Ebay homework

[stonedragonfarms]

Good Morning Everyone:
One of the things that I do when I have a minute in the morning is to peruse the new orchid listings on ebay; about once a month or so I will run across a plant or two that somebody has a spare division of, but often you have to sift through a lot of "other stuff" to find the plants you might be looking for.
I've noticed more and more that many of the seedlings that I encounter in listings of the big Hawaiian nurseries (Carmela's, EEOM, TOW, etc.) are simply passed along on ebay, often at a hefty mark-up. An example from this morning: Sc. Cosmos 'Laina' AM/AOS
Please note in this case that these are mericloned plants; barring cellular mutation, all plants in the population will be identical to the mother plant.
And here's the "original".
The caveat here is that EEOM has a $100 minimum order, plus shipping (usually about $25); plants typically ship 2 day Fedex (as opposed to 2-5 day USPS priority)
The point to all this: do your homework before clicking the BIN button; I'm willing to bet that many growers (like me), suffer from the "just one more" mentality (quirk? sickness? delusion?); in the case of ebay, I click BIN on the seller's page, then hit the "sellers other items" link to see if there's anything else that I might want (a single orchid in a box in the mail gets lonely sans travel companions); click a couple more times, and before I know it I have three plants at $16 apiece ($48) and a $12 shipping bill...three $7 plants if I'd have just looked elsewhere...which leads me to wonder if I'm the only hobbyist that notices things like this...thoughts?
Adam

[Leafmite]

I have only bought two orchids from Ebay and then lost interest in that source. Many of the orchids really can be found elsewhere and for far cheaper. I have seen bag babies resold for higher prices. It is just crazy. When I need a single-orchid fix, I usually go through Amazon to buy orchids from Kawamoto Orchid Nursery or Carmelas as the shipping is cheaper and I know that both of these places are selling their own stock and not just marking up the prices exorbitantly (I can compare the prices with those on their website).

The minimum order problem from Exotic Orchids of Maui is easily cured by sending out an email to other members of the Orchid Society and asking if anyone wants to join in for a group order. Their orchids are of excellent quality and the shipping really isn't all that bad, not considering the distance they travel and the packing. If shipping costs are divided among a group, it gets even better.

[jkofferdahl]

Sellers are going to get whatever price buyers are foolish enough to pay.

[dounoharm]

yes, I have noticed that these 'plug babies' are described as mature plants...with a sizeable markup....BUT, if you don't want to buy a whole tray of plugs of one plant, it might be ok....

I have recently purchased a tray of plugs from carmelas...one of my fav cattleyas, it was $50 for 25 plants....but I will hold them a year or so before I sell some....pot. Hawaiian prominence 'america'....I am a sucker for anything RED!! lol

also, carmela's have those wonderful monthly deals....you can get a bunch of plugs, 5 each of different varieties for a good price....I think people sell those too....

for me, I like to raise the babies just to watch them GROW! it delights me as much as the flowers....I need to ditch some of my duplicate plants to make room for another tray of plugs!! oh glory, I am such an addict!

[Pattywack]

I have to agree with the idea of sellers listings these seedlings at crazy marked up prices. I see this often. I’ve often wondered why buyers purchase these plants rather than purchasing from the grower. In my opinion these eBay plants are often a bit damaged as well, they never look very appealing to me.

I’ve been an EBay-er for many years and I purchase quite a few plants on eBay. I’m always watching for Seed Engei’s listings. I avoid listings that do not show the exact plant I am buying however we all purchase from growers online without seeing the plant.

I honestly have never been disappointed with a plant purchased on eBay but I am picky and I ask a lot of questions of the seller.

[camille1585]

My experiences with ebay have been a bit different. There are two growers I like to shop at that are also on ebay. Their prices have always been the same as their website, or lower. I also see plants that are not on their websites, probably because they don't have enough stock to list them there.

If I order from their websites the quality can sometimes be hit or miss, but when I go through ebay, the plants are usually in excellent condition, probably because they have motivation to get and maintain a good rating, and post photos of the actual plants.

But I do always compare prices with websites if the ebay seller is also a nursery, I'll never buy on ebay if the prices are marked up more than a couple euros.

[Fairorchids]

90-95% of the plants on Ebay are mass produced plants, which the seller is 'flipping'.

However, from time to time you find one of a kind plants (I always check listings from 2-3 sellers, who are not 'flippers').

Likewise, when I divide a large plant, I often put one or two divisions up on Ebay, since I do not have a local retail presence.