The advantages of buying flowers online are endless. They are convenient for shoppers, can be delivered on the same day, and cost less than their in-store counter counterparts. The drawbacks? Sometimes it’s easier to know what you’re buying after seeing the flower up close. What appears as a vibrant red rose on the website could be more of a pinkish hue in person. Besides that, it isn’t easy to correctly gauge a specific bloom’s size until it’s ready to bloom fully in your home or office space.
Worse, you may be spending money on something other than the flowers you want. Fake flowers, known as “synthetic” or “lookalikes,” are a growing problem in many online flower markets.
Even more troubling is that many of these Everlasting roses are grown in conditions far from what you expect. If a company sells an arrangement of red roses that ends up being lighter pink shades in person, it can signify questionable farming practices and illegal trade. Below is an example of this situation: A client bought an online bouquet for several reasons but was concerned about the quality and authenticity of the blooms. The color felt less vibrant than the photos indicated. When the flowers were delivered, they were pale pink, not red as she expected.
To investigate further, an employee of the company went online and asked for photos of real roses on sale at the same time from other customers. Photos from the same site showed roses that matched the color purchased. The flowers did look more vibrant in picture form than in real life and had a lower value than advertised at $25 per bloom when it’s closer to $26 – but still, a steal when you consider that a fresh bouquet of red roses can cost up to $100 depending on what type of rose you choose and where you live.
The increased unpredictability of online flower markets and the growing popularity of “synthetic” flowers are legitimate reasons to be cautious. To avoid any future disappointment, the buyer beware. Please do some research before placing an order, and educate yourself on the possible quality of flowers you’re getting and where they come from by visiting the flower farms that sell them. Be skeptical of claims that a particular company has a superior farming system or method when creating a specific type of blooms – if it sounds too good to be true, it could very well be.
