Your order was probably rejected because the florist only receives approximately 70% of the amount you paid and ZERO of the extra $12 or $14 “service fee.”
Then they have to take their delivery fee and product costs out of that 70% before they put a penny into the flowers. Then after paying membership costs and listing fees and transmission fees and countless other “fees”, they almost can never make money on any order under $80 to $100. So they reject….

Also, it is absolutely impossible for any florist to always stock every flower and container 1800 has on their website. By the time they purchase containers by the case, they end up usually stuck with hundreds of containers they never use. They are allowed by 1800 to substitute containers and flowers but that usually makes the customer mad and soils their reputation. So they reject….

Sometimes the order doesn’t have all the information necessary for the order to be made and delivered. So they reject….

Additionally the florist will be penalized if they don’t respond to an order within an alotted time frame so if there is any doubt about filling the order and making money or having the stock they will reject the order.

Now you will be mad when I tell you the math on your order:

Example, you pay $65 plus $12.99 service fee for a total of $77.99 for a vase of mixed flowers. The order goes to a florist who gets $ 47.45 of that total.
– 10.00 delivery fee
– 18.00 product cost

This leaves $19.45 for the florist to work with to create that arrangment and make a profit to pay their labor and overhead. So you end up with a vase that is worth about $20 for which you paid $77.99!

That same vase of flowers purchased directly from the florist that is going to deliver and create it anyway, may have only cost you $30 plus $10 delivery for a total of $40! That is $37.99 LESS than you just gave to 1800.

Always call a real, local florist directly. By skipping the middleman and skipping paying them first, you will pay significantly less and get better and more product and guaranteed delivery. There are many “online” florist out there that convince you that they are in any town, so to be sure you have a geniune real florist in the area you want delivery, ask them for their address and directions. If they can’t answer that, they are a middleman just wanting a cut of your purchase.

Thanks for reading…..

A real florist, Suzanne

Those of us who work for real florists, in real shops, in your towns, are the ones you should be dealing with.

To see just how entities such as 1-800-Flowers and other have in my opinion sullied this industry – visit http://www.floristdetective.com.

In the future, I would suggest you and your readers select real florists who have real businesses in your towns.
There are even more unscrupulous internet dealers out there whose sole operations are nothing more than a bank of computers and telephones in an office somewhere……and don’t even SEE real flowers.

I am sorry you went through this. If convienence of online ordering helps, a good many florist shops have their own websites that go to their stores.

Another suggestion – find a local florist where you are, build a relationship, and let them find a local florist where your Mother or other family members are. You still support your local economy, and you get a hand-delivery with much better communication.
Here are two local florists in Carbondale: http://www.jerrysflowershoppe.com and
http://www.apetalpatchcarbondale.com
in case that helps.

There is a great website/search engine that will find you a local florist every time: http://www.findaflorist.com.