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Business Profile

Lawn and Garden

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed CO.

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 5 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 3 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/15/2025

    Type:Delivery Issues
    Status:
    AnsweredMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I placed on order on 2-5-2025 *********** charged my card immediately. I have never received my seed order. According to their website, they say they shipped it on 2-8-2025, however, they are providing me with a FAKE tracking number that does NOT exist with ****. I reached out to them 5 times before I got a response back from them. All they said was, you will receive the order when it arrives. I had requested a REAL tracking number which they FAILED to provide me with. At this point, I know I will not receive the order. I am demanding a refund for the seeds I paid for and they did NOT ship to me.

    Business Response

    Date: 02/24/2025

     I have attached the screenshots I sent to the customer, along with the email chains with the customer where we have explained numerous times that her order was shipped as a flat rate envelope, which **** does not provide tracking numbers for.  We provided her with the internal easypost tracking link for that package.  We do ask that customers allow 10 business days for the package to arrive.  When the 10th business day came and she said she still did not have the package, we issued a refund.  Because she didnt immediately see the refund in her bank, which we explained her bank can take up to 72 hours to apply, and sent her a screenshot showing the refund, she reported to the BBB
  • Initial Complaint

    Date:12/01/2024

    Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
    Status:
    AnsweredMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Business will not remove me from their mailing list. They ship out giant catalogs despite my repeated yearly requests to opt out.

    Business Response

    Date: 12/16/2024

    As we responded to the customer's email: Hello, thank you for your email.  I am sorry for the repeated requests. We automatically add you for a catalog when an order is placed within 12 months. However, we have now added you to a spreadsheet to remove future catalog requests before shipping. We have requested this (these) record(s) be removed from the mailing list for the free catalog.
  • Initial Complaint

    Date:09/06/2024

    Type:Delivery Issues
    Status:
    ResolvedMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    On 8/23/2024, I placed an order for in-stock garlic with Baker Creek. In-stock availability was confirmed by a general email announcement sent on 8/21 and 8/22. I received my order, with missing quantities, on 9/3/2024. I decided at that time to ask the company to send the missing product, and I thought I would order more garlic at the same time to save shipping for them and give more business. When I visited the site again, they had bulk packages available for half the cost per bulb, which I was told in email with customer service was supposed to be available as soon as the pre-order cycle was done. I asked if they would be able to honor the pricing in some form - whether I paid the difference or received a credit, since the bulk pricing was supposed to be available as soon as pre-orders were done. This request was denied consistently throughout several frustrating exchanges and my attempts to explain that I felt I was being treated unfairly given the timing of my order (which was after garlic was announced in-stock and NOT pre-order), I am escalating the situation to the BBB to review. I would like the pricing for a bulk purchase to be honored in some form since the timing of my order was after garlic was in stock and the bulk packages were confirmed available by customer service but not listed on their website. At this point after such a frustrating series of customer service emails, I would prefer a refund of $26.25 plus tax ($28.35 total), which would bring my current order down to the same pricing per bulb as the bulk pricing that should have been available when I ordered. This is also provided that the company replaces missing items from the original order. A second resolution is to receive a new shipment of garlic to bring the per-bulb pricing to the bulk pricing levels (so an additional 4-qty package of each variety I had ordered). Third option is a store credit of $28.35 total, which also brings my order costs down to the bulk pricing levels.

    Business Response

    Date: 09/18/2024

    Customer contacted us letting us know she was missing 1 garlic bulb of one of the 4 packs she ordered.  We sent another package of 4 bulbs, giving her a total of 7 bulbs for that variety.  She also asked if we could upgrade her order, as we had added new offerings of 16 bulb packages to our website by the time she received her order.  Her comment was "I see you now have additional larger ordering options for each item below (16 bulbs for $40). Is it possible to upgrade my order, and apply my purchase prices and quantities below, into additional quantities? If not I understand, since that would be a lot of custom ordering, but I thought I would ask."  We explained "No, I am sorry, we are not able to do that. If the order hadn't shipped, we could have canceled the order, and you could order the other"   She replied " hoped for some sort of price match consideration since it happened so recently. I understand the policy, but is is so disappointing, especially paired with not receiving all the product I ordered. 
    Thanks for sending the missing quantities.
    I would also like to cancel an order in process for the upcoming seed catalog, listed under order number *********. Since this is in processing and not fulfilled, hopefully that cancellation can be honored."

    She then left a bad review on the email "Rating Bad, I'm unsatisfied
    Reason The agent's attitude is unsatisfactory
    So very disappointed after this individual herself stated that the timing of my order should have coincided with the bulk pricing on garlic. I feel more unfairly treated with each interaction I've had to have with her, and her response to this has tainted my and my family's whole view of your company.

    At that point, a member of our ************************ reached out to her and gave her a store credit to match the price per bulb on the package that had originally been shorted, since it was not successfully fulfilled at the time of the original shipment:
    "Hello, *****. We saw your feedback, and we're so sorry for any frustration with your reshipment and our inability to price match with the newly listed, larger Early Italian Purple Garlic purchasing options. The 16-pack is priced for less, because it amounts to a bulk-type purchase. We could not offer that until after all pre-sales were shipped, and we new how many quality bulbs we had remaining. 
     The 16 pack is $2.50 per bulb. The four pack you purchased is $4.69 per bulb. The difference is $2.19 per bulb, times 4 bulbs, so $8.76. I have applied this a store credit on your Baker Creek account. "

    To which she replied wanting us to do it with the other varieties as well, even though she didn't order the larger packages, just that she "was looking at purchasing" to which we replied:

    "I'm sorry, *****. We made an exception because the package you received was underpacked, and we were reshipping. We are not able to extend that courtesy to any other customers, and so it would not be fare for me to discount your garlic packages that arrived properly packed. "

    The emails she received on August 22nd stating garlic was in stock and shipping did not mean that the pre-sales had been shipped, which is what she was told had to happen before we could offer the larger packages.  She also did not revise her feedback.  In her subsequent email she states "I am happy to update my review on ****** if you can please review this situation and understand how this feels from the perspective of someone who would like to remain a customer, but who feels caught between timelines, policies, and apparent glitches in product ordering availability."

    We replied "I'm afraid we cannot do that. However, if you'd like to return all the garlic we've shipped to you, we can refund your purchase, remove the store credit from your account, and you can order again at the current pricing. We are not able to cover return shipping."

    We never received a response to that email, or the garlic back.  The customer also left a 1 star review on ****** stating 

    "They short-packed my order and didnt send full quantities, and then when I went to contact them, my ordered items were on a huge discount which had just occurred within days of my order. **************** would not honor a price match or work with me on anything, even though they confirmed in writing that the discounted offerings should have started days before I placed my order, when pre-sales of the product had stopped (which was also confirmed via several marketing emails). It was insult added to injury, and leaves me with a very poor impression of a company my whole family has ordered from for years.

    Trust is completely lost when a company treats customers unfairly due to a glitch in timelines between advertising and when they update offerings on their site, then argue with the customer about why they don't need to make anything right."

    to which we responded:
    We're very sorry for any frustration with your order, *****. As we discussed in email, you were reshipped a second full pack of the garlic that was underpacked, so you should have received 7 bulbs for the price of four. Because your satisfaction is so important to us, we also, upon your request, gave you a store credit for the difference in price per bulb between the 4-pack you ordered and the 16-pack that only became available after all pre-orders had been taken care of.

    The 16 pack was not available when you pre-ordered your garlic, because we needed to ensure we would have enough quality bulbs to offer the larger packages before we listed them. We are not able to adjust the pricing on the 4-packs for customers who ordered prior to the bulk pricing being available, as the discount is for larger orders.

    Our offer to have you return all the garlic you have received for a full refund does stand. If you ship back all the bulbs you've received, we'll gladly refund your purchase, and you can order the bulk amounts at the reduced price, if you like.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 09/19/2024

    Complaint: 22248652

    I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because:
    They are offering to have me ship  garlic back at my cost for shipping, which is unacceptable since their customer service *** verified in written documentation that bulk packages were available after pre-orders, and the timing of my order was verified to occur after pre-ordering was done per earlier attachments. I am asking for consideration of bulk pricing without incurring further costs to resolve this since the bulk packages were not available for whatever reason on their part.

    Happy to revise the neg feedback if they resolve this with the requested refund.

    ***** ******

    Business Response

    Date: 09/20/2024

    As I stated previously, "The emails she received on August 22nd stating garlic was in stock and shipping did not mean that the pre-sales had been shipped, which is what she was told had to happen before we could offer the larger packages", which had not happened at the time she ordered.  As a sign of goodwill, we gave her the bulk pricing per bulb on the package that we did not originally send successfully, and we shipped another full package of 4 bulbs, and not just the 1 missing bulb.  Customer is asking for bulk pricing on non-bulk items.  If customer would like to place an order for the bulk packages of the varieties she's already ordered, we can remove the number of bulbs she has already received, as well as the store credit that she was given for the bulk pricing on the one variety, and credit her for the amount she paid for the original packages.  

    Customer Answer

    Date: 10/01/2024

    I reached out to the business and they did work with me to resolve the issue. Thank you for your guidance and assistance. 

    If you have the ability to update the complaint to "resolved" I'd appreciate it.
  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/25/2024

    Type:Delivery Issues
    Status:
    AnsweredMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I ordered seed potatoes on 3/9 or 3/10. The website of this seed company advertises fast, free shipping 24/7. However, Baker Seeds shipped the seeds on 3/13. Then they were apparently delivered *************************************************** the mail. It is late for me to plant them in my region. I asked for a refund. One representative said it would be no problem, but another representative has denied my request.

    Business Response

    Date: 04/01/2024

    We received two separate emails from the customer, which was being worked by two of our customer service representatives.  Our policy is to allow 10 business days for the order to arrive once it is shipped.  We did ask the customer to confirm delivery, as **** tracking showed it delivered.  There was a delay in **** delivering the package, but it was delivered.  Regardless of her receiving what she ordered, we refunded the customer on *******.
  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/17/2023

    Type:Delivery Issues
    Status:
    ResolvedMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I placed a couple of orders through this company well over a week ago.. I have tried numerous times to resolve this problem. I have emailed them and tried to call on 2 occasions and still nothing. I either want my money back or my orders, it is simple... You cannot steal people's money and I will get one or the other back. The order numbers are #********* and *********. If need be I will also take them to small claims court.

    Business Response

    Date: 03/29/2023

    Hello,

        We received 4 emails from ******* on March 17th in the space of 2 hours escalating from  I was wondering if you could give me an estimate on when my orders will be shipping to *** to let you know I have filed a formal complaint with the Better Business Bureau regarding my orders ********* and *********. I will be filing a claim next week in small claims court if this isn't resolved.  We have been receiving a large number of emails, as this is our busy time of year, and we answer those emails in the order they were received.  We are also closed Saturday and Sunday.  We responded on March 21st, and let him know there was an error in the system, as paypal had transmitted his order to us with no last name.  I fixed the affected orders and got them shipped, and provided him with the tracking information.  He responded with I do apologize about all that. I realize now that was in fact my fault...  I have attached the emails back and forth between us.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 03/30/2023

    Better Business Bureau:

    They are correct this is totally my fault and I do apologize for that. There wasn't any way to delete the complaint once I filed it. I am terribly sorry for all this mess. They are a solid company and I do love the seeds they have. I am sorry again for wasting everyone's time on this. 

     

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ***************************

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