TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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Anyone notice that orchid webs Nepentehs are rediculously priced? They have a so called Nepenthes burkei that looks like a plain ventricosa, a 4 inch plant, for 50 bucks! What kind of #### is that?
The market has changed for these plants, but some people have not.
I have been told that a N. bical the size of a quarter cost about $50 @ 1996. Now some places you can get a 10 cm diameter plant for $10.
Far be it for me to protect thier prices (heh) but he is the only place in MN that sells species Neps. Running a retail operation for exotic plants is far different than a private collection which sells plants on a mailorder or a wholesale basis. Though it is a website 99% of their business is walk in.
Retail prices are always higher, and for things like Neps, retail demand is far lower for seedling sized Neps than for Orchids which are full grown and flowering for the same price. It would be just as easy for him to quit selling Neps and the majority of customers would likely never miss them. Think of the higher prices as "rent" for the Nep on the greenhouse bench. Each month a plant does not sell it costs the retailer money where they could have another, better selling plant there. However, Jerry goes to SE Asia for Nep tours and is a real Nepenthes fan but as a business (who has paid employees) he can't be selling things like Neps as cheap as others due to the low volume of product which is moving in comparison to someone who specializes in Neps.
Also, remember that just a year or two ago such high prices are not uncommon at all for Neps. The rather large explosion of TC outlets/wider availability/better cultivation methods/etc is what lowered the Nep prices to what you are enjoying today. I do believe that his N. burkei are actually larger than 4" (in a 4" pot is more like it) he's had them for several years unsold to the plant collectors around here. I personally think it's a boring species like N. ventricosa and don't care if I ever own one no matter the price.
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