A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose—or Is It? - assessing various floral companies that take orders over the Internet for Valentine's Day; includes related article on ordering for 1999 when Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, Feb, 1999 by Elizabeth Razzi, Ian Baldwin

In honor of Valentine's Day, we searched for the perfect internet bouquet.

Sending your beloved a dozen long-stemmed red roses that you order over the Internet may not be as romantic as going to the florist yourself and picking out the reddest, freshest flowers in the shop--and then delivering them in person--but life is full of compromises. Still, that should not mean you have to compromise on the quality of the roses your sweet-heart finds on the doorstep this Valentine's Day--or any other special day.

Online purchases accounted for a mere 0.2% of last Valentine's Day's bouquets, according to a study by the American Floral Endowment, a nonprofit research group. But Internet flower sales are likely to grow as electronic commerce takes off in the months years ahead.

To see whether the Internet could deliver stunning rather than just so-so flowers, I placed orders with four heavily advertised online florists for a dozen red roses to be delivered boxed to willing recipients in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Service and quality varied a lot--for example, half the roses didn't arrive on time. Prices, including shipping, ranged from $35.90 to $63.98. But that may be a bargain on Valentine's Day, when prices at the local florist can spike to nearly $100 a dozen in pricier cities. Even street-corner vendors can spot desperation a block away and jack up their flower prices accordingly.

Some online florists, such as Flowerstop.com, say they expect to hold the line on prices for Valentine's Day, but they offer no guarantees. Lower-priced competitors, such as Proflowers.com, expect the price of a dozen roses to go up to $40 or $50 (plus shipping) in mid February. Freshflowersource.com, which ships directly from the grower, is aiming to keep its Valentine's Day price within about $5 of its regular price $29.95.

Ordering from any of the Web sites is hassle-free with a credit card, but make sure you have recipient's phone number--it's necessary for Federal Express delivery. Every site except Freshflowersource.com advertises an guarantee. If you're not satisfied with the quality of the flowers, they promise to send a new bouquet or refund your money.

THE ELUSIVE PERFECT BOUQUET

Unfortunately, well before the romantic holiday we struck out on getting what we really wanted--the classic presentation of a dozen delicate blossoms nestled in lush, green foliage, tied with a ribbon and laid in a crisp, white florist's box. Roses gathered with a twist-tie and nestled in a FedEx box just don't have the same charm.

Not one recipient complained--even if I did ask all of them to relinquish their flowers to our panel of judges. For fun I threw in a dozen I picked up at a corner flower stand. You guessed it--the $7 bouquet of street-corner roses was the first pick of some of the judges.

Other than the street flowers, the roses from Freshflowersource.com came closest to the best mix of price and presentation. It charged $30.99 plus $11.99 for FedEx delivery (FedEx is used by all the direct shippers), for a total of $42.98.

The roses, shipped from the grower in Southern California, arrived on time. The note from the sender was handwritten on a traditional florist's card. The roses had the longest stems (22 inches), each one ensconced in its own water tube. The greenery, though, had no water and arrived dried-out and bedraggled. Still, some judges were so impressed with the height of the bouquet and deep red of the blooms that they were willing to overlook the many small blemishes.

WILTED BEFORE THEIR TIME

Several judges liked the roses from 1-800-Flowers.com best. They cost $49.99 plus $6.99 handling, for a total of $56.98--the second-priciest. The flowers came from a local florist.

The bouquet had the nicest greenery by far, including several varieties of ferns. The stems were nice and long, too, about 21 inches. And the sender's message was handwritten on a traditional florist's card. Unfortunately, the roses were delivered a day earlier than requested--and they arrived in a glass vase, not boxed, as ordered. (We weren't charged the extra $10 for the vase.) And the flowers started to wilt by the end of the second day we had them.

DELAYED GRATIFICATION

Proflowers.com, a company that does 90% of its business over the Internet, had the cheapest price, $29.95 plus only $5.95 for FedEx shipping. Maybe it needs to charge more for shipping--the flowers came a day late. The flowers, shipped directly from growers in California, included baby's breath but no ferns or other foliage. The bouquet was tied with a blue fabric rose. The 18-inch stems came in individual water tubes, and the bouquet was packed in straw and with a cold pack. The message was laser-printed on a piece of floral computer paper.

Three of the blossoms arrived as tightly closed buds (the Web site said several would be shipped as buds), but they did eventually open.

HIGHEST PRICE PER INCH

Flowerstep.com--operated by a retail florist shop in Colorado Springs, Colo., that ships trademarked "Long Distance Roses" grown by the proprietor's brother--charged the most: $54.99 plus $8.99 FedEx, for a grand total of $63.98. Despite the high price, its flowers were the shortest (about 17 inches) and had the palest greenery. The bouquet included baby's breath--and one measly fern. Several people singled it out as the bunch bought off the street corner.