CP items 'trustworthiness' on eBay?

[Rokosauros]

Ok first! I've never bought anything from eBay before (i know, right?!)

And straight to the point, I could never get myself motivated or encouraged to get any plants from eBay. Especially seeds. I always see many different types of seeds from almost all the species of CPs listed on eBay, yet I know some of them aren't what they are based on several people's experience in the forums.

Can I trust the 100% positive feedback about the seller? Any tips and advice on how to actually buy stuff from trustworthy people on eBay? I'd really really appreciate all help and advice. Also, I apologize on such a newbie question

 

[Av8tor1]

Most of the time, but you need to look at other variables...

Has the person been a member of ebay for a long time?

Has the person recently changed their name?

Has the positive feedback been accumulated over a long time or is it all recent?

Has the feedback been submitted buy a few members who themselves have low feeback numbers?

Does the deal seem too good to be true?

 

[Not a Number]

As long as individuals or commercial entities are not specifically discussed I suppose this discussion.

In general sellers can be "trustworthy" if:

1) They are known entities to the CP community. Either the actively participate in forums or have been growing plants and/or operating a commercial nursery for many years or have published books or in journals.
2) Willing to respect International laws as well as the laws of your country. If someone is willing to ship stuff without required permits odds are they are willing to collect seed in their own or other countries without required permits.

Otherwise it can be a crapshoot. Are the seeds viable? Are they the species/hybrid or even genus they are supposed to be? Feedback can be of little use because many of the buyers may not be experienced CP growers, or even grow the seeds themselves (resell them).

 

[RL7836]

Av & NaN covered the bases well.

Seeds are the toughest to purchase because:
- the buyer won't know for a period of time if 1) they are viable & 2) are the species that was described in the ad. In some cases, it may be years before the purchaser realizes their N. edwardsiana is actually a crappy lowland mutt.
- it's very easy for anyone to take old seed & sell it as new
- many seeds are difficult to germinate so lack of germination may be operator error on the purchaser's end as well as issues on the seller's side (so it's hard to know who is at fault)
- by the time the purchaser finds out they were sold worthless seeds, most of the buyer-protection plans (Paypal, etc) have expired.

I do get a chuckle on a regular basis when someone posts about the great deal they got on some ebay seeds. Most of it never germinates & the stuff that does is usually misidentified or hybrid or some super-common weed ...

 

[rattler]

havent bought seeds, have bought a number of plants.....with plants along with the general stuff posted above i wont buy unless they show a picture of the actual plant for sale....while i havent been burned the auctions that just show a pic of the parent plant bug me.....

 

[RSS]

I've never bought any seeds off e-bay, but have purchased a few CPs and a ton of orchids. Overall I've had better experiences with E-bay than online nurseries. The main thing is to pay with Paypal and dispute any problems. With Paypal's plant policies (if its a plant or plant type item, buyer wins end of story) there is not reason not to give it a go. Although with seeds by the time you found out there was a problem it would be too late.

An easy way to feel out a seller is simply to ask a question or two. If you get a Yes or No, I'd move on. The good sellers will take a minute and send a proper answer. With Ceph's (Hummers and the like ) and other plants you would need lab tests to verify I always ask for a plant trail. Where and when did you get it, do you know the prior growers, how was it imported, etc. The questionable sellers are easier to sort out that way.

I've sold a bit under a thousand plants on E-bay and have been asked some really stupid questions (and yes there is such a thing ), but have always send a reply alot of times with a link and "maybe this species is not for you".

Word of mouth is great too, alot of the hobby orchid seller buy and sell from each other. So feedback from one seller to another is a good source of infomation.

 

[dionae]

I've bought a lot of CP seeds, mostly sarracenia and dionaea, from ebay sellers. I try to buy from sellers who are either members on some of the forums or can send me links or pics of their plants or have a good rep. I try and stay away from the "jack of all trades" seed sellers...those that have CP seeds and thousands of other seeds. There are also listings that never seem to go away that I stay away from.

 

[Rokosauros]

Thank you all for the input and advice. Armed with what knowledge I have gleaned from all of you, I might just buy a pod of seeds off ebay soon!

But to more serious stuff. I'm not really planning to become an avid buyer of nepenthes seeds on ebay. Most of them are offered by people mainly from Thailand, Indonesia and neighbouring countries near Malaysia. While what they offer may seem tempting, almost hard to believe, indirectly, I am concerned about the AMOUNT of seeds poached and collected from the wild. This especially applies to the rare and endangered species.

Now that I have voiced out my opinion, do any of you have any recommendations of who can be trusted online in ebay? Anybody whom you have bought from before and are certain that what they sell are true or at the very least, viable seeds. I'm but a student, I use my savings to get most of my nepenthes and stuff so forgive me for being rather cautious in getting seeds. For USD10, I can get a medium size N xCoccinea which looks good and provides results immediately (to my parents so it's kinda hard to convince my parents about seeds and tiny nepenthes babies for USD10. They'd rather I get the full grown plant than seeds and if I make a mistake about buying from ebay, well lets just say the consequences are imaginable, right? I'm sure some of you here are parents

 

[Whimgrinder]

If you are looking to buy Nepenthes seed specifically, there is only one merchant to consider: albermarlsounds. There have been many complaints about other sellers, supplying seed that never germinates. I can personally verify that seed from albermarlsounds is viable. I have a potful of N. bongso to prove it!

 

[RL7836]

While the ethics & ramifications of purchasing wild-collected seed are best left to other threads ...

If you are looking to buy Nepenthes seed specifically, there is only one merchant to consider: albermarlsounds. There have been many complaints about other sellers, supplying seed that never germinates. I can personally verify that seed from albermarlsounds is viable. I have a potful of N. bongso to prove it!

While the viability is proven, I suspect that confirmation of species ID is a ways off ...

Several ebay sellers substitute common lowland seed for uncommon or rare highland species seed.