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I ordered seeds, equipment, and chemicals. The seeds didn't arrive until after I bought replacements. A letter with the seeds explained that they had a warehouse fire. They made arrangements with another company to send seeds they lost to the fire and sent me a coupon for $$ off next year's order. I see this as an attempt to carry on in the face of a company disaster. This was my first order from them, and I'll be back next year. I can't see kicking them when they're down as benefiting me or them.
I send in a order in Feburary and only recieved the potatoes. Only one plant grew from the eyes. I emailed the company and they sent a email stating they had a warehouse fire in March. If that is the case I feel that they should have informed me in March. I will have to go this weekend in May to find seeds to begin growing before it is too late.
I will not be using this company again.
On May 18th, 2002, lbclisa added the following:
I got some more of the ordered products the other day. They have changed their reason for the delay due to supply problems and not getting the seed package growing directions in. Oh ya, they gave me the $$$ coupon of 3 bucks towards the purchase of other seeds. They also sent the seeds for ordering so early. I was not pleased however because the Sweet potaotes plants that arrived were totally dried out including the peat moss covering them. I planted them and hope they will grow. The seeds I have planted from this company seem to have okay germination. I still have some seeds yet to come.
I had great hopes for this company since it had seeds that you can not get elsewhere but I will stick will companies I had good service with and try to find another source of seeds such as mangle seeds.
I have ordered a lot of seeds from other companies including ordering from Germany and Hawaii and did not have delay/ problems like I did from this company.
I have ordered exclusively from this company for years. This is the first year I have ever had a problem. I ordered asparagus roots and they arrived on time, however I also ordered a variety of other plants and seeds in early March, and they still have not yet arrived. It is May, and I am still waiting. What is the deal with them???
Great Company. I purchased German Stiff-necked Garlic, got it early in Oct and planted it. This garlic is gigantic. I need their catalog so I can order more from them.
Order sent on 02/26/02. Check cashed and cleared. As of 04/16/02, nothing received. No responses to email inquiries. Telephone (toll call) has been busy consistently (~9 tries).
On Apr 12, 2002, mssuesan Huntington, WV (Zone 6a) wrote:
I placed an order in Jan. 2002 and it has still not arrived. I phoned and they told me it was on the way 2 months ago. It wasn't. Nice catalog though. Too bad I won't get to see the seeds.
Order placed 02/02; check cashed and cleared; nothing received as of 04/16/02. No responses to email inquiries. Telephone (toll call) consistently busy (~9 attempts). Unsatisfactory.
I have ordered small orders for a few years and was pleased. However, this year, things have drastically changed. My order, placed January 18, was received and the check cancelled January 28, 2002. It is now March 29, and I have received no seeds. I have made four telephone calls (none toll free). The first time I was told that the order was prepared for shipping and would be shipped at the end of the week. The next two times I was told that the order had been shipped. Today, I was told that the order had been shipped. I asked for the date it was shipped and was told that it was in the shipping department and would be shipped. I asked to speak to the manager. I was told that the supervisor was not in. I asked to speak to someone in the shipping department and was told that I could not have contact with them. I asked for my shipment to be cancelled and my money returned. I was informed that I would have to wait until the seeds arrived and that I could return them and then my money would be refunded. Needless to say, I will not be ordering any more seeds from this place.
I ordered early Feb. 2002 now late march cant get them on phone sent several emails and letters can't get any one will never never order from them would rather go hungry at least I know the outcome of going hungry with Shumway I don't know what's happening except I am not getting service. DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM!!!
I will never place another order with Shumway unless there is something I really, really want, and they are the only company that has it. I placed my order on January 3, 2002, and is now March 27. I still don't have my seeds and it is getting too late for me to start the tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. Maybe I will get my seeds, but I'm writing it off as a loss. I called them three times, and they are not cooperative. They simply say there is nothing they can do. If that's the case, I really feel sorry for them.
After ordering in mid January, I still (3/26/02) have not received my very large order. After four phone calls and assurances each time that my order would be sent, "at the beginning of next week," I stopped calling. I missed the window for planting early vegetables on my half acre garden, had to buy emergency backups from a local Agway, and plant late. Many seeds that would arrive now will have to be put into cold sealed storage for next year. I definitely will not be ordering from them again.
I ordered from their catalog on January 13th, 2002. My check cleared the bank on January 30th. Now it is March 10th and still no order. I have ordered and received several seed orders from different companies in the meantime. Now the customer service phone is always busy. Do these people really take orders on that line? I can't believe anyone would keep trying a bazillion times to reach these people to place an order. I have given up trying to get through to even check my order. I have learned one thing. If I ever try a new company again, I will try their customer service line first to see if there is anyone "home" before I even venture to use the company to throw my money away again.
I have had same experience with HR Shumway catalog order as reported by earlier customer. They had no trouble in cashing my check, but after 6 weeks, I still had not received any product or notification of reason for delay. The other seeds that I had ordered at the same time were already growing. It took me a week before I could get through on their constantly busy phone -- sometimes they just did not answer during business hours. Never got a response to my e-mail. Customer service was very abrupt and unfriendly; she did report that they were very busy with everyone canceling their orders because of lack of fulfillment. We even talked to a supervisor (when finally available) -- they could not guarantee delivery this season. Now, how long will it take for my refund to go through? Their catalog is cute and prices are low, but the information provided is minimal. And if they can't deliver, why bother ordering?
I would normally have high praise for RH Shumway, but I have had nothing but problems this year with my order. When I placed my order, they could not tell me if my items were in stock because they were doing inventory and that the order wouldn't ship for at least a week. My order has still not shipped (a month later), and every time I call to check on it they tell me it will probably ship the next week.
On February 15th, 2002, CindyM added the following:
As of 2/15, my order has still not shipped and I am still getting the response that it will probably ship next week. Soon I will just cancel the order.
I ordered from them early in January, I received my canceled check. But no seed. I tried calling them and found their phone is disconnected. I think maybe they are out of business and are still taking money. Their web page is still on line and I'm sure you could order seed from them and they would take your money.
On Jan 1, 2002, richhurley New Freedom, PA (Zone 6b) wrote:
I made my first purchase from R. H. Shumway last year (Spring, 2001) and it will be my last. I was extremely disappointed with the alstroemeria (Peruvian Lily) roots I ordered. I gave them to my mother for Mother's Day and was embarrassed when she opened the package and it looked like all it contained was several envelopes of straw. There were no cultural instructions at all with them. Since neither of us had ever grown them before we didn't know what to do. As it turns out, we should have soaked the "straw" in water to rehydrate the roots before planting. None of the poor things ever came up. I also purchased several packages of flower seeds and they had only very general cultural instructions with them. The "hummingbird plant" never came up but the asarina vines did germinate. Unfortunately, since I was late getting them started, they never bloomed for me.
On Dec 1, 2001, Horseshoe Efland, NC (Zone 7a) wrote:
A great company that sells mostly heirloom and OP varieties. Probably one of my favored businesses to deal with. You should at least have them send you their catalog, it comes out as an old-style magazine with only black and white pics and drawings. (Only a few yrs back did they start adding color to the cover.)
Shumway's is a good place to buy not only small packets of seeds but you can also buy in bulk and save $$$. (A good place to order from if you want to get together with your neighbors and buy quantity.)
Altho Shumway's does not have a toll-free number you can place your order thru Horticultural Products and Services...they handle Shumway's orders and have a toll-free number.
We have been Shumway customers for several years now and they are without a doubt my favorite seed supplier. Good quality, germination, etc. and NEVER a delivery problem. We live in west central Minnesota with a short growing season and have excellent results with Shumway.
Glad to know that there is somewhere to complain. This is my second year to order from Shumway and I will never again order anything from them. I placed my order in January and at the end of February nothing had arrived.I tried to call them by phone and they do not have a toll free number, but worse, the phone was always busy. After several days of calling at different times and always getting a busy signal I finally go through. The lady on the phone then could not find my order and told me that there was no way she would be able to trace my order because the computers were down. She asked my to check my cancelled checks to see if they might have cleared the bank!! I couldn't believe my ears! When I told her that it was the responsibility of the company who took my money to keep up with the order and send me my seeds, she relented and gave me a 1-800 number to phone back in a few days when the computer problem was fixed. When I attempted to phone the 1-800 number in a few days, it was always busy. These folks could buy an answering machine at a yard sale! Anyway, after finally getting through on one of the phone numbers, I talked to someone who found my order, but it hadn't been sent out. I cancelled $50 of the order, and have just now received my money back -- and it is May. There really should be a warning on the catalog of RH Shumway; the company seems to be run by very unprofessional people and don't expect to get a delivery of your order unless you demand it.
Shumway seeds are most reasonable - the problem - slowest delivery of any catalog seed company ever - pasture mix delivered in middle of summer drought was ordered in early spring.
Their catalog is charming, but low on information (no zones, for instance). Germination success was a real mixed bag on the one order I placed with them (Winter '98), with at least a third of the varieties not germinating at all (the worst success I've had with any ordinary seed company). But they're fairly cheap, so I might consider ordering from them again if they have something interesting.
I have been ordering from Shumway for several years - I started ordering from them because they are one of the few companies that has the EH hybrid sweet corns as well as some old fashioned things like Flat Dutch cabbage. You get a lot of seed for the price and I have had good luck with their seeds.
Their seeds are the only ones I have ever had trouble with. I was planting a lot of How Sweet It Is corn so I ordered their commercial quantities to save a little money. The seed, all 7 pounds in two shipments, had weevils. It didn't germinate, or grow, the way it should.Flower seeds I ordered didn't even come up.
I ordered from both R.H. Shumway and Totally Tomatoes this year. I called one of the numbers and they took both orders. They had to place each order separately in the computer (two shipping fees) with separate credit cardauthorizations. They are in the same building and the first company rep just walked the second order over.I ordered seeds only and they came within days. One order took a bit longer than the other and when I called they were able to look it up and tell me exactly when it had been shipped. Customer service was very nice and even phoned me when they ran into a snag with my credit card. Since it was a debit card I had a daily limit, which I had hit making another purchase. They were able to follow my request to just wait one day and try again. No hassles.The seeds came in padded mailing envelopes. The packages were well marked with generic planting instructions (i.e., for "tomatoes" or "annual flowers" but not for the specific item unless it varied from the norm). Since it hasn't been that long, I can't say how good the germination rates are but some of them look good so far. At least one of my packages was slightly short-changed, but otherwise they appear to be at the exact count.Prices run around $1.20 to 2.00 for a package of 30 or 100 seeds (not sure why they do those numbers). Shipping and handling is under $2.00. Plant descriptions are decent (although there is no information about West Coast growing) and most things are illustrated with either a color photo or a B&W drawing. They sell some plants and roots also but I haven't tried them.
The Schumway catalogue is ENORMOUS! Literally. It is the size of a small newspaper! The illustrations are hand drawn in an attractive, old-fashioned style, some might be from an original seed package. This catalogue also offers large amounts of seeds, upon request. Their flower seeds have a volume discount: if you order a certain number of packets, you get a certain amount off the price. My only complaints that their delivery is extremely slow. I never order anything that I need to get started by the end of March.
