Online Storefront Orders vs. Group Sales and Auctions

[katsucats]

I don't really care about private collections. I would only care if I was a breeder looking for specific traits to cross. To build on SaraJean's dog analogy, I find that I'd rather take a well selected species outcross than some "pure" cultivar that's been mericloned for decades, or plants that are inbred for a particular trait. They might eventually meet a decrease in vigor, or pick up pathogens along the way.

I've only bought some SVO divisions that weren't overly expensive. I had bought some private collection plants from Orchid Trails that had ORSV, that I returned and they resold. I keep an eye out on Norman's or Big Leaf's private pages. They're always filled with, in my opinion, hype fads of the latest in breeding efforts, like a new colored Phal. speciosa that people would be willing to part with over 100 for, but Taiwanese distributors are selling those same plants for 25 (if you can somehow get past the import costs).

I'm sure that if your aesthetic preferences somehow match exactly those of AOS judges, then you could find the "best" cultivars in a breeder's private collection for big bucks. But if you're not measuring the width of every flower, I think that's well past diminishing returns.