John Alvarez

I purchased a Korean fir tree in a three gallon pot. I received the tree quickly, it looked healthy, and it was a decent size. That was the end of the positive experiences.

The tree I received was terribly crooked. It wasn't crooked in just one direction, such as just leaning back. It had curves in the trunk as if it had grown for a while in one position where it had to grow at an angle for sun, and then moved to where it had to grow in a different direction for sun. A pine should have a straight trunk and not be wavier than a snake.

I could also tell the tree had been fastened to a stake for most of the time it had been growing because the upper portion of the tree had no branches on one side. I like pine trees with branches on more than half of the tree.

I would have never considered purchasing such a terrible specimen if shopping in a nursery. This tree would likely be sold at a bargain price or thrown out altogether since it may never have been purchased if someone actually saw it in person.

Against my better judgement, I planted the tree. It was a Sunday and I needed to get it done before Monday and my schedule got hectic. The more I looked at the tree, the more I doubted it would ever look decent.

I emailed the company and provided a photograph clearly showing the trunk. I received a quick reply saying it couldn't be returned because it had been planted. The email included different ways to try and improve the tree. I don't want to spend years using multiple stakes trying to straighten out the trunk and hoping it fills in where there are bare spots. I have too little faith this tree will ever look decent and it is going in the trash.

Don't risk buying a tree from Wilson Bros Gardens since they obviously have no quality control beyond the tree is alive. They should know people are going to want a decent looking pine tree and not one with a trunk as wavy as a snake and bare spots.

I ended up removing this tree and purchasing a different type of pine at a local nursery. The new pine was straight and full. Seeing as how this tree was going to be front and center in front of my house, it was important it looked great.

UPDATE 7/5/2025
I went to wilsonbrosgardens.com to add photos to my review, but strangely, I cannot find it. Was it deleted because it was critical of their product? Only they know.

I hadn't shopped at Botach in years, but they had a great deal on an HK VP9A1. The order went well, and it shipped quicker than I expected. I had placed the order on 5/21/2025 and it was delivered to my FFL on 5/28/2025.

On 6/18/2025, I received an email addressed to my FFL for some reason stating, "Tax differences from your FFL address change was auto-adjusted and charged in the amount of $17.09." I checked my credit card, and there was a charge from them in that amount. I emailed Botach and asked for clarification. I received a reply within a day or so. Apparently the zip code of my FFL was entered or on file as XXXXX-0000 (x represents the actual zip code). They also clarified that the sales tax was based upon the FFL address and not the purchaser address. I was not aware of this.

I have used my FFL with other vendors and never had an issue with his zip code, though I do not know if I entered the four zeros after the actual zip code or is Botach's system did so. I suspect it was their system since that was how it appeared on his FFL.

Botach has some good deals and generally ships quickly. I gave them four stars instead of five because of the billing issue and me not liking surprise charges on my credit card weeks later.

I have been with T-Mobile for around 12 years and I had the Simple Choice plan. I checked every year or so, but no current plan was a better value. I kept this plan because I was under the impression they could not raise my rate. That had been implied during their "Un-carrier" campaign.

It turns out T-Mobile is susceptible to as much greed as the other carriers and they are no longer the "un-carrier." I was notified my plan was going up by $5 per line - even my "free" lines. I understand by law I need to pay tax on the free lines, but why were they charging $5 each for those lines?

I am shopping around for a new carrier. Even if I end up with the same price per month, I will leave T-Mobile on just principle.