Suffering Bellina

[Leafmite]

I have ordered many living plants from gardening companies such as herbs, fruit trees, berry bushes, house plants, etc. While some are sent dormant, they are always sent after the last frost has passed. Seeds are normally sent right away and bulbs are sent either in the fall, if they are to be planted in the fall, or spring, if they are the types you need to dig up and winter over inside. Many of these companies have been in business a very, very long time, and shipping when shipping was a much slower process.

In colder temperatures, cut flowers may not need a heat pack but they do need to be protected against freezing or many of the flowers turn brown and the stems to mush. The big suppliers have to take special care to make certain that in sub-zero weather, the flowers arrive in good condition so that their customers don't have a ruined wedding or funeral.

I do not see why the Ebay vendor could not have used a heat pack as Hausermann's or Andy's and sent the orchid overnight. Or, if they were not comfortable with this, just have held the orchid until temperatures were consistently warmer. It makes good practical sense.
A buyer has no real control the sending of the package but the vendor has quite a bit of power to make decisions.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

A buyer has no real control the sending of the package but the vendor has quite a bit of power to make decisions.

Ahhh...but the buyer has ALL the control....they simply need to wait until the temps have warmed enough not to have any issues. Especially when we are talking about orchids that are available year round. It's really not complicated...by waiting for awhile it eliminates all the problems associated w/too cold temps and everyone can end up happy and satisfied w/the entire process.

I didn't intend to get feathers all ruffled here or for this to get so far off topic. My one and only goal was to point out that IMO (and it is just my opinion) a buyer should not feel that they have no responsibility in all of this if something goes wrong. It could all be so easily avoided and then no one would have to be upset or unhappy.

[Jenn4a]

I'll try to clear this up. I won the plant on 1/31/14. I like paying ASAP, but I did wait awhile to see what plants were going to be listed since the seller offers combined shipping. I ALWAYS include a photo of my 10 day weather forecast so the seller. We mailed back and forth after I won the auction, and the seller said that they can hold the plant for better weather as even they were having bad weather. They said it was fine if I waited to pay, and that if I wanted to, I could pay then as well. It was also said that the plant wouldn't be shipped until it was safe. Last weekend, eBay sent me another reminder to pay. I sent another photo of my ten day forecast, and asked about the shipping cost. I guess that listing's shipping cost was wrong? The description said it was lower than what it was charging me. Within the message, I said that the only possible good day here would be Wednesday, and that is was a short window of time. They did not reply, but they sent an updated invoice with a lower shipping cost. I paid then. A couple hours later, eBay sent me an email stating that the plant has been shipped.
At that point, I either figured the seller knew it would be safe, and usually after something ships, nothing can be said. Maybe that's an incorrect statement, but sometimes the shipment info isn't added until after the package takes off.

I've seen descriptions stating that certain sellers won't ship with temps below 32°F or sometimes in the 40's. I remember sending Kawamoto Orchids an email about shipping temperatures and that they preferred if the temps are at least in the lower 40's. *I don't remember word for word.*

I might as well add this too. I've gotten orchids from S*******P, and C******0 off eBay. Two Vandaceous orchids from S*******P, and a Phal hieroglyphica from C******0. The phal arrived when it was 37-41. The other two arrived when it was around 43°F. I believe they're okay. I don't think my hieroglyphica is damaged either, but I read that damage might not appear until months later. The sick cattleyas I got when it was snowing and 25°F, they were seedlings. The "almost blooming size" cattleya was perfectly fine; as of right now, It's growing. *I'm always here when I'm expecting the plants. I don't leave them outside.

Anyways,
I did think for the time being that the plant had a pretty good chance if it did arrive on Wednesday. There's not a way to be sure though. Once the plant didn't arrive on Wednesday, I got pretty worried. I wasn't sure if there would be any heat pack or not, but they did say they would only ship when it was safe to. When it did arrive, I was not surprised that it was damaged. I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I was automatically blaming everyone but myself. I didn't write every detail in my original posts; what I did write suggest that I was possibly blaming the shipping carrier or seller, without a hint of that being my responsibility. I didn't include that I knew winter shipping has risks and that I knew that I'm responsible for purchasing. Sorry for the lack of info.

Maybe I was too relaxed about it. Anyways, I know I'm initially responsible for buying the orchid in the first place. After reading one of the previous replies, I do think that both the seller and the buyer are responsible. In this case, there was a lack of communication, and probably miscommunication. At the time, I thought everything was alright. I felt like the response with the statement "won't ship until safe" was enough reassurance that my decision wasn't a completely horrible one. I never have sent a seller an angry email and expected a refund; I try to be a pleasant person to deal with. I'm not looking for a freebie, or abuse eBay's buyer protection. my concerns are mainly about the plant. I don't know about getting a refund.

Katrina: Your post did come off "strong" but had some good points. You could have said it in a nicer way and still have gotten your point across. Maybe it's just how I feel, but I believe it's more productive to say things as nicely as possible. Hopefully you don't think I was surprised my plant was damaged. I mentioned in a previous post that I was not.

Anyways, I probably will still buy plants on eBay, just not as often. I don't think that every plant I've gotten during the winter has been damaged. I get most of my purchases at the greenhouse though. I realized that it's better to get phals/plants in bloom; I can pick out my favorite one and one that is the healthiest. If the plant isn't in bloom, I can still find one that looks healthy. However, I didn't really think about the blooming plant aspect until after I won the auction. After I visited the greenhouse last weekend, I decided I wanted to buy most of my phals in bloom so I can pick the best shape and color available. I already won the auction, and I didn't want to "back out of it." Hopefully my post isn't offensive, I haven't been focusing on my replies; I've been focusing on my plants since the house has been getting chilly.

[wintergirl]

The thing with Ebay, they push the sellers to hurry the items to the customer. There is no consideration by Ebay whether the item is a live plant or a pair of socks, so there's that.

[Jenn4a]

Originally Posted by wintergirl

The thing with Ebay, they push the sellers to hurry the items to the customer. There is no consideration by Ebay whether the item is a live plant or a pair of socks, so there's that.

I understand.
The seller mentioned that they were going to deal with eBay consequences of holding on to the plants. (They had several other plants that they were holding on to for later shipping.)

[Leafmite]

[QUOTE=katrina;733335]Ahhh...but the buyer has ALL the control....they simply need to wait until the temps have warmed enough not to have any issues. Especially when we are talking about orchids that are available year round. It's really not complicated...by waiting for awhile it eliminates all the problems associated w/too cold temps and everyone can end up happy and satisfied w/the entire process.

That is true. Unfortunately, I am a customer who expects quality, good service and good judgement from the vendors with whom I deal. I like to think that some vendors are in it for more than the money. I guess that is why I deal with vendors that have an easy-to-find story that explains why they are in the business.
I have never tried Ebay (and won't) for orchids as I hear too many tales like this.

[Jenn4a]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

That is true. Unfortunately, I am a customer who expects quality, good service and good judgement from the vendors with whom I deal. I like to think that some vendors are in it for more than the money. I guess that is why I deal with vendors that have an easy-to-find story that explains why they are in the business.
I have never tried Ebay (and won't) for orchids as I hear too many tales like this.

I just noticed that the all of the orchids I've gotten previous to the phal bellina were shipped in boxes stating "orchids" or "plants" somewhere on the box, sometimes even multiple times! The one containing the Vandaceous orchids states "LIVE ORCHID PLANTS", and the p. Hieroglyphica's box says "LIVE PLANTS" on four sides of the box.. I'm not saying that it makes a world of difference, but I was happy to see that they made an effort. They packed the plants carefully enough that it took me around 15 minutes to get them out safely (unwrapping.)

When it comes to winter and shipping, I guess no one can be too sure or too careful, both sellers and buyers alike.. I wasn't careful enough amongst other things. I love looking at listings and when I wanted something when the forecast was predicting temps below freezing, I stopped myself. I've seen some sellers that guarantee the orchids arrive safely/healthy.. I don't know that much about the guarantee though..

There are sellers that care about the plants as much or more than the money. Kawamoto Orchids has always been pleasant to communicate with. I sent them a photo of the sick catts and a concerned message about their health. Before I even got a reply, eBay notified me that I was refunded. I never asked to be refunded; all that I wanted to know if there was something wrong with the plants. They replied letting me know that they were likely cold damaged and that they were sorry that it happened. They were happy to know that my other plant wasn't declining too

I love that they gave me info on what they prefer when it comes to shipping, and even info on what plants are having troubles. I asked about a certain plant that I wanted, and they told me they were having setbacks on that particular hybrid, but the other two that I was interested in were growing very happily.

I decided that if I really really really want something on eBay, I'm going to talk to the seller beforehand (I've done this, but for the Bellina, I messaged immediately afterwards.)

[Jenn4a]

Please do not enlarge the photo if you believe it could upset you. It's not pretty.

I'm not sure if it is still alive.. some of the leaves have withered. There's one that is still kind of firm... Also, it has become more discolored, and the stem looks wrinkly/mushy.

Does it mean anything if the roots still turn green when I water it? I'm not sure; this is the first plant that I've seen this damaged.

[Brooke]

No it is dead.

Roots are amazing, I had to cut a big Catt off of a table and the roots had wound all around the cement block used as a leg for the table. This was six months ago and the roots will still green up when I am watering.

Brooke

[Jenn4a]

Originally Posted by Brooke

No it is dead.

Roots are amazing, I had to cut a big Catt off of a table and the roots had wound all around the cement block used as a leg for the table. This was six months ago and the roots will still green up when I am watering.

Brooke

Wow! It amazes me. Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate all the help that the members have offered.

I guess judging the roots alone isn't a good tool/guide.