Orchid Vendor's Tricks and Lies

[Bulbopedilum]

Kinda hoping this to get stickied.

Orchid vendors are a great thing, you can get orchids from them! But BEWARE, some of these orchid vendors use sneaky tricks to sell you orchids and for a very high price, way too much than what it's worth! Some even mislead you! So beware. I have compiled a list of tricks used by orchid vendors.
Note
Do some research your self and learn about orchids and you will already know about all of these tricks!
Harmless Tricks
The following vendor tricks don't harm the orchid, just increase the price. You are simply overpaying, not harming the orchid.
1. Arched flowers. Many orchid buyers desire not the enjoyment of growing orchids, but solely for the flowers! Vendors can exploit this flower desire to get more money. This first one is a simple one, they just curve the orchid's flower stalk with some floral wire or sometimes a curved stake. You can do this by yourself. Some phalaenopsis spikes even arch by themselves.
2. Blue orchid flowers. Another flower trick used by vendors is to make blue orchid flowers. This appeals to buyers, but they may not know that the blue color is just plain old dye that they injected into the flower stalk! This is similar to that kindergarden/1st grade experiment where you put white flowers in food coloring. You can also DIY this. If you want actual blue-ish orchids then get Vanda Coeruela or a blue Cattleya strain. But if you want super actual blue orchids then get a cleiosocentron, thelymitra, or dendrobium dedicatulum.
3. Minor Misinformation Sometimes orchids are sold as having redeeming qualities when they really don't have the mentioned qualities. Some are sold as "fragrant" or "miniature" when they are really not! Some are even mislabeled-on purpose. BUT, Some orchids are strange, they sometimes are fragrant, sometimes not. Some have fragrance at certain times of days. Just make sure to research when buying things. IMPORTANT NOTE: The labels saying fragrant, miniature, etc. (Excluding mislabeling) are possibly cultural differences.

Harmful Lies
These tricks are actually harmful to the orchids, the environment, or YOU!. Never do these!
1. Add ice A very common one. "Water your orchids with ice." They say, but in truth, most orchids HATE cold water! Always water with water that is around room temperature. Only some cold-growing orchids, like cypripediums or ophrys are ok or even like cold water.
2. Give lots of light This is not so common but is still done by some. This "give lots of light" applies to normal plants, but not to orchids! Orchids need less light than most plants, and some even desire FULL shade! Only vandas, brassavola, cymbidium, and some other orchids like light, not your typical phalaenopsis though.
3. Bad Divisions Some orchid vendors sell divisions of orchids that are only barely surviving! You will think you have bought a small plant, but you find that you actually bought a damaged, unhealthy plant that is barely surviving!
4. Garden Soil Some orchid vendors are so dumb that they use normal garden soil for orchids! Never use garden soil for orchids! The roots will choke and DIE! They die because orchids grow in very aerated media in nature, even the terrestrial ones wn't take soil.
5. Plain old SCAMS Yes, some people can scam you with orchids! This is not harmful to orchids, but is harmful to YOU! Yes, YOU! Some Chinese sellers supposedly sell Orchis Italiana, Caleana Major, and Black Phalaenopsis seeds. They are FAKE. Orchid seeds are dust-like and white. Sellers usually give you baby's breath, dragonfruit, or in some cases, marvel of peru seeds. This can make you a criminal if you don't have permits.
6. Poached Orchids This is uncommon nowadays but is still existent! Some people go out and pluck orchids straight out of their natural habitat! Victims include orchis, ophrys, calypso, cypripedium, and some other rare orchids. Don't buy from unreliable sellers! These genuses can be bought from specialist Native Orchid Nurseries.

(Contributors: Subrosa, jkofferdahl, pipsxlch, Leafmite, Orchid Whisperer, King_of_orchid_growing, Ray. Thanks!)
If you know any more tricks and lies, please tell me and I will add them!

[pipsxlch]

The seed scam has started to appear in my local Craigslist.

Fitting your theme, I more often see orchids being sold as needing shade, when at least in my climate many of the genera being sold need fairly high light, more than many house plants. They'll grow, but never bloom.

Besides overeager vendors that will claim things can grow for you that most likely won't (lately I've been having vendors assure me that I can successfully grow Miltoniopsis, even though I'm a strictly outside grower in Florida), I'm peeved by a local vendor that splits plants into single pseudobulbs, then tightly packs 3-4 of those bulbs into a pot with spag. You buy what you think is a small plant, only to find it's a few damaged individual growths that have a hard time surviving, and will be reduced to almost just deflasked sized growths if they do have an undamaged eye or two to sprout. I'm not against selling and have willingly bought individual pseudobulbs, but represent them honestly. I think this grower keeps going because they do get interesting things no other vendors seem to carry, and are fairly cheap on most things (that aren't damaged hidden individual bulbs that is).

[Leafmite]

Orchids sold as______when they are not.
1) a frequent bloomer
2) fragrant
3) miniature
4) easy to grow
5) Intermediate/warm growing
6) Blooming size
7) a year from blooming
8) tolerant of low humidity
9) a specific orchid
10) miniature to small-sized (you think it will fit in your terrarium but it grows over a foot tall!)

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Orchids sold as______when they are not.
1) a frequent bloomer
2) fragrant
3) miniature
4) easy to grow
5) Intermediate/warm growing
6) Blooming size
7) a year from blooming
8) tolerant of low humidity
9) a specific orchid
10) miniature to small-sized (you think it will fit in your terrarium but it grows over a foot tall!)

Following up on John's post, all ten items in this list, with the exception of 9, might be differences due to cultural conditions, or experience, and not be misleading at all, unless they buyer doesn't grasp that possibility.

[Leafmite]

Originally Posted by Ray

Following up on John's post, all ten items in this list, with the exception of 9, might be differences due to cultural conditions, or experience, and not be misleading at all, unless they buyer doesn't grasp that possibility.

In my defense, eight out of ten of these were told in person to me by various vendors, at orchid shows, when asking about orchids I found unfamiliar. Later, when I googled the orchids, I learned that the information given to me was completely wrong. I doubt the vendors intentionally misled me and probably just did not know the orchids very well, either.

The issues concerning the maturity of the orchids came from a certain vendor from whom I once ordered (by mail) orchids. I had always bought small seedling size Cattleyas and did not have many that were blooming-size so I decided to treat myself and buy a few orchids from a well-known vendor that would be much further along than what I usually bought. I paid a generous price for Cattleyas advertised as blooming/blooming-next-bloom-cycle and received small seedlings with rotted roots in return that, from experience, were about five years from blooming if not set back by the root issue. What made that order even more striking was that, two days later, I received an order from Hausermann's of seedlings advertised to bloom in four years...they were a good deal larger, had healthy roots, and exactly what I had expected. The orchids from both vendors should have been mossiae-sized Cattleyas. In my opinion, it would have taken a miracle for those tiny seedlings to bloom in a single year.

[SaraJean]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

Orchids sold as______when they are not.

4) easy to grow

Ugh, this are the most frustrating for me... the "easy to grow" is so annoying. ANYTHING is easy to grow if you give an orchid what it wants.. is it easy to achieve that? Many times, no. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out if something will thrive in my growing conditions and this threw me off big time when I first started my collection. Plus, I still get orchids from friends/family/coworkers as gifts because they know I love orchids and it had "easy to grow" in the description. And then there is the easy growing, outdoor cymbidiums at the local Costco that are actually for cooler climates...

[bil]

Originally Posted by SaraJean

Ugh, this are the most frustrating for me... the "easy to grow" is so annoying. ANYTHING is easy to grow if you give an orchid what it wants.. is it easy to achieve that? Many times, no. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out if something will thrive in my growing conditions and this threw me off big time when I first started my collection. Plus, I still get orchids from friends/family/coworkers as gifts because they know I love orchids and it had "easy to grow" in the description. And then there is the easy growing, outdoor cymbidiums at the local Costco that are actually for cooler climates...

If I see 'easy to grow', I assume that it has a wide range of tolerance, and will be more idiot proof than the more specialist orchids.

[fooferdoggie]

the seed thing is on amazon and may purple strawberries blue straw berries see what a deal
Amazon.com : world's rare orchids 20 seed/pack mixed color orchids, potted orchids : Patio, Lawn & Garden

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by fooferdoggie

the seed thing is on amazon and may purple strawberries blue straw berries see what a deal
Amazon.com : world's rare orchids 20 seed/pack mixed color orchids, potted orchids : Patio, Lawn & Garden

I couldn't find the location of the seller in that listing. They might ship seeds from outside the US into the US. This is illegal without proper permits. The seller makes no mention of US import permits, nor US import regulations. I have seen, for many years now, Amazon and eBay seem to ignore the law on importing plant material into the US.

Some overseas vendors say they will provide a phytosanitary certificate for seed shipments into the US. This is not sufficient.

[Bulbopedilum]

I added all of the things you guys said. Thanks!