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I placed an order in February for some plants. I didn't receive a shipping notice and then they were shipped on a weekend I was away. I found them on Monday-pretty much frozen.
I had ordered a Euphorbia and other plants. The Euphorbia was quite dead. I requested a replacement by email and sent pictures of the dead plants. It took many emails and voice messages to even get a response. And then it took forever to get a replacement- I began to wonder if I ever would get the replacement. In the end (after a couple of months) I did.
This company needs to improve their communication! With most of the shipping methods out there today it is very easy to send shipping notification. It is also imperative to respond to email inquiries promptly.
I was also disappointed with the plants -perhaps it's the bareroot shipping but the plants do seem pretty distressed when they arrive.
I'll be buying my tropicals elsewhere in the future.
I have tried several times to order via the internet and one phone call, and as another small business both are how we are doing the lions share of business these days.
I never received one word from them and now will never order.
I bought 5 adenium in 2 orders. They both arrived promptly and the first order came well pack and I planted them right away. But the 2nd order was shipped very badly and I pruned them the next day after planting. I am seeing some sprouts, so I guess they are ok. Perhaps in the future, the packing be handled with care.. The plants looks good and healthy. Thank you, Gretchen!!
I was pleased with the contact/response initially . Plants came, speedily, and overall, everything seemed fine!
But, I had emailed the company to discuss an issue I was having with one of the plants I had purchased from their online catalog... and no one responded! I emailed twice about this issue, with no response.
Although initially I was pleased, their lack of handling of my emails/plant problem is very negative. I wouldn't feel "safe" ordering from them again.
On Jul 2, 2008, hummer_girl Saint Louis, MO (Zone 6a) wrote:
I ordered an Adenium Obesum Home Run Desert Rose on 6-17-08. I think it took about 8 days from order to delivery. I met the postperson at the door and opened the package immediately. I was shocked when I found a bare-rooted plant inside the box. No where on the Buried Treasures website did I find information stating the plants they offered for sale were shipped bare-rooted. If I had known I would not have purchase from them, because it stresses the plant too much. The plant was packaged fairly well, though it did not sit completely solid in the box, a small amount of slipping motion allowed with their packaging method/material. They used Priority Mail, so the plant was in transit short-term. The plant was obviously in bloom when boxed, but when it arrived the one bloom was faded, wilted and drying, and 2 sets of buds were doing the same, also about 1/8 of the leaves were yellowing and falling off. Within 5 minutes of opening the box I had the bare root soaking in a Superthrive solution, an inflex of vitamins and hormones for shock therapy. It soaked for about 20 minutes while I got together the potting necessities. I used the vitamin-hormone water solution to water the plant after potting. Some more leaves yellowed and fell off over a 4-day period. I gave it a little more vitamin-hormone therapy plus fertilizer, and though it might lose a few more leaves, I think (I hope!) the plant is stablizing. I am curious to see if any new buds sprout where the dried ones are still hanging on. The plant has a nice-sized, solid caudex, which I'm hoping will grow into an unusual formation, but without knowing if the plant was grafted from a parent or started from seed (another omission on the Buried Treasures website), I'll have to wait and see as I wanted a plant from seed so I would get seed pods in the future. I thought I had done sufficient research before purchasing my first Desert Rose to avoid pitfalls. I thought about emailing Buried Treasures and asking whether or not the plant was from seed, but didn't and that's my error. Of all the other garden websites I've visited, anyone selling bare-rooted plants stated so, so I never thought to ask. Ignorance is not an excuse, but there it is. We all learn by mistakes and that's why I'm posting this commentary, to help others avoid the pitfalls. I haven't complained directly to Buried Treasures; comments and suggestions stated here are basically what I would say to them, but those comments need to be stated publicly to help other consumers. I don't want a refund. I want to keep the plant and see if I'm a talented-enough gardner not to kill the Desert Rose. Since receipt of the plant I've done more research on Desert Rose retailers. I found another mail-order website that clearly stated all foliage and flowers were removed from the plant before shipping bare-rooted, and foliage would return in a couple months. I interpreted their method to mean bare-rooting a plant will make it defolate after receipt, so we're going to save you the stress of watching the foilage fall away from a plant you've paid money for! Today I found a Desert Rose on the Logee's website which is shipped in a 5" clay pot, gift ready, as they say. Who wouldn't want an intact plant as opposed to a stripped (or shedding) plant? Logee's cost is about $10. more than I paid, the plant in the red-flowering family, like I wanted, and had Logee's inventory been included in the Dave's Garden Plant Scout search I did originally, I would have bought from Logee's instead. I think Buried Treasures needs to included more information on their website (see earlier comments), and until I see what my Desert Rose does, I'm neither positive or negative about my buying experience with Buried Treasures and the quality of their stock. But I do think it is the retailers duty to thoroughly know the product they sell and provide the consumer with complete information, because when we purchase online we are trusting the seller to be our eyes and tell us what we cannot see, touch or feel. We depend on, and trust, the seller to write it ALL down...hopefully, all the questions we forget, don't know, or are negligent in asking!
On February 12th, 2009, hummer_girl added the following:
Plant Update: The Desert Rose I purchased from Buried Treasure in June 2008 is alive, has bloomed several times, and a new side shoot has emerged. Buried Treasure sent me a private email at the time I posted my original comments and strongly disagreed with my methods of 'saving' the plant. I answered just as strongly against their advice. My method worked. Also, within a month of receiving the Desert Rose from Buried Treasure, I also order a Desert Rose from Logee's, to do a product comparison. Logee's Desert Rose arrived promptly, packed well, and planted in a clay pot with soil around the roots, as advertised. The Logee's Desert Rose never lost any leaves, but I still gave it the same 'shock therapy' as I gave the Buried Treasure plant, because traveling in a dark box has to be terrifying for any living thing! The Desert Rose from Logee's is not quite as tall as the one from Buried Treasure, but right now both are doing will under the grow lights waiting for summer when they can go outside for some fresh air!On February 12th, 2009, hummer_girl added the following:
Post Script: I also purchased from an individual Adenium Obesum seeds which I planted during the summer 2008. I now have 32 Desert Rose sprouts (about 2-3 inches tall) under the grow lights in their little clay pots, waiting their turn under the 2009 summer sun. So I'm now the owner of 34 Desert Rose plants, which are all thriving. I think this is proof my gardening methods work and I am talented enough to figure out how to keep plants alive by doing a little research.On Jul 2, 2008, Buried Treasures responded with:
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On Jul 2, 2008 5:42 PM, Buried Treasures added:
To address the question of seed or graft, all of our Adenium are grafted as there's no guarantee the plant will bloom true from seed. This does not affect it forming seed pods, but you will need additional Adenium to get seed pods as they do not self pollinate.
While we do try to cover as much as possible, we thought the comparison picture at the top of each category of Adenium showing them bare root would be enough to cover that question. As our site grows, we learn from feedback like this some additions and changes we need to make.
The reason they're shipped bare root is that the plants can rot easily with too much moisture, and wet soil in a hot box is a dangerous combination for these. I've ordered the Logees one, and unless they've changed things, it's still shipped bare root, with the pot, and a bag of soil, for you to put together upon receipt. It's also the size of our 6-9 month olds and not the 2 year old that you purchased.
I'll email directly to address some concerns I have.
Please feel free to contact us directly with any other comments or question. We make our phone number and email easily accessible on our site.
Purchased a plant from them, plant was received severely rotted. The did reply and said they would replace it. Said they would send it out the following Monday and did not. Had to e-mail them to find out what happen. Said they were backed up and would receive the next Monday. Item did come healthy and no problems. Did not like the fact that I had to wait two weeks because of their error and their problems (backups). Customer service is not their priority. I would think twice before I order from them again.
Ordered 5 palnts May 10. Credit card was billed May 12. I have sent e-mails & finally tried calling to find out the telephone # is no longer in service. Haven't seen any shipment of plants or heard any reply from Buried Treasures. I am presently trying to get the charges dropped from my credit card. There appears to be a problem at Buried Treasures.
On November 4th, 2005, Jay833 changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
Thanks to Gretchen, I now have most of my order. 1 item wasn't available & I was issued a check for that plant. All plants arrived in good condition even though USPS took longer to deliver than they should have for Priority mail. Gretchen, I hope you read this as I have been getting emails returned back addressed to you because of "too long to download". You may have an ISP or computer problem. You should have received the check for the plants & your check which I returned. The credit card chargeback & plants arrived the same day. Looking forward to ordering again & hope you get everything running smoothly. JerryOn Jun 13, 2005, Buried Treasures responded with:
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On Jul 6, 2005 3:14 PM, Buried Treasures added:
Please contact me at your earliest convenience, so that this can be corrected. 813-857-8839 or chris@buried-treasure.net
If the chargeback has already gone through, I will still ship your order at no charge.
I placed an order the end of March. Got email saying plants have been shipped. 2 weeks later still no plants. Tried to email them 3 times the email was always returned. Tried calling repeatedly leaving name and info on machine. No response. Next step will be talking to my credit card people to have charges removed for plants never received!!!!
On April 21st, 2005, Marlais changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
On April 21 I finally received and answer to my email stating that the shipping info was sent in error. They were overwhelmed after placing plants on ebay and could not keep up. When I arrived home that evening my plants were finally there. They seem healthy . I am still hesitant to place another order.
I bought twice from this company. I'm very pleased with purchases. Great plants, fair prices, good comunication, super fast delivery.
Thank you very much I will order again, soon
V
On August 26th, 2005, voytek changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following:
I placed 2 orders online July 17, total amount $72.37. I received only confirmation to amount $54.08. My paypal account was charged instantly. After one month of sending emails, calling and recording message I canceled my orders and requested money - no response
I already reported "nonselling" Seller to paypal.
The Better Business Bureau explains: "..... Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaints...." Look @ http://www.bbbwestflorida.org/commonreport.html?bid=90013625...
If this company will not give my money back I am going to submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection.
I will never trust this company again On September 7th, 2005, voytek added the following:
I already got back $48.96 from paypal service. I will receive soon remaining amount. Nobody from Buried Treasures tried to resolve my problem.
VoytekOn September 22nd, 2005, voytek added the following:
I already received email from paypal that in 3 days I suppose to get the rest from remaining balance. Still no response from Buried Treasures. On March 20th, 2007, voytek changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I made decision to change rating from negative to neutral regarding emails which I received several times in 2006. In all emails they were very kind.
