e bay a. slack

[uphwiz]

anyone else see the adrian slack go for 200. + yesterday , wowee hope some one got it that can keep it well. i stopped bidding at 35.00 guess im a bit tight, knew it would go for a bunch but I had tot try

 

[Not a Number]

That's cheap for what I've seen them go for, but then these were from sellers like Bob Hanrahan from whom 'Adrian Slack' originated from.

 

[uphwiz]

kinda what i thought too , but got to save up for Alaskan cruise in sept. bout 10 weeks to go .

 

[lance]

yep... thats ebay for ya. Things are usually sold for WAY more then their worth because all someone did was right up a few paragraphs of why they are rare or special. That adrian slack isn't too expensive for its kind but I've seen flowering sized clones go for 70 bucks. A recent listing in the Nepenthes section was a pack of extensive Aristo hybrids (vent X aristo X talang) that went into the hundreds of dollars. The funny thing is that all the plants looked exactly the same which means they were most likely cloned from the same seedling.

 

[Tony C]

I had my max at $100, the last one listed went for $460.

 

[RL7836]

yep... thats ebay for ya. Things are usually sold for WAY more then their worth because all someone did was right up a few paragraphs of why they are rare or special.

While I won't argue that there can be some truth in your statement, in general I feel it's overly simplistic & there are often more dynamics in play. From an outsider perspective, I enjoy looking at the auctions & the trends.

- since eBay reaches a large number of people, it often is a good reflection of pure supply & demand. Several years ago, Charles Lyon started to sell dews from the Petiolaris complex on eBay. For a while several of the species reached crazy-high prices but over time, as he kept supplying the market, the prices kept falling until some of the dews were available for only a few dollars. Many will also remember the prices large Cephalotus clones reached just a few years back. Then there's the mature eddy a year or two ago ..... most of these are real-life examples of classic supply-demand relationships.
- mixed in with supply-demand are other human-nature traits - like the frenzy that often grabs people in the throes of an auction. Ebay often gives us great views into that process as we watch a few bidders go crazy. On a larger scale, these traits of human nature also helped create a 'blow-off-top' to housing prices a few years ago as buyers frantically bid housing prices up far beyond anything remotely sustainable as they felt they were 'missing out' (yes there were obviously other dynamics involved in that debacle but this trait was a big driver). My neighbor purchased his house within a few weeks of the absolute market top and paid far more than the house was worth (possibly double). Of course his mistake was quite obvious and he's been listing his house every few months since he bought it. In addition, he can't make his payments, never understood his loan conditions, etc, etc, etc.
- put these concepts together (& probably a few others) and you almost get a spectator sport -- as well as real-life demonstrations of economic principles

 

[Smitty]

.....A recent listing in the Nepenthes section was a pack of extensive Aristo hybrids (vent X aristo X talang) that went into the hundreds of dollars. The funny thing is that all the plants looked exactly the same which means they were most likely cloned from the same seedling.

How can a tray full of seed grown plants be "most likely" cloned from the same seedling? Makes no sense to me. If you looked at the pics closer, you would see the seller shown multiple pictures of the various plants with obvious differences in pitcher morphology. Some pitchers were more slender, others had a more pronounced flare in the peristome and were more squat.

 

[Whimgrinder]

Thank you, Ron, for that very thoughtful, insightful post. You've summed up the eBay dynamic nicely, and accurately.

That said, you can usually find any of these "rare" plants from other sources if you are willing to do a bit of diligent sleuthing; most can be had for significantly less money than "the frenzied few" seem willing to pay. Case in point, I bought my S. 'Adrian Slack' from a well-known private seller for $100, shipping included. And yes, it is the correct plant. At a time when Cephalotus were selling on eBay for hundreds of dollars, I was able to purchase plants with 1.5" tall traps, in 2.5" pots for $25 each, again, from a private seller who produces hundreds of plants. I got on a waiting list for a US grown plant of N. macrophylla months ago, and was able to obtain a 4" diameter plant with 2" pitchers for a very reasonable price; it was all about my willingness to wait. Needless to say, I am on several waiting lists for some of the more desirable plants extant. In some cases I have been waiting for close to a year, and I may wait as much as a year more. I can work with that.

You can certainly find some of the more desirable plants on eBay, but you are unlikely to obtain them for reasonable, rational prices. For that, you need to search further afield and some patience.

 

[Whimgrinder]

. A recent listing in the Nepenthes section was a pack of extensive Aristo hybrids (vent X aristo X talang) that went into the hundreds of dollars. The funny thing is that all the plants looked exactly the same which means they were most likely cloned from the same seedling.

Actually,if you inspected the photos closely there was some obvious variation between the seedlings; pitcher morphology was distinct in each individual. Nepenthes are unique, however, in the fact that there is generally very little variation between individuals in a group of hybrids, especially in primary crosses; most seedlings seem to land smack dab in the middle ground, displaying a 50/50 ratio of characteristics of both parents. The multi-species hybrids tend to show greater variation, which isn't surprising.

While I do believe there is significantly greater risk of acquiring fraudulent merchandise on eBay, I don't think this item was fraudulent in any way.

 

[lance]

After looking at some photos of the plants online I did notice some variation, although it took a while to start to notice. It must be a really stable blend of complex hybrids.
On another note does anyone know who got those supposed N. Edwardsiana seeds that went for more then 500$ several years ago? I'd like to know what they turned out to be. . .