Peak Season Flower Price Controversy "Prices Up 2-3 Times for Year-End... If You Don't Like It, Just Leave"

Not Even Worth a 40,000 Won Bouquet Bought from the Same Flower Shop
When Complained, Explained "Flower Prices Rise 2-3 Times During Peak Season"

Amid the winter peak season causing flower prices to skyrocket, a netizen shared a story about feeling disappointed after buying a 100,000 won bouquet from their usual flower shop, which turned out to be of poor quality.

Recently, on the online community 'Nate Pann,' a post titled "Please look at this 100,000 won bouquet" was uploaded. The author, Mr. A, began by saying, "The day before the event, I reserved a 100,000 won bouquet at my neighborhood flower shop that I often visit and then went to pick it up." He continued, "It was worse than the 40,000 won bouquet I usually buy, so I complained, but the shop owner just told me, 'If you don't like it, just leave.'"

The appearance of the 100,000 won bouquet purchased by Mr. A. Nate Pann

Mr. A then showed the shop owner a photo of a bouquet he had previously purchased and requested, "Please add more flowers." The owner grumbled, "It's the season, so flower prices are high," but added more flowers. Mr. A, pressed for time due to the event schedule, reluctantly accepted the bouquet and posted two photos of it. The bouquet shown included various flowers such as pink roses, yellow carnations, freesias, and baby's breath.

Mr. A also mentioned, "The initial bouquet had only about half the amount of flowers shown in the photos." He posted a photo of the 40,000 won bouquet he had bought from the same shop before. He added, "Since flower prices are high at the end of the year, I'm curious if this is really the best quality you can get at this price." As of the 25th, the post has surpassed 215,000 views and received over 250 comments.

Most netizens who saw this story reacted that the bouquet in the photos was not worth 100,000 won. They commented, "If you bought a 40,000 won bouquet and then went back to buy another, you were asking to be taken advantage of," "You should have left when they told you to. The neighborhood doesn't have only that one flower shop," "All the flowers are cheap ones. Even buying 20,000 won worth of flowers at the flower market and just wrapping them would look fuller than that," "The bouquet itself is very unattractive. Move to another shop," "The 100,000 won bouquet is smaller than the 30,000 won one I received," "I think I could make a better bouquet than that," "I also run a flower shop, and the arrangement and wrapping are strange, and there don't seem to be any expensive flowers for the 100,000 won budget," and so on. Several other posts also verified that they purchased more abundant and prettier bouquets and flower baskets at lower prices than Mr. A’s.

On the other hand, some netizens pointed out that the period from late December to February, spanning Christmas to graduation ceremonies, is a peak season with high flower demand but reduced supply, causing fresh flower prices to soar. They suggested that expecting cost-effectiveness similar to off-season or low season is unrealistic during this time.