I receieved these African violets the other day.Hirt's Gardens shipped them with careful packaging (masking tape to hold in the soil, each plant carefully wrapped in newspaper, then styrofoam peanuts to fill the box) - there was very little spillage and no damage to the plants. The plants came healthy & well.However... the violets hardly look like the photos. The "bell" shape is hardly discernable from a violet you'd buy at the supermarket. The light pink one has a very washed out color and the "pale blue" one isn't. The one advertised as pale blue is vibrant purple. It is a lovely shade of purple, however, purple violets being as common as they are - are not nearly as impressive as the pale blue color pictured. To be honest, the violets don't look very extraordinary at all.Healthy lovely plants... just not as unique as I had hoped.