I have to agree, Lin and Jennifer.

@jvdubb: We have the Green Pages here at ATP: http://garden.org/greenpages/ for rating and commenting about vendors. It may not be as large yet as the one at DG but if everyone learns about it and remembers to post their ratings ours will grow.

Last week, DG had about 2,500 posts to their forums (a very good portion of which was not gardening related.) During the same week, ATP had over 4,000 posts to our forums (nearly 100% gardening related.)

Those numbers really speak for themselves. I couldn't be happier with ATP. We have the best members and we're always growing and getting better every day. 2015 is going to be the best year yet. Trish and I have a lot of ideas we're going to implement starting in early January that everyone is going to -LOVE-. We're calling it the year of celebration and it's going to be a huge amount of fun for everyone.

I can't wait, Dave and Trish!

All Things Plants was just MEANT to be!

@plantladylin I know we have the Green Pages. But it is only positive recomendations. I never know if a place is not included because someone does't have something positive to say, or if it is simply no one has reported yet. I know we try to be nice here at ATP but sometimes negative info is informative. Especially when I'm spending $$ !

You are exactly right, Jennifer. The Green Pages specifically states "recommendations". I don't know where you would/could post a negative comment(s) about a seller. There must be a way. Someone (Dave/Trish) will know I'm sure.

But when you find that "spot", please be specific and informative about your problem with a seller. And I hope you told the seller about the problem(s).

This is the first place I go when I get to log onto the computer to play. I just love to see what's new here. Navigation is a breeze and I'd like to say along with the others that I really appreciate all the hard work that Dave and Trish do to make this a great place to visit and be a part of.

Love the new avatar Dave and can't wait to see what 2015 holds in store for ATP!

Oops ... I guess I forgot that the Green Pages were just "recommendations" and not actually reviews.

I think I remember someone once suggesting a *star* type rating system, giving 5 ✶✶✶✶✶ stars for a good rating down to 1 ✶ for a poor rating but only allowing comments for the 5 star companies? ATP is such a pleasant place to spend time so I'm thinking the Green Page recommendations are probably the best way to go, to keep the negativity from creeping in.

I've heard folks talk about ratings getting out of hand on some sites; about people apparently writing bad reviews and sometimes untrue reviews and getting their friends to do the same. I guess it's hard for some folks to be diplomatic without being nasty but I also understand anger and frustration when you've spent your hard earned money on a product and did not receive what was expected and get no results from a vendor. I'm not the confrontational type but like everyone else, if I spend $$ on products I expect to get what I'm paying for.

When I'm browsing a website and find plants that I'm interested in ordering, it has become a habit to check to see if there are any recommendations for that company at our ATP Green Pages. I also sometimes just browse the Green Pages to see what folks have to say about the different vendors ... which usually leads me to their websites to view everything they have to offer. I have made purchases from a few of the vendors listed in our Green Pages and I've had very positive results.

The Ripoff Report website is another really good site for negative reviews. For example:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/re...
http://www.ripoffreport.com/re...

At ATP, we made a conscious decision not to host negative reviews. I know it limits us a little bit but, but the downsides of hosting that far outweigh the benefits.