Buying orchids online?

[JackiBlu]

Taxes vs shipping vs orchids for your area.

Since I am just addicted and not an expert on orchids, I want to be sure that the orchids I buy are ones that can easily be cared for for my area. Even the Lowes and HD's will stock up on plants of all sorts that often times can not be grown here without a lot of work. Or they shouldn't be sold here coz of their need for water or they belong to the plant list that the state is erradicating from Florida for one reason or another.

With the way orchids are handled & the work involved in them I'd bank on the orchid being enviroment friendly for the local area. I'd bet it would be difficult to find, say orchids that can't handle temps over 75 here in South Florida. Not to say there isn't some one out there who isn't selling them to some one who 1 - doesn't know better or 2 - a collector of sorts someone who has a climate controlled GH.

As for the taxes.. yeah, that does tend to add up @ 6.5% here in this state (a regressive tax no less) but unless I"m looking for something special that a grower in Florida can't get, then I may go out of state, but not too far.

Am I way off base here?? Just my theory

[blackorchid]

Tax can be about $6.5 for $100 worth of purchase, but shipping can be around $15-20. Just a quick comparison

[JackiBlu]

Exactly its the shipping some companies (and not just growers, but everyone) is raping buyers on.

With both of my chosen growers, they do not rape and pillage over s/h fee's. [But do be aware of buying stuff from QVC or HSN and so many others anymore, what ever it is they are seliing cheap, they seem to try to make it up with the s/h these days. Its nonesense.]

Opps, got off subject.

It isn't hard to figure out what the mailing cost would approximately be, nor the costs of the materials to get them too you and the man hours involved.

Just my

[martinvermillion]

My thoughts as I have made a few purchases myself.
MAKE SURE the pic. is of the actual plant not one that is fully grown in full bloom unless of course that is what you are buying.
DO NOT get pulled in to the ol' bidding war thing. I almost guarantee there will be ten more just like it within a few day's.
ALWAY'S check sellers feedback FIRST.
LOOK through sellers store and make sure the same plant is not offered as a "buy it now" for less than the bid you just made!! Been there and did that I am so easy!
These are just a few things I had to figure out may be helpful they primarly deal with e-bay. The many reputable growers out there are diffirent but it is fun to bid and win a plant!-Martin

[hrrush]

My husband became obsessed with ebay last summer. Me being obsessed with orchids he forced me to order some plants. I have tripled my collection and my wallet is thin. I had trouble with one dealer, but i found another who has great plants. Most are seedlings.

[Dorothy]

Also when buying from eBay - question the seller about the plant - pot size, health of root system, ask when the orchid was last repotted, what kind of medium it is growing it, what conditions is the plant growing in - I found that when I did this and the sellers were happy to answer these questions, did I make better choices in buying off of eBay. If a seller doesn't answer your question then I would be leery of buying from them ...

[D&S Mabel]

JackiBlu - In my experience, you right on about buying plants locally that will do well in you area. At the same time, in my area, this means that I would end up being somewhat limited to certain types and variaties of plants and if I want something different, like zygos or stanhopea, etc., I'll have to go online or pay higher $ for what I think are lesser plants locally.

And yes, HD and Lowes will sometimes sell plants that don't belong in your area - I have a nice green Milt. that never blooms, that has to stay in doors most of the year or else it will burn up, to prove that!

[JackiBlu]

I don't do the EBay thing at all.. I am not knowledgeable enough to play one against the other or know enough about what I am talking about to play Ebay. I was talking growers.

D&S Mabel -- Have you talked to any of the local growers near or around you.. or in Florida somewhere? They may have them and just not show them. Give it a try.

[Tommyr]

Originally Posted by JackiBlu

I don't do the EBay thing at all.. I am not knowledgeable enough to play one against the other or know enough about what I am talking about to play Ebay. I was talking growers.

D&S Mabel -- Have you talked to any of the local growers near or around you.. or in Florida somewhere? They may have them and just not show them. Give it a try.

I have bought from ebay (only "buy it nows") and have had great success. "OrchidDude" is trustworthy as is Bardavo-orchids. Read people's Feedbacks, it's a great way of getting an idea how good they are.

[Dorothy]

Jacki - if you are every in question about a particular vendor - check out the Vendor Feedback Forum and do a search there for any particular seller you are interested in dealing with .. many members have posted threads on their favorite vendors there - http://www.orchidboard.com/community/vendor-feedback/
To search any particular or specific forum only - enter in your keyword (in your case, a vendor name) in the search ( see attachment for "forum only' search location) and past threads mentioning the vendor will be listed