You Won't Find Anything Else Like Checkbook
- Nonprofit and independent
- Takes no advertising or referral fees
- Ratings and reviews by surveyed Consumers' Checkbook and Consumer Reports local subscribers
- Undercover price comparisons
- Complaint counts from local consumer agencies and attorney general offices
- Advice to help you get the best service and value
Skilled florists can interpret your tastes (or those of the recipient), determine what’s appropriate for the occasion, and then create a work of art that fits those needs. Our ratings of florists for quality and price should help you pick the best.
If you want delivery, exotic flowers, or need advice, your best bet is a florist. But if you’re willing to pick up the posies yourself and want to save a lot of money, you have several other options.
When you need to send flowers to someone outside the area, what do you do? We review the options, and advise you on how to deal with each to ensure you and your special someone on the other end are happy with the results.
Since most garden centers buy—rather than raise—most of what they sell, there is room for tremendous variation in buying standards and the quality of plants being sold. The opinions we collected from consumers on garden centers reflect these big differences.
The four Cs—cut, carat, color, and clarity—help determine a stone’s price. Pay attention to these guidelines, but don’t assume better grades are always worth higher price tags. You can spend a lot more money for a higher-grade stone when a lower-grade one will do.
Our ratings of local chains and stores report how each stacks up for price and quality. To compare prices, our researchers used a 153-item list of common items to shop area options. To evaluate stores on quality of products and service, we surveyed area consumers.