First order from SVO; possible project idea?

[jcec1]

Originally Posted by Mr.Fakename

The person Camille is referring to is Sam Tsui from Orchid Inn.

When he's making international orders, he comes to Europe with all the paperwork and ships from Germany.
I'm not sure how Brexit changes the rules, but it might be worth looking into!

Thanks for the information - at the moment nothing is shipping in from the EU - prices on eBay have rocketed.

[3rdMaestro]

Originally Posted by jcec1

Thanks for the information - at the moment nothing is shipping in from the EU - prices on eBay have rocketed.

About how much does shipping from the US cost these days? Assuming its a single plant

[Roberta]

The cost is the minor part... it's the international paperwork that is the show-stopper. Many vendors don't want to start down that path.(On both sides of the Pond) For those in the UK, Brexit has messed up the shipping from the EU, same type of problem. Pre-Brexit, general trade between the UK and the Continent was easy. Now, not so much... With shows on hold due to COVID, and international travel rather dicey, getting orchids from one place to another even worse.

[Fairorchids]

Depending upon what orchid it is, there might be a need for CITES certification (applies primarily to species). Not every seller has a CITES license.

Other than that, you need a phytosanitary certificate. Depending upon origin and destination, that can run from $25 to $250. That is not the certificate cost, but the also the logistics cost. If seller is 3 hours from the nearest certification site, he/she has to do a 6 hour round trip to provide a certificate that perhaps costs only $15-35.

Then you have the shipping cost.
UPS does not accept boxes with live plants.
The US Postal Service is highly unreliable.
A 2 kg (5 lb) package with 4x4x16" dimensions, via FEDEX from NJ to Denmark is $92 - $115

As you can see, it is a bit pricey to ship a $30 plant.