Got a grand to spare???

[Tina]

Julie

if you could find them for that price I'd have two, yes that is probably overpriced , definitely out of my price range but then again it's a huge plant & they don't grow fast & they are rare as they don't occur very often .

No one is ever forced to pay ebay prices so I suppose we shall have to wait & see if there is a lottery winner who also collects cactus :~)).

[Vic]

Yes Julie as Tina says they're very rare, a much smaller plant sold for ?331 a couple of weeks ago - the same seller, he also sold an Ariocarpus crest for ?908, they must be many years old. People are obviously prepared to pay high prices for unique much sought after cacti.

[wadey]

hi all,
just read this lot with interest..i wonder if the same comment's would apply in the world of orchid collecting..i have a friend who collect's orchid's and would think nothing of paying ?500+ for a rare plant if she felt she had to have it..there have been many comment's on this forum about e-bay price's but i guess it's a question of supply and demand really..if the person has the money and want's to pay top dollar for the plant then that's up to them..the loph crest is a very old plant and combined with the rare tag it carries then the ?999 starting bid could seem like madness to some folk and a mere pittance to other's..i personally would not pay that before anybody gets the hump and i am not defending the seller either,i just wonder how many of us in this merry group either sell/know somebody that sell's on e-bay would say to a potential buyer" by the way matey i am ripping you off"...a number come's to mind!! it's less than 1% put bluntly and the 1% who would declare pang's of guilt would be cactus collecting trappist monks!! live and let i say..
cheers all....happy e-baying..
dave..

[David_L]

Hi

On buying plants through Ebay it's all a matter of knowing what you are willing to pay. For those of us who have trouble getting around to more than a few local nurseries and certainly couldn't get to continental nurseries, it's a boon. It's possible to pay too much if you get carried away, but bargains can be had, and never forget the cost of postage. I always think : 1. Could I get this at my local nursery? 2. How much would I be willing to pay if they had it at my local nursery? That helps me to decide if I'm paying too much. There are some cracking plants available on Ebay. Plantlife and Chiltern Hills nurseries have had some good stuff on Ebay this season, and a visit to either would have been quite difficut for me.

[Phil_SK]

Even if there are no nurseries near you, most do mail order - the plants are cheaper and often the postage is too.

[David_L]

Hi

True, and I do use conventional mail order. The charm, (some might say fatal attraction!) of Ebay is that you can see a photo of the actual plant you are going to get. You can't replicate that experience with a photocopied plant list, however enticing, nor can most nursery's websites. Also Ebay tends to sell larger specimens and slightly rarer and more desirable species; when comparing prices you have to factor that in.

[Bill]

I think Dave & David have it about right. I suffer the same problem Dave, no nurseries localy and I do like to see what I am buying.

At the end of the day the prices stuff sell for on Ebay have little to do the sellers, it's a combination of supply and demand and people's foolishness. If you buy a common plant for mega bucks just because it's described as rare, more fool you for not doing your research, people just get carried away. Me I'll look round see what the plant is worth, fix a price I am willing to pay for it and stick to it, bargains can be hand on Ebay, particularly if you spot the misnamed plants.

Given the prices other stuff sells for I am not that this plant is that over valued, it's a magnificent speciman maybe 10-20yrs old, been carefully tended.

And at the end of the day it's all relative, I was showing a friend some of my plants the other day and she asked what sort of price a particular Haworthia would cost, when, I said about ?30.00, she nearly died at the thought that some one would pay that much for a plant, I couldn't bring myself to point out that that's a modest price.

[Tina]

Hi all
Must admit I sell on ebay sometimes and some people have been getting quite large clumps of plants for their money & I'm sure/hope they aren't disappointed.
After a talk by Stirling Baker with lots of very nice plants to oggle my big clumps are going to be replaced by more choice & hopefully smaller plants.

[Bill]

Hi Tina

I think I have to agree that big is not always best, sometimes I see big clumps and think impressive yes, but attractive.......... not always.

[wadey]

hi all,
i am glad to see that one of our own has admitted to selling on e-bay,good on you for that tina..i dont personally sell myself but if you have plants that are surplus then why not sell on there..its funny but sometimes collectors of the rare stuff get the spelling wrong on e-bay and you can grab yourself a real bargain by looking on the fat fingers link..i got myself a nice choice gasteraloe "Thi as" for less than ?2 so cannot be bad..life's too short for harping on about the moral's of selling at inflated prices and the old saying about a fool and his/her money are very apt...
night all.
dave..