Is selling plants on eBay legal for a home gardener?

I have been thinking of subscribing to DG for sometime, and this question was the determining factor. Hopefully someone can answer.

I just listed a number of plants on eBay, making sure not to infringe on any plant patent laws, and noting that I do not ship plants out of the Continental US or to California, Oregon, or Washington state, and asking people from those states or any others that ban the plants or plant shipments not to bid. None of the plants listed were noxious weeds in any state.

I received this message from a lady: "Do you have a nursery license in your state to ship these plants out of state in accordance with the plant movement rules in the U.S. These plants are not banned in Washington, Oregon, or California." I told her "the plants themselves are not banned in these states, but the states require special permits for plant shipments." I don't know all of the technicalities, but I do know that these states are stricter than most others.

She replied back "hmmm.....I've never heard of that if you have a license. I know there are 13 states that have quarantines, but I'm not familiar with the special permits. Do you have a nursery license? Maybe I could have them shipped to someone in a different state? Are you able to legally ship them out of your state?" I responded that like many others selling plants on eBay, I am a home gardener, and to my knowledge, there is no prohibition on eBay regarding this. As far as licensed nurseries shipping plants to these states, not all can or do, and I gave her a link to one who states such.

Her email back almost seemed like a warning: "Here is the website that explains it all. http://nationalplantboard.org/laws/index.html Good luck with your other auctions on eBay. There are mystery shoppers. The fine is $1,000 + ....."

Right after the last email, I got questions on a couple of my plants asking if I had any more for sale than were listed. Now I am really paranoid. I have seen others sell plants on eBay as well as trading here. I have shipped plants (through here) for postage before. How is it legal to trade plants but not sell them if it is the transportation that is the issue? Is it legal or not? I don't want to break the law, and will end the auctions immediately if it is a problem, but at the same time, I don't want to be bullied out of selling them. Are there really mystery shoppers and fines? If anyone knows, if they could help me out right away, I'd GREATLY appreciate it.

Thanks,
Gabrielle

First off, Welcome To Dave's Garden!

I don't have the answers to your questions, but hopefully someone will.

Did you get this email through ebay's email system? If so, did you look a their feedback and items bought and sold? Perhaps this is someone trying to scare you off so his/her plants sell better?

If it was me, I'd be tempted to contact ebay directly and ask them these questions.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Joan

Gabrielle,

You have a Dmail.

:-) KM

Thanks for the welcome!

I checked her listings and feedback first thing. She has an eBay business that has nothing to do with plants or gardening. Also a lot of feedback, almost all positive, and of what I checked, she had not bought or sold anything related to plants. That's what is really baffling. I know that gardeners have other lives, but where does she get all of her knowledge if that is not her field?! Is she a "mystery shopper" and giving me warning before she reports me? I looked at the link she sent and it is very confusing. What I got from it, if you send a plant at all, you have to be licensed and fully disclose it. If you aren't, your plant stock is considered contaminated. Surely that couldn't be right or most of us would be breaking the law!

When listing things on eBay that could potentially be illegal, they post a warning before you continue. With seeds and plants the warning is germination testing and date info. Nothing about plant stock. I did searches there about shipping plants, and found nothing. In the eBay forums I saw that someone else had asked the same question a few days ago, but no answer. I contacted her to see if she found anything out, but have not heard from her yet.

If it is illegal to ship plants, and there are "mystery shoppers" to catch it, are there "mystery traders," too? I love plant propagation and sharing, and hate to think of that being illegal. Is there no such thing as a harmless, legal hobby?!

Smiles,
Gabrielle

I can't wait for you to get a final answer on this. I've bought lots of plants off of ebay, most from home growers. I've never heard about all this hoopla. Why does she care anyway. I'd contact ebay directly. And also let them know who was giving you this info., if it turns out to be incorrect. Plese post your results here too. I'm so curious now.
good luck,
Catherine

I too have bought plants from ebay from hoem gardeners. Never heard of such a thing. Gettign reayd here soon to put a few of my own plants up. Wonder if somebody just tryign to mes s with you. Wonder if they have friend sellign same plant as you on ebay and they hoping yours don't sell.

You have hundreds of folks on ebay selign plants all the toime and not all of them in fact most are just hobbiest and home gardeners like you.

I would also be careful sinc e this person mentioned money and fines. They may come back aroudn and try and say you have to pay fine. Do not pay it. Don't volunteer any info either. If it is for real , you wil have somebody with proper id and credentials and official paperwork sho up at yoru house not send you emails.

Hello,

Just a little update. I got an answer from the person (it was a he not a she) who had posted on eBay forums. He's an avid gardener who's opening a nursery, and in the process of being certified. He did get an email about fines, etc! He said he no longer ships to CA, WA, or OR because of their restrictions, but that his state Dept. of Ag. told him if he did, he would just have his plants confiscated if they are nabbed at the post office. I emailed him back to find out if it was the same person who contacted both of us.

I'll let you know if I find anything else out. I think starlight is right; it is some sort of scam or something, but I wonder what.

Smiles,
Gabrielle

If he is getting his nursery license then he would be told of all the rules and fines and restrictions. Nursery people have to be state inspected usually once or twice a year. All their plants are inspected, the pots are tipped out and roots are checke d for nematodes and plants are throughly checked for any type of bugs or diseases. If his place passes insection then he wil get the state stickers to put on his boxes .

There are some states and you already know them it looks like that you can't send plants too. Not too long ago there was Dg who was lookign for trade of plants. Unfortunately she was in a state that plants can't be shipped too. She ended up trading for seeds cuz they would have taken her trade at the state line.

if I remember right Ebay just says for you if you selling plants, but especially trees and shrubs to make sure of your state's practices and that it it is your responsibilies if you send stuff that not permitted from state to state.

I know if I lookign for plants I buy from the home gardener. When they get here the first thign they do is get a chlorine bath and fungicide treatment. If I am buying trees or shrubs, I make sure that they are a licnsed nursery, because their a lot of gardeners out there that don't dip or treat any of their stuf f or have it inspected and the possibility of having nemetadoes transfered or some of the other highly pathenogenic fungi transferred to your garden is great.

Starlight, I know this is off of the original topic, but could you tell me about the chlorine bath. My plants are clean and healthy, and most will be sent bareroot, but I don't want to risk sending anything bad. I had thought about a chlorine bath, as I have heard of it for iris, but didn't know if it was safe for other plants. Can you give me the "recipe" and tips. Thanks!

I am very interested in the outcome here also. I was thinking about selling on ebay at some point.

Brenda

I dip everything. bulbs, rhizomes, plants , shrubs. First I wash all the old dirt and crude off . For stuff that has alot of tangles of roots. I get a oen gallon bucket and put some antibacterial dish soap in it and then kinda swish and plunge up and down the roots to loosen and get crude out from in between. Then I rinse with clean water. Then I I get another a one gallon bucket and use a about 1/8th cup of bleach. It doesn't take but a littl bit. I use cold water and just dip the roots in the bath for about 20 seconds. It not not a long bath, but it is enough to help kill some fungi and other pathogens. Then make sure you rinse good again. it a pain to go through all thes e steps, but it well worth it becaus e then you not sending anything that mayeb microscopic from your garden to somebody elses.

Thn depending on what I sending. I either send it bareroot. or a get baggy and fil with either some clean sterile pottign soil or peatmoss. I use tie twistys and leave it losse so the roots cna breath, but it leave s enough moisture in their to keep roots from dryign out to much and dying.

LOL.. I gues s you could say I have this fobia for bacteria , fungi and viruses. But if you have seen the stuf f I have in the pathology labs, you'd make sure your stock and anythign you got wa s cleaned.

Most of the time doesn't come from plants you have grown in pots in clean sterile dirt, the biggest problem that causes diseases roudn the country and world is from stuf f being just dug straight of the garden and ploppe d in a box and shipped. This is why there so many regulations.

Sure the inspectors and all the rules are a pain, but they are actually doign you a great service. They may seem the bad guys at times , but they wil gladly work with you and help you anyway they can to make sure your plants and thos e you ship stay healthy.

Anothe r big way diseases get passe d is through seed. You'd be amazed at how much is transferred. When every I get seed in, I even giv e them either a quick hydrogen peroxide bath or a chlorine one. Just depends on the type of seed. Only takes a minute or two and you have nice sterile seed s to start with and better chances of havign nice healthy plants. Especially seed s with grooves, lots of stuff hides in them tiny grooves. I don't do the seed baths with seed from companies, just one s from hom gardens. If i not sure then they get dipped. Better to be safe than sorry.