i believe that the ebay stuff are the plants that they have already moved to the USA (Apopka) so that would explain the speed and the limited selection

i am a big fan of them - they have always stood by their plants even when there were issues and the issues have been few and far between

Let's say that shipping is $40. They suggested that I upgrade to express shipping for $80 more. I'd probably regret it but should I just take my chances? Election is coming up and mail is probably slow, but slow enough to kill well packaged plants (shipping to southern states)? I just don't know if it's worth spending nearly 50% of the total on shipping. FL to CA can't be that bad.

Same deal here last month. I felt like an idiot upgrading $40 for Express shipping (my order was much smaller than yours obviously). But it was really hot in Florida, hot in New York, and this was a sensitive little orchid, and I didn't trust the post.

Chances are this won't happen to you, but I will say that Express Mail lost my package. It took 10 days to get here, and I could have made a dried flower arrangement out of the plant.

Express Mail being even 1 day late gets you all of your shipping refunded because it's a guarantee. Express Mail's built-in $100 insurance reimbursed me for the plant.

Who knows what's going to happen? I'd consider how delicate or robust you plants are, what the week's weather looks like. And if you're feeling lucky with the postal service. That part just seems hit or miss.

I'd pay the extra but I'm a super-worrier by nature. Best wishes, whatever you decide.

Ecuagenera gave me a different quote for express mail, now 41 instead of 80, which sounds much more reasonable to me, so I took up the offer.

That's great. 41 is an easier pill to swallow than 80.

Well, there is an unhappy update to my recent Ebay order from Ecuagenera.

The medium is infested with tiny bush snails...

So now I have to deal with this nonsense and THANK GOD I kept the pot isolated. But now it is even further isolated & outside the apartment in the stairwell with a skylight.

Sigh.

that is awful and a good reason to avoid the middle stop in ebay-

i love that all the stuff i get from ecu is bareroot or mounted bare so i can completely avoid that issue-

since all their stuff originate in S America it means it acquired the bugs here which is disappointing to say the least- contact them and tell them

Yes, I sent them an email with images. Hopefully they get back to me soon. I hate snails, they can be a nightmare and last time it ended with just chucking the plant. How do I get snails twice in a few months from two different sellers??!

I will keep "normal" Ecuagenera in mind. You make a good poiny about bare root due to customs. That is even worth the extra $$ for shipping.

Ughhhhh why snailsssss. Whyyyyyy.

I got my Ecuagenera orders today. Plants were huge for the price. 7 plants tested negative for viruses and looks relatively clean. 1 more plant looks suspect but tested negative. I have 3 more plants, 2 with major fungal spot issues. Unfortunately, I ran out of tests, so I'll have to wait. A couple of them have black-ish bulbs that I can't tell if it's bulb rot. I'll have to look at them more carefully tomorrow. But the healthy ones are large, considering they were 25-30 each (including shipping), whereas the same sized plants from US vendors would cost 50-60, in my experience.

As an aside, I found a tiny snail shell in one of Andy's plants. I just tossed it out. I usually swap the medium anyways, so these things don't bother me much.

Got my Ecuagenera package today too. Priority mail quote was for three day, arrived in two. Both of the Myc hybrids are mature size and budding. Ignoring the ancillary charge, with 30% off, overall purchase represents a tremendous value. Starting from the left: Sharry Baby, Lc Vivi Arosemena, Stan wardii and C maxima x Schom Splendida. (cutter for scale)