Did any of you see the new seller on ebay, E.F.B. Orchids Inc.? They have some really pretty looking plants, but their shipping is $29.10 per plant and then it's estimated to take 7-8 days!!!
They have a spiffy video tour of their greenhouses too....maybe the high overhead accounts for the astronomical shipping...
Shelley
new seller on ebay
Hi Shelley,
I did a search on eBay for the above vendor and no one comes up. I did a copy and paste of the name above. Are there periods after each of the initials?
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Shelley,
I found them.
They won't sell a thing, I'm guessing. $33.35 for shipping a single plant? Yeah, right!
And they have a couple of plants listed as "EFG ORCHIDS hoya buotii rare exotic collector specie" (different genus and species names, though) in the titles. Anyone that lists/uses the word "specie" in a listing is someone you want to stay away from. The word "species" is both singular and plural; the word "specie" does not exist and is not correct.
This message was edited Jul 30, 2009 12:28 PM
I actually e-mailed them and asked if those shipping costs were correct....they responded promptly, and politely, and said those were the charges and they had "no control" over them....I don't think they'll be doing a lot of selling either...a total cost of $50 and up for fairly common hoyas isn't going to work...you would think they would have done a little research as to average costs of both plants and shipping before posting on ebay....oh well, who knows....time will tell :)
Shelley
Oh for heavens sake....I just got a second e-mail from EFG Orchids, stating that he had "just started using a calculator", didn't know how that $29 figure came up, and that the actual cost would be $9.50 plus "a little extra for packing", making my actual shipping costs $12.00....I think I'll pass....
SR
Hmm... I wonder if they can edit their auction to correct the shipping charges that are posted? While the new total is still pretty high, it's not as bad as the original total that they listed to ship the plants. Yean, I'm going to pass on their stuff, too!
Mike
I was curious so I googled EFG Orchids and found this info (Not e-bay): http://www.efgorchids.com/about.htm
I noticed the address at the bottom is Deland, Fl which is about 20 minutes west of where I live in Daytona Beach. I've never heard of them before and I might just have to stop in to check them out when they open the doors to the public for the one weekend in October. When I click on "other plants" on the left of their page they don't list any Hoyas ... must sell them only on e-bay.
Whoa...and you might be able to buy a H. carnosa for 9.95!!!! I am curious. How can someone, who wants to sell his wares on ebay and - here is the catch - the goal of selling on ebay is to MAKE money - how can they blow it by charging such a huge shipping fee and then saying they hadn't used a calculator????????????????? Hello...? I would guess:"
1. They are asian and are growing what they think are good hoyas because they bought them at lowes and they are EA plants- and totally mislabeled.
2. ?
Caveat emptor!!!!
Hasn't ebay gone nuts?
I actually purchased many ground orchids from this company awhile back.
They were tiny but are doing very well...obvious that orchids IS their specialty.
I used to go directly to Ebay to purchase anything I may be looking for...plants or otherwise...I rarely do so any longer.
I feel it's become a place to take advantage of a 'bidder's addiction'...better deals and products can be found elsewhere on the internet.
I'm happy that many of the "not-so-common" are being offered on Ebay now. I can remember when I first started liking hoyas, all except the ordinary carnosas, were hard to come by. So I'm grateful for sellers like Chris Burton and Jayson and Ric and some others are putting them out there. I don't think the prices are bad except of course, when several buyers get going for the same plant. :-)
Susan in Virginia
LOL, Carol! I don't know squat about e-bay ... only tried the bidding thing one time five or six years ago and got so disappointed when at the last seconds I was outbid. Must not have been anything real important because I can't even remember what it was I was bidding for! I know lots of folks love, love, love e-bay but I'm just not one of them. My husband still buys and sells stuff once in awhile, computer and electronics related things but e-bay is not my cup o' tea.
I think EFG Orchids is probably as SRQ stated, Orchids being their specialty. They may very well be picking up EA Hoya's to re-sell and some folks will probably fall for it! I can't believe the prices listed on their website for "other plants" (other than orchids) - maybe they are rare, but I was shocked at the prices. I bought a Tacca (white bat plant) at Wal-Mart a couple of years ago, a good sized plant in a 3 gal container for $9.99 or so, and I see they are selling the same plant for $75!! My plant didn't survive very long and I haven't seen them for sale anywhere in awhile but I didn't know they were considered rare. And, Yeah ... what type of business person would use an excuse about just starting to use a calculator?!#% If they've been in business as long as their website states, they should be able to calculate with pencil and paper, calculator ... or their brain. I just don't trust someone quoting a shipping price like that, then stating they made a mistake and it would be a different amount, plus a "little extra" for packing! Packing material should be figured into the shipping charge or listed as a separate packing and handling fee.
Yes, but have you SEEN the huge greenhouse on their video?? It's massive and awesome, but when I look at it, I think "large staff."..I'm guessing they're passing along the cost of maintenance, staff, electricity, water, etc. etc....Their overhead must be considerable----I don't think ebay is the right venue for them, although you would think they would have done some research and noticed that for themselves...
I rarely buy anthing on ebay any more, preferring to buy directly from some of the very nice people on this forum :-), but it IS addicting...I think it's the feeling you get that somehow you've "won" something rather than just bought it, even though you're usually paying as much or more than you would to a merchant...and Lynn, I know what you mean about snipers....I've lost lots of things to them, and there really is no defense against it; all you can do is hope a sniper isn't interested in the same plant you are...
Anyhow, I notice they've lowered the shipping in their ads now, but it's still awfully steep for fairly common plants...
Shelley
In my humble opinion, if you want to recover the packing material and your time wrapping the plants, you should charge more for the plants!!! That's why I get boxes from stores as I hate to swallow the additional 3 and 4$ it costs me to buy fancy boxes. Time wrapping the plants is part of life - again IMHO -
Ahhh Carol---and that's why it costs less in postage to get a plant from you than it costs to get a plant from a certain greenhouse-that-shall-not-be-named that's located right here in MY SAME STATE...grrrrrr...
Thanks to you and others that make so many plants available to us at reasonable rates...
Shelley
YUP :>)
wow, I am surprised.
EFG Orchids comes to our local botanical garden sales almost every year. They are really nice guys. I can't imagine them doing anything...well...nefarious. The plants that they have brought to our sales have always been huge and well grown, and definitely not overpriced. I have bought many things from them (in person). I don't know what to say about their mail order or eBay sales, but, in person, they are totally reasonable and priced right.
That is really nice to know, GQ...
Carol
Maybe it was an honest error they made, regarding shipping charges on the website. I should think before I speak ... and I apologize for not giving the benefit of the doubt, when I don't even know of this company. I guess there are folks out there who aren't familiar with using a calculator and I am not one who should be criticizing human error, LOL ... I make lots of mistakes on a daily basis! If they've corrected the error on the website, that's a good thing.
Gothqueen: Thanks for your input. It's good to know EFG supplies nice, healthy plants! I hope to get over there during their Octoberfest weekend, when they are open to the public! I know squat about orchids but have maybe a dozen. Mine came from the clearance tables at Wal-Mart or the ones sold in the little plastic sleeves for $6.98, $9.98 and $12.98 at Home Depot. I can see how Orchids could become an addiction. I'm always googling about different plants and I've read about, and seen photo's of an Oncidium called Sharry Baby that is said to smell like chocolate!! Now I want it! ^_^
This is an orchid I potted it in a basket, then moved it to a clay pot ... still can't decide if I want to put it back in a basket or leave it be. I found scale on it this morning! First time I've noticed scale insects on an orchid. I think it's an Oncidium? When it comes to orchids I get the names mixed up but the last time I googled about orchids I think the oncidium is what this one seems to look like.
Noid from HD ...
