Unsure if this purchase was a good choice.

[cluelessmidwesterner]

Last Tuesday (19 March) I decided to purchase an Onc. Twinkle 'Fragrance Fantasy' from a vendor on Amazon. I had been looking for one since the weather had turned better but couldn't find any via any regional orchid growers. I paid for a "bloom size" plant with a heat pack and USPS Priority Mail (aka extra shipping) for three day delivery. The vendors stated policy is that items are shipped within two business days of ordering.

Amazon on early Thursday morning (21 March) notified me that the orchid was sent. But when I checked tracking number the USPS tracking number site stated "Awaiting item to be sent". Figuring that it takes time for the USPS system to catch up with scans I didn't think any more about it. Friday morning I check the tracking number again the USPS had "Awaiting item to be sent." and the Amazon site had no updates. By that afternoon I email the vendor through Amazon asking which notification was correct. I quickly received an reply from the vendor. The owner stated they had experienced an inventory problem but it was now resolved and my order would go out ASAP and they were sorry for my inconvenience. Friday evening USPS tracking site stated the item had arrived at their facility and now was in transit.

Since it was mailed on a Friday evening it couldn't reach me until Monday. Monday here the high temp was 44 F and the low had been 32F but it shouldn't have been a problem because I had paid for heat packs. At 4.30 pm the mail carrier finally drops off the package. But it wasn't a package. It was a Priority Mail padded envelope containing a cardboard sleeve and a heat pack The heat pack had exhausted itself so the cardboard sleeve around orchid was cold. The inside was damp and it was obvious that items had been stacked on top of the envelope because the sleeve was not rectangular but a parallelogram.

I open the cardboard sleeve and the orchid literally fell out of the pot of moss. It had been shoved into moss before shipping. The part of the roots were attached to a horticultural plug of rock wool. The plant was two very small pbulbs (one without a leaf) and one larger bulb. Technically I suppose it would be considered bloom size but not exactly what I was expecting. I took a photo of the condition of the plant then potted it up and put it on a seedling mat.

I emailed the vendor to tell him I was not happy about the condition in which the plant arrived along with the photo. I get an email apologizing and stating they would be happy to send a replacement plant. They also stated that the heat packs were suppose to be good for 96 hours. I'm thinking if it was packaged early on Thursday afternoon and it didn't arrive here until late afternoon Monday (plus spending all that time in the carriers truck) then of course the heat packs would be totally spent. I don't think I will hold my breath on getting a replacement. This is the first time I have order an orchid "on line" and I'm not sure I want to repeat the process any time soon.

Is this typical of online orders or was this a bad experience?