Selling Artificial Plants Online: Trade Toolkit

What we provide

• Product photography and descriptions: downloadable from the resource library, refreshed daily. Available to logged-in trade customers.
• Stock and price feed: a file of stock levels and trade prices, refreshed hourly, also in the resource library. Use it to keep your listings and your costs in step with ours.
• Product data: every line has a SKU, and almost all have a barcode (EAN), height and width in centimetres, colour, pot type and, for most, pot dimensions. Fire-retardant and UV-stabilised lines are flagged.
• Unpriced catalogue: the trade catalogue carries no prices, so it can be shared with your own customers.
• Live stock on every product: exact stock is shown on product pages and in our finders, and out-of-stock lines are listed last.

Choosing lines to sell online

Lines that sell well online tend to be easy to understand from a photograph, easy to measure, and easy to ship. Before listing a line, check:

• Stock depth: list lines with enough live stock to support your sales, and avoid building a page around a line with a handful left. The stock filters in our finders (25, 50, 100 or more units) help.
• Shipping size: tall trees need long boxes and cost more to post. Compare the plant's height with the packaging box sizes before you price it.
• Multibuy: every line is sold individually, and 6 or more multibuy lines such as stems and hanging plants earn 20% off automatically, which suits sellers who list multiples or bundles.
• Price bands: a range that covers small gifts, mid-size houseplant alternatives and a few statement trees gives customers somewhere to start and somewhere to trade up.

Useful starting points are the desktop and small plants, hanging and trailing plants and flower stem finders, and the retailer range planning page.

Keeping listings in stock

Overselling is the fastest way to lose online customers. Import the hourly stock and price feed into your platform, or check it before each order you pass on, and set your own safety buffer so a listing goes out of stock before our stock reaches zero. We do not reserve stock or publish restock dates, and lines sell through, so review listings against the feed regularly and remove or replace discontinued SKUs. Always check the SKU on reorders.

Photography

• Our product photography is a good starting point for your main image. Add your own lifestyle images in real rooms to show scale.
• Always show scale: a person, a chair or a shelf next to the plant, or a clear height callout.
• Use soft daylight and avoid harsh flash, which makes foliage look shiny.
• Photograph close-ups of leaves, stems and the pot, because online customers cannot touch the product.
• Show the product as it will arrive: if the pot is a plain weighted pot and the planter in your photo is sold separately, say so.

Writing accurate descriptions

Accurate descriptions reduce returns and complaints. Use our dimensions and flags, and be careful with claims:

• Give height and width in centimetres, and say whether height includes the pot.
• Say what the pot is (weighted plastic pot, ceramic, metal planter) and whether a decorative planter is included.
• Only describe a line as fire-retardant if it is flagged fire-retardant, and avoid absolute fire-safety claims such as saying it cannot burn or meets a regulation. Test reports for our fire-retardant material are available to trade customers on request.
• Only describe a line as suitable for outdoor use if it is flagged UV-stabilised. Do not promise that colour will last or quote a number of years.
• Do not describe artificial plants as safe for pets or suitable for allergy sufferers. You can say they have no pollen and no soil.
• Tell customers to open out leaves and branches by hand after unpacking.

UV-stabilised lines contain UV inhibitors that slow colour fade in bright and outdoor positions. All artificial foliage fades gradually in prolonged direct sun; UV-stabilised stock fades far more slowly than untreated stock. We don't publish a lifespan, so plan to inspect exposed pieces each season and rotate or replace them when the colour drops.

Packaging and shipping

Most damage comes from movement in the box. Use a box close to the plant's size, wrap and wedge the pot, protect the foliage loosely and fill every void. We sell six sizes of long cardboard box, from 16 x 16 x 44cm to 165 x 22.5 x 22.5cm; orders containing packaging boxes only ship with orders over £500 ex VAT, palletised and flat-packed, so add them to a larger plant order. The packaging boxes guide matches box to plant height.

Reducing returns

• State dimensions prominently and show scale in photographs; "smaller than expected" is the most common complaint for artificial plants.
• Describe colour carefully, and note that colours vary on screens.
• Pack to protect the canopy, and include a note on reshaping foliage after unpacking.
• Set your own returns policy with your costs in mind. Our wholesale terms are business to business: goods are sold on a no-return basis unless a return is agreed in writing within 14 days of delivery, so do not assume you can pass customer returns back to us. Faulty goods are covered; see ordering and delivery.

Marketplaces

Most marketplaces ask for a barcode, dimensions and several images per listing. Our data includes EAN barcodes on almost every line; check each marketplace's rules on using a manufacturer's barcode and on category-specific claims such as fire performance or outdoor use before listing.

Wholesale or dropshipping?

This site supplies stock at trade prices: you buy the goods, hold them and ship them to your customers. If you would rather not hold stock, dropshipping is run as a separate business, Leaf Dropship, with its own membership, prices and terms. Dropship terms have no bearing on wholesale orders on this site, and wholesale terms have none on dropship orders.

Ordering

The minimum order is £150 ex VAT, prices are ex VAT with a VAT invoice supplied, payment is proforma, and UK mainland delivery is free on orders of £300 ex VAT or more. Orders are dispatched within one working day of cleared funds.

Register online, log in to see trade prices.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use your product photos and descriptions on my website?

Trade customers can download our product photography and descriptions from the resource library, refreshed daily, for use in selling our products. Edit descriptions to suit your own site and keep claims accurate: dimensions, pot type, and fire or UV flags only where a line carries them. Adding your own lifestyle images helps customers judge scale.

How do I keep my online stock levels accurate?

Use the stock and price feed in the resource library, which is refreshed hourly, and set a safety buffer so your listing sells out before our stock reaches zero. We do not reserve stock or publish restock dates, so review listings against the feed regularly and remove discontinued SKUs promptly.

Do your products have barcodes for marketplaces?

Almost every line carries an EAN barcode, along with a SKU, height and width in centimetres, colour and pot type. Check each marketplace's rules on using a manufacturer's barcode, and on claims such as fire performance or outdoor suitability, before listing. Only describe flagged lines as fire-retardant or UV-stabilised.

Can I return items my online customers send back?

Our wholesale terms are business to business. Goods are sold on a no-return basis unless a return is agreed in writing within 14 days of delivery, and agreed returns carry a restocking fee of 20% or £25, whichever is greater. Faulty goods can be returned within 14 days for a credit note or replacement. Set your own returns policy with that in mind.

Do you offer dropshipping?

Dropshipping is run as a separate business, Leaf Dropship, with its own membership, prices and terms. This wholesale site supplies stock at trade prices for you to hold and ship yourself. Wholesale terms, including the £150 ex VAT minimum and proforma payment, cover only orders placed on this site.