Our reviewers evaluate products and services based on unbiased research. Top Consumer Reviews may earn money when you click on a link. Learn more about our process.
Thursday, March 27th
Harry & David has a long history that dates back to 1934. Their company started with Samuel Rosenberg, a successful hotel owner in Seattle, Washington who traded his hotel for 240 acres of pears in Southern Oregon. These orchards were later taken over by his sons, Harry and David, who pitched their famous pears on sales trips to San Francisco and New York as an ideal business gift. Since then, the company has grown to include all sorts of fruits and food gifts in their inventory, and they're proud to be one of the nation's earliest catalog mail order companies.
19 chocolate gift baskets
Chocolate gift baskets are just one of the many products offered by Harry & David. You can filter them by price range, occasion, and the type of gift container that they come in. However, since there are just 19 options in this particular category, it's just as easy to browse them all yourself and see which one catches your eye. Some are seasonal and best suited as a Christmas gift, with red, white, and green chocolates, gummies, and sprinkles. Others are more neutral and could be used for any event.
Plenty to enjoy
Some of the delicious chocolate items included in Harry & David gift baskets are chocolate-covered apples, chocolate-covered pretzel rods, chocolate nut clusters, caramel sandwich cookies, caramel bits bark, chocolate-covered cherries, milk chocolate malt balls, and more than we can even list here. Like some other chocolate gift basket companies, the more deluxe baskets at Harry & David come with upgrades like wine, hot chocolate, and other more decadent goodies.
Most baskets under $100
Chocolate gift baskets range from $59.99 to $159.99 here. Even the least expensive one is full of 9 different types of chocolate, so it seems well worth the cost. Most of the gifts are under $100, so it's a budget-friendly place to look for a chocolate basket. Shipping is not included in the pricing and can vary based on your location, but it will likely be around $17.99 for standard shipping, which we've seen from quite a few other places as well.
Members get free shipping
If you want to avoid paying shipping and like what you see from Harry & David or one of their sister stores (1-800-Flowers, Personalization Mall, Shari's Berries, Simply Chocolate, 1-800-Baskets, The Popcorn Factory, Wolferman's Bakery), it would be worth subscribing to their Celebrations Passport, a membership that costs $29.99 yearly and includes free shipping on all eligible items, eliminates service charges on 2-day orders, and unlocks exclusive rewards for you. If you make at least 2 purchases from Harry & David or another store in their family of brands, it would pay itself off to join the Celebrations Passport. Just be aware that not every single item qualifies for the Passport program, so double-check the chocolate gift basket you're thinking of sending before you sign up.
Satisfaction or they'll make it right
The refund/replacement policy from Harry & David is straightforward. If you or the recipient of your chocolate gift basket is unhappy for some reason, they'll make it right with either an appropriate replacement or a refund. All you have to do is contact them through their online chat system.
Positive reviews on their own site
There are up to hundreds of customer reviews on the different chocolate gift baskets from Harry & David on their website. Most of them are 5-star reviews with a few 4- and even 3-star ratings, but the overwhelming majority of people highly recommend Harry & David from what we saw. Be sure to read through the ratings on the gift basket you're about to buy, just to give you more insight about how it has gone over with gift recipients. The company has an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau, which is always what we like to see.
Downhill service
Unfortunately, when we looked at third-party sites for references to Harry & David's service and products, we found a much wider range of customer feedback. It seems that, most recently, people who have been buying here for years have become dissatisfied - with orders that never arrived, damaged products, and a hard time reaching customer service through their chat box. Orders that people paid extra to arrive on or before a certain date did not show up, and sometimes fruit or other items included in baskets had gone bad by the time they arrived. Although some people have no problems with ordering here, the general consensus is much more mixed when we look outside of Harry & David's website for feedback.
Could be risky
Overall, we like the variety from Harry & David's, but it's not worth the risk if you might pay for a chocolate gift basket that never shows up, is missing items, or comes with poor presentation. Since there are so many other fantastic places to buy chocolate gift baskets, this store has earned an average rating from us and nothing more.
Whether it's Valentine's Day, a birthday, Christmas, a graduation, a retirement party, or any other type of life or social event, chocolate gift baskets are a safe bet for just about anyone. Heck, we'd even love to receive a chocolate gift basket for President's Day if someone out there is generously giving them out. Dare we say it might make the best food gift that money can buy?
If you have a chocolate lover in your life, a gift basket is the perfect idea for them. Sometimes it's nice to receive a present that you can enjoy and then get rid of rather than having something that will sit around and take up space. A chocolate gift basket is a good way to give someone a variety of different flavors and treats that they may not have ever tried before.
We've seen chocolate gift baskets that include chocolate drizzled popcorn, chocolate crisped rice bars, biscuits, chocolate bars and truffles, chocolate wafers, brownie bites, chocolate covered pretzels, cookies, chocolate-covered fruit, and so much more. Not only can you get a delectable variety of chocolate treats from gourmet shops online in a gift basket, but the great thing about it is that it's also pre-wrapped beautifully for you.
There's no worrying about arranging the assortment of chocolates in a pretty container, finding cellophane wrap or ribbons, or having one more present to wrap around the holidays. Chocolate gift baskets come perfectly arranged without any hassle on your end. You could have it delivered to your home so you can give it to a loved one in person or arrange for the company to mail the gift basket straight to your chosen recipient.
You can definitely spend quite a bit of money on a chocolate gift basket if you want to go all out, but you don't have to. Depending on the size of the basket and what's included, you could spend as little as $30 for an assortment of truffles or nearly $200 for a robust gift with chocolate covered almonds, truffles, caramels, chocolate clusters, wine, champagne, and other high-end treats. There is a good variety of gift baskets available, so whatever your budget is, you should be able to find something delicious.
When deciding which company you should buy a chocolate gift basket from, take the following things into consideration:
The experts at Top Consumer Reviews have researched the best places to purchase a chocolate gift basket online. We've gone above and beyond to give you a comprehensive overview of all your options. We're confident that these insights will help you choose a company that provides the exact type of chocolate gift basket you would be excited to give to a family member or friend.
Select any 2 Chocolate Gift Baskets to compare them head to head