Sending flowers/gifts to Russia

[Alex and Sofya 7]

Hello,

I would like to send flowers to my mother in law in Russia (Saransk) for her birthday. Did anyone use any russian websites to send flowers or american websites that send overseas? I searched and the only one I liked is flamingo.ru. It looks okay to me, but I don't know if we can trust this website in terms on timely delivery and the quality of products. Any suggestions?

Edited July 19, 2012 by Alex and Sofya

[mox 298]

I've used Flamingo several times, although not for about 3 years. I think I only had one experience where the flowers weren't in very good shape. They're pricey, but probably better than most.

[Alex and Sofya 7]

Thank you

[baron555 934]

I used RussianFlora.com a few time to send flowers and gifts. Top notch.....the flowers and arrangements sent always seemed to have been up-sized (like a Biggie size) which was quite impressive and earned me many extra points.

[randye80 24]

I used Russian Florist's Network (florist.ru) many times between 2005 and 2009. Mostly flowers, but also some gift baskets.

It was cheaper than comparable US prices, and quality was very good. Never had any problems.

[Dave&Roza 748]

I have used Flowers-to-Russia and RussianFlora. Of the two I had less issues with RussianFlora. Flowers-to-Russia would send me an e-mail saying the flowers were undeliverable and when you asked them it was "oh, we delivered them." Not too many places send flowers to Kazakhstan so I had very few choices. The wife was always happy with the arrangements from RussianFlora or Flowers-to-Russia.

If you do not pick a Russian flower shop and use a Western flower shop make very certain you send an odd number of flowers as even numbers are for the dead and I would hate to have you insult your MIL(I am assuming your wife has made you aware of this tradition, but I just want to be sure as it can catch those of us from the US off guard). That would be very, very bad .

Dave

Edited July 19, 2012 by Dave&Roza

[Alex and Sofya 7]

I have used Flowers-to-Russia and RussianFlora. Of the two I had less issues with RussianFlora. Flowers-to-Russia would send me an e-mail saying the flowers were undeliverable and when you asked them it was "oh, we delivered them." Not too many places send flowers to Kazakhstan so I had very few choices. The wife was always happy with the arrangements from RussianFlora or Flowers-to-Russia.

If you do not pick a Russian flower shop and use a Western flower shop make very certain you send an odd number of flowers as even numbers are for the dead and I would hate to have you insult your MIL(I am assuming your wife has made you aware of this tradition, but I just want to be sure as it can catch those of us from the US off guard). That would be very, very bad .

Dave

Thanks for all replies and tips.

Edited July 19, 2012 by Alex and Sofya

[mox 298]

No even numbers, and even though it's odd, thirteen is right out too--unlucky number. So if you want to give more than eleven, the next highest is fifteen.

[MikeAndIryna 0]

I used Russian Florist's Network (florist.ru) many times between 2005 and 2009. Mostly flowers, but also some gift baskets.

It was cheaper than comparable US prices, and quality was very good. Never had any problems.

I used the same service a few years back - and had a cake (albeit small), delivered to my FIL for his birthday. Was a nice surprise and they said tasty too. Reasonable price and on time service too.

[titantom 2]

Another Vote for russianflora.com

Used them 4 or 5 times in the last 1.5 yrs... Only had one late delivery, but that wasn't their fault.

[norrin 3]

I used russianflora.com 4 years ago. I ordered 9 roses, a bar of chocolate and a teddybear (polar bear) that now sits above my head. All flowers are expensive,the bear and chocolatewere "add ons". Natasha said the guy who delivered everything was very nice and very professional. The website never said the bearspoke so it was a big surprise when about a month later Natashas nephew discovered a Cheburashka type voice. The roses were huge and beautiful. She loved them very much.

[mox 298]

You can never go wrong with flowers and stuffed toys.

[FanTa 2]

In my opinion nothing beats PickupFlowers store. They have by far the best prices compare to any other international delivery florists, and you can use the never expiring coupon code "MYCOUPONS" to get an extra 15% off almost everything (except sale items). When placing an order, you can make any additional requests in "Special Instructions" field - I use it to request an odd number of flowers in an arrangement, or to ask for a flowers color they don't have in the catalog, or - when they add a free bottle of wine with purchase - to specify what kind of wine to include (i.e. "dry red", or "dessert white" etc). So far they always did what I asked for...

In the past I used several different sites: russianflora.com, flamingo.ru, florist.ru, edelweiss-service.ru, etc - all were more expensive. I'm not sure about Moscow, but in Irkutsk (for those who doesn't know - it's a city in Siberia) all these online stores - including PickupFlowers.com - work with the same local florist, so there's no difference in the freshness and quality of flowers they deliver.

[mox 298]

Interesting. Sounds like a lot more choices since I went through the process. Or maybe they're just more well known.

[baron555 934]

Interesting. Sounds like a lot more choices since I went through the process. Or maybe they're just more well known.

I am forbidden to buy my wife flowers....unless they are pots of perennials for her garden! And one would never pick those flowers for the table.....unless late in the season so she can dry them!!!