Monday, September 26th
2022 Fruit Basket Company Reviews
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.
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Where Can You Buy the Best Fruit Baskets?
With so many people trying to "eat clean" these days, fruit baskets are a fantastic option when you're struggling to decide what to give someone as a gift. Chocolate? They might be allergic. Nuts? Even more so. Gift cards? Boring. But fresh fruit? Everyone loves a juicy peach, ripe pear, tangy orange or crunchy-crispy apple!
What can you expect when shopping for the right fruit basket for your lucky recipient? Some retailers focus just on fresh produce, and you'll see boxes laden with the winter's best grapefruit from Texas and Florida, carefully-wrapped apples from the Northeast, or a variety mix of several different kinds of fruit. Yummy! Other fruit baskets offer an assortment of pieces of fruit and treats like cheese and crackers, chocolate-dipped pretzels, and much more. The sky's the limit when it comes to the options you'll see when you start browsing fruit baskets.
Fruit Basket Company FAQ
Continued from above...
Fruit baskets are also a great way to show you care. Not only are they healthy, they're tasty and can be a special way to charm anyone on your gift giving list. However, when you're trying to decide which fruit basket to give, the choices can seem a little daunting.
Feeling overwhelmed? Don't worry. Here are some criteria you can use to choose the right supplier for your order, whether you're buying it as a treat for yourself or giving it as a gift:
- Number of Fruit Baskets. How many choices are there? Some stores have dozens of arrangements to choose from, making it more likely that you'll spot the perfect one for your occasion. Others may offer just a handful of fruit baskets to consider.
- Variety of Items. What can you get with your fruit basket? Is it just fruit, or are there arrangements that have sweet or savory items to complement the produce? Can you customize the basket with add-ons of your choice, like a stuffed animal or even a floral bouquet?
- Price. Does the retailer have fruit baskets within your desired budget? Will you get a good value for what you spend? Is shipping included?
- Reputation. What do previous customers say about the fruit baskets and the company's customer service? It's not uncommon for fruit to occasionally spoil en route or for pieces to arrive damaged, so how does the retailer handle it when there's a problem? The best ones will make it right with a refund or a reshipment - and without any hassle about it.
To help you find the best fruit baskets for your next gift-giving occasion, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked today's most popular online providers. We're sure this information will make it easy to buy a sweet-and-healthy treat that will delight your lucky recipient!
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