ProFlowers Review

ProFlowers is a flower retailer and flower delivery company that is headquartered in San Diego, California. While they are technically not a fresh face in the industry, the company is still relatively young in the grand scheme of things, having been formally established in 1998.

Perhaps one of the most notable things about ProFlowers is their storied history with another noteworthy company in the floral industry, FTD (Florists’ Transworld Delivery). In particular, in August 2005, ProFlowers was sued by Florists’ Transworld Delivery – at the time one of their biggest rivals in the floral industry – for false advertising and unfair competition. The primary cause for this lawsuit was ProFlowers’ claim that they shipped their products “direct from the fields” with “no middlemen”. After a year of back and forth litigation, the lawsuit was eventually settled out of court. However, this wasn’t going to be the last time that ProFlowers and FTD would be interacting in a significant manner. Less than a decade later, in 2014, FTD bought ProFlowers (and its sister gifting brands) in a $430 million deal.

Currently, ProFlowers is still a wholly-owned subsidiary of Florists’ Transworld Delivery but that doesn’t mean that they necessarily have to share the same strengths and weaknesses.

Pros and Cons of ProFlowers

If you need a quick idea of just how ProFlowers compares to the rest of the floral industry, here are a few of their most evident pros and cons.

Pros

• Their prices are more affordable than a lot of their primary competitors.
• They offer same-day delivery services and next day delivery servisces.
• They offer international flower delivery services.
• Their website is straightforward and easy to navigate.
• Their step-by-step ordering process is clear and forthright
• They offer regular deals and discounts on their website

Cons

• Their overall selection is average, it could definitely be better.
• They don’t have a subscription service or membership plan.
• Their bouquet quality is not up to par with some of the bigger names in the floral industry.

ProFlowers’ Pricing

Pricing is one of the most notable places where ProFlowers truly shines. The company manages to offer a considerable amount of exceptionally affordable bouquets and arrangements, with many of them going for as low as $30. However, this is not to say that they don’t also have pricier products on their website. In fact, after doing a bit of searching we were actually able to find some of their bouquets and arrangements that cost hundreds of dollars. That being said, the company’s overall selection seems to be more heavily skewed towards the more affordable side of things – with only a few of them exceeding the $100 price mark (before taxes and fees were applied). It is also worth mentioning that most of these arrangements and bouquets that cost hundreds of dollars were targeted towards being used for funerals and other sympathetic occasions.

When it comes to payment methods, ProFlowers doesn’t really go out of their way to be overly accommodating. As of writing this, ProFlowers now only accepts payments that are made through any of the major credit card companies (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) or payments that are made using PayPal. They still haven’t modernized in regard to their accepted payment options. This is actually a noticeable setback (especially in the U.S.) since nowadays more and more customers are starting to prefer using alternative payment methods like Apple Pay or Google Pay. One notable positive that ProFlowers has going for it is the fact that the company supports AfterPay. This is a payment service that allows customers to pay for whatever they order later, with four interest-free payments.

All in all, if you are familiar with FTD, then a lot of this should seem very familiar. One would have to assume that, when it comes to pricing and payment options, one of the main reasons why ProFlowers and FTD are so similar is because of the latter’s subsidiary status.

ProFlowers’ Delivery Details

Overall, ProFlowers’ delivery services are nothing to write home about. Their delivery services are better than what is considered as “average” in the floral industry but that is not really something that is noteworthy from the customer’s perspective. The main draw here is the fact that they deliver to all 50 states in the U.S., which is something that is worth mentioning because some companies will omit Alaska and Hawaii from that equation. Also, since ProFlowers is now supported by FTD’s infrastructure, they are also able to ship to over 125 countries across the world as well.

ProFlowers’ Delivery Times

This is undoubtedly one of the best things about ProFlowers – the fact that they have an extremely reliable same-day delivery service. It is similar to FTD’s same-day delivery service in that the order needs to be placed before 2:00 PM (recipient’s time zone) for it to qualify for same-day delivery. It is, however, worth noting that although a lot of ProFlowers’ contemporary services do seem to be copied from (or at least similar to) services that FTD provides, there are some notable omissions. One glaring example of this is the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any ProFlowers service that is analogous to FTD’s Gold Membership plan.

ProFlowers’ Occasions

ProFlowers’ website and FTD’s website are strikingly similar – from the layout that they use to the way that they organize their inventory. This is actually great for ProFlowers since they now have an extensively curated selection of bouquets and floral arrangements that can cater to a wide array of occasions, events, and celebrations. Some of these occasions include:

• Anniversary
• Birthday
• Graduation
• Get Well Soon
• Mother’s Day
• Father’s Day
• Funeral
• Valentine’s Day
• New Baby
• Retirement
• I’m Sorry

ProFlowers’ Flower Types

ProFlowers definitely does not have the most significant amount of variety when it comes to flower types, especially when they are compared to a lot of the big names in the floral industry. However, their selection is still adequate enough to satisfy most prospective customers. Here are some of their most popular flower types:

• Rose
• Sunflower
• Snapdragon
• Gladiolus
• Alstroemeria
• Daisy
• Calla Lily
• Carnation
• Stargazer Lily
• Hydrangea
• Iris

ProFlowers’ Extras

Although their name may suggest otherwise, ProFlowers has definitely branched out from being just a flower delivery company. Nowadays, the diversity in the product types that they offer is primarily due to the fact that they are a subsidiary of FTD (and FTD themselves offers a diverse range of non-flower products). Some of the most popular examples of this include:

• Succulents & Cacti
• Flowering Plants
• Bonsai & Bamboo Plants
• Cakes, Cookies & Chocolates
• Dipped Chocolate Strawberries
• Fruit Gift Baskets
• Candy & Confections
• Meat & Cheese Gift Baskets
• Teddy Bears

The Verdict on ProFlowers

History tells a tale of how ProFlowers used to be one of the fiercest competitors in the floral industry at the turn of the century. However, since then, history has not been kind to ProFlowers. The company has gone from being a primary rival of FTD to being a lackluster subsidiary that is now owned by FTD.

At first glance, one would most likely assume that since both ProFlowers and their owner, Florists’ Transworld Delivery, would be fairly identical. This is true in a lot of aspects, largely due to the fact that they both operate within the same niche of the floral industry. However, once we take a step back and then dig a bit deeper, it is quite clear that ProFlowers seems to have gotten the short end of the stick. There are more than a few customer reviews, from people that have been ordering from ProFlowers for years, that state that inconsistent service quality has become a recurring issue over the past few years. One can’t help but wonder if these service issues have something to do with the company being acquired by FTD.

Taking everything into account, the only benefits of ProFlowers is that they offer fast and affordable services – in every other regard, they are either adequate or lackluster. All things considered, there are definitely higher quality flower delivery companies out there that are just as fast and relatively affordable as well.