Contact your card company. I had a similar dispute a few weeks ago. I used my Bank of America Visa Checkcard to pay, so I called BOA and told them my story, and they credited my account with 12 hours. Plus, they're the ones who are now gonna deal with the company that kept my money. Your next step, of course, would be the BBB. Sorry that happened to you! Christy

You are not alone in your negative experience with Wayside. I have ordered from them for years, but not any more. Something major has occured with Wayside. It appears that this business of accepting an order and then for a variety of reasons not shipping is becoming commonplace with them. Securing a refund is time consuming and frustrating. There always seems to be a reason to delay the refund. Shop elsewhere!

Might try searching GW for additonal discussion of Wayside. While their prices have often been frightening 30 bucks for a quart of a new and rare shrub is probably not that steep these days. And supposedly you were going to get them for only 15 bucks each. Even if only several inches high at the time that would have not been so bad at all.

Oh yeah, bboy, I didn't expect then to be real big at the special price. I just did expect to get them before six to seven months had passed, which is what they finally told me the delay would be, when I insisted on talking to a supervisor after six weeks passed with no (available for fall delivery)shipment. Then it took weeks for them to process the refund to my credit card, something that can be done almost immediately with computers.

I am coming a little late to the party but based in my experience with integrating credit card processing software into a few major eCommerce web sites it was my understanding that it was illegal to charge a customer's credit card until the purchased item was shipped. I do not know if there is actually a federal law about this or if it is just a common state law. When you purchase an item an authorization is run against your card to verify the number and that the amount is available (and a hold might be placed on the amount...some of the details depend on the type of credit card and the store) but you should not be charged until the item is shipped.

I would be very upset if a company charged my credit card several months before they shipped me an item. I admit that I signed up from Wayside's catalog but I usually just laugh at there ridiculously high prices.

- Brent

Delay in filling order probably a matter of their supplier not coming through. Plants may have grown slower than expected or sold faster than expected. Many retail nurseries are clearing houses that grow little if any stock themselves.

Wayside seems to be an old and respected company, and their glossy catalog has beguiled me for years. I have ordered plants from them and have never been happy with what I received because for the price the plants were very small. One example was a clematis, not a rare variety, but one which I happened to want, which I ordered with some other plants. The price was around $10. Not cheap, not expensive. The bare-root "plant" that came was a tiny clump of roots with a tiny little stick on top--much smaller than a pencil in total size--I almost missed it in unpacking the order. I called to complain and was told that I shouldn't expect much for $10 and that if I was an experienced gardener I would know that the plant would grow and be fine. I was shocked by their attitude--it was not polite and told them I wanted my money back. They did give me my money back. I planted the pathetic thing and it never sprouted. For just a couple dollars more I could have ordered from numerous nurseries and gotten a quart size plant.
But,I have friends who swear by them and still order happily from them (at least last time I checked, which granted, was a couple years ago).

Isn't Wayside somehow connected to Park's Seeds? I can't put my hands on a catalog from either company right now, but I'm thinking that the address formats and customer numbers are the same for both of them. Might be something to keep in mind.

Parks bought Wayside Gardens a few years back. Is this when their quality and size started slipping? The math seems to work out that way. Wayside used to grow most of their own plants, which one reason they used to introduce so many new plants. I don't know if they still do.

I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with customer service. It took two calls to get them to admit I had placed an order in the first place; it turned out they had three misspellings in my six letter last name and they wouldn't look under the order number, just my name.

It took two more calls before they admitted they were not going to ship the plants this fall despite the fall available label on the web site. Each of the customer service people I talked to gave me a different reason why I hadn't gotten my order yet. It wasn't until I refused to get off the phone that they second supervisor came up with the reason that the nursery manager decided the plants didn't look healthy enough to ship.

My point is really that I only ordered after receiving an email notice of the special sale two for one price. Since this was an email only sale notice, why didn't Wayside check the plants before sending the email out. After all it isn't like printing an ad and mailing it where there have to be weeks of notice. The minute before the send button is pushed, some one call that nursery manager and check, especially since they changed their customer service policy that they charge you when the order is received, regardless of the ship date. Now that would be customer service.

And from the number of negatives on garden watchdog, I'm not the only person who is now unhappy with this used-to-be great source of new and different plants.

Kim!
I don't seem to have your email, so I'm using this thread in hopes you're getting a copy of responses.
Vlad wants to know when to expect us on Thursday because they're planning lunch.

eMail me CFMuehling@EveningsFall.com or call. :)
Thanks,
Christine

I have had 6 to 8 weeks delay on my orders this spring and must wonder why I am paying a premium price for second day shipping, duh?

Next the plants arrive in poor shape, some even non existing above the roots. A little sign with "I am not dead, I am dormant" is the only reason I bothered planting them. They tell you to wait 6 weeks and pray, then call them again. Despite the $3000 drip irrigation system, I could not get the poor things to wake up. I can now get a store credit so that I can try the same thing next year, since they now have no more plants left for this year. Duh, again?

I took the 10 minute drive around to local nurseries and found the same plants for half the price in full bloom at a height of 20" instead of 1" and in a 1 Gallon container instead of bareroot. Why someone would order from them is a mystery to me now!

Wayside has purchased Jackson Perkins. I experienced the exact same thing when I ordered from Jackson Perkins. My card was charged, and 2 months later, still no product.
Might be better to buy locally!

My mom is STILL waiting for her Mother's Day present, which she ordered from a gift certificate I sent her. She has had at least 3 conversations with them and expects to get the plants they shipped last Thursday next Monday through USPS -- probably completely fried. she order ordinary perennials, but they claimed they were waiting for part of the order to "come in" before they shipped it. If you want a good deal on small perennials in good condition, go with Bluestone Perennials. WG has lost these two customers for good! Their email is marked as spam!

I used to order from Wayside a lot but now only if they have something I absolutely love and can't find anywhere else. I have to admit I did order Persicaria Pink Elephant from them because noone else has it. I'm waiting for delivery at some unknown point in the future and fully expect to get plants that I will have to nurse to health. Wayside is slow, has rude customer service and send small, low quality plants (expect blackspot on roses and broken crowns on other plants).

Recently I've ordered a couple of times from Dutch Gardens and been very pleased, not only with their prompt delivery but the size of the plants. I did have an issue with some soft lily bulbs, which they happily agreed to replace in the spring. No hassles like Wayside.. I honestly don't know how Wayside stays in business with what they've become.

I would never accept some of those excuses from a reputable business. You could wait a long time, and the business could go out OUT of business, and the customer would be SOL. Been there. Done that.
If there is a guarantee, when does it start - when you paid, or when the plants shipped? And if this is how a customer is treated now, you can expect the same of their guarantee later.
BlueBars

Has anyone realized that Wayside is in Chapter 11? Wayside was bought by Park Seed a very long time ago. There was a time when they shipped dead plants, and knew it! Then they started to get their act together, and cleaned the greenhouses, began serious propagation and prepared to introduce some very fine plants. Park Seed, which had allowed the companies to slip, was squeezed away from the original family owners, and they, too, were ready for a big comeback. But the wealthy new owner went too far and purchased Jackson & Perkins, which by then (under Harry and David) was only valuable for the land it was sitting on in California. Wayside did not buy the land, just the name, and allegedly the stock. Mismanagement continued, good people were let go, quality plummeted. The rest is reflected, above.