orchids off of ebay?

[Tim P.]

What do you guys think about orchids off of ebay. I was thinking on getting some off of ebay, but am worried that any bargain or not bargain, i may be getting diseases

What say you?

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The answer depends on the seller and the orchids in question.

[escualida]

A lot of my orchids are from eBay and like Philip said, it really depends on the seller. I've gotten a lot that were awesome and virus free, and I've gotten a few that had viruses (pretty much only phals). Which seller were you thinking of buying from? I'm sure someone here will have had experience with most eBay sellers...

You can also write to them and ask what their virus policy is.

[Tim P.]

i was looking at this one
1 Plant Orchid Dendrobium Jairak MIN Mangosteen | eBay

[Cattleya17]

You have to know what a healthy orchid looks like for the species you are interested in.

I have found gems on eBay!!!! Never buy from a seller that does not put up a picture of the actual plant you will be buying from them! I cannot stress that enough!!!

Also look at the seller. How is their feedback? How much negative feedback compared to positive. It all comes down to waiting and watching! Kawamoto orchids is now on eBay and I love their plants!!

You can find a lot of amazing orchids on eBay. I encourage it strongly!! Even Bigleaf orchids is in on the eBay game! There are tons of credible sellers out there you just have to find them.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

The plant is located in Europe, specifically, France!

You're not going to be able to get it into the US without an import permit, a phytosanitary certificate, and CITES paperwork.

The cost of shipping to the US also has to be taken into consideration.

You might have to find the same plant from a seller that is here in the US, it's totally not worth shipping 1 plant internationally, unless you're part of a group order from the same seller. Sorry.

[flexdc]

Yes depends on the seller! I have some favorites:
Pupsi_dog is a good one. Recently bought a Paph from him/her. Plant bigger and healthier than picture. Plant was in bud and he packed it incredibly well.
In my opinion, you have no need to import considering the hassle. Plenty of good ones in US. I have a few more.
Message me and I can send you their names.
Andrew

[Nanook 2010]

Have done it twice...

No issues... But I don't send a sample of each plant I buy to a lab to check for viruses either

[barry593]

Hi Tim,
I deal with a seller called peaandshel there. They are located in Hawaii and have a huge selection of orchids. The six I have purchased from them have all been in excellent condition, they ship fast and have a 99% rating across the board.

Barry

[NYCorchidman]

I've had some luck with shopping orchids from eBay.
Two main things that I look for are the feedbacks of the seller and the picture of plants.

I followed the link in your post and the seller had 98.4% positive feedback. well, looking at that figure alone might seem really good but considering he's got over 5,000 transactions, it comes that more than 100 transactions had some sort of issues with this seller.
You might want to read as to what the issues were.
I know there are always some crazy people that are too picky or never get satisfied easily, but 100 is quite big number for me.
I only go for 100. 99.8 with some exceptions.

Now, the second important point, pictures.
I only shop when there are a few clear and up to date pictures of plant showing details of leaves and overall condition of the plant I would buy.
This way, you don't have to go through the hassel of possible return of dispute over crappy plants or plants otherwise unsatisfactory.