Local Florist or National Flower Website? What to Check Before You Order

Order from the florist who will actually make the flowers. Many national flower websites are order-gatherers: they take your money, keep a share, and pass the order to a local shop they have never visited. Ordering direct from a local florist in Cambridge means the person you speak to is the person choosing the stems.

What an order-gathering site is

An order-gathering site looks like a florist. It has bouquets, a checkout and a delivery promise for every town in New Zealand. What it does not have is a workbench. When your order comes in, the site forwards it to whichever local shop will take it, less a commission, and that shop makes what it can for the money that is left. The bouquet that arrives rarely matches the photo you chose, because that photo was never of their flowers. Stuff has reported on order-gatherer sites that take a large slice of the payment before forwarding the order.

We see the results in our Cambridge shop. People come in after a bad experience with a national site and tell us the flowers were small, late, or nothing like the picture. The site took the complaint; the florist took the blame.

How to tell the difference in 30 seconds

• Look for a street address. A real local florist has a shop you can walk into. Ours is 57 Victoria Street, Cambridge.
• Look at the phone number. A local landline that a person answers during shop hours is a good sign. An 0800 number that goes to a call centre is not.
• Check the delivery area. A florist delivers where its van goes. A site that promises every suburb in the country is forwarding orders.
• Look at the photos. Flowers photographed on the same bench, in the same light, were made by the shop. Glossy stock images were not.
• Check the reviews. Google reviews attached to a street address come from customers who dealt with that shop.

What ordering direct from a local florist gets you

At Expressions the florist who takes your call is the one who makes your order, from fresh flowers made in our Cambridge shop that morning, so what we show you online is what we have on the bench. You get an email when the order is finished, whether it is ready to collect or on its way. If nobody is home, our driver leaves the flowers somewhere sheltered and rings you if there is any doubt. We have been doing this from the same shop since 2014, and we are locally owned, so the money stays in Cambridge.

It also usually costs less. There is no middle layer taking a cut, so the full price goes into the flowers, and same-day delivery in Cambridge and Hamilton is $15 or $20, or free if you collect.

If you are ordering from out of town

You do not need to be in Cambridge to order direct. Order online at any hour, or ring the shop on 07 823 0119 during opening hours. Tell us who the flowers are for, a rough budget and the occasion, and we will design something to suit. Orders in by 12pm on a weekday are delivered the same day. For sympathy flowers, see our funeral and sympathy flowers page.

Frequently asked

How do I know a flower website is a real florist? Look for a street address, a local phone number, a sensible delivery area and photos taken in the shop.

Is it cheaper to order direct from a florist? Usually yes. There is no commission taken before the florist sees the money.

Can I order from a local florist if I live overseas? Yes. Order online at any hour or ring during New Zealand shop hours.

What happens if nobody is home for a flower delivery? Our driver leaves the flowers somewhere sheltered and rings the sender if there is any doubt.

Ready to order? Shop fresh flowers from our Cambridge shop.