The scoop on 'Black Jungle Terrarium Supply'

I read the unfavorable comments on here about black jungle, but I decided to go with them anyway because I liked their selection. I also spoke with them & they were very well-informed and answered all the questions I had & were very nice on top of it. Shipping was incredibly fast, I ordered some dry goods along with a creeping fig & sinningia rio das padres. Altho the plants shipped separately, everything arrived at the same time. My plants were well-packed & are very healthy-looking and well developed. Only problem I had was that the substrate divider I ordered was not cut properly & was short by 2". A forgivable error though; I will order from them again.

Plants were very small for the price. They arrived listless and unhealthy-looking, with: very few leaves, yellowed leaves, damaged/brown leaf edges. After a month, two of three appear to be surviving. The third didn't make it. When I inquired about warranty on that one, I was told I should have complained earlier.
As another user reported, although the plants are in 3 inch pots you can still see the soil holding the shape from the plug tray -- suggesting they were just recently potted up. Certainly the plants were the size you'd expect if you ordered plug trays from Agri-starts.

Out of the three plants I ordered, they were unable to fulfill two and had to make substitutions.
Email response is unreliable and slow. They blamed this on their spam filter.

I posted neutral about this company, I liked their selection of jewel orchids and the prices they had on them but the size of the plants were so tiny, it wasn't worth the order.

I still have my jewel orchids I bought from them the beginning of last summer but they are no bigger now than what they were when I bought them, and I have others that have tripled in size that I bought elsewhere. I think I can say I do a good enough job to know that these aren't healthy plants and still aren't.

Hi Kathy,

I'm sorry that you are having a problem with the plants. We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you about them to help determine what might need to be done. Can you please contact us at 800-268-1813?

Thanks,
Richard Revis
Black Jungle

I ordered plants from Black Jungle about second week of October and I got an electronic generated acknowledgement for my order. On October 25, my credit card was charged $483.45 but I haven't got any email from them telling me about the status of my order. I tried calling them several times but never got a chance to speak to anybody---all I got was their answering service. Emailed them 4 times but didn't get any reply. I just want to know what happened to the plants I ordered and have paid for almost a month ago. I'm giving black jungle a chance to make this neutral feedback into a positive feedback.

Hi Marcia,

I am sorry to hear about the problems you have had reaching us but I do not show any record of your e-mails. I am not saying that you did not send them, however we were having a horrible time with SPAM during the last few months and it may have been filtered out. We were literally getting over 1000 emails a day and had to take drastic measures to cut them out. I did find the e-mail we sent to you regarding the status of your order which I have copied below. I did not see a response so we still have the order on hold for you. I am also e-mailing my personal e-mail address to you, along with the initial e-mail so we can get this resolved.

Thanks,
Richard Revis
Black Jungle Terrarium Supply


----- Original Message -----
From: "Black Jungle Terrarium Supply"
To:
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 8:59 PM
Subject: Re: Order - BlackJungle.com


Hi Marcia,

I am sorry for the delay in getting back to you but the Anthuriums you
have ordered will not be available until early Spring. Please let us know if
you would like us to ship then or if you would prefer a credit on your
account.

Thanks,
Richard

I have ordered twice from BJ and visited the store/internet fufillment center twice. All four times have been a pleasure. Mail orders arrived quickly, well packed, and healthy. My physical visits found friendly and very informed personnel and owners who never rushed through my questions and browsing. I have found their pricing competative or superior to local competitors in the MA area I previously frequented. Having spent 26 yrs in retail it is my experience that dissatified customers are much more prone to leave ratings than happy ones. Human nature, I guess.Still with the service I got from BJ, I am nevertheless suprised by any negative comments. Of course, only one Guy I know is Perfect.

On 9-15-07 I placed a order with this company for 2 Alocasia lauterbachiana in the amount of $21.28 including shipping. These were paid for by using PayPal. About 2 weeks later they called to inform me that they were sold out. I wasn't home at the time they called so they left a message on the phone asking me if I wanted to order something else. I called them back and had to leave a message as well and said I didn't want to order anything else, just give me credit back with PayPal. It is now 5 weeks later and have not received my credit. I have called them about 6 times leaving a message for them to call me that I wanted my money back. I also have send them e-mails and have not heard anything from this company. 10-25 I called them again and left another message stating that if they didn't call me back today I would be going into Daves Garden and I would leave them a very very negative feedback.

If anyone is thinking about buying from them I would really reconsider. A company that owes me money and they will not call me or answer a email is a company unworthly of my business.

I was thrilled to find this site: they had a lot of neat nepenthes, as well as other interesting plants. I ordered two nepenthes and then went back and ordered a third. I emailed about combining the two if possible, but never heard back. I received the two of the three nepenthes yesterday. When I saw the box I was disheartened. Instead of using a regular shipping box, they had used a tired, battered box that had once held terrarium supplies. I have no issue with reusing packing, but it should at least be able to protect the plants/be in decent shape.

Upon opening the box (it practically fell apart in my hands the cardboard was so flimsy), I found minimal packing, and two very small, very sad looking little plants. One had been essentially crushed. It had been stuffed into a plastic baggie, pot and all, with no wrapping on the pot, so the peat it was potted in was everywhere, and the plant was uprooted. The plant was also much, much smaller than advertised. I repotted it into a 2" pot, and the leaves don't even reach the sides of the pot. I'd say the LS is about 1.5". It's about the same in height, so it is a tiny little thing. So much for a 4" leafspan. The other plant is about a 4" leafspan, so I can't complain- the size is as was advertised. It did arrive in OK condition. This one was packed better and wrapped so that it would not uproot, unlike the other plant. I think it will acclimate just fine. I'm not sure about the other though.

Now I am worried about the third plant. What condition will it be in when it arrives?

I ended up leaving a neutral, as the one plant was as advertised, and did arrive OK. I also have not contacted the company, so they have had no chance to try to rectify the situation, so at this point, a negative isn't called for. I hope that they begin to use more care in packing, and if they are sold out of a plant of a certain size, instead of just sending a much smaller one, let the customer know, offer a small discount, or substitution (or at least apology ), something.

Dear Lothian,

I wish you had called us before posting a complaint. I do everything in my power to make sure each and every customer who orders plants from Black Jungle is more than satisfied. If you do call, even at this late date, I will replace the damaged item and do anything else I can to set things right. This is the first time I've heard of a Nepenthes leaving our shop without proper taping. That disappoints me. I'm also disappointed in the box choice. Over 95% of our plants leave in new, stiff boxes, and in the winter they are also insulated.
Black Jungle has gotten the message about the need to improve Customer Service and a number of steps have been taken: First, we've added a fulltime CSR position, so now, folks can call from 9-5 p.m. and reach a live person, who can take their orders, answer questions, or shuffle them over to the right expert. Second, BJTS has built a new show greenhouse right next to the shop, so soon, customers can come view our entire plant inventory, year-round. We've also become much more aggressive about de-listing plants as soon as they become unavailable, and we've initiated a follow-up phone call policy for terrarium builders, to check on how things are going after they've received their order.
We know we're not perfect, but we're trying really hard. We are truly an American Cinderella company, in that we've grown very quickly from a small basement enterprise to a big storefront, and we've had to learn a whole lot, really fast. But please believe us when we promise you, we are! We want to be the best terrarium supply company in the world. Thank you all for your feedback. We are listening very closely.

---Sincerely, BJTS

I recently ordered three nepenthes (carnivorous plants). My order arrived promply, and the plants were well packed. The plants were in fairly good condition, although not quite as good as others I have ordered elsewhere. Their website has some unusual plants that are hard to find from other sources.

We recently visited the store and we had a great time checking out the beautiful plants and adorable little frogs and we learned how to set up a bog garden. They have a thriving one right in front of their store. Once we have our bog garden set up I am looking forwards to order the pitcher plants from this place.

I recently brought some DG orchid friends to the store nearby me. It was a wonderful experience. We bought a bunch of orchids, got great advice and individual attention and the sample bog garden was just wonderful! My friends are now going to get some of the plants to make their own bog garden. BJ made me look good as a plant hostess!

They don't maintain their web site. I ordered several carnivorous plants on-line, which showed all in stock. My credit card was charged a few days later (Wednesday), but no email confirming shipment. I got a phone call that Friday saying that the Nepenthes I ordered was not in stock.

I could not call them until Monday. Although hours were listed as 10-5, they didn't answer the phone until nearly noon (earlier voicemail was not returned). The person I needed to speak with was unavailable and would return my call in an hour. After 1-1/2 hours, I called them back and spoke with the right person. The Nepenthes I ordered were not in a good condition to survive shipment and could she substitute a different one? She tried to persuade me to pick an alternative Nepenthes, but I insisted on a different Napenthes shown on their web site (she did appear knowledgeable). My Drosera was also out of stock and we agreed on an alternative (it was a few dollars more, but she gave it to me for the same price). Since there was a price difference, I OK'd a Jewel Orchid to make up the difference. At this point, I just wanted to get the plants shipped.

I was very disappointed in the packing. The plants arrived wrapped in shredded wax paper with no extra protection around them. The wax paper around the top of the plants got damp and soft, so it did not afford any protection to the leaves. The orchid had a bent leaf and a Drosera had some of it's leaves taped to the pot! The Napenthes and another Drosera were the only ones in plastic bags over them. That's not much of an improvement. Compare to California Carnivores, which puts plastic cups over each plant and wraps each plant securely (with a plastic marking stick to put next to the plant).

On top of that, I think the flytrap I ordered was fairly small size.

I don't think I would order from this company again. It sounds like a place where you need to shop in person. They need to get in sync with their web business. Especially the credit card charging problem (not until it's shipped). That's why I pay by credit card. If there were further problems, I have recourse. (I also use a one-time number for privacy concerns.)

Hi there! I'm fairly certain I'm the woman you spoke with on the phone about your order. My name is Trystan, and I'm employed by Black Jungle to supervise the plant department. First, I want to sincerely apologize to you for our shortcomings, the first being unable to supply the items you originally ordered, and second, for failing to pack them well enough to arrive in good shape. Taping down Drosera leaves is a bad thing to do, and it shouldn't have happened!
I would personally welcome an opportunity to provide you with a better outcome and a more positive experience with us. We're having an open house on June 23-24th, and you are very warmly invited. I would be honored to meet you and give you a tour. At that time you could also share some of your concerns with our owners, who manage the website.
We do work very hard to maintain our inventory, much of which we propagate here, and we work hard to ship things safely and well. Because some of our plant stocks are limited, things do sell out. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this caused you. I welcome feedback whenever a plant arrives in less than perfect condition, because that's how we learn and improve. We also replace plants that arrive in poor condition. Thank you for the suggestion about using cups for the carnivores.
Again, thank you again for ordering from Black Jungle Terrarium Supplies. I hope you choose to give us another chance someday, and I'm truly sorry you were less than satisfied with your order.

Placed an order for some more unusual plants. Plants were shipped quickly but two arrived so small that they had fallen out of the pot and were DOA. The other plants were of good size and very acceptable.
It took three emails to resolve the DOA plant problem. It took a while to get a response, BUT once I heard from Trystan, my plants were quickly replaced at no additional charge and email from BJ was more than kind and helpful.

My overall experience was actually pretty good but would have appreciated a more timely response to email (over three weeks to receive a reply, but they did mention that they have a high volume of email).

I would not hesitate to order again from BJ, but might call/email first to check on the size of plants first. I don't mind paying a higher price for unusual plants but want a sizable specimen to arrive.

Plants were well wrapped for winter shipping and had no cold damage at all.

the prices are outrageous for the microscopic size of the plants. i ordered previously, spent lots of money and received almost nothing for it. i decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. i ordered again - a nepenthes, begonia foliosa and a couple others. the nepenthes arrived looking sickly and the begonia was missing. i practically needed a magnifying glass to see the others. i called them and they did ship the begonia. it was two inched tall, had three leaves, and barely a root (all for the bargain price of $6.99). it was almost comical, but what was really funny was the size of the pot it arrived in. it's size made the "plant" look even smaller.
well, the nepenthes continued to shrivel up to nothing so after three weeks i called them (i should have called sooner). they blamed me for it's death and made several excuses.
i have ordered from several companies and this is the only company i've been disappointed in. i fact, companies like cloud jungle and peace of the tropics actually sell some cuttings that average about two dollars, which are larger than potted plants from black jungle that sell for $6.99 and more.
i don't know how black jungle got positive comments, but i won't waste my money there anymore when there are many better quality and lower priced companies.

Hi Todd,

I was the one you spoke to this morning and I am quite surprised and disappointed to see this review. I would also like to clarify a few things. First, you never mentioned any concerns with plant size or overall quality at all during the conversation. All of our Nepenthes have their sizes listed in the product description so you know what to expect upon their arrival. Second, the three sundews you were sent were mature or close to mature and so I am confused about the need for a "magnifying glass" to see them. Third, this morning you ephasized that the plant was NOT dead but had browning leaf edges with leaf curling and that you would watch it for a while longer. Now, you are posting that I blamed you for the death of the plant. Is the plant dead or not? I did not blame you for the condition of the plant but rather explained how the plants need specialized care upon arrival, especially thin-leaved species such as N. ampullaria. You told me that you put it with all of your other Nepenthes after you received it and I explained that those conditions, while fine for established plants, may not be approriate for a recently shipped plant that could benefit from additional humidity. You could not tell me what the humidity level in your terrariums is but stated that you knew it was high enough due to condensation on the glass. I explained that condensation does not indicate a specific humidity level, but rather only indicates that the temperature is warmer inside the tank than outside of it. The plant was shipped wrapped with shredded wax paper, sealed in a plastic bag to help ensure a safe delivery. You stated that there was probably not enough humidity in the bag because there was no condensation on the bag. I then explained that we would not want moisture on the bag as that could cause the plant to rot. You also transplanted the plant after receiving it into a different media than what it was originally growing in. These are not "excuses" but simply things that will affect how the plant establishes when growing conditions are changed suddenly from what ours are. I also told you that even though we did not hear anything about the condition of the N. ampullaria for three weeks that I would provide you with a store credit if the plant did die. That was never mentioned here either. We normally never do such a thing because we have no way to know if the plant was cared for properly during that time period or not. You never complained about the plant when you received it, nor did you mention it when contacting us about the B. foliosa that was left out of your order. Out of all of the N. ampullaria that we have shipped over the past several weeks you were the only one that had a problem. Even though it goes against our policy we still agreed to offer you the store credit and you said that you would be happy with that. As far as our pleased customers go, in addition to their satisfaction with our products, they are probably also happy due to the fact that we will even break the rules and offer credit to them, even when it goes against our policy. Lastly, if we sold unrooted cuttings we would perhaps be able to sell them for a few dollars. The fact that we sell potted plants that require more time, effort and care does not allow us to do that.

Sicerely,
Richard Revis
Black Jungle Terrarium Supply

I placed a web order with Black Jungle for carnivorous plants. All the plants were reasonably priced. They arrived well packaged and without damage. I was especially happy with the 3 pitcher plants regarding size for the price. The two sundews were fine. The 2 venus flytraps were small plants though (young, not winter dormancy small) and they did substitute one with the dente variety which I would have preferred they ask before doing so. Their website has a lot of great information regarding terrariums which is how I found them.

I am very disappointed in the plants I received from Black Jungle. All told our order came to nearly $200 for anthuriums, philodendrons, ferns, and miscellaneous. While the shipping was timely and the packaging good, the size of the plants for the price was laughable. Here is the letter I sent to them complaining of the problem:

After scanning the internet for indications about your company and the kind of plants you ship (and reading and rereading the comments on Garden Watchdog), I and my friends felt confident in placing a fairly large order (for them) with your company. The plants arrived Thursday, well-packed and in good condition. The issue we have is the size of the starts. While the King anthurium was very well rooted, the other plants were barely rooted into their small pots. Particularly disturbing were the crocodile and heart ferns. These had apparently just been shifted up into the 3" pot from the plug tray -- as each was removed from the pot the soil fell away from the plug. This same thing happened with one A. clarinervium and two P. gloriosum, and for the ones that didn't lose their soil, there were only one or two roots that had reached the sidewall of the container.

I own and operate a retail perennial nursery here in southern Illinois. We grow our own from cuttings and seed, so I am very familiar with shifting up and rooting times. I can tell you that selling material that has not developed enough of a root system to hold the soil mass together will lose you customers. No matter how good the plant looks on top or how badly that cash flow is needed, it is just bad business. And when a customer has to pay extra shipping for the weight of that worthless soil....

If I wanted plugs, I'd just order a tray of 72 from Agri-Starts.

Sincerely,

***** *****
______________________________________________

I received a reply from them in about a week:

Dear **** ****,

Thanks for recently shopping with Black Jungle Terrarium Supply! We appreciate
your business and would like to express our thanks to those repeat customers for
their continued patronage. In doing so, we are offering you this discount on
your next purchase. Save 10 percent off our entire website while supplies last.
To Redeem this Coupon, just enter the coupon code that is shown below, where
prompted on the checkout page of our online catalog and 10 percent of the
purchase price will be deducted automatically.

Coupon Code: *******

Valid for online orders only. Don't forget...Expires 8/31/2006.

Shop now at [HYPERLINK@www.blackjungle.com]

Thanks again,
Mike and Richard
______________________________________________

Is this supposed to be customer service?!?! An offer of 10% off my next order really doesn’t help much since I don’t intend to order from them again.

Two plants ordered and two beautiful, healthy, and extremely well-packaged plants arrived in a timely manner. Two of the best looking plants I've received via mail order.

Purchased a Jewel Orchid and Cytosperma johnstonii from this company. Great plants, great shipping and excellent customer communication. Great prices too! Would definitely recommend this company.

Just received my plants and they were the best packed and healthiest have received online YET.......shipping a tad slow but worth it for the quality of plants received! Thanks SO much! I will be ordering from them again in the near future! :0) oh, and their prices beat 98% of the sites I have visited!!

Order arrived very quickly - all plants ordered arrived in good health, well packed, and as described in their online catalog.
An email question regarding one of the plants that I received was answered very quickly and curteously.
I would recommend this company.

I ordered several plants from Black Jungle, and was impressed with the fast shipment and the wonderful condition of the plants when I received them. I found the customer service to be very knowledgeable and accomodating to my requests. Their catalog is great - they have so many interesting plants I can find nowhere else. Their selection of pitchers is wonderful! I will definitely order from them again.

I've ordered carnivorous plants from right around 20 different nurseries. I too, hesitated to place an order in February being that I'm from the Chicago land area. Much to my surprise, I received a box from them that was not only insulated but outfitted with heat packs. The box sat outside in 31F weather until I got home from work and the heatpacks were still radiating. Black Jungle refers to this as their "winter shipping". Incredible. Add to this that each plant was painstakingly prepared for shipment then individually wrapped and I have to say that if this nursery has what I want in the future, I will order from them over others who might be cheaper. The plants arrived perfectly healthy and not even one trap was so much as even bruised. Incidentally, their prices were beyond competitive. Impressive, very impressive.

Oh yes, upon placement of the order, they e-mailed a confirmation. They later followed up to let me know when the plants were shipping and provided me with tracking information. They then followed up a third time to inquire as to my satisfaction with the plants upon receipt and provided me with contact information in the event that I was dissatisfied for any reason. It doesn't get better than this folks.

When got an email letting me know some great-looking plants were on sale, I had to take a chance, even though February is not the best tme to have plants shipped to Minnesota. The plants were healthy, and packaged very carefully so they made it in fine shape! It has been over a week, and they're all doing very well. I'd recommend Black Jungle as a good source of some unusual, hard-to-find plants.

Have ordered numerous times.

Small plants, but very reasonably priced, always beautifully packaged and in perfect health.

Website is very informative if you keep both 'critter's and plants' in terrariums.