Harry & David is a top-of-its-class online purveyor of the best gift baskets, totes, and towers with a wide selection of relatively high-quality products. The gift baskets are tastefully put together and the service has gift basket options for almost any occasion or event and price-point. Harry & David is a subsidiary of 1-800-Flowers, which also owns 1-800-Baskets, Cheryl's Cookies, The Popcorn Factory, and Shari's Berries.
In order to review Harry & David, we browsed Harry & David's website and chose a gift basket we thought accurately represented the service's range of offerings, price, and quality. Additionally, we picked a gift basket that we believe can be offered as a gift in almost any situation. We received the Artisan Appetizers Tray with Wine without the price of delivery or taxes.
Harry & David gift basket review: Website
- Easy to navigate
- Wide range of choice
While we received our Harry & David sample gift basket directly from a representative for the company, we took the time to evaluate the Harry & David website and ordering process.
While clicking around through the Harry & David website, we found that it's relatively easy to sift through and refine gift basket results based on different criteria such as occasion and season, among others.
Unsurprisingly, there is an incredible breadth of both baskets and individual products in hundreds of combinations. Some may include baked goods, fruit, wine, and other rather unique offerings. While Harry & David doesn't have as much variety as its sister company, 1-800-Baskets (the latter offers baby diaper cakes, for example, while the former does not). If you are considering ordering a gift basket from Harry & David, we highly recommend spending some time clicking around to see what you can find.
Harry & David gift basket review: Ordering and delivery
- Clear ordering process
- Can ship orders to the UK, Canada and Germany
Ordering from Harry & David appears to be a rather seamless experience: add an item to your cart, add a shipping address, edit the delivery date if needed and add an optional gift message.
Every step is crystal clear until the moment you hit the 'place order' button at the very end. Keep in mind that there is a shipping charge that can go up to $25 per order depending on the shipping speed and the day you would like your gift Harry & David gift basket to arrive (delivery on the weekends generally cost customers more).
If you're planning to send your gift to an address abroad, you may want to check whether or not Harry & David is able to send your gift to its recipient. Unlike many of the gift basket makers we reviewed, Harry & David has the ability to ship a select few items to Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom. If you wanted to send the basket to an address outside these countries, you may want to reconsider the service. While this is disappointing, it's not uncommon, and it's actually rather surprising that Harry & David has this option. Again, if you are shipping internationally to one of these countries, you can't just pick any basket: scroll to the bottom of the home page and find the link to the page for International Gifts. There, you'll find an array of 26 items that range from baked goods to sweets and treats.
Harry & David gift basket review: The gift basket
- Some self-assembly required
- Imitation cork tray is reusable
Like many other gift baskets from Harry & David and other services, the Harry & David gift basket we ordered came in cardboard packaging, as expected. If you are attending an event and want to present the gift basket to the recipient in person, we recommend send it to yourself, especially if the gift contains wine, as someone needs to be at the delivery location to approve the delivery.
While we were expecting the gift to arrive in a cardboard box, we were surprised by the necessity of self-assembly. The items that need refrigerating - the cheese and the caramels - come wrapped in an insulated bag. This ensures that the food stays fresh and safe to eat. Once removed from the bag, you can put them in the reusable box.
The two wine bottles come individually wrapped in bubble wrap. However, once removed, there is no space in the box for them. If you choose to present the gift yourself and not have it sent directly to the recipient, you will need to find another vessel to hold the wine. We found this to be slightly disappointing.
To avoid this, we recommend carefully examining you gift basket choice. The product page seems to lack information about packaging, but chances are, the product photos are good clues for the assembly required. If you want to be sure that you will get a pre-assembled gift basket, you may want to opt for a gift basket with less variety of items and staying clear of food like cheese, fruit, baked goods, and wine. Alternatively, reach out to customer service.
The imitation cork tray is reusable and comes with filler paper for presentation, but we found the imitation cork to be slightly unappealing in appearance. That being said, it is sturdy and reusable.
Harry & David gift basket review: Gift basket products
- Basket to be wonderfully balanced in terms of taste
- Large selection of gift baskets with more recognizable gourmet items
Seller: Harry & David
Basket: Artisan Appetizers Tray with Wine
Price: $149.99 + shipping ($5.99-$24.99)
What's inside: Sicilian Jack cheese, Rogue Creamery Oregonzola Blue cheese, Mixed nuts, Toscano salami, Dry salami, Black olive spread, Olive oil and sea salt crackers, Rosemary baguette crisps, Sea salt caramels, Harry & David 2016 Pinot Noir (750 ml), Harry & David 2018 Pinot Gris (750 ml), Imitation cork (fabric) tray
Our Harry & David gift basket mostly comprised of Harry & David products, which are generally regarded as high-quality. Indeed, the items the we taste-tasted were good and suited our palates. There was a little bit of everything: mixed nuts, crackers, chocolates, wine, salami, and cheese, meaning that almost everyone was satisfied. We found this basket to be wonderfully balanced in terms of taste.
Harry & David likely has a greater incentive to use its own products and the products of its sister companies like The Popcorn Factory and Shari's Berries, but there is also a large selection of gift baskets with more recognizable gourmet items like Blackberry Patch and Small Batch. However, because of the high quality of Harry & David items, having samples of gourmet food brands didn't matter as much for this gift basket.
Our Harry & David gift basket cost just about $150 without shipping. While we think that this is one of the pricier options, you can get the same quality for less (and perhaps even more items) if you forgo the wine. If you want to try a more budget option, consider Broadway Basketeers.
Harry & David gift basket review: Customization options
- Can't build your own gift basket
- Decent amount of customization options
There appears to be no option to build your own gift basket, but with the amount of options available on the Harry & David site, we don't see this as strictly necessary. There are some other customization options, like choosing the ribbon message for the 'Pick Your Occasion' items. You also have the option of add a personalized message and card to your gift basket free of charge.
Harry & David gift basket customer reviews
- Excellent customer reviews
- Some question the value of some baskets
Unsurprisingly, many customers have expressed both satisfaction and delight with Harry & David gift baskets, calling the individual items "excellent" and the baskets "well-rounded." However, some have expressed disappointment in the fact that some baskets appear too pricey for unsubstantial gift baskets. While we find this to be generally true, Harry & David still remains, in our opinion, the best overall choice for gift baskets.
Should you order a Harry & David gift basket?
Overall, we were pleased with our Harry & David gift basket. While the one we received was not what we expected, we believe that the quality of the gift basket overrides our misgivings about the lack of information about packaging.
We highly encourage anyone looking for gift baskets to check out Harry & David, but we also recommend customers be cautious with their choice and to inquire about the gift basket assembly prior to purchase.
