What is and Order gather and What is wrong with that?

What is an Order Gatherer? 

An order gatherer, in the context of the floral industry, such as the one you may encounter when searching for a 'florist Colorado Springs' or 'Colorado Springs florist', is essentially a business entity that primarily advertises and sells products and services it does not produce or directly deliver. This company typically functions as a middleman, increasing costs to you, the customer, while potentially lowering the level of efficiency, service quality, and consequently, your satisfaction. It could also affect the customer base and profit margins of your local florist, like us here at My Floral Shop.

These order gatherers might not have design or delivery teams, no inventory of fresh flowers or live plants, or supplies like vases, baskets, or pottery. They might not even have delivery vans and are likely operating from mere office spaces.

How Does This Affect You? 

These companies might levy a fee of $10.95 or more, just to process your order. After accepting your order, they might use a wire service to relay your order to a legitimate florist - a business like My Floral Shop in Colorado Springs, complete with design, delivery, sales, and processing teams, and necessary infrastructure like inventory, delivery vans, and refrigeration. Your order may then be fulfilled at a discounted rate of 27% or more, turning into a loss-making endeavor for any local florist who agrees to take it up.

On the other hand, the order gatherer likely collects a significant sending rebate from the wire service in addition to a large percentage of the price of the product you purchased.

What Can You Do? 

Next time you wish to send flowers, especially if they are not for delivery in Colorado Springs or the surrounding areas that My Floral Shop services, type "florist, city, state or zip code" into your search engine. This should display real local florists with physical addresses, alongside the order gatherers you'd ideally want to bypass. By choosing local florists like My Floral Shop for your needs, you'll be directly supporting local businesses and may get more value for your money.