The Hidden Truth About Relay Florists

Ordering flowers should be simple — you choose something beautiful, pay the price shown, and expect that exact bouquet to be delivered. But if you’ve ever been disappointed by a smaller arrangement, missing items, or poor quality, there’s a good chance your order was processed through a relay florist service instead of a real local florist.

What Is a Relay Florist?

Relay florists are national websites or call centres that take your order, keep a large commission, and then pass the job to any florist in their network. The florist who receives the order is paid far less than the amount you spent — which means your bouquet is often downgraded to fit the reduced budget.

Relay florist websites are designed to look local, trustworthy and convenient — but they are often nothing more than advertising platforms. Because they aren’t real florists, they don’t need staff, stock or a physical store. That means they can spend huge amounts on Google Ads, pushing genuine local florists further down the search results and making it harder for customers to find the people who actually make the flowers.

Why Relay Orders Cause So Many Problems

Here are the most common issues customers experience:

• Up to 40% of your money goes to the relay company, not the florist.
• Your bouquet is made with a much smaller budget than what you paid for.
• No control over who makes your flowers — the job may go to any florist available.
• Inconsistent quality because the florist is pressured to fulfil at a discount.
• Delivery issues and miscommunication happen more frequently.
• Customers think they’re supporting a local florist when they’re not.
• You may be charged extra fees that add no value to your order.

Common Relay Networks in New Zealand

These companies operate as middlemen and take a commission before passing your order to a florist:

• Best Blooms (relay division)
• Petals Network
• Teleflora
• Interflora
• Direct2Florist
• NZ Flowers
• From You Flowers
• Numerous nationwide “fake local florist” websites targeting Hamilton

Amy’s Flowers is not part of these networks. We do not accept relay orders and we never send your order to another florist.

Where Your Money Really Goes

Here’s a typical breakdown if you spend $120 with a relay company:

• $40–$50 goes to the relay company
• $70–$80 goes to the florist to make AND deliver the bouquet

The result? A bouquet that looks nothing like what you ordered.

The Amy’s Flowers Difference

At Amy’s Flowers, we believe in total transparency and delivering exactly what you pay for. That’s why:

• Your full budget goes into your flowers — no middlemen.
• Every arrangement is handcrafted fresh in our Hamilton studio.
• We never relay orders or accept relay jobs.
• Quality is consistent because everything is done in-house.

Why We Always Send You a Photo of Your Order

Relay companies often refuse to show you what was made — because it rarely matches the website photo. That’s exactly why we introduced our free photo email service.

Before your flowers leave our studio, we take a clear, high-quality photo of your exact bouquet and email it to you. This ensures:

• You see exactly what you paid for
• No surprises when the recipient receives their flowers
• Full transparency — something relay companies can’t offer
• Total confidence in every order you place

Read our customer feedback and see actual images of their orders.

Support Local. Get What You Pay For.

When you order directly from Amy’s Flowers, you’re supporting a real Hamilton florist who cares about quality, trust and transparency — not a middleman website taking a commission.

Browse our fresh flowers here and enjoy the confidence of knowing your flowers are made exactly as shown — and photographed for you before delivery.