eBay offers

[Ant-k]

As a collector on his second tentative steps into the world of galanthus the prices on some of the newer varieties on eBay  is staggering!
Mother goose already £255 +
Treasure island £124 and counting
Bumblebee £181 +
Golden Fleece £62 at the moment ++++++
Phil Cornish being sold for £123 after earlier in the year being offered for £70!

Last 2 seasons I have tried to buy a green tear but still fetching £140+

[Alan_b]

You will generally pay more on eBay than if you buy in person from that same vendor.  It's not unheard of for somebody to go to a snowdrop sale, put what they bought on eBay soon afterwards and make a profit.

[RichardW]

Im sure many are happy buying on ebay but I wouldn't and always suggest anyone wanting to start a collection avoid it, as Alan says prices are usually inflated compared to going direct to specialist nurseries.

Prices fall quite quickly as new varieties supersede, some green tip/outer drops I was seeing for £30+ a few years ago are now at sales for £10. I always find there are plenty of very nice & very affordable plants available so never been tempted to part with £100's.

[Brian Ellis]

Now then Anthony, see how sensible you were to succumb and buy 'Richard Blakeway-Phillips', you bought it in flower so you know what you got, you bought it from a reputable seller (although he does also sell on eBay so they are not all bad), and it did not have the shock of being uprooted, wrapped and sent through the post - perhaps with some delay and then having to be re-potted on arrival with possible damage to the delicate root system.  Wasn't it worth it!  Then of course we won't mention all those you bought at the Hardy Plant Study Day. 

The trouble with ebay (for buyers) is that the uninitiated bid the price up and up instead of holding fire and putting their top bid in at the last minute (if it is not already surpassed).  I wonder how many get the fever and pay more than they had to just because they must have it

[johnstephen29]

Have you succumbed to that Brian?

[chasw]

And not everyone seems to get the drop that they are bidding on............................................sadly

[Blonde Ingrid]

Have you succumbed to that Brian?

Brian may well be on a big wooden ship, on his way to Colchis, with a bag of teeth 

[ian mcdonald]

I can,t see what makes any bulb worth more than £1.

[Maggi Young]

I can,t see what makes any bulb worth more than £1.

Seems you've got more than just a Scottish name, Ian 

I'll give you a couple of clues, though ( and this from a Scotswoman, mind!) - while some bulbs do increase well vegetatively, if we all relied on only those for our gardens those gardens would all be the same and rather dull - and even for those which do increase well,  someone still has to take the time and trouble to grow 'em and distribute them. 
As for all the other bulbs, the ones  that  are reluctant to increase  vegetatively or the ones which only come from seed - then they take a lot more time and trouble - some bulbs will take seven years - or more- to get flowering size ( I'm not just speaking snowdrops here, of course) and I think the labourer is worthy of his hire - and less than  £1 per bulb doesn't really hack it!

And yes, I realise you were probably just  joking, but I'm having a "literal" day ......

[Alan_b]

Nurserymen have to earn a living and I don't begrudge them their high snowdrop prices if that is what people are willing to pay.  However, there is a mania for snowdrops at present which is pushing prices far beyond sensible levels.  See this one for example: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Galanthus-plicatus-Golden-Fleece-snowdrop-/141578093841?pb=14&&autorefresh=true

[Brian Ellis]

Have you succumbed to that Brian?

Thankfully not, I would only buy from eBay now if they are bulbs from someone I know and a fixed price.

[Tim Ingram]

I suppose you can question the value of a lots of things if you are not interested in them or don't view them as investments or a way of making a living. It doesn't seem such a bad idea to value the natural world a little more by learning more about it and plants are a pretty important part of this - I'm with Maggi on this, snowdrops are quite slow to increase and rather beautiful. There is always the famous lawyer's saying caveat emptor.

[Richard Williams]

£420 with 4 days to go, methinks this is going to break some kind of record and/or someone's bank account.
There are occasional not so much bargains but good value for money plants on e-bay. Best deal this year was Cedric's prolific directly from the Beth Chatto gardens working out at around £5.oo per bulb on buy it now and when they arrived there was double the stated quantity. Made me very happy and brought a bit of balance to the crazy prices some go for.

[johnralphcarpenter]

£420 with 4 days to go, methinks this is going to break some kind of record and/or someone's bank account.

Are they all mad?

[emma T]

Yes

I expect it will get chipped by who ever buys it come dormant season