Increasingly, people are turning to online ordering for all their flower delivery needs. It's inexpensive, convenient, and ridiculously easy to do. But if you're going to spend your money on online flower orders for Valentine’s Day, you should strive to get the most value for your dollar.

The first piece of advice is arguably the most important, since it applies to almost any situation where you want to save money: shop around. No matter where you live, there are probably multiple florist options in your city and there are hundreds, if not thousands of flower delivery services you can find online. While many of these companies will have similar offerings and similar prices, you're practically guaranteed to find some variation.

If you're willing to do the upfront work to research different options and calculate different prices, you may be able to find exactly the flowers you're looking for at a very favorable price. You might be surprised how much money you can save by simply looking at what other options are available.

You should also understand how different types of flower delivery services operate.

Flowers are usually grown, arranged, and made available for purchase by florists. These are specialty flower shops that focus on producing the best flowers they can for the most affordable prices possible. Because they put so much time and energy into producing excellent products, they don't usually have much money to spend on marketing and advertising – so they can be hard to find.

Even if you do find one, there's no guarantee that your local florist has what you're looking for, and they might be inconvenient to contact, requiring an in-store visit or a lengthy phone call to place your order.

Increasingly, people are turning to flower delivery services that function as a middleman between you and a large network of different florists. Instead of finding the perfect florist, inspecting their inventory, and taking your time to put together the best possible order, you can simply order online and the flower delivery service will take care of everything for you.

Generally, flower delivery services are more expensive than going straight to a florist, but in exchange, you'll have a much more convenient, reliable experience. If your goal is to spend as little money as possible on flowers, you might avoid flower delivery services entirely and spend a few hours calling different florists to find what you're looking for. If you're looking for a reasonable deal that you can purchase in just a few minutes, a flower delivery service is your best bet.

When working with a florist or flower delivery service, see if there is a “designer’s choice” option or similar options available. This is kind of a house special – an arrangement of flowers preferred by a floral arrangement expert working at this business. It's usually a great way to get a unique arrangement of flowers, and because these arrangements are usually made of excess inventory, they tend to be inexpensive as well. If you're willing to deviate from the norm and trust an expert’s developed opinion, you might be able to save money and end up with a better flower arrangement.

When using an online flower ordering service, you'll probably have the option to include one or more add-ons – extra products that can be delivered alongside your flowers for a bigger impact. For example, you might be able to send a box of chocolates, a thoughtful card, or even a teddy bear along with your bouquet.

These items could be an excellent way to make your gift stand out and make a bigger impact with your chosen recipient. But these may also be significantly marked up. If your only goal is to give a teddy bear to your recipient, you're usually better off buying one separately and delivering it yourself. Of course, if you don't have time to do that, the add-on option is incredibly convenient.

Flower delivery services usually include a brief card along with the bouquet comma indicating where the flowers came from and who sent them. You'll also have an opportunity to include a custom message of your own here, which can make your gift much more impactful. Take advantage of this and write a thoughtful, personal message.

Ordering flowers is one of the best ways to express your love or show someone that you really care – and buying flowers online is more convenient than ever. If you follow these tips, you can get more “bang for your buck” and make your flowers stand out even more.