Chris, have you thought of setting up an online questionnaire (on SurveyMonkey or similar) and ask your customers to fill it up? You could offer some small freebie or 10% off their next order or whatever, and it would give you some data.
I tend to prefer no minimum order sites unless it's free shipping if the order is over a minimum price. If I want a particular plant, I'm happy to pay postage that might be a significant fraction of the cost of the plant. But then I'm a person who is very picky: I have never yet gone for any of those special offers on plants, because they are never the exact variety I want. (In fact, I didn't buy the latest GW magazine because it had sweet pea seeds included and I didn't want those varieties. Rather than throw them away I went to the library and borrowed the magazine there. I'll choose my own sweet peas, thank you very much.)
I guess it also depends on what type of customer you want.
I shop online as my local Garden Centre charges ridiculous prices and then wonders why they don,t sell many plants! I am amazed at the difference in prices for the same plant and have a sneaking suspicion they all buy their stock from the same source anyway ! Some websites think they are superior and charge you for the privilege of shopping with them. The cheaper ones may sell plants that are really too small to survive if planted out, but I grow them on until they are big enough. However I once got a Deutzia from a well known catalogue that was at the sale price of £2.49 and it was a beautiful big plant with massive roots !! Price is often no guide to quality ! My local garden centre would want about £20 for the same plant !! So it pays to shop around online.
What really angers me tho (because I happen to live in the "wrong" postcode) are surcharges!! You can get a plant for £3p&p in one place and another will want £18 or more for the same plant!! Never pay a surcharge !! Always look elsewhere !
I have a clematis nursery where online sales are increasing rapidly probably due to the fact that I cater for the ' anoraks ' of the clematis world, selling rare, unusual , weird clematis, not the mass-produced barcoded stuff. I use Hermes couriers, never had a problem, very reasonably priced. I do not make profit from postage like some bigger companies expect to do, probably due to their staffing, VAT, and other overheads.
I only ever buy plants when they are on offer, couldn't afford otherwise. The postage has to be cheap, or free over a certain amount.
My best bargains were from J.Parker, an Acer, Strawberry Deuztia, and an alamanchia, all 1.99 each and after four years are all over 6' tall.
I don't have a garden centre very close, but will occasionally buy from Wyvale, or Pine Lodge, both in Cornwall, they have a good bargain range, then it has to be something big enough to split.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
A few years back we went to a local supermarket and watched a lorry unloading plants. We checked the prices and bought a couple of nice things. (Actually one was a Parahebe which when we got home was found to be full of vine weevil grubs, but that is another story).
We then went to a Garden Centre further along the road and found the same lorry delivering there. We looked at the prices and found that the G/C were selling the same plants for about £5 more than the supermarket.
Plant prices do not always reflect the cost of producing them, rather the price is based on what people will pay for it.
I need to shop on line for all my plants and sundries. Would it be possible to name all the good ones and swap notes on trials and tribulations with the bad ones. As I read the above comments I have no idea who we are talking about. That being said how can I check out your goodies. Help needed please
I find the reviews on Trustpilot invaluable. There were also several threads here on various nurseries (or was it a different gardening forum?).
Personally, I've had excellent experience with the Reads Nursery, Pomona Fruits, Trehane Nursery and David Austen Roses. And King's Seeds and Moreveg for seeds. (And our local GC!) I know the RHS does mail order, but I've never tried them. I bought a beautiful plant and bulbs from them at Wisley, though, so I would give their mail order a try too.
Posts
Chris, have you thought of setting up an online questionnaire (on SurveyMonkey or similar) and ask your customers to fill it up? You could offer some small freebie or 10% off their next order or whatever, and it would give you some data.
I tend to prefer no minimum order sites unless it's free shipping if the order is over a minimum price. If I want a particular plant, I'm happy to pay postage that might be a significant fraction of the cost of the plant. But then I'm a person who is very picky: I have never yet gone for any of those special offers on plants, because they are never the exact variety I want. (In fact, I didn't buy the latest GW magazine because it had sweet pea seeds included and I didn't want those varieties. Rather than throw them away I went to the library and borrowed the magazine there. I'll choose my own sweet peas, thank you very much.)
I guess it also depends on what type of customer you want.
Good luck with your business!
I shop online as my local Garden Centre charges ridiculous prices and then wonders why they don,t sell many plants! I am amazed at the difference in prices for the same plant and have a sneaking suspicion they all buy their stock from the same source anyway ! Some websites think they are superior and charge you for the privilege of shopping with them. The cheaper ones may sell plants that are really too small to survive if planted out, but I grow them on until they are big enough. However I once got a Deutzia from a well known catalogue that was at the sale price of £2.49 and it was a beautiful big plant with massive roots !! Price is often no guide to quality ! My local garden centre would want about £20 for the same plant !! So it pays to shop around online.
What really angers me tho (because I happen to live in the "wrong" postcode) are surcharges!! You can get a plant for £3p&p in one place and another will want £18 or more for the same plant!! Never pay a surcharge !! Always look elsewhere !
I have a clematis nursery where online sales are increasing rapidly probably due to the fact that I cater for the ' anoraks ' of the clematis world, selling rare, unusual , weird clematis, not the mass-produced barcoded stuff. I use Hermes couriers, never had a problem, very reasonably priced. I do not make profit from postage like some bigger companies expect to do, probably due to their staffing, VAT, and other overheads.
I only ever buy plants when they are on offer, couldn't afford otherwise. The postage has to be cheap, or free over a certain amount.
My best bargains were from J.Parker, an Acer, Strawberry Deuztia, and an alamanchia, all 1.99 each and after four years are all over 6' tall.
I don't have a garden centre very close, but will occasionally buy from Wyvale, or Pine Lodge, both in Cornwall, they have a good bargain range, then it has to be something big enough to split.
I went to a big canna nursery to order some seeds. £4.50 for 10 seeds. Pricey, but I thought worth it.
Flat rate postage charge £5.50!!!!!! That made them £1 per seed.
I hit the cancel button.
A few years back we went to a local supermarket and watched a lorry unloading plants. We checked the prices and bought a couple of nice things. (Actually one was a Parahebe which when we got home was found to be full of vine weevil grubs, but that is another story).
We then went to a Garden Centre further along the road and found the same lorry delivering there. We looked at the prices and found that the G/C were selling the same plants for about £5 more than the supermarket.
Plant prices do not always reflect the cost of producing them, rather the price is based on what people will pay for it.
I need to shop on line for all my plants and sundries. Would it be possible to name all the good ones and swap notes on trials and tribulations with the bad ones. As I read the above comments I have no idea who we are talking about. That being said how can I check out your goodies. Help needed please
I find the reviews on Trustpilot invaluable. There were also several threads here on various nurseries (or was it a different gardening forum?).
Personally, I've had excellent experience with the Reads Nursery, Pomona Fruits, Trehane Nursery and David Austen Roses. And King's Seeds and Moreveg for seeds. (And our local GC!) I know the RHS does mail order, but I've never tried them. I bought a beautiful plant and bulbs from them at Wisley, though, so I would give their mail order a try too.