordering. On May 8th, 2009, floatingfeather changed the rating from negative to positive and added the following: I was pleasantly surprised that I did receive customer service contact and a refund to my cc for the inconvenience. I now know their language isn\'t what it appears but because they chose to reach out and resolve the misunderstanding in this way, I just wanted to say I\'d give them another try. Negative mcd0019 (2 reviews) On April 27, 2009, mcd0019 Oak Forest, IL (Zone 5b) wrote: Well, here we go again... Last year I posted a negative review for Wayside Gardens. After being a loyal customer for 5 years I had a terrible experience with them (so much so that the VP of the company emailed me and apologized). I vowed to never use them again. It's a shame too, because their catalogs still come to the house and everything looks so beautiful. This year, I decided to give Gurney's a try. I placed my order online on April 1, '09. My 13 items were supposed to ship on April 21. I thought 3 weeks was a long time, but I live in Zone 5, so I trusted them on the ship date. Then on April 20, my order status was updated and everything was set to either ship on April 28 or May 1. That was disappointing, but I was fairly understanding about it. It was only one week later. Today, my order status was changed again. Now some of my items are not expected to ship until May 24, while the others are not expected to ship until June 18. June???? What is going on here? I'm starting to think I am better off giving Home Depot and Lowes my money instead of these smaller internet-based companies... I'm very worried that I am going to get burned again. So far I am pretty disatisfied. 10-11 weeks for delivery is unacceptable. Neutral jamesatwell (2 reviews) On April 25, 2009, jamesatwell Lafayette, CO wrote: I ordered fruit trees from Gurneys and Willis Orchards. They were both about the same price ($25-$30) and height but the ones from Willis Orchards turned out to be much larger diameter. The ones from Gurneys are about 3/8 inch in diameter and the ones from Willis Orchards are about one inch in diameter. The ones from Willis Orchards appear to be several years older and initially appear healthier. Gurneys substituted a dwarf apple tree for a regular apple tree that was out of stock. That was a little disturbing. Negative stoneware (1 review) On April 20, 2009, stoneware Jerseyville, IL wrote: Bought seeds with free root. Received root but no seeds. Customer service told me I ordered roots only. I pointed out what my order was. Rep told me they would give me a voucher. Didn't want a voucher or anything to do with Gurney Seed. Now promised a refund, but haven't received a refund. Lousy company with liars as customer reps. Positive jnaakins (6 reviews) On April 15, 2009, jnaakins Othello, WA wrote: I've ordered vegetable and flower seeds from them this year, and I received my order quickly. It's too early to tell so far how the seeds do, but as far as ordering and shipping time, my experience has been positive. Neutral SensiScholar (2 reviews) On April 13, 2009, SensiScholar Little Elm, TX wrote: I have positive, negative and neutral points in my first Gurney's experience. Mathematically a neutral, 2 positives and 2 negatives would be a sum of zero and logic would say that is a "neutral" rating. The negatives are pet peeves of mine and slightly overwhelm the positives and while I most likely won't patronize Gurney's again the reason is simply taking a stand as a consumer ideologue just on principle and what I wanted from them I won't need to plant again. Positives: 1. Web site - The site is truly awesome, compared to others, and the ease of navigation as well as the information listed for each product is more "professional" and informative than photoshopped pictures of models along with a few sentences that say absolutely nothing. 2. My order arrived earlier than initially estimated. At first it was 22APR09 and then it got moved up to 11APR09-13APR09. I was fortunate but since I'm discussing shipping I'll move onto the negatives.... Negatives: 1. Shipping - Gurney's uses UPS "BASIC" shipping for no reason other than lower costs. I understand cost cutting, especially these days, but cost cutting with live plants is probably why I've read about so many DOAs. I got my UPS ship email on the 8th and on the 9th my plants arrived in the Dallas area. On the 10th UPS had it listed as "in transit to final destination" - headed from Mesquite (east) going past my house to DFW Airport (?) and this status didn't change from the morning of the 10th to noon on the 11th so I called UPS to find out why. The UPS rep told me that with UPS "BASIC" shipping UPS delivers to a local USPS "snail mail" center in your area and your regular letter carrier does the actual delivery portion. I asked the nice lady what my estimated delivery date was and I was informed 15APR09... IN OTHER WORDS... those LIVE PLANTS would sit in a box drying out for an ADDITIONAL 5 DAYS simply because Gurney's CHOOSES to use UPS "BASIC" instead of UPS "GROUND" like everyone else who, apparently, believe the least time in a dark box for live plants is the best way to conduct this business. The GOOD NEWS is an hour or so after I called UPS on Saturday 11APR09 my USPS letter carrier delivered my dry root strawberries... which were dry enough on the 11th and probably wouldn't have made it 4 more days drying out in that box. I like to think that some kind-hearted plant lover saw "live plants" on the box and got it out immediately because according to the "schedule" UPS had I probably be posting this a few days from now talking about dead plants - they were really dry and no so much as a single moist or even dried out polymer crystal in any of the bags... just dry, dry roots. I think they'll survive but adding more days of darkness and dryness leads to stress and even though I lucked out it seems asinine to use "BASIC" shipping... especially when the CUSTOMER wasn't given the choice and where Gurney's says "we use UPS or USPS" it needs to be amended to using both and illustrate what "BASIC" shipping means. I'm certain if given the choice CUSTOMERS would opt to pay a little more for "GROUND" shipping to both get their plants planted sooner AND to make it easier for them to get live plants instead of dead plants... ESPECIALLY when they're shipped dry root. IF Gurney's was giving free shipping, as in paying the bill, then there might be some logic to cost cutting with "BASIC" shipping. It makes no sense - if I'm ordering seeds, supplies or something that won't dry out and die then "BASIC" is sufficient unless I'd rather have it quicker but giving me the OPTION would be excellent service of this customer and IF I ever ordered LIVE PLANTS from Gurney's again I can only do with with UPS "GROUND" because I don't want the hassle of refunds/reshipment that I've read so much about. 2. Customer NO Service: I called Gurney's once and unlike some others my call didn't go to the Punjab Province. My call was answered by a female with a distinct American accent... the problem is that while I detest outsourcing especially with over 5 million unemployed if what I got is the BEST an American can do then I'd rather listen through that thick Indian accent if the Indian person would actually answer my question and at least PRETEND that I wasn't annoying the hell out of them at their job. I literally almost said to the lady, "I'm sooooo sorry I bothered you". Silly me to think someone paid to answer the phone and help customers would actually be helpful. I've been treated more enthusiastically at the DMV and the Veteran's Administration... Gurney's site didn't say, unless I'm mistaken, that I was getting dry root plants but with the package weighing 4 lbs for 75 plants dry root seemed obvious. I informed the lady that I was a new customer and I had NEVER planted dry root plants and WITH MY PLANTS ARRIVING (I thought) within a few hours I had a few questions: 1. Are there instructions in the box? 2. Is there anything I need to make sure I have before they arrive? I explained that I had time to run to Lowe's and pick-up anything I DON'T KNOW I NEED and if she'll tell me I can go get it. She told me I need fertilizer and I asked what kind and after an audible long sigh and an even longer and uncomfortable silence I jumped in and said I know they sell strawberry fertilizer but that does me no good a few hours from delivery. Her response was (verbatim), "Well..... you'll just have to ask your local garden center what to use." To my credit I bit my tongue and just got off the phone. I didn't even say that at my local garden center they actually answer my questions which is why I've spent thousands with them in only a year and just $30-something with Gurney's. Other than seriously not wanting to be at work I'm sure she wanted to sell me Gurney's strawberry fertilizer but unless Gurney's had a retired SR-71 Blackbird handy and could fly their fertilizer to Dallas at Mach 3 departing immediately it does me no good. Something like suggesting _N-_P-_K of some sort or a website, etc. would have been sufficient. In the end I used Google and went to Lowe's. Neutral: I think the price for 25 everbearing and 50 junbearing strawberries is more than fair if not generous BUT my only reference as a control for the assumption is the $9 potted strawberry at Lowe's. I'm not complaining but 20% of each were significantly smaller and a few of the everbearing were even itty bitty within the 20%. I'm sure there's a range of acceptability and a margin for error in packaging, I actually got 2 extra junes because of a "packaging error" but 20% of the everbearing were small and about 15% of the junes were smaller... but I got 2 extra AND they were on sale so, again, I'm not complaining. This phone call is THE REASON my review is neutral when I happen to luck out and although I'm less enthused about the "deal" I got than I was when I bought it, less enthused than before I called they all seem to be good to go having gotten planted and watered on Saturday verses on Wednesday as UPS told me. *I* didn't have a shipping debacle but using UPS "Basic" I see why I've read about this. I *was* going to post a negative but while posting I changed my mind and edited it to a neutral thinking I was being too harsh... I may not buy from Gurney's because of a phone call but my rigidity over a personal pet peeve probably doesn't warrant an overall negative. To be perfectly honest... HAD I posted my review before they miraculously arrived on Saturday when I was told they'd be in that box an EXTRA 5 days because of "BASIC" shipping it would be a negative. HAD I posted after that phone call it would be negative. HAD I posted immediately after I opened the box and planted them it might be negative. But, 2 days in the ground and while there's not much above the surface and maybe a few too many with not much below the surface what is above the surface is standing strait up so I take that as a good sign and thus I'm letting the phone call slide some. SUGGESTIONS: I'd suggest Gurney's revisit the UPS "BASIC" shipping and if the CUSTOMER wants to save on shipping then let them do so, inform them of the extra time and the possible risks to live plants but if the CUSTOMER is more concerned about expediency and minimization of plant stress than they're concerned about a few dollars let them CHOOSE UPS "GROUND". Adding a shipping drop down menu on their website would take 5 minutes and I'd bet money that it would reduce negative ratings related to shipping. I'm brand new and I already figured this out so it seems simple, easy, cheap and in the best interest of Gurney's to make a minor adjustment and see a major difference. I'd also suggest that whomever is in charge goes over the image they want to portray to customers who need customer service. We all have bad days but I don't expect anyone to really want to remain my customer if I or anyone else blows it on the phone or email. Customer service is the ONLY thing that can really set any business above its competitors. FYI: This is my 1st post but I also ordered from 4 other places (one is an Amazon store so I don't know if it applies here) but I'll post the other 3. One, a "Watchdog 30" got here too fast (lol) so I have to post about it and the other 2 I'll post after they get here. I'm appreciate the input on this site and since I found it helpful I hope others find mine helpful. Positive rundown73 (1 review) On April 10, 2009, rundown73 Minneapolis, MN wrote: I placed two separate orders with Gurney's to take double advantage of the $25 off (with a $50 purchase) offer. But I messed up the first time and didn't hit the $50 minimum. I found their customer service (via email) to be very helpful. They immediately added the requested items to my order to help me qualify for the discount. That's impressive to me because they took the time to add items that generated no extra charge. Let me say that again. They spent extra time on my order to give me free products. That's why, no matter what else happens, they automatically get a positive. The plants I recieved are the exact size described. They came rather poorly packed as bare root plants in a plastic bag with clumps of loose, damp newspaper not necessarily on the roots and plenty of loose space to bounce around in the box. Out of the six raspberry plants I ordered, one was clearly dead, and showed no greeen when clipped. The native plum trees are perfect specimens. I'm still waiting on my Carmine Jewel cherry tree and my dwarf meyer lemon plant, and I'll update this review as needed. Positive lilaclily (24 reviews) On April 10, 2009, lilaclily Lombard, IL (Zone 5a) wrote: I will admit, I was a bit apprehensive about ordering from here, based on all the negative reviews. But Gurney's/Henry Field's was the only place around that I could find a Carmine Jewel bush cherry, so I took a chance and used the "Save $25 off $50" coupon. I ordered the bush cherry, a grape vine, and a "buy 25, get 25 free" everbearing strawberry special. The bush cherry, while small (about 12" high), was very healthy, and packed well to avoid breakage. The strawberries are just breaking dormancy and the grapevine - while great-sized at about 3 ft tall, appears to still be dormant. I received an email confirming my order when placed, and an email when the items shipped. I could go to their website and check the status whenever I wanted, and if an item has shipped, they also provided a tracking confirmation number. I was expecting to be disappointed and took comfort in the fact that if something went wrong, I could at least dispute the charge on my credit card bill. I am pleased with this order though, so pleased that I placed another order for some more fruiting plants - including a peach tree. I'm hoping to get lucky the second time around and will update this review when I receive those items. One thing to note on the 2nd order I placed - the blueberries went from having a delivery estimate of next week, to mid-May, and then back to next week. Although either dates are fine with me, I obviously would prefer them sooner than later, so am keeping my fingers crossed. On May 9th, 2009, lilaclily added the following: An update to both orders: All the plants from the 1st order are doing really well. The bush cherry and strawberries are growing like gangbusters. The grapevine broke dormancy, and how! It is vigorous to say the least. One the 2nd order, the blueberry trio arrived 4/13. They were all really healthy and the largest one even had a few flower buds on it! The peach tree and additional grapevine arrived on 4/27. The peach tree was tall (over 3 ft tall) but dormant so I was a little worried because we\'re talking absolutely NO signs of life. I planted it immediately and within 3 days saw green growth. I\'m no longer worried. :) This time the grapevine was a puny little thing - not big and robust like the one from the 1st order. I planted it anyway, but after no signs of breaking dormancy, and snipping the tip showed dried and brown and not firm and green, I called Customer Service. My call was answered promptly and the woman informed me that the variety I had ordered was no longer available. She helped me choose a suitable replacement. While I did not receive a confirmation email, I was able to see the no charge replacement order on their website with an estimated ship time of around May 18. I just went to check again and the item just shipped May 8, and I should have it May 11th or 12th. Like my review of related company Henry Field\'s, try as I might to have find one thing to nitpick about with my experience(s) with Gurney\'s, I can\'t find one. From start to finish, it\'s all been positive. Negative deraley (1 review) On April 06, 2009, deraley Dallas, GA wrote: Ordered 2 year asparagus heads on March 11th. Saw nothing about ship date after a few weeks so checked back the estimated shipping date awas early November. I wanted to plant in April, not store the roots through winter to plant a year later. I'm disappointed that they did not send me a note saying they were out of stock and I would have to wait 8 months for my order. I canceled the order, crossing my fingers that they credit my card. As mentioned before, customer service was obviously over-seas. Guy could not even pronounce asparagus. I'd prefer using a company that has home grown customer service. Not using Gurney's again. Positive jjsges1 (5 reviews) On March 30, 2009, jjsges1 Bonners Ferry, ID wrote: MAR. 30 2009 I THOUGHT I WOULD TRY GURNEY'S AGAIN. IN THE PAST I HAD MIXED EXPERIENCE WITH THEM BUT THIS YEAR EVERYTHING I ORDERED CAME. AT DIFFERENT TIMES (WHICH WAS O.K.) I RECEIVED MY BLACKBERRIES AND WAS VERY PLEASED..THE PACKING IS A LITTLE SPARSE BUT THEY LOOK HEALTHY. Neutral AnitaStamper (2 reviews) On March 30, 2009, AnitaStamper Jackson, TN wrote: My order was filled and billed correctly, and seeds arrived quickly. However, I am concerned about the packaging used on my live plants. I ordered raspberry plants, and nine plants were wrapped loosely in heavy plasic with what appeared to be a single sheet of barely damp newspaper in a multitude of pieces loosely thrown in. All of the roots appeared to be dried out. I potted them up immediately with damp potting mix and watered them well, as I am unable to plant outside for another week. I hope they survive, and I have never received plants so poorly packaged before. I ordered currant bushes from Jung, and the difference in packaging was amazing. If my plants survive, then I guess there is no problem. If they don't it's not only a hassle to look forward to, but it's a season I've lost to start my berry garden. I won't order any plants from them again. I ordered from eight companies this spring, as I am just starting a vegetable and fruit garden, and of all those Gurney's had the worst packaging of plants. Positive ndps99 (9 reviews) On March 27, 2009, ndps99 Holyoke, MA wrote: My first and second experiences with Gurney's have come in rapid succession and both have been very positive. I was a bit nervous since the grape vine, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries I had ordered were said to be on their way last week. I was nervous because we are nowhere near being able to transplant "awake" plants in this area yet. But they arrived and, fortunately, were still dormant. The grape vine cutting had a better than Class 1 root system. Amazing! The blueberry and blackberry plants are larger than expected, obvious green wood and very nice roots again. The raspberries are just twigs at the moment but have nice roots as well. So far, everything is fine! Let's hope they all "wake up" heartily! Negative paulm5 (1 review) On March 25, 2009, paulm5 Santa Maria, CA wrote: Mrch 25th 2009 We recently purchased from Gurney's, Most of the plants arrived DOA. After several attempts by email to request a refund or replacement plants, I was finally dissapointed so bad with their Overseas customer service and couldn't understand their English, We requested a Full refund not by Check but by credit card refund. We will not buy from company's that place american workers and american clients this low on their satisfaction list. Negative Gourd (11 reviews) On March 24, 2009, Gourd (Zone 4b) wrote: In January 2009, I ordered some Nanking Cherry Trees, Hanson Cherry Trees, Sweet Cherry tree and was told that they would be shipped on March 19, 2009. Well, I never did receive an email saying they were shipped so I wrote an email to Gurney's on 3/23 to see if they were shipped. I did not get a response to my inquiry so I called on the phone number on the first email confirming my order, on 3/24. I spoke with a representative that answers the phone after you have to listen to a robot phone, and I was told that the trees were shipped on March 6 th and that they were delivered on March 20th...lol , well, I am home everyday and no-one came to deliver anything on March 20th at 8:23 AM. If they were on the truck since the 6th (bareroot) they are probably dead by now, I don't know where they were delivered to. I was promised a new shipment that would go out on 3/24. I will post any news of my wandering cherry bushes/trees. I did read the negative remarks before I ordered but thought they should be given a chance. Well, I was wrong. On March 27th, 2009, Gourd added the following: I received an email from their customer service that advised me to let them know when I receive my trees and that they are sorry about the items lost in TRANSIT... I realize that they will send dmails to try and pacify customers, but they should really try to make things right, not just say things to shut people up. Of course, I sent a dmail back saying thank you... but so far, I really don\'t expect live trees anymore. Well, as I said, I was told on the phone that the trees would be mailed on 3/25/2009, as of today, there is no email from them to say they have mailed anything.. I did, However, get one soliciting more of my patronage and showing more of their sales products.. hahahahaha On March 27th, 2009, Gourd added the following: Just wanted to add one more thing: I read the other responses from Gurney\'s respresentative on the other negative ratings. Gurney states that they never got responses from anyone regarding information.. I have to tell ya, this respresentative did NOT ask for any details such as order number, name, or address, so I don\'t know how they plan to resolve any problems they seem to think they can without this information.. All I was asked was to let them know when I received my order... I just want to make sure that everyone sees that perhaps the other people were also NOT asked for any details, that is why Gurney\'s did not hear back from them. Positive misstristyn (1 review) On March 21, 2009, misstristyn Atlanta, GA wrote: I have ordered from Gurney's several times over the course of the last five years and have always been very happy with them as a company. Once, I received the wrong variety of raspberry, and so called them up. The customer service was great, and they sent out the correct variety right away, so I ended up with three extra raspberry plants. Another year, a potted blueberry I received late in the fall didn't survive the winter- due possibly to my ignorance of, and their lack of instruction about, what to do with it. I didn't call them about it until about two years later, when I moved to a milder climate, but they still agreed to send a new one without a problem. I recently ordered a variety of plants from them including their dwarf lemon tree, dwarf pomegranate, and some native plums and bush cherries. The plants all arrived in great shape and are doing really well. I plan to continue buying from Gurney's, and look forward to watching my plants grow. Negative hudsonValleyLad (1 review) On March 17, 2009, hudsonValleyLad Ossining, NY wrote: At the beginning of January I ordered the famous apricot sugar pearls from Gurney's. On March 13th I received an e-mail that my order has shipped. Today, March 17th, when I got home, a little before sunset, I opened the carton and noticed, to my dissapointment, that the bare roots of the tree were dry. The tree had not been packaged properly - the few pages of the newspaper that were supposed to keep the roots moist were floating all over the carton. I did plant the tree immediately and watered it thoroughly, but I am not sure it will survive. I called Gurney's right away and initially they said they would send me a new tree, but later they backtracked, and said they were out of stock. You can imagine my disappointment. I hope my tree will live, but I doubt I will order from them again... Positive thedrsma (1 review) On March 12, 2009, thedrsma San Jose, CA wrote: The abundance of negative comments concerned me, but Gurneys was the only source I could find for Blue Star Sea Holly (bareroot), so I gave them a try. To take advantage of a "order $50/save$20" offer, I also ordered Poker Primrose (potted plants) and some Lily bulbs. I placed the order in Dec, emailed in Feb to check on status. They emailed me back within 24 hours to say they would ship in a couple weeks. It was actually closer to 4 weeks (okay by me for my climate). They sent me an email with advance notice of shipping and it all arrived in good shape a week later. Plants are small, but seem healthy and were packed in these awesome plastic sleeves that kept them from bumping around. The Lilies and Holly appear okay, but will have to plant them to find out. All in all, as good as any other mail order company I have worked with. I prefer to buy from a local nursery where I can actually see the plant I am buying, but if Gurney's were the only source I could find, I would buy from them again. Neutral buggycrazy (17 reviews) On March 05, 2009, buggycrazy Lebanon, OR (Zone 7b) wrote: I ordered vegetable seeds and growing supplies and got my order promptly and correctly. I am also the proud recipient of more spam. This is a neutral because I learned many, many years ago not to order plants or bulbs from Gurney's or most other resellers, they import the stuff, they do not grow it and it is often wrongly labeled or of poor quality. Negative gibbylet (1 review) On March 04, 2009, gibbylet Seattle, WA wrote: I ordered seed starting supplies, 2 lilacs and a set of hybrid tomato plants two months ago. Seed supplies shipped promptly. One lilac showed up yesterday & was 10 1/2" tall, below their 12-18" claim. It also is just one stick with no branches. I checked to see the status of my other two items and saw the tomatoes ship in 3-4 more weeks which is fine, and the other lilac was missing from my order. I emailed customer service and got a response saying it was "out of stock" and I should "check back on the website" to see if it was ever available. I was very unhappy because they didn't notify me of this until I asked, and there was no mention of a refund or replacement, or even a customer service # to call. I hunted down the number here and called to ask for a substitution of a same priced lilac. They seemed clueless and had to ask me if I'd been charged, and told me they did not do substitutions. I was also told that I should get a refund but they had no record that I'd been refunded and didn't offer to give me one. After that I was a bit of a bully to my chagrin and demanded another lilac be sent. Supposedly it's on its way. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the rest of the items I paid for arrive, but I won't be taking a chance on them again. Positive Tampa (1 review) On February 25, 2009, Tampa Zephyrhills, FL wrote: Shipment arrived today--on time and in excellent condition.

Read the rest of the comments

Return to the Garden Watchdog homepage

Learn how to link to this page