Flower Tips: "How to find the right florist online". Here are some suggestions to make sure you order your flowers and gifts from real florist shops. You will also find helpful information regarding secure online orders.

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How to choose the right florist

With literally thousands of florists online, how do you choose the right one? While they may look like the "real" thing, often times they are nothing more than "affiliates" or "resellers" hoping to make a few bucks. All they have to do is forward your order to the appropriate florist, and collect their commission. You'll probably end up paying more if you order from them rather than ordering directly from a reputable florist. Why deal with a "middleman" when you can go directly to a "real" florist! Afterall, they are the floral experts! Make sure you are dealing with a real flower shop located in the same geographical area as the recipient and not with some kind of a network/forwarding/flowers-by-wire operating from a basement somewhere overseas. If you require further confirmation about the real ownership of a floral website you can go to registrar.godaddy.com and enter in the domain name in question. This will tell you the name and address of the registered owner of the website in most cases.

One of the most important things to do when looking for a florist to fill your floral order is to make sure the florist selected is a local florist in the same city or town as the recipient of the flowers. Use your favorite search engine (we recommend Google, and carefully select a local florist in the city or town where the recipient is located. Just type in "florist" and the "destination city"! (ie: florist vancouver)

Most reputable florists will post their full address & local phone number (including area code) on their website. If the only phone number is a toll free number, call them and ask "Where are you located?". Ask the florist for directions to their shop. If they hesitate or refuse, consider this a red flag, and LOOK FOR ANOTHER FLORIST.

Why you should buy from a reputable florist... a warning to our customers [read more...]

Always use floral sites that are using a secure server when processing online orders as well as credit card payments. When filling out your order form you should be able to see a "lock" symbol (usually at the bottom left of your browser window, or in the top right corner in some browsers). If you don't see it, your personal information, including credit card number may be sent via regular email and can be seen by others. At this point I would stop my order and look for another online florist.

If your order destination is Canada, make sure the floral site you are using is charging you in Canadian funds. If it's not posted, then most likely you will be charged in US funds (the exchange rate $US-$CDN is currently almost 35%) which means you will not get the advantage of the exchange difference, someone else will!

"FREE DELIVERY"... no such a thing! You will be paying for the delivery one way or another. If the floral site you are using is claiming to offer you free delivery for your order chances are that it is already included in the total price you are charged for the flowers. In other words you will be getting a smaller size arrangement, or in the case of a dozen roses, you will get shorter stems roses or second class grade roses - or both. (the delivery driver is not working for free and (s)he needs to make a living like everyone else). All this applies to taxes as well. Most states and provinces in North America require the florist to collect tax on any floral order, however there is always the possibility that the tax will be hidden in the total price. Be assured that the local florist or the website you are ordering from WILL NOT pay the taxes for you.

Most reputable floral sites will clearly post information about extra charges such as delivery and taxes. If it's not there beware! When looking for cheaper flowers or bargains always keep in mind that "you get what you pay for" and in many cases cheaper does not necessary means the best. In many cases, if the price sounds too good to be true then something could be wrong. Be cautioned! Another safeguard is to check the website or floral company with the local BBB. In most cases you can call them over the phone or go to their website and search for any related history of the company you want to use by including their phone number and area code.

The writer of this article has been associated with the North American floral industry for the last 20 years and all of the above is based on his experience dealing with customers as well as vendors. Have fun and keep sending flowers to someone as often as you can. Cheers.

It is not my intention to exclude or give preference to any particular business or website trading flowers online. Hopefully this will help buyers select the right florist as well as help vendors to post clear essential information for customers.

Read more at the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Alerts

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Open 7 days a Week 8-5 PST. *Delivery charge & Taxes are extra. All prices quoted in Canadian dollars. © Copyright 2004. FTD Florists' Transworld Delivery. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Orders to Canadian destinations will be charged in CDN funds. Orders to USA and international destinations will be charged in US funds. All orders are handled by FTD Qualified Florists.