1-800-Flowers Review

Tuesday, January 14th

2025 Flower Delivery Service Reviews

1-800-Flowers

• Prices start around $49.99
• Same-day delivery options
• $14.99 standard delivery fee
• $14.99 surcharge for Saturday delivery
• Easy add-ons for treats, balloons, and more
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB

1 800 Flowers is the parent company of a broad portfolio of gift-giving brands, including Harry & David, The Popcorn Factory, and more. Even though the company takes most of its orders online now (instead of via toll-free number like you'd infer from the name), you'll still find plenty of bouquets, arrangements, and extra treats for your next flower delivery.

Ample options for sympathy flowers

To measure the different flower shops on our list fairly, we looked for two specific things: a bouquet of a dozen red roses and a basic sympathy arrangement. We started searching for the latter by entering our recipient's zip code in Wisconsin and "sympathy” in the dropdown occasion box. 1 800 Flowers featured over 100 arrangements; prices started at $49.99, including Fields of Europe for Sympathy, Peaceful Memories Bouquet, and even a Peace Lily plant. It was no problem seeing which arrangements were available "as soon as today” as we scrolled through, and most of them were eligible for the Celebrations Passport membership: you pay $19.99 for the first year and $29.99 per year after, and it gets you free shipping on all eligible items across the 1 800 Flowers family of websites.

Steal of a deal for a dozen red roses

When we changed gears to find roses, it was easiest to go to the Flowers tab and select that variety there, then enter the recipient's zip code and type of location (apartment, hospital). That lets 1 800 Flowers show you only the options available for your intended delivery. We were pleasantly surprised to see that we could get not one but two dozen red roses for just $49.99. Considering that many rivals were selling a dozen of the red beauties for $35 to $45, that's a great deal. (And we did spot a one-dozen option starting at $39.99.)

Add-on goodies galore

As you shop, look for flowers that show a particular number of options - especially if you want to make your delivery a little more personalized. For example, those two dozen red roses could be sent as just the bouquet, in a red or clear vase, and with or without Godiva chocolate. Then, when you've selected the flowers you're sending, you'll see even more extras you can add to your cart. Those could include seasonally-flavored pretzels, a cocktail kit, a gift box with fruits and sweets, and many other items sourced from "sister sites” in the 1 800 Flowers group.

Use the tools wisely

Pay attention during the checkout, because there are some tools you can consider. Are you forgetful? Use 1 800 Flowers to send you a reminder of this flower delivery occasion next year. Do you want a personalized greeting card for an extra $5.99? That option is selected by default, so make sure you either click it to "complimentary greeting message” if you don't want it, or change it to the right occasion if you do (it's automatically set to "birthday”, and that would be embarrassing for a sympathy arrangement).

Flowers may be florist-arranged or shipped

Finally, you'll select your delivery date. Assuming you haven't chosen flowers with a same-day delivery timeframe, you can expect your shipping/delivery fee to be $14.99, with an extra $14.99 if you've chosen Saturday delivery. 1 800 Flowers does sell flowers that are florist-arranged, while others are shipped from their own farms, so keep that in mind if you have a preference in either direction.

"A+” from the BBB

So, with all of that, why did this flower delivery powerhouse only earn a middle-of-the-road rating? After all, 1 800 Flowers' reputation with the Better Business Bureau is about as good as it gets: "A+” rating and accreditation, which indicates that the BBB thinks the company has done a better-than-satisfactory job of responding to the 1200+ complaints filed there over the last three years. All of the associated brands (like Harry & David and Wolferman's) send out hundreds of thousands of orders every year (if not many more), and so it stands to reason that there will be a fair number of complaints.

Too many customers come away disappointed

However, we're not super-happy to see that in the separate reviews section on the BBB site, 1 800 Flowers only averages 2.47 out of 5 stars across 1800+ ratings, and the picture is even less "rosy” (see what we did there?) when you look at the 33,000+ ratings on Trustpilot that only average 2.9 stars. Those ratings are perfectly split at 36% 5-stars and 36% 1-stars, and the headlines on the reviews left within a week of this evaluation read like this: "the worst delivery service”, "beware”, "completely unreliable”, and "disappointed”.

Just okay

It's really only 1 800 Flowers' perfect rating from the Better Business Bureau that keeps the company from falling into the "below average” category among the flower delivery services on our list. The selection here is okay, and the website is easy to shop (especially with the add-ons from other non-flower brands in the "family”). But, with equal chances of customers feeling like 1 800 Flowers is either "awesome” or "awful”, according to those rating averages on Trustpilot, we don't think this service deserves anything more than an average rating.