Notes About My Trusted Ebay Orchid Sellers

January 15, 2012 in Orchid Notes & Culture, Product Reviews by Masood Raja

Image representing eBay as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

Since I do not have access to an established orchid nursery or orchid store where I live, I have mostly relied on Ebay sellers to build my collection. You will be surprised to know that Ebay has a large number of orchid sellers, some of whom are avid orchid growers and/ or own and operate large orchid nurseries as well. I am only reviewing sellers with whom I have had two or more positive interactions. Before I provide brief reviews of my interactions with some of these sellers, I must list certain important things to keep in mind if you decide to buy from any Ebay sellers:

Check their customer ratings as the ratings will inform you about the quality/ quantity of plants that they have sold and also about their overall service.
Do not hesitate to contact a seller if you have any questions about their listed items.
Avoid sellers who might have a picture of the flower but not of the actual plant that they are selling. Also, check if the plant picture is taken against foot ruler/ measuring tape as it gives you a clear idea of the size of the plant.
Note if the seller provides clear description (Genre, species, size etc.) of the plant.
Also inform yourself through non-Ebay sources about the plant that you are planning to buy.
When the plants arrive, inspect them carefully and introduce them to your collection only after you are sure that they do not carry any diseases etc. that could impact your collection.

Based on my experience with several Ebay sellers, I have found the following sellers to be honest, professional, and trustworthy. This, of course, is based on my own personal experience and should in no way be construed as a motivated endorsement. I write this of my own accord and none of these sellers have either asked me or induced me in any way to write these reviews. Also, I have only included sellers with whom I have had at least two positive Ebay encounters.

mikesorchids

(Plants sold so far: 1308; Positive feedback: 100%)

My first ever orchids came from Mike. Based in Portland, OR, Mike grows only Cattleya species orchids and sells them only on Ebay. As he only sells in spring, he may not have any orchids listed yet. I have found Mike to be extremely knowledgable and generous with his time. In the early stages of my collection, I often emailed MIke about technical questions about orchids and he was always kind in answering my questions.

oorchids

(Plants sold so far: 4495; Positive feedback: 100%)

Their store on Ebay is called Treetop Orchids. I think they are based in Pennsylvania. The quality of their plants and seedlings indicates that they are highly professional orchid growers who primarily sell on Ebay. I have bought about four plants from them, mostly seedlings, and all those plants are healthy and growing nicely.

budsandexotics

(Plants sold so far: 992; Positive feedback: 100%)

I have bought two beautiful plants from this seller. Based in Florida, budsandexotics seems to specialize in large size plants and you can get a nicely grown flowering size plant for a real good price. Make sure to get the plants shipped through USPS as I have had problems when the plants were shipped by UPS.

eauchiche

(Plants sold so far: 874; Positive feedback: 100%)

Based in California, eauchiche sometimes sells species orchids. I have so far bought two beautiful flowering size plants from him and one of them, C. percivaliana, was actually the first plant to bloom in my greenhouse. I will certainly be visiting eauchiche‘s Ebay store in the spring for some more plants.

As I said above, these are some of the sellers that I have bought multiple plants from. I will add more to this list as my interactions with other sellers reaches the two-plant threshold.