With hundreds of florists online, how do you choose the right one? While they may look like the "real" thing, often times they are nothing more than "affiliates" or "resellers" hoping to make a few bucks. All they have to do is forward your order to the appropriate florist, and collect their commission. You'll probably end up paying more if you order from them rather than ordering directly from a reputable florist. Why deal with a "middleman" when you can go directly to a "real" florist! Afterall, they are the floral experts! Make sure you are dealing with a real flower shop located in the same geographical area as the recipient and not with some kind of a network/forwarding/flowers-by-wire operating from a basement somewhere overseas. If you require further confirmation about the real ownership of a floral website you can go to registrar.godaddy.com and enter in the domain name in question. This will tell you the name and address of the registered owner of the website in most cases.

One of the most important things to do when looking for a florist to fill your floral order is to make sure the florist selected is a local florist in the same area as the recipient of the flowers.

Most reputable florists will post their full address & local phone number on their website. Call them and ask them questions if necessary". Ask the florist for directions to their shop. If they hesitate or refuse, consider this a red flag, and LOOK FOR ANOTHER FLORIST.

Always use floral sites that are using a secure server when processing online orders as well as credit card payments. When filling out your order form you should be able to see a "lock" symbol (usually at the bottom left of your browser window, or in the top right corner in some browsers). If you don't see it, your personal information, including credit card number may be sent via regular email and can be seen by others. At this point I would stop my order and look for another online florist.

"FREE DELIVERY"... no such a thing! You will be paying for the delivery one way or another. If the floral site you are using is claiming to offer you free delivery for your order chances are that it is already included in the total price you are charged for the flowers. In other words you will be getting a smaller size arrangement, or in the case of a dozen roses, you will get shorter stems roses or second class grade roses - or both. (the delivery driver is not working for free and (s)he needs to make a living like everyone else).

Most reputable floral sites will clearly post information about extra charges such as delivery and taxes ( No tax payment required in Hong Kong.). If it's not there beware! When looking for cheaper flowers or bargains always keep in mind that "you get what you pay for" and in many cases cheaper does not necessary means the best. In many cases, if the price sounds too good to be true then something could be wrong. Be cautioned!