Advice for dealing with vendors

[SouthPark]

Absolutely ------ to avoid the FIT issue (frozen in transit), it's a really good idea to avoid (if possible) shipping during snow periods, or periods where the temperature can get down to ice forming levels.

In the tropics here ----- even though the conditions are generally good, I always ask the sender to put 'leave in a safe place'. That's to avoid having the package go back to the mail centre if they think that nobody is at home. Saves the plant making the extra trip back to the depot and spend more time in the box.

[Ray]

Avoiding and Dealing with “Problem” Orders

[OrcishOrchids]

Originally Posted by JScott

The best method is just to buy from the bet dealers. Odom's, Hausermann, Sunset Valley Orchids, Akatsuka, OrchidWeb (although their prices are high), and I'm sure there are others. Those are just the first ones I think about. I'm sure others can add their feedback. Those are great vendors, and you are highly unlikely to have a problem, but if you do, they will make it right or you immediately.

The problem is I've been trying to stick to well-regarded companies, but it doesn't seem to matter. I even pay extra for 2day or next day shipping and end up with dead plants arriving a week later. I don't even live in some far flung frontier town, I live in the Dallas metroplex. I even try to be home on the scheduled delivery day so there's no chance of my plants sitting outside.

[Shadeflower]

I'd be really surprised if an orchid died completely from shipping. I've had orchids dry a bit in the post and lose leaves but never has it killed one except arguably an angraecum once.
Flower shops on the other hand (especially the ones that post flowers), they are always in bad condition, I'm thinking the zygopetalums, the sharry babies (if it comes from a flower shop), the cambria's like Nelly Isler, the Miltoniopsis and the multiphals that develop root rot because the flower shop didn't water them correctly.

That can be avoided in my experience by buying from places that specialise "only" in orchids. But this can vary from place to place too of course and I have a shop I myself would never use again because they also do not water correctly.

One of their plants took a whole year to develop stem rot - now you might argue after 1 year it isn't really their fault anymore but I disagree, I bought two identical plants at the same time, after 1 year the good one is flowering, the bad one has developed stem rot - It is still alive and has prduced 6 keikis but the overall health of both orchids was very different to start with even though they looked identical when I bought them.