That must have been a fluke. John is really nice and usually the plants are way bigger than the price tag. He is a judge at our May show and I usually pre-order a couple hundred $$ worth from him (yes, I have a serious Dendrobium addiction). Last year, I got about 15 Formosae types and they were double the advertised size.
The amabile that I got re-potted into a 10" pot! Price $35.
Edit to add: I just looked at my Catasetinae's that I got from John last year and the new growths are starting. I would say that if you are looking for these, the best source is SVO because John gets his from Fred (the tag had SVO on the back). A couple of mine looked a little rough so I don't think these are his forte. That being said, I purchased 4 from him and I only killed 1. I did get a Rebecca Northen from him too. If you want, I can take a photo of it and you can determine if you like the quality or not.