Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Low prices, excellent products, reliable, quick delivery |
| Disadvantages: |
Not a huge range of products |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
I came across the Bunches site when hunting around for somewhere that would sent bouquets of flowers within the UK. Living mostly abroad, and not being terribly efficient, I often forget about family birthdays and other occasions until rather nearer the date than is possible to trust the international post. Besides, posting to the UK is very pricey, and for some people (and occasions) it's hard to know what to buy other than
flowers.
I looked at the Interflora site first, since I knew the name, but was a bit horrified at the prices. So I used Google, which found me various options; I compared costs and the kinds of bouquets that were available, and the clear winner seemed to be Bunches.co.uk.
Of course it's always a little risky using an unknown site, but there was a little icon saying they were a Netbanx secure site, and there was also a reassuring page telling the customer that credit card details and email addresses are entirely safe with them. Since I've had no problems with
online ordering in the past, I decided to go ahead and order.
* Site appearance *
The site home page doesn't look as professional as some of the pricier online florists - the home page is rather too bright and cluttered for my taste. But still, it's clear what is offered, and easy enough to navigate: there's a menu down one side, and also some tabs at the top for the main categories of gift, as well as bright coloured rectangles giving a summary of each category in the centre. I reckon that if the better web designs are paid for by higher prices in bouquets, then I'd rather buy from a site that cost less to be built!
Navigation is quick and easy, and - a little to my surprise - the other pages look far less untidy than the home page. Each of the main category pages links to a further page with small pictures of the products available, and their prices, and a link offering further information. This is considerably more helpful, in my view, than some sites which show pictures without prices, or expect the customer to choose price range and occasion rather than simply being able to browse what is on offer.
There isn't a site-search facility, but then there isn't a huge range of products so I haven't found this to be a problem.
* What is available *
There are five main categories: best-value flowers, premium bouquets, chocolates, balloons and teddy-bears. There aren't a lot of possibilities within each category, but I found there was plenty of choice nevertheless, and something to suit each occasion.
* Prices *
The 'best-value flowers' start at £10.99 for a bunch of 10 carnations, and the highest-price option is what they call 'scented stargazer bouquet' at £19.99, which consists of three oriental lilies, among carnations and eucalyptus. There are currently four other bouquet options in between these prices, and also one which includes a miniature fruit cake along with the bouquet. The 'premium bouquets' are a little pricier - between £21.99 and £34.99 - but this is still considerably less expensive than similar products from other sites.
The chocolates available are selection boxes, not cheap, but rather tempting - starting at £9.99 for eight handmade chocolates, going up to £19.99 for twenty-seven. Not the kind of price I would expect to pay for chocolates, but very nice as a special gift to be delivered. The balloons and teddy-bears are rather expensive novelties costing similar prices to the chocolates - but again, something that might be very much appreciated by someone as a surprise in the post.
There is also a section linked from the home page (but not included in the tabs) for seasonal flowers. During July and August, there is a selection of 'Summer flowers', mostly in reds and yellows, for prices similar to the other sections. In December there are special 'Christmas flowers' available in December, starting at £13.99 - any orders for Christmas must be placed by about five days in advance. At other times of year there are bouquest for Spring, Easter, or Mother's Day - with similar prices, and relevant colour schemes.
To add to the value, there is often some kind of extra special offer. In the Summer they sometimes give a free 100g box of chocolates with all orders (other than the chocolate ones). In each seasonal list there is usually one which offers a bonus small box of chocolates. All of the bouquets have the option of adding in a box of continental chocolates or a small birthday cake for £3.99 each, or a small cuddly bear for £4.99.
* Ordering *
I found this to be straightforward. Having chosen an item and clicked the 'more info' button, I was given some check-boxes so that I could decide whether to add in the extra items, or pay more for a guaranteed delivery date. Underneath is a 'Buy' button. Clicking that leads to a page asking for delivery date and a message (up to 20 words) to be attached to a card with the gift. After that is the checkout, where a secure link is used to enter the address for delivery, and credit card details. At the end of the process there is a printable page with full details of the order.
* Delivery *
Delivery is available anywhere in the UK. I was a little dubious about the delivery method at first, since Bunches products are sent via the post, rather than delivered by courier. However this, no doubt, also helps to keep the prices low. They claim that 95% of their deliveries arrive on the day after they are sent. Premium bouquets are delivered by Royal Mail special delivery, and guaranteed on the day requested. Other items can be given a guaranteed date of delivery for an extra £5.
I have now used this site four times, each time choosing one of the best value flower selections, and in every case they have been delivered when expected, beautifully wrapped, and in perfect condition. Two of these occasions were Christmas, when deliveries often take longer than normal, but the flowers still arrived without problem on Christmas Eve.
I shall almost certainly be using them again!
** NB in the information below, please ignore the ratings for helpfulness of staff, delivery time and repair/replacement. I haven't had any need to contact the staff as this site works so smoothly, nor have I needed to request replacements, so I'm assuming these are fine, but have no actual knowledge. The 'delivery time' doesn't have an option for 1-2 days, so I had to choose 1-2 weeks, the minimum offered. However 1-2 days would be accurate.
Display pictures
Bunches home page in December |
very helpful
very helpful
helpful
