Sacramento California CA Florist-Guide to Buying Flowers

A Vanity Fair Florist
Guide to Selecting a Sacramento Florist/ How to be a savvy flower buyer

Ordering Advice:
Be ready with the name, complete address and phone number of the recipient. If it's going to the workplace, give the company name and department the recipient works for.

Keep the order as general and open as possible. Because flowers are usually better in some seasons and not others, and some flowers are more readily available in some places than in others, it is wise to allow the florist to pick the types of flowers used so they can give you the best quality.
In addition, not all colors are available for all types of flowers. While you can specify the overall color or colors of the arrangement (i.e., spring colors, fall colors, pastels, etc.), it again is wise to allow the florist to pick the individual colors and flowers so they can give you the best quality.

When searching for a florist online find and contact a local flower shop or florist in the city where you need the delivery sent, you'll get the most value for your money.

Local florists will gladly serve your flower and rose deliveries with ease. They know the area very well and can help you with your order. If you have your favorite florist in your town, they will gladly find and send your order to a reputable florist where you need your order delivered.

Avoid online florists that seem to be local florists. These are middlemen or order takers - they take your order then turns around and calls it in to a local florist. By using the florists that appear to be local florists, you can end up spending more for less flowers . Learn more about online florists that claim to be local florists here....

When ordering through the so-called "local" florist because of their offer of free delivery, be forewarned, there is no such thing as free delivery, specially during this time with gas prices at their peak. (The only place that can offer true free delivery is a local florist.) Most of these websites are not floral shops but just e-commerce sites. If you choose to do business with them anyway, they keep 10.99 in service charge which is deducted from the total amount charged for your order. This remaining amount is sent to the local florist who will deliver your flowers. The local florist will deduct delivery fee from that amount which will result in less flowers than is depicted in their picture. The delivering local florist lose 30% of the sale, so they can't afford to give free delivery too. The e-commerce not only keeps service charge but also receives 20% in commission from this order, 10% goes to transmission fee and other charges paid for by the local florist. This means, you the customer will really not save on delivery charges.

On Google or Yahoo or other search results, the first couple websites usually are not local florists.

Take this listing on Yahoo - www.flowersofsacramento.com offering Free delivery. Upon closer look, it describes itself as an Albany, New York e-commerce site. This is the same exact business as www.flowersofusa.com and yet both are listed in the top search.

Another e-commerce site on the top listing is www.floristsinsacramento.com which is actually at 1800 W. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver, WA 98660. Then there's www.fineflorists.com in Leamington, Ontario, Canada and www.1stinflowers.com in Baton Rouge, LA. All these sites make it seem like they were florists in the local cities you're trying to send your order to.

Here's an example of their offering, a basket of spring flowers titled Simple Pleasures is $47.99, and they claim this is the discounted price. Compare it to a local florist's price of $37.95. The local florist adds 6.95 for delivery. The cost from the local florist will then be $44.90. Now, if you order through these e-commerce sites, your order will be transmitted to the local florist as a $37.95 order. The local florist deducts $6.95 for delivery which will leave $31.00 for your flowers. There is no savings after all! That is deceptive advertising! Don't be fooled!

Make someone smile.
Send flowers, gift basket, plush toys, balloons to cheer someone up or just because!

Last updated by FW of Virtual Fun:06/19/05