Am I missing something?

[Cidermanrolls]

I thought the Very common Echinopsis listed on eBay at over £300, though a nice looking specimen, was a bit of a joke. Even more funny was that at each reposting after a non sale, the price went up, rather than down.
Last night I spotted several one to two year old seedlings of Echinocereus listed at over £100. And it says one has even been sold!
Are these listed by people who are hoping to snare a dumb buyer, or are they selling something else under the disguise of a cactus?
I appreciate that some cacti do fetch over £100, I’ve paid that myself once, but the plants on offer don’t fit the criteria needed for those prices.

[jeffers766]

I have seen the same situation, specifically an Astrophytum Myriostigma x that was originally listed at £100. It remained unsold after several re listings. Interestingly another person listed a large fine looking specimen of A. asterias superkabuto which sold for close to £100. The seller of the first Astrophytum then put the price up and re listed it at starting bid of £130.00 probably thinking he would get it though it remained unsold and eventually was removed for sale. Ebay is littered with overpriced plants that no one in there right mind would pay the asking price for especially when these plants are common place in collections. It's only when dealing with the rarer plants especially ones with age that the prices rocket. Recently I saw some Ublemania species selling for £500 + per plant. I guess in the end some people will pay extortionate amounts if they want a plant badly enough.

[Stuart]

The Echinopsis seems to be from someone outside the cactus hobby, they've had it for years and feel it must be worth a few hundred pounds. They don't even know if it's an Echinopsis or an Echinocereus even though there's a picture of the flowers.
Basically, it's worth what someone will pay for it. If you've just paid thousands for a new conservatory then a few hundred for an ornament probably isn't a problem. In the cactus hobby, a nursery would probably charge between £20 and £40 and be glad to get rid of it. There's plenty like this at ELK for about 25 euros. I think the seller is quite serious but doesn't see the plant in the same way as someone subscribing to this Forum would see it.
The £100 Echinocereus Baileyi isn't fit to sell, not even up to 'Branch Raffle Standard', I'd throw it out.

Stuart

[esp]

I am "guilty" of currently listing small plants on ebay for over £100.

For small scale sellers, ebay doesn't provide good tools to temporarily suspend multiple listings.
Basically I find it a huge faff to de-list a load of plants (e.g. for a break whilst post is chaotic over Christmas) then re-list them a few weeks later. I find it quicker to retain the original listings but (say) add £100 to all the prices. i'm not attempting to con anyone, or expecting any sales, just in effect switching off sales for a period in what seems to be a pragmatic response to how cumbersome I find ebay.

This strategy doesn't seem uncommon - I sometimes see cheap items where the price has risen overnight from (say) £5 to £999 - I assume someone is just taking a break from sales for a period, or maybe is waiting a few days to get an item back in stock, etc.

[esp]

The £100 Echinocereus Baileyi isn't fit to sell, not even up to 'Branch Raffle Standard', I'd throw it out.

I don't see that listing, but would like to emphasise that it's nothing to do with me!

[MatDz]

I am "guilty" of currently listing small plants on ebay for over £100.

For small scale sellers, ebay doesn't provide good tools to temporarily suspend multiple listings.
Basically I find it a huge faff to de-list a load of plants (e.g. for a break whilst post is chaotic over Christmas) then re-list them a few weeks later. I find it quicker to retain the original listings but (say) add £100 to all the prices. i'm not attempting to con anyone, or expecting any sales, just in effect switching off sales for a period in what seems to be a pragmatic response to how cumbersome I find ebay.

This strategy doesn't seem uncommon - I sometimes see cheap items where the price has risen overnight from (say) £5 to £999 - I assume someone is just taking a break from sales for a period, or maybe is waiting a few days to get an item back in stock, etc.

Absolutely this, and in the event someone actually buys it it's definitely worth the extra effort to source an appropriate plant last minute ( should probably go here so the intent is clear!).

[ragamala]

I am "guilty" of currently listing small plants on ebay for over £100.

I hope you are keeping yourself up-to-date on the requirements for exports these days, as obviously a professional seller!

[Cidermanrolls]

I had missed something in the case of the Echinocereus. I agree that ebay is not a very helpful system for the occasional sellers.

[Stuart]

This is the Echinocereus Baileyi,
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Echinocereus ... Swssdeciry
There's nothing wrong with having a plant in the collection that's "well past it's sell-by date". I've plants that I keep because they're memories of the people that have given them to me. This Echinocereus isn't really fit for selling though, particularly at over £100. The Edgingtons would sell a similar sized fresh looking one for about £5 at a cactus mart.

Stuart

[esp]

This Echinocereus isn't really fit for selling though, particularly at over £100.

If everyone agrees, it will remain unsold. That's the way it works. No-one is compelled to buy.

Although I agree it's a lot of cash for a 19cm tall, rather beaten-up looking plant.