Just got suckered in at Teavana

38 Replies
Lazey said

Wow, I’m beginning to understand some of the hate I saw on another thread for Teavana. I’m glad I’m doing most of my tea shopping online, it is easy to get pressured by clerks. I’ve been to the Teavana website and decided it was too expensive for me and shopped around for better deals.

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Donna A said

I like buying samples online first to see if I like the tea before buying a larger quantity. Quite a few tea companies have well-priced samples. Many of the companies others have mentioned do this. Harney&Sons and Upton are 2 additional good companies. I’ve had good experiences with Teavivre, Butiki, Arbor, and Verdant to name a few. Usually I don’t get more than a few ounces at a time of any one tea because tea is better fresh, especially green and oolong, and I keep a lot of different ones on my shelf. I don’t want anything on the shelf for more than a year, unless of course it’s a pu-er.

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teawade said

Hope everything went well with the return! Knowing Teavana I would assume they gave you a bit of a hard time with it but they should accept the return as stated in their return policy. Good luck!

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There is another thread about teavana and it was suggested that it seemed “trendy” to hate teavana… THIS … this is one of the reasons I dislike teavana. When you go into the store to request a certain amount of a tea, I’m often given a little bit more of it than I request (I usually request only 2 ounces of any given tea), and this causes the final check out price to skyrocket. A little bit here, a little bit there. If you get more than two or three teas, it ends up costing a bit more than you may have budgeted for … and it just feels very shady.

I had a similar experience with them a few years ago and I left with a huge case of shoppers remorse. I ended up buying the pound also, but, when all told, it ended up being closer to 22 – 24 ounces with all the little bit extra here and there.

This is a big reason I dislike teavana … and it has nothing to do with fads or trendiness.

I do agree with you but honestly it does bother me how trendy Teavana is. I feel like a lot of people that shop at Teavana just drink tea because they want to be hipsters.

Donna A said

Although I buy most of my teas online now in order to get higher quality at a lower price, I started with Teavana, and there are a few of their flavored teas I really like and would get again. There are several Teavana stores in my area and I have found that some employees use high pressure sales tactics and are sneaky if you don’t take control of the situation, but others are friendly and helpful. I tell them when I go to the register that I want “exactly 2 ounces of X tea and not one bit more” and “no, I don’t need a tin”. They always honor that. I’m sure their sales tactics are one of the main reasons they have a bad reputation with many, but I think it is likely Starbucks will change that. I wouldn’t be on Steepster had I not discovered loose tea through Teavana, because loose tea is not big in Atlanta the way it is in some other parts of the country. And it appears that Teavana has been very successful overall, despite their pushy tactics. I don’t think it is such a bad thing if they are causing tea to be more trendy-it grows the market. As for the pesticide issue, the Teavana website does not say their tea is pesticide free or organic, just that it is healthy. The report comes from a company that makes it’s money by short-selling on the stock market and as they say in their disclaimer “We are short Teavana and therefore stand to realize significant gains in the event that the price of stock declines.” The thing about pesticides is that unless you have all your tea tested personally, you really can’t know any tea you drink is pesticide free. This investment firm only had Teavana teas tested. Teavana is not the first effort of a short seller’s bash against a company nor will it be anywhere close to the last. What about all the other companies out there-is this short seller going to go after them too? Not unless there is money to be made. I’m just saying, if this is true about Teavana,and maybe it is, it is true about many other teas out there, and just because a company says their teas are pesticide free doesn’t mean it’s true. Many of the big tea producing countries allow practices that are not allowed in the US for environmental reasons.

Donna A said

Paul, I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve had good and bad experiences in Teavana, but hopefully they’ll tone down their aggressiveness if the deal with Starbucks happens, because Starbucks doesn’t seem to use those tactics. My 1st post wasn’t directed at you personally-it was just some of my views on Teavana, some good and some bad, and not suggesting anything about you. Sorry if it seemed that way to you. I totally agree with you that the ideal thing is to have Vendors where there is a foundation of trust.

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Hey, glad you joined our community! I’m sorry your first retail tea experience went down like that. My friend, as well-meaning as he is, knows nothing about tea. He bought me a ton of tea from Teavana, and I don’t even care for it that much! I just feel awful that someone pressured him into that sale, and have vowed not to ever set foot in that store again.

Anyway, I wanted to try to make up for a lousy first tea shopping experience and send you some tea samples I have to spread a little holiday cheer. If you like, follow me so we can send messages back and forth, and send me a snail mail address for you if you’re not creeped out by receiving tea from an internet stranger. :)

If you do try shopping for tea again, I’d recommend Adagio and Upton tea as good places to get reasonably priced samples. I am a sucker for David’s Tea from Canada, and they have wonderful customer service.

Aww how nice! I love Steepster!

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TeaLady441 said

Yikes! That’s just terrible. I’m going to stick with DavidsTea for retail shopping, and order online otherwise.

Maybe Starbucks acquiring Teavana isn’t so bad a thing? Could they make it worse? At least I haven’t found Starbucks baristas to be pushy.

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Uck. That just turns my stomach. Im so sorry that happened to you. Tea shopping should be the highlight of your day, not something that leaves you feeling bad :(

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i have the same opinion about Teavana regarding their pushy sales tactics, but appreciate the awareness of tea and good tea really that they have brought about. i’m hoping the recent acquisition will cause the quality of Starbucks tea to go up and the pushy sales tactics of Teavana to go down. There are a number of great online tea resellers that we could all recommend so let us know if you’d like some recommendations.:-)

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Lynxiebrat said

When I go tea shopping, (As with other shopping.) Most of the time I go with a budget. I do not have the convenience of being able to go over my planned budget spontaneously. So if the Teavana sales clerk asks me if 2.3 is ok, I say with a smile, “I’d like exactly 2 ounces please.” and thank them. Other then that, I’ve yet to experience pushy sales clerks, or not being able to see the price per ounce on the canister. I usually go with the intention of checking out a particular tea as well. You could check out other locations of Teavana’s. Also, in general check out (you can start on this website, thru the places tab at the top of the page.) for other places that sell loose tea. And if you have any experience with bagged, or not:) you don’t have to give those up either, and they are a good way to try some teas out, as being they are sold in grocery stores and markets can be alittle more convenient. Next time you go shopping, check and see what brands they offer, take note of them and then see what reviews those teas have here on steepster.

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I think my biggest problem with Teavana is that they work in ounces/lbs, despite the fact that I live in Canada. Every other time I buy anything food related (produce, flour, tea from other stores), it is always in grams/kilograms- because Canada uses the metric system. If you are going to have stores in Canada, please actually work in our measuring system. It’s partially my fault, I can’t function in ounces, but it only results in me buying NO tea from them. I’m hoping that Starbucks changes this, though I doubt it will. For now I will stick with David’s and other smaller stores.

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