Sarah Raven - some shockingly bad feedback

Doc_N

I’m reading a lot of negativity about Sarah Raven these days, both on Trustpilot and in gardening forums.

Anyone else having problems with them these days? They used to be first rate, but not any longer it seems. Looks to be going the way of Thompson and Morgan - once they get to a certain size they cease to care.

twopenny

I think that applies to many companies.
They are (happily for them) too far removed from their customers.
In fact we are just numbers that contribute to their profit margin.

Unfortunately most people nowadays don't remember it any other way so unlikely to change.

We've lost both excellent plant nurseries locally who just couldn't complete with the big retailers who appeal to the masses.

Brie

I only used them once during the pandemic and frankly wasn't impressed.  Quality wasn't grand, communication was worse.  I tried Dobies this year, not significantly better.  The geranium plugs that were delivered the beginning of April were so very tiny even now they aren't really worth the money I paid - 3 inches high at most and 3 of 36 in flower.  For what it ends up costing I'm going to stick to the nurseries locally.  At least then I can see what I'm buying and not dependent on promises from a website.  

Doc_N

There are some excellent online nurseries around, and Sarah Raven was once one of them. I suppose the bulk of the sales will go to people who only dabble in a bit of gardening, and they won’t know the difference between a good quality plant and a poor one, but there are certain firms serious gardeners won’t touch (assuming there’s no local nursery). Thompson & Morgan is one such, and Sarah Raven looks to be heading the same way. When a company makes it extremely difficult to contact it, there’s usually a very good reason.

Dustyevsky

Just interjecting to say T&M seeds are OK, especially if bought as discount offers. You'll certainly get these when they have your (disposable!) email address.

I have no knowledge of Sarah Raven's seeds or plants, past or present, but have always thought of them as pricey. 

trickydicky14

Dustyevsky said:

Just interjecting to say T&M seeds are OK, especially if bought as discount offers. You'll certainly get these when they have your (disposable!) email address.

I have no knowledge of Sarah Raven's seeds or plants, past or present, but have always thought of them as pricey. 

I would not purchase plants from T&M but have recently purchased loads of seed from them at very good discounted prices for next year.

Farway

trickydicky14 said:

Dustyevsky said:

Just interjecting to say T&M seeds are OK, especially if bought as discount offers. You'll certainly get these when they have your (disposable!) email address.

I have no knowledge of Sarah Raven's seeds or plants, past or present, but have always thought of them as pricey. 

I would not purchase plants from T&M but have recently purchased loads of seed from them at very good discounted prices for next year.

I have bought T & M plants, mostly on offer of some sort, along with seed offers. All with my eyes wide open.

For me, it is a calculated judgement, does it matter if it fails versus the price I paid?

I've had mixed, mostly OK results, and to be fair to T & M, when the item is duff they have never quibbled about refunding or replacing

akwexavante

I've ordered from Sarah Raven on three occasions and on two occasions i wasn't happy with what i received (poor value for money) and on the last and final occasion i ordered a specific magnolia and received something different but close, i did get my money back.  I had to order my magnolia from three different companies before i eventually received the correct variety that i wanted.

Similar experiences with other companies too.  Convinced that if they run out of stock having taken your order, they all just send something as close as possible. The attitude being the buyer won't know the difference, or won't question what they've received because they feel that they are not knowledgeable enough to complain.

The only company i've been completely satisfied with is Mail Order Trees.

I can say though that when i have complained to the companies about a problem, i have received refunds, even when i've complained 12 months later.  Sometimes you have to wait for things to flower to find that it's incorrect, such as tulips, for example.

FreeBear

akwexavante said: I can say though that when i have complained to the companies about a problem, i have received refunds, even when i've complained 12 months later.  Sometimes you have to wait for things to flower to find that it's incorrect, such as tulips, for example.

Ordered a grape vine and a plumcot from one online supplier. The vine turned out to be as dead as a Norwegian Blue. They insisted I waited for a few months before confirming it was dead. Eventually refunded my money on that.

A year later, the plumcot flowered and set one fruit, just one - Turned out to be an apricot... All credit to the supplier, they shipped out a replacement pretty much straight away. Just got to wait for it to flower and set fruit (maybe next year).

Doc_N

This is worth the read:

Sarah Raven bought by Sarah Raven

Sarah Raven, founder of her namesake gardening and lifestyle retail brand has acquired the brand once more in a pre-pack administration deal. 

Launched in 2008, SarahRaven.com has delivered millions of plants, bulbs, seeds and horticultural products to customers across the UK. The business faced further challenges with a 35% decline in sales after Covid-19 and ongoing financial pressures due to cost inflation, increased National Insurance costs, unseasonal weather and the implementation of new ERP systems, the business faced further challenges from an unexpected VAT demand from HMRC that led directors to consider their options. 

They decided that a sale of assets to the original founder was the best option, ensuring continuity, maintaining employment and providing a foundation for the brand’s future. 

Sarah Raven said: “The past few years have been challenging for British horticultural retailers, supplies and entrepreneurs and despite significant effort, this restructure was necessary to ensure the ongoing viability of SarahRaven.com.”

https://www.businessrescueexpert.co.uk/your-weekly-business-insolvency-news-round-up-for-july-11th-to-18th-2025/


So Sarah Raven comes out of it smelling of roses. I wonder how the creditors feel about that? That’s the very last time I’ll be dealing with this woman!

Farway

Doc_N said:

This is worth the read:

Sarah Raven bought by Sarah Raven

Sarah Raven, founder of her namesake gardening and lifestyle retail brand has acquired the brand once more in a pre-pack administration deal. 

Launched in 2008, SarahRaven.com has delivered millions of plants, bulbs, seeds and horticultural products to customers across the UK. The business faced further challenges with a 35% decline in sales after Covid-19 and ongoing financial pressures due to cost inflation, increased National Insurance costs, unseasonal weather and the implementation of new ERP systems, the business faced further challenges from an unexpected VAT demand from HMRC that led directors to consider their options. 

They decided that a sale of assets to the original founder was the best option, ensuring continuity, maintaining employment and providing a foundation for the brand’s future. 

Sarah Raven said: “The past few years have been challenging for British horticultural retailers, supplies and entrepreneurs and despite significant effort, this restructure was necessary to ensure the ongoing viability of SarahRaven.com.”

https://www.businessrescueexpert.co.uk/your-weekly-business-insolvency-news-round-up-for-july-11th-to-18th-2025/


So Sarah Raven comes out of it smelling of roses. I wonder how the creditors feel about that? That’s the very last time I’ll be dealing with this woman!

I don't know any details, but perhaps she sold as a thriving business but included the name, and she had no say in future direction of firm.?

Bit like Morrisons, all goes down hill once founder departs

Just maybe she has bought it back to save jobs & rebuild?