Buying orchids online?
 

I admit, I am addicted. I just bought my second orchid in a week. I just had to have it though! :) This will be the first phal to add to my collection.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Hn2g2UYYJf...c34c_1_sbl.JPG

I purchased it online - has anyone else ever done this? Is there anything I need to know about purchasing online? Will the plant be traumatized from shipping? Do I need to do anything special with it once I receive it?

Thanks!

I think that there are many many people on OB who buy orchids online, including me. Here's my :twocents:, since I don't order online very often. I think one important thing is to try to get your orchids from reputable vendors. This will help prevent bad surprises, since you can't see the state of the orchid you are buying! I think many people also avoid buying during when the weather is cold, since there is the risk of frost damage during transport.
When they arrive, I don't think there's anything special to do aside pot up the ones that arrive bare rooted! And like my 'in store' puchases, I immediately unpot and check out the root system. Hope this helps!

Hi :waving

That lovely orchid is a Paph, not a Phal ;)

A number of us order online...there are many reputable dealers we trust. If you ever have a question about a particular vendor, post your question here on OB and we'll let you know of our past experiences with them. You can also check into our Vendor Feedback forum for some ideas on vendors.

A whole new world has just opened up for you...enjoy! :bananaslide:

Oops, I knew that....paph. I have three phals so I automatically typed the wrong thing! Thanks for the tips. :) I purchased mine from The Orchid Gallery. I read lots of good feedback on them, so hopefully everything will be just fine! :)

:clap:

We can't wait to see your new baby! :)

I buy from growers IN my state. They usually grow what works easily for them. Soem growers will advertize orchids, but find out that is a side line and they grow something else as their main product.

I will even call and talk to them and kinda to a 'get to know you chat'. They don't mind at all. I have 2 growers in Florida I deal with. One I've done biz with for a long time, and come to find out so does my brother. The new grower I'm expecting a delivery from today, but I know he's gonna be fine as well.

Just a little homework, thats all.

Like others here, I've had dozens of orchids shipped to me. It's quite safe. Remember, the first orchids sent to England in the 1800s were sent on ships, used as wrapping to protect other plants, and still survived the ordeal - orchids are pretty tough plants on the whole. Established businesses, such as the one you used as well as many other extremely good vendors, have been shipping through the mail or UPS for literally decades, and they know what they are doing. I've personally never received a plant that really suffered from the ordeal. You can certainly have some bud blast on budded plants that are shipped, but the plants themselves should be fine.

I've purchased a number of plants online and would echo the previous comments plus - be sure you understand what size plant you are buying. If they don't list pot sizes, show pictures, etc., ask. I've made a couple "impulse" buys from unfamiliar dealers where I thought I was getting a great deal but just ended up with a smaller plant then I expected!

I've bought 4 orchids online so far, on ebay, and i've been very happy with the results so far. just be sure to check anything you get throughly before putting it near any of your other orchids in case it's got something you don't want like bugs.

I would recommend coming the the closest nursery to your place. California has a lot of orchids nursery so it shouldn't be hard to find one close to your place. Check these out to see which one is closer to you:
Andy's Orchids - Orchid Species - Orchids - Species Specialist - Orchids on a stick
Cal Orchid: The Living Bouquet
Napa Valley Orchids - Napa Orchids
orchids.com passion for orchids
Santa Barbara Orchid Estate Home Page
Sunset Valley Orchids - Grower and hybridizer of quality orchids, Vista CA

Ahhh... did a search for you and found out that Andy's Orchids and Sunset Valley Orchids are very close to you (Del Mar), about 15-30 mins away. Both of them are reputable seller. Andy specialize about species. SVO specialize about top quality hybrid and some selected species, open on Sat and Sun on appointment. No need to order online lol seriously, unless you want to pay for shipping. Call them first!

Oh, thank you! That is great to hear. :) I will definitely check them out!

It is a good thing to support your local grower but you will pay sales tax which can work out to about the same as shipping, depending on what you buy...

I got my delivery yesterday and OH MY how nice! I ordered:
:drum:

Paph spicerianum
Brsdm Fangastic
Blc Chia Lin
Grapevine Mount --I had the Chia Lin mounted.

Now I'm like a little kid waiting for Santa.. AT least now I know I have two nursery's here in Florida I can order from and be pretty sure I'll be happy!:cheer: If not, I can drive there and whoop their butts.. :rofl:

Nice choices JackiBlu. Are these the ones you got from Jerry?

I have bought from Andy's, Aloha and Exotic orchids of Maui. No problems!

Andy's is a really nice place. Oak Hill gardens and Orchid Limited are my other favorite place to go. It seems like Oak Hill is the best overall: cheap price, good packing, nice variety, healthy plants, not too expensive in shipping. I think buying at a local nursery is better because you actually pick the plants that you like, and sometimes, you will get advices from grower, too! Sales tax is cheaper than shipping most of the time. And beside she has two of the best grower next to area, why not giving it a try.

Hey, here's some orchid event in your area
Andy's Orchids - Orchid Species - Event Calendar
They will often have sales. Come by!

I love buying online, really worthwhile and generally you get pretty good stuff.

EBay can be risky but there are some good dealers on there as well.

Hiya Sandy :waving

Yes, these are from Jerry. I'm very happy with them. I thought I put on the post above, but guess I didn't.. but to add, I also received a kaleidoscope phal.

This mounting is just the coolest thing since Wonder Bread. Ut ohh, I think I just dated myself. LOL

I ended up only getting 1/2 of what I originally wanted. THat was a good thing - Jerry assured me that he won't be running out of the other orchids I wanted to get. Makes that easier on my wallet (and time to makes some more room/orchid house)

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

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

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 :twocents:

:biggrin:

online orchids
 

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

My husband became obsessed with ebay last summer. Me being obsessed with orchids he forced me to order some plants.:rofl: 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.

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 ...

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!

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.

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

Thanks for the tip Dorothy and all. I guess I'm a little ebay shy. I'll have to give it a shot the next time I get 2 pennies together to go orchid shopping again.

I didn't realize that type info was a forum here.. thanks for the heads up. I guess I need to go exploring even more now.

Yes JackiBlu, you're allowed and encouraged to voice your opinions and share your buying experiences with the members here, unlike what you may be used to elsewhere. This is a website complete with everything you want to find out about orchids and keeping current with everything and a lot of light hearted content as well. There are also growing projects with member participation. I can't wait for the next project. I'm in! A great website with great people to assist and guide you.