The Best Fruit Basket Companies

Friday, October 4th

2024 Fruit Basket Company Reviews

Manhattan Fruitier

• 40+ different fruit baskets available for shipment nationwide or for hand delivery in NYC
• Emphasis placed on gourmet-quality items and overall sustainability
• Prices range from $40 to $375
• Beautiful packaging
• In operation since 1987
• Donates blemished-but-edible fruit to NYC's City Harvest

Manhattan Fruitier has been "inspiring delight” for over 35 years. When it comes to fruit baskets, they taste-test every case of produce and visually inspect each piece before it gets included in an all-natural basket. Everything here is top-quality, focused on sustainability, and bespoke. In fact, Manhattan Fruitier's fruit baskets are so sought after, you'll even spot them offered by several of the other vendors we evaluated (like A Gift Inside and Harry & David).

Stellar array of fruits and treats

You'll find an aesthetically-appealing selection of over 40 fruit baskets here, ranging in price from $40 for the diminutive Pippin All-Fruit basket to the grandiose New Amsterdam ($375, NYC only) and Imperial ($335) arrangements. Each fruit basket description lets you know what to expect, but because the included produce will always depend on what's fresh and in season, you won't usually know exactly which varieties to expect - just a blend of exotic and traditional fruits. Also, some arrangements include a specified treat, while others will give you the ability to choose: the New Amsterdam lets you select three from a list that (at the time of our most recent visit) included caramels, biscotti, rugelach, cheese crisps, and Harbor Sweets chocolates.

Most popular basket is under $100

Manhattan Fruitier's most popular fruit basket is the Cortland Hamper for $95 (or $127 if you prefer all-organic). Over 90 reviews, this gift averaged a perfect five-star rating. Depending on the time of year that you place your order, the basket's ~14 pieces of fruit may include mangoes, avocados, persimmons, pears, apples, citrus and more. There's an extra treat in every Cortland too, which also depends on the season. At the time of our review, it was seven goat milk caramels, but your basket could have chocolates or other gourmet sweets.

Get discounts and gift suggestions

Need some recommendations for your special occasion gifting? We saw a pop-up during our last visit to the Manhattan Fruitier store that let us choose a holiday or event (Sympathy, Graduation, Corporate Gift) and enter our email address; in return, we got an email with suggested gifts for that occasion plus a 10% discount code.

Gorgeous presentation

How your fruit basket will be packaged depends on where it's going. If you're sending an arrangement to someone in NYC, it'll probably be an open, handled basket covered with an Abaca net bag and hand-delivered. Otherwise, your gift will be "nestled in paper excelsior”, closed with a lid, and shipped in a cardboard box with ice packs if needed. Either way, customers rave about the beautiful presentation, saying it's so pretty it looks like a painting.

Shipping fees from $15 to $61

Shipping fees vary, based on the product and delivery date you select. For example, on that Cortland fruit basket we described earlier, Saturday deliveries came with a $61 shipping cost, while Tuesday through Thursday arrivals would only incur a $15 fee. At least in the zip codes we used, there were no available deliveries on Sundays or Mondays.

Committed to your satisfaction

Despite being in business since 1987, Manhattan Fruitier has a "Not Rated” listing with the Better Business Bureau, who say they don't have enough information to issue a rating. That's actually not a bad thing: no complaints filed there, ever, is terrific. And, for the most part, customer feedback found elsewhere is very positive too. Clients say these fruit baskets are elegant, sometimes exotic, and always make an impression on the recipients. We spotted a few reports of poor quality (dates with mold, rotten fruit) but they were followed almost immediately by an apologetic response from Manhattan Fruitier's team - sometimes from the owner himself. The company guarantees that your gift will be in pristine condition upon arrival and they'll replace anything that's damaged or spoiled.

Gives edible-but-ugly fruit to charity

We love the fact that no fruit goes to waste here. Anything that's edible but not quite up to Manhattan Fruitier's aesthetic standard of excellence gets donated to City Harvest of New York City, where it gets distributed to various soup kitchens and other non-profit organizations. Another really great reason to patronize this business.

Best fruit baskets in the industry

We're pleased to give Manhattan Fruitier our first-place ranking. It's a competitive industry with many worthy candidates, but this company's commitment to sustainability without sacrificing quality or presentation is remarkable. Your gift recipients will be delighted, maybe even speechless, when they receive a fruit basket from Manhattan Fruitier.

A Gift Inside

• Over 25 fruit baskets to choose from
• In operation for over 50 years
• Prices range from $39.95 to $102.95
• 100% satisfaction guarantee
• $10.95 for standard shipping and $15.95 for 2-day shipping

A Gift Inside consists of three brands: Golden State Fruit, CY Chocolates, and Farmstead Gourmet. When you order a fruit basket here, it may include hand-picked premium pears, small-batch handmade chocolate creations, and carefully-selected specialty cheeses and other snacks. This California-based company has been around for over 50 years.

You'll know exactly what you're getting

A Gift Inside has one of the widest varieties of fruit baskets among all of the retailers we reviewed. There are more than 25 here, ranging in price from $39.95 to $102.95. There's no simple way to sort through them all, but you can use the links on the left side if you want to see a specific type of fruit basket, like sympathy or fruit only. Within each product page, be sure to click on the Contents tab if you want an item-by-item list of what's included.

A good example

For example, A Gift Inside's highest-priced fruit basket is the California Farmstead ($99.95 with a standard red ribbon or $102.95 if you choose one with a message): contents include 3 Comice or D'Anjou pears (depending on the season) 3 Braeburn apples, 2 navel oranges, 5 mandarin oranges, cheddar or artichoke spinach cheese dip, wild blueberry jam, crackers, 4 pieces of baklava, chocolate squares or caramels, dried fruit, toffee almonds, and more. It's nice to know exactly what to expect.

Try the fresh cherries

One gift frequently mentioned by A Gift Inside customers is the Fresh Cherries and Gourmet Chocolate Crate. Priced at $40.95, this package comes with 1.5 pounds of mouth-watering Rivermaid California cherries, three oz. of dark chocolate almond bark, and three oz. of chocolate-covered cherries. Yes, please! Anything with fresh cherries from this company should be a gift that is very well-received, based on what we've seen from past shoppers' comments.

Gifts arrive in three days or less

On each product page, you can see all of the available delivery dates and their associated shipping fees - no need to enter a zip code or any other information beforehand. Orders ship for $10.95 with standard delivery and $15.95 for two-day; all baskets are packed the day they're ordered and should have a maximum in-transit time of just three days. You can enter a gift message during checkout, and some baskets offered a selection of occasion ribbons (like Happy Birthday or Thank You) but we didn't see any options for upgrades/add-ons here: what you see is what you get, and that's it.

Save 10% when you sign up for emails

Want to save 10% on your order? Keep an eye out for an invitation to sign up for A Gift Inside's news and offers to get your discount. Ours popped up as we browsed, and we spotted it featured throughout the website too.

Keeps customers happy

We weren't able to find a Better Business Listing for A Gift Inside or for its related brands: not a problem necessarily, but something to point out. We did see positive feedback from shoppers in a variety of places, usually averaging at least four out of five stars. There's lots of praise not just for the quality of the fruits and other snacks in the baskets, but also for the attention to detail offered by A Gift Inside's customer team. Shoppers say their gift recipients are thrilled with what they receive, orders arrive on time, and that this is a store you can trust to get it right each time you send a gift.

All-around fantastic choice for fruit baskets

Great variety, affordable pricing, fantastic customer service: what more could you want from a fruit basket company? A Gift Inside is a store you shouldn't overlook when shopping for any gift-giving occasion - or if you want to treat yourself to something delicious and a little bit healthy too.

Gift Tree

• 15 fruit baskets to choose from
• Basket contents vary based on location and florist selection
• Choose from three sizes for each basket
• Prices range from $49.95 to $149.95
• Excellent track record for customer satisfaction
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB

Gift Tree wants to turn your next gift-giving occasion into something extraordinary. Since 1997, the company has curated a selection of superior-quality, hand-chosen gifts for every special moment, holiday and season. Gift Tree has headquarters in Vancouver, Washington, but additional locations in Texas and North Carolina make it possible to get two-day ground shipping almost everywhere in the US.

Big, bigger, or biggest?

Although their selection of 15 fruit baskets is on the smaller side, Gift Tree gives you the opportunity to pick a specific size within most of their displayed arrangements. Similar to how you get asked if you want to super-size your fast food meal, this retailer offers baskets labeled as "good”, "better”, and "best”. The item quality will always be the same, but the quantity varies based on the tier you choose. Also, at checkout, you can add more items to your gift: how about a box of chocolates, a single rose, or a bottle of champagne?

Plenty of possibilities for just fruit or fruit-and-more

The Orchard Fruit Basket is Gift Tree's most popular choice, with over 240 reviews averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars. Ranging in price from $69.95 to $89.95 (depending on which size you order), this all-fruit arrangement is a winner. You can also buy baskets that are fruit-and-more, like the Elegance to Spare that comes with your choice of Cabernet or Chardonnay, gourmet treats and, of course, a selection of fresh fruit.

Get a discount

As we browsed the Gift Tree store recently, we were given a $10 discount on our first order in exchange for signing up with our email to receive exclusive offers, gift reminders, and pro tips. There was also a coupon code of THANKS10 that popped up "for return customers”, but it's possible that the code would work for new shoppers too.

Baskets' contents will vary by delivery location

Another important thing to know about buying your fruit basket from Gift Tree is how they handle fulfillment. Most of them are described as being "delivered fresh from [a] trusted local florist”, so the final contents of your basket will depend on your recipient's location. It "may include” apples, pears, grapes, bananas, or other fruits, but no matter what it will be based on the florist's preference and what's available locally. That's why the descriptions of most products here don't tell you exactly which fruit varieties, brand of crackers, or wine will be included.

Thousands of happy customers

Should that concern you? Customer feedback would say "definitely not.” Not only is Gift Tree accredited and "A+” rated by the Better Business Bureau, but they've got thousands of five-star reviews from super-satisfied shoppers. They've got a loyal following of people who won't trust any other vendor for their gift-giving needs, and even one-off purchases get high praise for the quality of the fruit and of the baskets themselves. We also thought it was interesting that, among the few complaints Gift Tree has received, people were upset that their deliveries came earlier than expected. In an industry where customers more often have problems with shipments that come after an important occasion (or not at all), we'd call that a feature and not a bug.

Should definitely be a store you consider

Gift Tree has become one of our favorite choices when shopping for fruit baskets. We love being able to choose not just a theme but a size, and it's refreshing to hear that the company has a reputation for getting gifts to recipients on time (or even early). We definitely recommend that you check out what Gift Tree has to offer the next time you need to send a gift.

Gourmet Gift Baskets

• 13 fruit baskets to choose from
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB
• Prices range from $49.99 to $269.99
• In business for over 80 years
• High in customer satisfaction
• 100% satisfaction guarantee

Although Gourmet Gift Baskets itself has "only” been in business for 20 years, this family-owned company has a history spanning more than 80 years after beginning as a flower shop several generations ago. Their goal is "to provide exceptional gifts for all of life's special occasions”.

All baskets are fruit-and-treats

There are just over a dozen options in Gourmet Gift Baskets' fruit category, and you'll notice right away that the fruit part doesn't really get the spotlight in these arrangements. They have no selections that are just fruit: no mixes of apples-pears-oranges or any of the other traditional produce-only baskets you might expect. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but know that you'll likely wind up shopping with a different store if you want to give a gift that's primarily fruit.

Healthy combos

Still, most of the fruit baskets here offer a nice mix of items that tend to be more on the health-conscious side. One of our favorites is the Healthy Hydration set: it comes with two oranges, a lime and a lemon, two granola bars, two sparkling San Pellegrino drinks, a strawberry lemonade mixer, and a keto mix of nuts. Priced at $79.99, you can send this with a personalized greeting card and/or send an instant gift notification via email.

Charcuterie for the win

One of Gourmet Gift Baskets' most popular items is the Epic Charcuterie Basket for $159.99 (it's so popular, it's listed twice on the site). There's not a lot of fruit in it, just four pears, but it also comes with biscuits, honey, two kinds of cheddar cheese, soppressata and a cookbook. Every customer who left a rating gave this fruit basket five stars.

Email newsletter = 10% discount

Why not save a little money on your order? Just provide your email address when you see the pop-up and get 10% off.

Impressive customer reviews

We're extremely impressed with Gourmet Gift Baskets' reputation - so much so that it gave the company a huge boost in our rankings. Not only do they have an "A+” and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, but almost 2,000 customers have given them a flawless five-star rating. It's always a big plus when we see reviews from people who have repeatedly used a fruit basket retailer over the years, and Gourmet Gift Baskets has plenty of happy feedback like that - from people who always use their store to send gifts at the holidays to real estate agents whose out-of-town clients receive "congrats” and "thank you” deliveries with these delicious treats.

Terrific customer support

On the off chance that there's a problem with your fruit basket, Gourmet Gift Baskets' in-house customer service team will take good care of you. Everything they sell is backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and we didn't see anything but praise for how the team handled the few issues described in customer reviews.

Fruit baskets that are consistently high-quality

Sure, you'll need to pick a different retailer if you want to send a fruit basket that's overflowing with apples, pears, or other fruit. On the other hand, if you'd like a nice arrangement of several different tasty things - including a few pieces of fruit - we invite you to see if Gourmet Gift Baskets gets your approval. Their attention to detail and the pride they take in offering excellent customer service make them an option to consider among fruit basket stores.

Harry & David

• 35 fresh fruit baskets to choose from
• Frequent sales and discounts
• Easy to add extras like wine, juice or popcorn
• Prices range from $49.99 to $199.99
• 100% satisfaction guarantee
• "A-” rated by the BBB
• In business for nearly 100 years

Harry & David has been one of America's top choices for premier gifts since 1934. Believe it or not, the company started out when its founder traded a hotel for 240 acres of pear orchards in Oregon. It shouldn't come as any surprise when you see those fruits highlighted in the gift baskets sold here, though there are plenty of other treats too. This is one of three brands in our evaluation that are part of the 1-800-Flowers group, and it's our highest-ranking of the three.

Filters help you sort through 30+ fruit basket choices

Harry & David's online store has some of the best filtering options we've seen among fruit basket retailers. Does your recipient have any food restrictions? Are you looking for specific items to be included, like chocolate or other treats? How about a particular occasion you're honoring? Use those to make it easier to zero in on the baskets you'll like; otherwise, you could get bogged down sifting through the 30+ options here.

Contents are never a mystery here

Once you've selected a fruit basket that catches your eye, you'll have no trouble seeing exactly what's included. For example, Harry & David's super-popular Deluxe Favorites arrangement ($109.99) comes with almost four pounds of pears, Moose Munch popcorn, cheddar cheese and crackers, chocolate-covered cherries, truffles, raspberry galettes and much more. With any item, look right at the top for any "Make It Extra Special” add-ons your gift recipient might like.

SmartGift makes gift-giving a breeze

Not sure what to send, or don't have a delivery address? Not a problem with Harry & David. Look for the "Send with SmartGift” feature on an item's product page. Send the gift notification by email, Facebook or SMS, and the recipient will enter their preferred delivery address and date. Better yet, if they really don't care for the fruit basket you picked, they can exchange it for a lower-priced gift and you'll get the payment link with the corresponding final price.

Several ways to save

Want to save some money? Look for pop-up discounts when you visit the Harry & David site. We got one offering a 10% discount if we provided our email address; the coupon could be activated for an order placed that day or saved for later. Also look for featured sales: when we were shopping on the H&D site recently, several fruit baskets were marked as "buy 1 get 1 50% off”. True, most of us aren't looking to send two gift baskets at a time, but that could come in handy if you want a one-and-done order to take care of two Mother's Day gifts or teacher appreciation days, that sort of thing. Finally, if you plan on ordering from Harry & David or any of the other stores in the 1-800-Flowers group, the Passport program gives you free standard shipping on most orders for an annual fee of $29.95.

More mixed customer results than we anticipated

Harry & David has been around for over 100 years, so as we'd expect there were a lot of customer reviews to consider: over 17,000 in one place alone. It wasn't the "knock it out of the park” feedback we expected, though. Yes, there were nearly 10,000 people who said the company earned a five-star rating - but almost 20% of customers only gave Harry & David one or two stars overall. And, some of those complaints were specific to fruit: hard, sour pears, poor presentation, rotten produce. There were also more than a few customers who said that the orders arrived after the special occasion - birthday, Mother's Day, and so on. Fortunately, Harry & David guarantees that your recipients will be delighted and, if not, they'll give you an appropriate replacement or refund. Looks like they make good on that, because the Better Business Bureau gives the company a decent "A-” rating.

Look at ratings on specific fruit baskets

It's also helpful that individual fruit baskets offered here have customer reviews: even if you're still holding your breath hoping that it'll come on time, at least you can rest assured that you've ordered something that most people have liked. Try the Classic Favorites arrangement if you want something tried-and-true: over 1,100 ratings, this gift averages a near-perfect five stars.

Still good but no longer one of the best

We still recommend Harry & David as a solid choice when shopping for fruit baskets. Their variety is almost unmatched, and there are some novel gift-giving features that you won't see anywhere else. But, over the last few years, several alternatives have emerged that are giving this retailer a real run for the money, so for now we've brought Harry & David to a more middle-ground spot in our rankings.

Wine Country Gift Baskets

• Just under 25 options to choose from
• 100% satisfaction guarantee
• Free shipping on most fruit baskets
• Prices range from $59.95 to $395
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB
• In business for over 35 years

Although Wine Country Gift Baskets specializes in delivering wine (shocker), they're a good choice for fruit baskets too. With nearly four decades of experience, this California company offers the right balance of value and quality in every gift-giving option you'll find in their online store.

Nice selection

There's an appealing variety of products within Wine Country Gift Baskets' fruit selections: not just fresh produce but also mixes of dried fruit and nuts. It's easy to use the filters on the left side of the site to narrow down the two dozen choices by occasion, contents, or arrangement style (such as tower, basket, and so on).

Fruit, chocolate and snacks basket earns five stars

The most popular fruit basket here is the Fresh Fruit, Chocolate and Snacks arrangement. It comes with two apples, two pears, and two oranges, plus Lindt milk chocolate truffles, smoked Gouda cheese spread, onion crackers, chocolate brownies, spicy honey crunch snack mix, cookies and more. There were more than 350 customer ratings on this fruit basket, with an average of nearly five-out-of-five stars. Sadly, when we added it to our cart and went to check out, there was a note saying it wasn't going to be available for purchase after a certain date in the following month - so you may need to choose an alternate fruit basket if this description caught your attention. (Side note: we reached out to them via live chat, and a very helpful rep said that it was only being discontinued temporarily and would be back in time for the holiday gift-giving season.)

Items are smaller than they appear

One tip: be sure to read the item dimensions when you're looking at the product description. They're clearly indicated in the description, but we saw comments from more than a few customers who only looked at the product images and thought they were getting a massive tower…only to get something that was less than a foot high.

Big sales, free shipping

You could save money with this store's frequent sales. During our most recent visit, there was a storewide sale that brought the prices down anywhere from 5% to 50% on most items. Their most expensive gift basket, the Ultimate Fresh Fruit, Sweet & Savory Collection, came all the way down in price to $197.50 - a huge savings over the regular price of $395.00. Plus, almost every selection here comes with free standard shipping - another nice perk, when many of Wine Country Gift Baskets' competitors charge $20 or more for delivery. If you need two-day, overnight or Saturday delivery, you can pay to upgrade that during checkout.

Solid reputation

Wine Country Gift Baskets' reputation is good overall. The Better Business Bureau gives them their highest rating and accreditation, and there were only seven complaints filed with the BBB in the last three years. Feedback was a little more mixed in other places, but we like that most individual fruit baskets have customer reviews that you can use to guide your purchase. The biggest problems seem to revolve around delivery issues, which is more the fault of the parcel service (if you get our drift) than Wine Country Gift Baskets' - and we're glad to see that, even then, they're honoring their 100% satisfaction guarantee and doing what it takes to make the customer happy.

Moving up in the rankings

We give Wine Country Gift Baskets' rating a half-star bump since our last evaluation. They've expanded their selection and have improved their customer service. Plus, you can't beat free shipping on most fruit baskets. There are a couple of retailers we'd choose over this one, but in general you can trust Wine Country Gift Baskets if they've got the gifts you're looking for.

The Fruit Company

• 11 fruit baskets to choose from
• Some 2-day shipping options
• Prices range from $84 to $299
• In business for over 80 years
• "A+” rated by the BBB

The Fruit Company is the fruit basket division of Roy Webster Orchards, which got its start in the early 1940s in Oregon's Hood River Valley. They grow their own pears, cherries and blueberries, and source other high-quality fruits from several award-winning regional producers.

Just under a dozen fruit baskets

You've got 11 fruit baskets to consider at The Fruit Company, ranging in price from $84 for the Simply Fruit (approx. one dozen pieces of fruit plus dried fruit) to $299 for Oregon's Cascade (about 28 pieces of fruit and 17 gourmet items like sausage, nuts, and cheese). All baskets give you the option to add a specialty cookie or sparkling cider, and you can have it packaged with an occasion ribbon (congratulations, with sympathy, get well soon) for an extra $5.

Use filters to see what's inside each basket

It's not always easy to tell what's in each basket, so use the left-hand side of the page for filters if you're hoping to have something specific included in the gift you're sending. Clicking on the "Ingredients” option makes it clear that some fruit baskets come with salmon, popcorn, trail mix, candy and so forth. Or, if you want options that are fruit-only, there's a filter for that too.

Shipping fees and timeframes vary

During checkout, you can enter a gift message and select your desired delivery date. Shipping fees are displayed on a calendar: on that Oregon's Cascade basket we referenced, we were offered standard shipping for $16, 3-day delivery for $25, 2-day for $29, overnight for $45, and Saturday for $55. However, standard was only offered on Fridays for our recipient's zip code; Monday through Wednesday, even a month in the future, were always listed as $29 2-day only. Only one fruit basket choice, the Legacy Cheese Basket, was labeled as having free 2-day shipping.

Rivals have pushed this store out of first place

We've had to downgrade The Fruit Company in our rankings, dropping out of our first-place spot to a more "just average” rating. It isn't so much that anything has gone wrong with this company, but rather that their rivals have outpaced them over the last few years. Their selection of fruit baskets is smaller than we'd expect now, and while we were happy to see that they still have an "A+” from the Better Business Bureau, The Fruit Company doesn't have thousands of five-star customer ratings like many of their competitors do. Even their individual items don't have many reviews, if any, making it harder to see which ones are the stand-outs if you want to send a really impressive gift.

Still good but you might find more fruit baskets somewhere else

If you order a basket from The Fruit Company, you shouldn't expect any issues. Though the store doesn't spell it out in great detail, they offer a satisfaction guarantee that will resolve any problems with damaged deliveries or spoiled fruit - and we don't have reason to think that happens on the regular here. However, you may want to start your shopping with one of the higher-ranked stores in our review and come back to The Fruit Company if you don't find what you need elsewhere.

FTD

• 14 fruit baskets to choose from
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB
• Prices range from $45 to $125
• In business for over 110 years
• Good satisfaction guarantee

All the way back in 1910, a baker's dozen of florists joined forces to sell flowers across the nation, allowing orders to be transmitted by telegraph. Even today, FTD represents one of the biggest networks of florists worldwide. When you order a fruit basket here, your order will usually be delivered via standard carrier (UPS, FedEx, USPS), though depending on what you select it could possibly be fulfilled by a local flower shop in their partnership.

Fruit is secondary in most of these fruit baskets

FTD's selection of fruit baskets is decent but nothing that's going to give you that huge "wow” factor. There were 14 total options at the time of this evaluation: a few consisting primarily of fruit, like the Fruitful Life ($70) and Gourmet Kosher Fruit Care Package ($55), but mostly it was arrangements that included fruit as a secondary inclusion to baskets that were focused on cheese, crackers, and/or chocolates.

Reasonable prices and delivery fees

Pricing on fruit baskets at FTD is reasonable, between $45 and $125. The last time we went to the FTD site, we spotted a 15% discount offer in a pop-up if we were willing to sign up for their email mailing list. Your delivery costs will be displayed during the checkout process when you enter the zip code: figure on it being roughly 10% of the price of the fruit basket you choose.

In business for over 100 years

How about reputation? You won't find many fruit basket stores that have been in business for more than a century. The Better Business Bureau gives FTD both accreditation and an "A+” rating, although there was an alert on the listing indicating that the company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization back in 2019. That's not likely to affect you as a customer.

Not the most reassuring customer reviews

However, customer reviews are lukewarm at best. Most of them are related to floral deliveries, but the concerns raised could easily apply to fruit baskets as well: deliveries are late or completely missing, product quality is disappointing, and the overall presentation misses the mark as an impressive gift. FTD could reassure shoppers by providing a way to leave reviews on individual fruit baskets and other items, and we hope to see that functionality in the future.

Keeps promises to customers

On a more positive note, we saw timely, appropriate responses from FTD representatives on each complaint, often leading the customers to increase their rating from a dismal one-star review to a much-improved four stars. FTD guarantees your satisfaction and is willing to replace your fruit basket or refund your money if you encounter any problems (or your gift recipient does).

Trustworthy, but better options exist

If you find an FTD fruit basket that's the perfect fit for the person you're thinking of, you shouldn't be too hesitant to place the order. These arrangements are less likely to have issues with freshness and damage than flowers do, and we're reasonably confident that FTD will take care of it if your fruit basket doesn't meet your expectations. However, if you're looking for a huge variety to choose from or your priority is fresh fruit and not all of the extras (like chocolates and savory snacks), you'll want to browse the higher-ranked gift stores we reviewed before you settle on FTD.

Edible Arrangements

• Hundreds of fruit arrangements to choose from
• Options can include extras like stuffed animals, cookies, chocolates and more
• Prices range from $14.99 to $1,999.99
• Order online and then choose in-store pickup, local delivery or shipping via FedEx (depending on the recipient's zip code)

Edible Arrangements - sometimes shortened to just "Edible” (but not to be confused with "edibles”!) - is best known for its "bouquets” of cut fruit. They're not fruit baskets per se, but they're a fantastic way to send someone fruit that they don't have to chop up or peel to enjoy.

Order online, then choose your preferred delivery type

Edible Arrangements has more than 1,200 retail locations throughout the US, so sometimes your gifts will have the option of being picked up locally and then delivered by you at your convenience (free) or through a delivery service like DoorDash or FedEx (for a fee). Either way, you still place your order online and then select which type of delivery you prefer.

Recipient's location affects your options

When you first visit the Edible Arrangements site, you'll be asked to enter the zip code and the date you want your gift to be ready. Some choices are only available for pickup at a brick-and-mortar location and not for delivery, and either way your recipient's location will impact the inventory. For example, when looking for the lowest-priced gift option, we got a $14.99 "Dipped Feast” (with chocolate-dipped apple slices, strawberries, and some solid chocolates) for a Florida zip code that wasn't available when we switched the delivery/pick-up address to Wisconsin - even though both places had an Edible Arrangements store nearby.

How about a Chocolate Spectacular for your big event?

Speaking of gift options and prices, this store has the most extravagant arrangement out of all the fruit basket companies we reviewed. Check out the Incredible Edibles Chocolate Spectacular (at a "bargain” price of just a penny under $2,000). This delicious monstrosity is hand-crafted at the event venue you specify because it serves over 200 people and stands more than three feet tall. This arrangement has cantaloupe wedges and balls, white and semisweet chocolate-dipped bananas/pineapple daisies/pineapple stars, honeydew wedges, orange wedges, strawberries, semisweet chocolate dipped apple wedges and strawberries with white swizzle, and white chocolate dipped strawberries with semisweet swizzle (wow!). You'll need to order it at least 48 hours in advance. Believe it or not, there were 21 reviews for this product, all giving it a flawless five-star rating.

Feel free to add on

Once you've selected the fruit basket or other gift arrangement you'd like to send, you'll see options in the checkout process for upgrading your order. You could add chocolate to the strawberries in your package, include a bouquet of flowers (with or without a vase), send a plushie (with choices of a unicorn, llama, bear or penguin at the time of our review), and quite a few other extras.

Lots of details in the checkout process

There's a lot you can do in the rest of the checkout. If there are any special instructions for the delivery, like landmarks to spot or entry info for gated communities, enter that here. You can also specify the occasion and add a complimentary gift message or spend $6.99 to upgrade to a personalized greeting card. On the final checkout page, you'll see which location will be making your fruit arrangement if it's not coming by FedEx; if there is more than one that serves the delivery area, you may be able to select the one you prefer.

Discounts have some fine print

Would you like a 15% discount? There was a pop-up when we visited the site most recently - but watch out for the fine print, because our offer said it was only valid for an online order with in-person pick-up, not delivery.

Your satisfaction absolutely depends on your local store

The reputation of this company really varies. The Better Business Bureau gives them an "F” rating - for failing to respond to the three complaints that had been filed there. For a company with more than a thousand retail sites, that's not even worth worrying about. Because most orders are going to be fulfilled by a local store (either for you to pick up or to have delivered from a store close to your recipient), your results will depend on that specific franchise. And that definitely impacts customers' experiences. In one place, we found over 1,200 reviews with an average of 4.2 out of 5 stars: most people had great things to say, with just a small number who received lackluster arrangements and got an equally disappointing response from EA's customer service team. In other places, it was almost the exact opposite: most people giving the company just one star out of five.

Happiness is not exactly guaranteed

You would think that Edible Arrangements' "Certified Happiness” commitment would give customers some recourse if their orders aren't 100% amazing (let alone the reviews we read about melted chocolates, moldy strawberries, or broken flower stems being delivered). But, their policy doesn't come out and state what they'll do to keep you happy and what the requirements are for getting some kind of "fix” like a refund or replacement. Again, you may be at the mercy of the local store - and that may or may not work in your favor.

Plenty of room for improvement

Edible Arrangements is saved from earning a below-average rating because of their multiple locations around the country: it may be your only choice for a fruit arrangement you can order and pick up today for that special occasion you forgot. In every other way, though, we were disappointed with what we saw here. A company this large should have an easier time of keeping their customers happy, and that just doesn't appear to be the case. If you're not in a rush, you may want to explore your other options for fruit

Pittman & Davis

• Boxes and baskets with lots of fruit: citrus, pears, apples, and so on
• Preorder for seasonal deliveries
• Prices range from $29.99 to $94.99
• Free shipping on standard delivery
• "A+” rated and accredited by the BBB
• In business for about 100 years

Based in Harlingen, Texas, Pittman & Davis is a family-owned business that's been around for the better part of a century, offering grapefruit from their own groves, plus citrus, apples and pears from other parts of the country. They're particularly known for their ruby red grapefruit, only grown in the Texas Rio Grande and Florida Indian River areas.

Feast or famine

Depending on the time of year, you could have abundant options for fruit baskets with Pittman & Davis - or virtually none. For example, shopping in June, you would likely see over two dozen fruit boxes and arrangements available only for preorders with a November/December delivery date, several options simply designated as "out of season”, and just one or two selections that you could order for immediate shipment (including one breakfast box that didn't seem to include any fruit at all).

Ideal for holiday citrus gifts

Then again, if you are looking for a source of boxed grapefruit and other citrus to gift at the holidays, Pittman & Davis have you covered. Arrangements include all citrus, all pears, all grapefruit, and assortments including all of the above. Prices start at $29.99 for small samplers of fruit and go up to $94.99 for the largest value packs with 50-60 pounds of fruit. Standard delivery is free on all orders.

Mixed reviews

We're also not seeing a ton of love for this company. We're glad to see that they have an "A+” and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau: not every fruit basket seller in our review can say that. But, looking at shopper feedback in other places, more than 20% of those reviews give Pittman & Davis a rating of three stars or lower.

Not a good look

Comments from clients who have used this retailer for gift-giving for many years indicate that both product quality and customer service have declined. Argumentative support reps who try to blame customers for receiving rotten fruit or late deliveries? Not a great look there, especially when their guarantee promises to replace every gift or refund its purchase price if you or the recipient aren't "absolutely delighted”. Still, it was somewhat reassuring to see shopper ratings on individual products on the P&D website that said it was "the best grapefruit in the world” and "an outstanding gift”.

Not good for gift-giving outside of the winter holidays

Pittman & Davis for fruit gift-giving during the winter holidays? Maybe. For year-round gifting of fruit baskets? Probably not. You could take your chances here and rely on the satisfaction guarantee they offer if a problem comes up, but you may have to be very assertive to get Pittman & Davis to make good on it.

Fruit Bouquets

• Cut fruit arrangements that can be ordered by occasion or by serving size
• Prices range from $39.99 to $114.99
• Part of the 1-800-Flowers group of brands
• Same-day fruit delivery available nationwide during all seasons

Fruit Bouquets is one of several companies we evaluated that fall under the 1-800-Flowers brand umbrella (in addition to Shari's Berries and Harry & David). You won't find traditional fruit baskets here, but rather cut fruit arrangements in the shape of a bouquet, Christmas tree, or other style.

Shop by occasion or serving size

It's hard to say how many different fruit bouquets are on offer here, because there's no way to view all of them at once. Instead, you'll shop the site by occasion, like birthday or a holiday, or by the desired serving size (1-3 people, 3-5 people, 5-10 people, or 10+). You can make the process even easier by entering the delivery zip code, occasion, and desired delivery date; Fruit Bouquets will only display the options that fit those parameters. This is one of the only companies we reviewed that has same-day fruit delivery from coast to coast, no matter the season.

Want something sweet and delicious?

One popular arrangement here is the Sweet & Delicious bouquet, with options to include 6 or 12 chocolate-dipped strawberries. The base package is priced at $59.99 and comes with enough pineapple daisies, melon skewers, oranges and grapes to serve about nine people. There were plenty of five-star reviews on this product (but we also noticed that they were "selected” and not unfiltered, so you wouldn't necessarily see anything but five-star comments).

A few ways to save

During our most recent visit to the Fruit Bouquets online storefront, we got a pop-up discount of 15% on our first order if we entered our email address. Another way to save money is through the Passport program: across all of the 1-800-Flowers companies, most items will get free standard delivery and no service charges, and you'll earn rewards points on your purchases, all for an annual fee. How much? Well, in one place on the Fruit Bouquets' site, it said $19.99/year, but in others it said $29.99. Either way, that will more than pay for itself in 1-3 orders, depending on what you buy, but it's still not very reassuring that this store isn't accurately providing the cost.

Inconsistent quality

All of Fruit Bouquets' arrangements will be fulfilled by a florist local to your recipient. Unfortunately, that makes for a lot of inconsistency with respect to quality. We saw customer images whose deliveries looked just like what was shown in the online storefront, and others whose arrangements were disappointing to the point of being shocking.

Not good at handling problems appropriately

That's not all. Time and again, customers said that their gifts never showed up, leaving recipients empty-handed on special occasions. To make matters worse, some fruit bouquets that were designated as sympathy arrangements were not only delivered late, but also came with a "happy holidays” or "happy birthday” greeting card. You would think that the customer service team would be falling over backwards to try and put things to rights - but many reviews describe having a very hard time getting any sort of response, or being offered a store credit and a partial refund instead of their full payment amount back.

Not a store we recommend

You're really taking your chances when you order a fruit bouquet here. At least with their closest competitor, you have the ability to pick up your arrangement in person and see if it's going to live up to your expectations. With Fruit Bouquets, you're at the mercy of the time and talent of the local florist, and it's been shown over and over again that your results will absolutely vary here. This isn't the worst company for sending fruit as a gift - but it comes pretty close.

Shari's Berries

• About 60 fruit baskets and arrangements to choose from
• Prices range from $39.99 to $159.99
• Part of the 1-800-Flowers family
• Lots of options for various occasions and "just because”
• Save money with Passport program ($29.95/year)

Shari's Berries is part of the 1-800-Flowers brand family, which also includes The Popcorn Factory, Wolferman's Bakery, and two other fruit basket stores in our review (Harry & David and Fruit Bouquets). You'll see a lot of crossover items as you shop any of the three sites, and it doesn't really make a big difference where you ultimately make the purchase. However, the user experience varies, so we'll give you an idea of what you can expect when you use Shari's Berries as your jumping-off point when shopping for fruit baskets.

Might take a while to find what you're looking for

Shari's Berries doesn't offer the most intuitive shopping experience. On their main Fruit Baskets page, there's absolutely no way to shop by occasion, contents, or price range - or even to sort by best-sellers, low-to-high (or high-to-low) cost, or anything else. It could take you quite a while to scroll through the ~60 arrangements on offer - but it'll go faster if you enter the delivery zip code to weed out anything not available in your recipient's area. Still, not being able to use filters to find occasion-themed products or even to sort items by price makes for a longer timeframe to get the fruit basket selected and your order placed.

Explore your options for saving money

There are a couple ways to save money here. If you provide your email address, Shari's Berries will give you a 15% discount on your first order. Just look for the pop-up as you browse the site. Also, almost every fruit basket is designated as "Passport Eligible”. No, you're not sending these gifts on a whirlwind world tour: the Passport program gets you free standard shipping and reduced-price expedited delivery, rewards points on every order, and no service charges for a full year with an annual fee of $29.99. This applies across all of the brands in the 1-800-Flowers family, so if you do a lot of gift-giving, the Passport program is well worth the money. Since most Shari's Berries deliveries have a standard shipping fee of $13.99 or more, the Passport would pay for itself in 2-3 orders.

Select delivery date and gift message

When you go to the checkout stage of your purchase, you'll see the default delivery date; placing our order on a Friday, our first date for standard delivery was the following Wednesday, with Tuesday arrival for an extra fee of $12.99 and next-day for just $14.99 more. That's also where you can enter a gift message - or use any one of several pre-written "suggested messages” by theme if you've got writer's block.

50,000+ one-star reviews?!

What do people think about ordering from Shari's Berries? As you'd guess, most of their customer feedback relates to their famous chocolate-covered strawberries and not necessarily to fruit baskets. Truth be told, there are more than a few unhappy Shari's Berries customers: in one place alone, we found over fifty thousand one-star reviews, describing problems ranging from incorrect or missing deliveries to horrible experiences with customer service. The only upside is that because the company is backed by 1-800-Flowers, you can trust the "100% Smile Guarantee” to eventually provide a reshipment, comparable exchange, or refund if something goes wrong with your order.

We would avoid buying fruit baskets here

Shari's Berries already wasn't doing well in terms of customer satisfaction. And, because the shopping experience is so clunky, we prefer going through the Harry & David site for baskets or Fruit Bouquets for cut fruit arrangements instead - accessing the exact same products (and then some). This is absolutely not our go-to for fruit baskets.