I feel so conflicted reading this thread. I've been yelled at by a plant vendor... I misread an email about plant availability and my subsequent response was perceived as pushy/insistent/entitled, when really I just completely misunderstood. I tried to immediately follow up and correct it, but my correction wasn't seen. I'm very conflict averse so after I got that super hostile response I was so shocked/hurt/mad I never went back, even though I'd been a loyal customer for years. So, I think we're entitled to our feelings and sometimes just need to walk away. I'm sorry you had to go through that. That said, I think that, when you are collecting rare plants, the situation (for good or evil) is that the vendors have self-selected into the industry due to their love of the plants, not because of their love of business and customer service. And people in small businesses tend to wear a lot of hats and not all are in their strong suits. Sometimes you have a plant vendor who is a super professional organized sweetheart, but usually one of those variables is missing. Generally you have to shoot for "has good plants" + "is honest" and that is a hard enough bar to cross as it is. Your post freaked me out, because at the time I read it (yesterday) I had a VB order sitting behind me unopened, that was shipped during snowy weather and had had to sit in my work office for a week after it arrived, due to an unforeseen event in my travel schedule. I have taken hits of >$200 losses, as has anyone who collects plants (somewhat) seriously. And it is absolutely horrible horrible horrible. I don't think vendors should accept responsibility for transit death. Although a plant replaced here and there can be a good customer relations policy, it's a slippery slope to promise a replacement for every loss unless you are a mega nursery. I definitely think they should remove the "guaranteed" language from their website. "Express shipping in winter is highly recommended and usually successful" ... or "We only ship via express mail in winter" would be more appropriate, and it's language like that that most Hoya vendors use. Can I ask if you are trying to save those Episcias in the picture above? I don't consider myself an expert on Episcias, but it seems like if you put them somewhere humid and warm, like a terrarium, you've got some good stems on them still and they might surprise you and bounce back. My VB order did come through okay this time. I've ordered probably hundreds of plants from VB over the years and some have arrived DOA. I never asked for a credit or replacement because it was such a small percentage that I didn't hold them accountable. The 100% DOA orders I've had have been Hoya orders (from other vendors) and of course part of me was like, "They must have done something wrong/different... why didn't it work this time?!" But then after a few days the rational part of my brain kicked in and I realized that they processed the order like every other order and I just drew the horribly unlucky straw. I try to think of it like how sometimes you go out for drinks with friends and spend a lot of time/money/energy and have 0.0000% fun. I've definitely wasted more money on failed social events than failed plant events. That probably says something about my personality limitations. @xmahini I applaud your attitude. I do think the first few orders you make with specialist vendors can be very rattling, because your expectations are almost always wrong, not quite being an insider yet. But obviously you did the right thing, taking that risk, since your husband ended up very happy. I have to say it's so sweet listening to you praise him for his hobby and skill. He's a lucky man. :)

i ordered my plants in feb they said it would be here the 15 of may but did not come so i called them they they said it be the 27 of may still not come so called them again they said was on back order i told them i order them in feb they said put on rush order some i would look every day they finely sented them throught fedex but fedex had them for 4 day without water i open the box and almost all was dead 48 plant i will never ever buy another thing from them will go back to buying other places

I ordered two mirrors at the same time, both from homeclick.com. One was a Whithaus New generation mirror, the other a Watermark Loft. Both arrived safely but at wildly different times (Watermark after 2 weeks, Whitehaus after 14 weeks!). Both were well packed, the Whitehaus extremely so, so well in fact I feared I would break it getting it out. The literally entombed the bubble-wrapped mirror inside the box by using some kind of spray-in foam that then hardened. It was a lot like encasing Han Solo in carbonite, only without the instant-thaw wizardry. I finally had to cut the box away and cut through the foam until I heard a bubble "pop" (Oh, that must be the mirror ...). Long story but my advice -- order away. I bought nearly all of my bathroom remodel parts online with few hassles. The only caution is lead time -- sometimes they advertise things they may not have in stock. Most tell you that upfront. Homeclick, plumbersurplus, Vermont Soapstone, Modwalls, Chicago Faucet, eBay, Ira Woods, etc.

So sorry to hear about your misfortune, Jenny. There is actually a much longer thread about this site. It is disreputable and most likely illegal in every sense: either a phishing scam, CC skimmer, or identity theft site. I don't want to sound alarmist, but I would seriously consider having your bank disable the card you used and issue another one for the account with a new number, and the same for a CC if you used credit rather than debit. Tell your bank or credit card company that you fear your card has been compromised. Reference this thread and the one I'll give a link for below. If you have any automatic payments set up with that card, you'll have to go to each account and change your debit/CC info before your next payment is due. Also don't forget to change the number on any site where you store your payment info for quick checkout, like Amazon, etc. Again, so sorry. Best of luck. antiqueroses.com scam site John