AZ Gardens

[Japola44]

has any one ordered from AZ gardens? There site looks pretty good. Also, has any one gotten driftwood from them, its pretty cheap? Just curious on the quality of there plants etc.

Edit: hehe forgot to post the site my bad...
www.azgardens.com

 

[malkore]

THey have a tendancy to be out of plants, and just substitute whatever they want in its place.

Example...you order a low light background plant...we'll say its anachris. They are out,s o they substitute a medium high light foregroudn plant in its place.

The two were probably the same price...but if you only run 1.5wpg, that foreground plant is basically wasted money.

That was a couple years ago, and is why I stopped ordering from them. That and my friend ordered from them a lot, including livestock. They'd give him store credit on any dead arrivals (mostly SAE's) but then whenever he'd go to use the credit, they never applied it, and then gave him the run around about how they didn't have it on file, and then that he waited to long to use it.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I just ordered plants from there. Will let you know how things go....

 

[sherry]

I've had really good luck with them, but I find it helps to order over the telephone. This way you can specify no substitions, describe the piece of wood you are hoping to get (I have some really nice smaller pieces from them) .. if you are ordering live specify that you want only one shipment since s hipping is so pricey ..not an issue on dry goods.
they will also ship snails ups ground which saves a ton and the snails always make it..

(I love their olive nerites) as glass cleaners and they don't breed in fresh water so never over run the tank)

anyway.. tell peter or matt (who will likely answer the phone) that Sherry says that they'll treat you right and they will. I've gotten pretty friendly with them over teh last year.

also their plants always arrive in fantastic shape.

fish you need to be specific with. THey can send the most gorgeous specimens or the tiniest.. and if you care, tell them ahead of time.

 

[Japola44]

ok thanks every one
LWB
I will be looking forward to your revwiew.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I've had really good luck with them, but I find it helps to order over the telephone. This way you can specify no substitions, describe the piece of wood you are hoping to get (I have some really nice smaller pieces from them) .. if you are ordering live specify that you want only one shipment since s hipping is so pricey ..not an issue on dry goods.
they will also ship snails ups ground which saves a ton and the snails always make it..

(I love their olive nerites) as glass cleaners and they don't breed in fresh water so never over run the tank)

anyway.. tell peter or matt (who will likely answer the phone) that Sherry says that they'll treat you right and they will. I've gotten pretty friendly with them over teh last year.

also their plants always arrive in fantastic shape.

fish you need to be specific with. THey can send the most gorgeous specimens or the tiniest.. and if you care, tell them ahead of time.

Thanks for the info. I haven't called them. Just curious, do they ship on Thursdays? If I ordered online this last weekend, should I expect the order to be shipped this Thursday? Thanks....

 

[sherry]

you should expect just that if you ordered live plants/fish... if it was just wood they would have shipped before hand.

if you order live, they will ship overnight fedex which costs a fair amount.. so be prepared...

that's why I noted that if you only want snails.. you can get them to do it cheaper, but you have to specify .

 

[malkore]

I should have specified, my orders were via the Internet, not over the phone.
But that reminds me, they do only ship plants on certain days, at least when I used to order. Taht really drove me nuts.

When I found out AquariumPlants.com is only 2.5 hours away from me, and they could ship USPS priority mail, they became the only place I order plants from (aside from friends I trade plants with)

 

[Purrbox]

My experience with AzGardens (ordered through the internet) was that their plant quality was extremely good but the shipping was extremely expensive. They don't give you an estimate on shipping up front, and it ended up being over double what I was expecting totally eliminating any savings on the plant prices.

I was much more pleased with my shipment from AquariumPlants a few months later. The plant quality wasn't quite as high, but I knew the total cost including shipping up front.

 

[caribou]

I would agree with Purrbox, plants from Azgardens are of excellent quality, but their shpping costs are very high. Getting a credit or refund for livestock is impossible, they still owe my about $9. I order all of my plants now from wwwaquariumplants.com. BTW, AZgardens overnited my shipment but most, if not all, of shrimp I ordered arrived dead. JFWIW

 

[Gryph]

My experience with them is limited to e-mail correspondance and phone conversations, but for me, that was enough. I live in the same town that they do, but they insist on shipping to me for $14. They use a same-day courier service, but pack the fish up the night before, and when I wondered if they packed the fish (especially delicate ones) the same day, they said no, they packed them the night before. Then they told me that it was the same amount of stress on the fish for me to come up, get them, and drive them home (a 15 minute trip) as it was for the fish to be boxed, sit in the box all night, then come by courier.

Their policies are questionable, the tone on their website is unprofessional and condescending, and I just can't convince myself to order from them. I'm really glad to hear that some people are having good luck with them, however.

 

[sherry]

AZ gardens is good about offering credits on livestock, but you are right most of the time you are responsible for the shipping charge...if there is a total disaster, I'd still try to negotiate for replacement with shipping. Clearly a box of dead shrimp is ridiculous

for shipping you need to assume at least $40 since they use fedex overnight only. You can always call them and tell them they need to estimate shipping for you before you can order. they will when pressed. they don't give you charges up front, because tehy don't take anything from teh shipping. They just foward the fedex cost.

I think it is expensive too.

I have actaully offered to rewrite that web site for them... since I agree the tone stinks. It is really a hodge podge of memos written after each misunderstanding that has occurred over the years.. They are trying to be clear. I think it doesn't work either.

the plants are great. If you can split an order with a friend.. or insist on two day shipping, the costs become worth the bother.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Plants have shipped overnight, will be at my work tomorrow. But still no receipt on shipping charges or from my bank account yet. Will let you know how everything arrives tomorrow.

Since it's being shipped to a my work, wonder if it will be any cheaper. I've had other things shipped overnight to my work, and was definitely cheaper than shipping to my home. Not sure why it's cheaper shipping to a business. hmmm.....

 

[rich311k]

There is a surcharge for residental delivery and for the extra money the don't require a signature and they can get it there by six instead of 10:30. Makes perfect sense right?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

So will I get billed the same way as paying for the plants? Or will I expect a bill from the FedEx guy when I get the plants at work? lol.

Edit:

Went to my bank account, and it's not posted yet. But I did notice my amount available is less than the ledger balance, and I elieve it's the shipping, as it's fairly expensive, lol. Will let you know for sure tomorrow when it's posted.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Ok, here's my evaluation....

1. Didn't get all I ordered, there were a few switches.
2. Some of the plants were not in good shape. The Hornwort was brown and falling apart. I rinsed it as much as I could and placed them in my 55G and 26G. What a mess, lol.
3. The hair grass, dwarf sword, and clover were full of duckweed. I think that's what it's called. Small green pods with a root under them that float on the top.
4. The creeping mint was actually turning yellow, don't know if it will survive.
5. The different vals were in excellent shape.

Overall, the selection wasn't bad, but I think could have been a little cleaner, or better prepped. Will let you know more tomorrow when I have better lighting. May need to do some replanting.

Also, do they credit your card for plants not shipped? The total they charged me was just over 20.00 more than the total on the paperwork that came with the plants. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks.