The president of Harris Seeds emailed regarding my post and is making some changes to not only the catalog, but the customer service process. I did eventually get a refund, but it took over three months as my complaint got lost. I was impressed that he took my post seriously enough to respond and hopefully make some improvements to the process! It's not often that the company president is willing to get involved on this level.

My name is Dana and I would just like to put my two cents in. My husband's grandmother (Gram) who ran a vegetable stand for years which later became known as Gram's Stand swore by Harris Seeds. Gram passed away this past November and my Husband and I decided we were going to give it a shot and try and reopen Gram's Stand. This year is the first time I personally have ordered from Harris Seed and I will have to say it was a delightful experience! The day my order arrived I received a welcoming call from the gentleman who handles our region. He was very helpful and told me if there was anything I ever had a question about that I could call him. I talked to other people and told them how great it was to actually hear from someone at Harris Seed. I planted my seeds and so far so good, we are on our way to reopening Gram's Stand. I googled Harris Seed because I was going back to order more seeds and saw this post. It should tell you something about the company when the president actually responds to posts on the internet like this. Not very often do companies take the time to respond and the fact that this company did should say a lot. I would just like to say my experience has been wonderful I just wish I had ordered stawberry plants before they sold out! What a wonderful and helpful company!

I totally agree with assard. I have been farming and buying seeds from Harris for over 30 years and have been completely satisfied with their information, help, knowledge and service. I am a retired science teacher and can understand the concern regarding treated seeds but I only buy their treated seed to eliminate problems that I have encountered when I try using non treated seeds - they are treated for a reason (and I'm sure with a cost to the seed company). It is good that nobolisk informed the company of the concerns but certainly went overboard in "bad mouthing" a reputable company that has such a fine reputation with all other growers that I have ever talked to.

I have done business with Harris for several years and have nothing but good things to say about the company. Everyone I have dealt with there has been friendly and helpful. I will continue to do business with them in the future.

I too just began dealing with Harris Seeds,and have nothing but great satisfaction with them.

I ordered red roma from you and the order came back labled roma mix. Am I getting red, yelow or what? I raise plants to sell and I need to know what I am selling. If it a combination of diferent types I cannot use them.

Jim Hall - I suggest that you contact Harris directly, ASAP. It is not their practice to monitor these boards, looking for questions directed at them. They have no direct connection with The Garden Web.

Although we can respond to customer concerns more quickly when contacted directly, Harris Seeds does monitor the GardenWeb and other Gardener and Grower forums in case we need to follow up with a customer. Upon contacting the customer above regarding the Roma tomato seeds, the customer informed us that that the seeds were in fact purchased from a different company, and not from Harris Seeds.

If you are a current customer, or if you are new to Harris Seeds, please feel free to contact us at (800) 544-7938 if we can assist you in any way. You can also visit our website at www.harrisseeds.com. We take customer service issues very seriously, and we always work diligently to provide the very best customer care in the industry. Thank you to everyone who has supported Harris Seeds over the years.

Dick Chamberlin
President - Harris Seeds

They are the only ones I know who carry seeds of dbl flowered semperflorens (wax) begonias, I order nearly every year and have good germination, so I am happy with Harris Seeds.

Purchased seeds from the holiday seed selection 12/16/2011. 2 out of 3 items shipped with the package. I did not realize this until it time to actually wrap these gifts up, totally shocked. There was a small note saying backordered! I just realized they charged by credit card, shipping and tax for almost nothing. Phone calls have not been returned, email has not been returned. I have never been ripped off like this from an online purchase. I would not recommend buying anything from this company. Why would a company offer holiday gifts and be out of stock? This is unethical.

I would like to follow up my post. Harris Seeds contacted me through this posting and offered an alternate product, refund of the product cost and a gift certificate. This was more than fair. If I could delete the first post let me know how. Advice to any online retailer, if you list a Holiday Gift 12/1, buy it now and it does not ship until 1/20/12 please send a courtesy email/phone call or list it as sold out or out of stock or delayed i would have choose something else.

hey all! I am newbie and wanted to put in my 2 cents, too. I started ordering seeds spring of last year and Harris was my first stop and I've ordered from them 3 times. Fast shipping and I like their selection. But, I too was surprised when I opened some packets of zinnia seeds and found them to be a strange color. It was a bummer because I thought they would be the old-fashioned ones I could collect seed from. Newbie mistake and I have since learned that I need to pay attention! Will of course order from them again but use other companies like Fedco and Baker Creek for untreated heirloom seeds. Happy Gardening all!

Hello gardeners! We just wanted to let you know that zinnia seeds (and most of our flower seeds) from Harris Seeds are not treated with any chemicals. Some of our zinnia varieties have been coated with an inert, food-grade material for easier handling and flowability. These varieties are noted on our website as filmcoated seed. Seed types are specified on each product page so that you will know if the product is organic, untreated, treated, filmcoated, etc. You can also access our seed type legend that explains all the different seed types we offer.
- The Folks at Harris Seeds

Here is a link that might be useful: Harris Seeds website

I've been using Harris every year including this one for at least 15 years and have never been disappointed. The seeds are always for the variety stated and germination is excellent, which is more than I can say for some other well known seed brands.

nobolisk,

I have been buying from Harris for 30 years and have been very satisfied. I buy only treated seeds, if they are available. Do some research on treated seeds and you will find they are treated for a beneficial reason.

wleg

I have dealt with Harris Seeds for years, have all ways been extremely happy with everything I've ever bought from them. As I recall they always offered treated and untreated seed.

Any good reviews of Harris Seed must be from family members.

I ordered November 23rd 2018 and today is Feb 19th 2019. Three months and waiting. Initially the seeds I ordered were meant for xmas gifts.

They were quick to take my money, but 3 e-mails it took to get an excuse.

These days I find it bad practice to backorder without a mention of it in an on-line catalog. A computer can track stock easily. The seed I ordered has been in their catalog this entire time so how many others are waiting?

March 4 2019 still backordered.

Currently, there is no estimated date from the supplier as to when we will be receiving the seed at our facility. Once we do receive it, we will need to process, germination test, and package it for shipping.
Please let us know if the delay will still be acceptable and if you have any questions.
Thank you!

Well of course this was 2008 and today is 2019. Harris has been around a long time and was certainly considered a reputable company. I bought their seed because my granddaddy bought their seed and decades prior to modern technology and investment companies buying up such companies. Now there is some company called Garden Trends associated with them so I don’t know if the family still owns or not. I’m discovering since the “grand recession” of 2007-08 that many companies went under or were bought out by these people who still advertise as family owned but they are not. When I discovered this type of fraud, I will not buy from them again. Honestly, I don’t know who owns Harris anymore. But I will say, the commitment of younger generations quite often seems to not measure up to the founders and those first generation,or two after. I realize this comment may not post due to length so I will do a part 2 on my recent experience. Let me clarify I’m not saying Harris is owned by anyone other than family. However, my recent experience leaves much to be desired.

This company has the worst customer service in the planet. My package is lost, and they refuse to do anything about it. I will not recommend this company to anyone. They want me to place another order, but what happens to $60 that I spent? They don't care about you once they collect money from you. There too many seeds companies to choose from, Harris Seeds lost my business

Dear Posh Urban Furnishings,

We are so sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with Harris Seeds. Our customers are a top priority and deeply regret that you feel that way. We gladly replace (at no charge) orders that are clearly lost according to the tracking system, orders that may have shipped to the wrong address, and damaged orders. Since your order tracking showed it was successfully delivered to the correct address, our policy and recommendation is that you contact the shipping company to inquire. Please feel free to call us if you'd like to discuss further.

I swear by Harris Seeds year after year.

Never an issue with them. If I would buy sweet corn from them yes I would expect them to be treated... mostly all sweet corn is treated. I’d be scared to plant anything untreated. Thanks for the many years of seeds. My order will be with you always. - Compton’s Melon, Compton Farms Southern Indiana

I have bought seeds and germinating supplies from Harris over the last couple years and haven't had anything to complain about; thus, I can't comment on customer service. There's little doubt that I'll order from Harris in future.

i ordered imara imapiens . my order sent to someone else and i got their order. contacted harris and was told my order would reship immediately with paperwork to send back the wrong seeds. have not heard anything from company. i have no use for 5,000 cucumber seeds.

How long ago did this happen? EVERY seed company is absolutely buried in order fulfillment right now. Most are short staffed because of COVID. One of the companies I do business with is 5 weeks behind right now. Have you tried contacing them again, or are you just waiting?

covid seems to be the best excuse for incompetence will contact when i cool off

HU-249079131, We sincerely apologize for the mix-up with your order. If you could please call us at 800-544-7938, we will look into what happened with your reshipment. Customer satisfaction is extremely important to us. We look forward to hearing from you soon as we are eager to resolve this issue for you promptly.

Wow, making a shipping error makes a company incompetent. Must be hard to be so perfect.

I ordered from Harris Seeds last year and yes, they were swamped. I ended up getting 2 packets of everything - I think because they filled my order twice. So I have still-sealed seeds for this year. I was very satisfied with the seeds I received, though I was disappointed that they did not have Juliet tomatoes. But neither did anyone else.

Pam, I wondered as I went back through last year's seeds who Garden Trends was/is. I see on their website that they had created the Garden Trends brand to target home gardeners (like myself). Early this year they merged the two operations. It appears that Garden Trends became the parent company for Harris Seeds and two small greenhouse and growing supplies and equipment sales - seed starting equipment and hops harvesting (acquired 2021) as well as a wholesale seed company. After 3 generations, Harris Seeds was bought in 1987, who incorporated as Garden Trends, Inc., DBA Harris Seeds. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harris-seeds-will-continue-to-serve-home-gardeners-under-legacy-brand-301300086.html The current president and CEO, Ken Wasnock, took that position in 2016; he appears to be a corporate hotshot. (Ain't the internet great?)

I'm really looking for a seed supplier in the mid-South - like central or southern Indiana, middle or western Kentucky or Tennessee, so I can have more confidence that the flowers will do as well here as they do in New York. The petunias I bought last year were beautiful and germinated and grew well, but they suffered in the hot sunshine of southern Illinois. Come late summer they perked up and are still blooming.

Ive always had good success with seed and other products ive bought through Harris. Recently i bought some plastic mulch i needed for this year and was supposed to get an email when it shipped in 2-3 days but nothing. Wrote 3 emails starting a week after ordering with no response. Called and waited on hold for about 30 min to find out had been shipped but way later than my confirmation email said and without a shipping info email which was supposed to come. The frustrating part was no response to repeated inquiries. I’m okay with waiting a while as long as I’m in the loop. I think they are still a relatively good company with good product but something is off in the customer service area. It’s hard to retain employees in any industry right now but as long as the product quality stays up I’ll keep using them. If it goes down, I’ll move on. 90% of retaining most customers has little to do with the product or price.

Hello there @HU-367033077, We're so sorry for the delay in responding. Our company was closed for 4 straight days due to the Memorial Day holiday weekend (5/27 - 5/30), so it's been slower to respond to all our customer inquiries. We apologize for that.

You should have received a shipment notification email - We apologize if you didn't receive it. Sometimes those emails end up in the junk/spam folder, or some email servers block them altogether, unfortunately.

According to tracking, your order should be delivered today! We sincerely apologize again for the communication issues. We appreciate your business, and hope to be of service to you again in the future.

HS_Web756782 April 10, 2024 Paid Unfulfilled $113.52

HS_Web748991 March 29, 2024 Paid Partial $35.50

Website says 7-10 days shipping. It is 4/23/24. Have tried to call twice, two different days, and you have to waste a lot of time in que waiting your turn. Clearly, they are understaffed, or service is not important. One of my orders shows partial. No communication about it, just hanging in limbo. Should ship it or refund it but at least update you on the missing item status. I have attempted to use their online comment portal, which is a pain. It says to check my inbox for confirmation message received. That did not happen after two attempts. Of course, I never got a reply since I assume they did not receive it. So you can't get them on the phone or through email. Harris is fine until something goes wrong. That is good enough to avoid them. I ordered the same thing from Park Seed last night and received a notification it was being shipped already the next morning. I have now been on hold for 28 minutes. and now they answered. Yesterday I just gave up after an hour. I tried to cancel April 10 order but was told they cannot cancel online orders or orders that are ready to ship waiting to be picked up. The seeds missing on the partial filled order were in stock but she could not ship those only request a refund. Request a refund. The lady I spoke with was very nice, professional, and apologetic. However, I will avoid Harris. It takes too long to ship and when there is a problem, it is a hassle getting someone.