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On Nov 8, 2006, vossner Richmond, TX (Zone 9a) wrote:
I helped manage a group purchase with VE and the bulbs, as well as the service, were above par. Prices were very good and communications satisfactory. Will not hesitate to buy from this company and highly recommend others do the same.
On September 10th, 2009, vossner changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following:
I regret to change my my rating to NEGATIVE. In 2008 I purchased over 500 daff bulbs, all supposed to be suited for my zone. I was told they were landscaper grade which means that even though small, they would bloom. The following spring they didn't bloom, while daffs from other sources bloomed fine. Their position was I didn't know what I was doing; mine was I was entitled to replacements if nothing else,for possibility bulbs were indeed inferior or immature. Various discussions were hostile and fruitless. I took the time to write Mr. Jan Ohms himself about my frustrating experience.
I got my catalogs recently and was reminded Mr Ohms had never answered. I called today and learned from his daughter Joann (sp?) that he had forwarded the letter to her for handling. She never bothered. Talking to this lady was like talking to the wall and today was not exception. Her final response and suggestion was for me to go buy bulbs elsewhere, and that is exactly what I will do.
VE is generally a good company. They offer good horticultural instructions, but please read & follow them carefully b/c if bulbs don't bloom, you will not get any satisfaction or refund or replacements and most importantly, they will not acknowledge even the remotest of possibilities that something was wrong w/ bulbs. I promise you, you don't want to talk to this intransigent lady.
Still being optimistic here. If the daffs in question happen to bloom in Spring 2010 I will be happy. My garden will be beautiful and it will confirm that bulbs were immature (I paid for blooming grade bulbs). The negative rating will remain as there is NEVER room for arrogance.
On Sep 11, 2003, celeste1 Clarksville, TN (Zone 6b) wrote:
I had been a very satisfied customer with this company and received great products. The problem is their customer service. Last year, I had ordered Casa Rosa lily bulbs from both them and their sister company John Scheepers. When the lilies bloomed it was quite obvious that they were not what I had ordered. They were neither the color nor the shape of Casa Rosa. I explained the situation to them and asked for replacement bulbs that WERE the Casa Rosa. I was told that since no one else had complained of receiveing incorrect bulbs for Casa Rosa, they would not replace the bulbs and that my soil pH must have changed their color. Yeah, right! So if you have been sent something by their mistake, don't count on them correcting it. It is a real shame too, because I had always thought they were a good company to deal with. I guess they are ONLY if there is not a problem.
On Dec 6, 2002, dalez tijeras, NM (Zone 5a) wrote:
I have ordered from this company for 3 years now. Spending several hundred $$. I was pleased up until this last year when I recieved an order where the bulbs I thought were not up to par. Some were 1/3 the size of the others. They asked me to send the bulbs back, which I did and finally credited me the cost of the bulbs (not the shipping) saying that this year they had extraordinarily large bulbs from this plant so I got some of them and the smaller bulbs were just normal size. I don't believe that. And if that was the case why didn't they know without my shipping the puny ones back to them??
Based on the comments here, I placed a large order with this company back in June. I will not be ordering from them again. I live in zone 9, so bulbs must be pre-chilled. They recommend ten weeks. I wrote to them in September because my order had not yet arrived; they assured me the bulbs would be shipping October 5. Great, that means I'm planting in the middle of December. It's now October 17 and they haven't even charged my credit card yet, much less shipped the bulbs. I don't care where you live, January is WAY too late to plant bulbs (especially since most spring bulbs bloom February-March in my climate), which means I won't have time for adequate pre-chilling. I've never had bulbs shipped so late by any other company.
On Feb 1, 2001, MarcieDLowe Philadelphia, PA wrote:
I ordered from this company in 1999 and 2000. I will not be ordering again. I agree that their prices are lower than most (especially if you are looking for larger quantities), however,I had problems both years. In 1999, I called when my order arrived because the Erythronium were very mushy and the iris tuberosa were dry and crackly. I was told by Van Engelen that I should "plant them anyway". As expected, none of the erythronium came up and I had a poor showing from the iris tuberosa and the fritillaria meleagris. I contacted them this year before placing my orders and was offered replacements if I placed an order this year. I placed my order and waited - and waited - andwaited. Van Engelens order arrived last. The replacement items, if anything, were worse than the original shipment, and of this years order, all 100 of the Baby Moon bulbs were sprouted. I am attaching the letter I sent to Van Engelen - I have yet to receive a response. I will never order from Van Engelen again.
Ordered approximately $200.00 in bulbs from Van Engelen in 95 and will never do business with them again. Description of Narcissus I ordered from 95 catalog was incorrect. This threw of my whole design. I discussed the matter with them prior to placing a 96 order. The 1996 catalog had what apparently is the correct description. At the time their supervisor could not confirm which was the right description. Her idea of a solution was to replace the bulbs I would not have ordered (given the proper information) with more of the same. Their quality of materials and prices may be good but the knowledge and attitude of the staff leaves was lacking.
