I got the wrong plant - Orchid Board

fotofashion · #1 06-09-2011, 09:52 PM

For now the vendor will remain unnamed. I won an auction on eBay for a C. Marcia Foster 'Dixie". Large plant in bud which arrived in good condition with two nice buds. However, when they opened, it was quite evident that this was not the plant I had hoped to receive. I contacted the vendor and he was quite puzzled that the plant was not as advertised as he had bought it from a reputable grower. The vendor next sent me what seemed to be the entire content of his picture collection to see if this plant was like any he had pictures of. Only problem was that included in the pictures were two of what I call porn. (Women naked from the waist up).
Anyway my dilemma is that I really want the plant I paid for but it appears he doesn't have it anymore or doesn't know which one it is. He wants me to send the plant back to him.
Here is one of his replies:
" Do you want the plant at all? It would cost me about $12 for you to ship it back to me via Fedex, plus the hassle you'd have to go through with packing it etc. So if you want it, I would be happy to give you a partial refund of $12 on it. So for $19 that would be a pretty nice plant. Let me know what you think. And I apologize for the mix up. I only was going by what the tag said."
I really don't want the hassle or the responsibility of packing the plant to send. I guess part of my unhappiness with this stems from an experience I had with Kawamoto Orchids. They sent me a Bulbo. medusae that I was unhappy with (it really looked beat up). When I contacted them they instantly sent me a refund, did not ask for the plant to be sent back and would have sent me a replacement if they had had one.
Suggestions? Similar experiences and what you did to resolve the problem? Thanks
Beverly A.

Daethen · #2 06-09-2011, 10:00 PM

Any time I have had a bad or incorrect plant I have been refunded or given a new plant and been able to keep the old one. Kawamoto sent me a bulbo. medusae and I felt it looked a bit yellow and unhealthy, but they didn't refund me, they just told me it was because it was growing in really high light.

littlefrog · #3 06-09-2011, 10:47 PM

Probably depends on the scale of the grower. If he has thousands of plants, no big deal to replace or refund. A hobby grower with more attachment to each plant might have a problem. You never know who you have on Ebay. In fact, you might have somebody who doesn't grow orchids at all, there are a bunch of those.

I'm kind of in the middle in terms of size. What I would have done is shipped a replacement, or given a full refund in most cases. In a case where I'm not entirely sure about the purchaser (there are a few questionable apples out there, and sometimes I _know_ i didn't make a mistake), I might ask them to send the plant back. Might have done that twice in the last 20 years...

RJSquirrel · #4 06-10-2011, 05:01 AM

the 2 times I've had troubles, they never asked for the plant back. They just sent me another one. In fact sent me a replacement and a gift plant. But of course these people weren't cheeseballs off ebay trying to make a fast buck either. The idea of "send the plant back" is just to keep you from doing that bec of the cost associated with it. IMHO You pretty much going to have to keep and remember who it was you got it from and delete them from your list of sellers. Also remember to state that fact in your reviews. Ebay has a problem with people making negative comments about vendors too it seems. Im going to get off the ebay wagon now..you all know this already.

Eyebabe · #5 06-10-2011, 08:51 AM

It is really easy to ship a plant back!
Do not let that intimidate you

You can make it easy on yourself and go to a UPS Store where they have a back room with peanuts that come out of a hose. Get your box and bring some news paper. Use the tape they have to kind of tape the media roughly around the pot. Lay the plant down sideways and roll it up in the newspaper then tape the newspaper closed. Put in the box with the peanuts and tape closed. The plant will be fine! I was a wreck the first time I did it but believe me no worries!

Now for the money aspect. I have returned plants I did not want because of being virus positive and am usually refunded the plant minus the shipping. I find this irritating but understandable since I am a freak and test the plants and return seemingly perfect healthy plants to vendors

However, if the whole thing was a cluster, I would expect not only a refund of my initial cost, but also for the return shipping. Anything less is just unprofessional imo.
I would recommend you TELL the vendor what you expect and give him the opportunity to offer something else (ie...just keep the plant) Do him the courtesy of sending a pic of the bloom that is evidently NOT the correct plant. If you make it clear that you assume it's his dime being spent, he should have the option of choosing you to ship the plant back or not. It sounds like he is willing to accept the cost to me and his offer to you is fair. You have to just tell him one way or another.

As far as your hassle, anytime we purchase something and there is a problem you have a hassle! If something breaks we have to pack it in the car and drive to the store to return it... nes pa? So you do it because that is life. Sure he could offer you something more for your trouble; but that doesn't always happen. I have it happen so infrequently I no longer get my bloodpressure up over it

As far as I see it, you have a learning experience opportunity of how to pack up a plant

Gin · #6 06-10-2011, 03:53 PM

I got one a couple of years ago a species Catt. in bud it opened and no where near the right one
I did ID it already had one like it, was easy to do . Took pictures of it sent them , seller sent the right one (maybe).
A sad scrap aka junk, ended up in orchid heaven you can bet there is a note in my e-bay about them ..I don't buy e-bay a lot ,very little, would rather buy from a good nursery ..

zxyqu · #7 06-10-2011, 04:48 PM

eBay vendors are especially sensitive to any potential for negative feedback, especially if they have 100%, and yours would change that. But agreeing with what others have said, dont be intimidated, and get what you want. If you dont want the plant, and they can't send you another, get a full refund and send the other plant back if they want. I would imagine the seller would be more prone to not force you to pay the $12 bucks for shipping, and let you keep the plant, but who knows.
You're the customer, get what you paid for, or get your money back. Good Luck!

fotofashion · #8 06-10-2011, 07:38 PM

I have bought from this vendor several times and this is the first time I have had such a problem with him. He acknowledges that the plant is not the one I paid for as I did send him a picture of the bloom. He is saying that the grower he got it from mislabeled it evidently. The week after I won my auction he put the same kind of plant up for auction again so he had more than one. He is selling these larger plants to make room in his GH (he says).
I am now thinking he should take this up with the grower and that the grower should reimburse me either with a refund or with the plant I bought.
I don't think he is a fly-by-night "ordinary" eBay seller. But it sounds like he is trying to pinch pennies at my expense. UPS is something like 20 miles away and fedex, I don't know.
Well, I'm going to tell him what I said in the second paragraph above and see how he reacts.
Thanks for your comments.
Beverly A.

flhiker · #9 06-10-2011, 11:45 PM

If you send the plant back you will be out 12 bucks plus the original shipping fee, and the time and effort to send it back, with nothing to show for it, even if you get a refund for the purchase price. It's really a no win situation for you. I would keep the plant and remember that the next time I'm looking on ebay for orchids. Besides it may prove to be one of your best plants. Good luck.

Daethen · #10 06-10-2011, 11:51 PM

At least it came into bloom right away and it wasn't a year or so later when you found out.