The ebay season begins....... ( includes ikariae/ woronowii comparisons)

[Paddy Tobin]

Well said, Maggi.

Personally, I have found contacts made through the SRGC forum have brought me many treasured snowdrops; treasured not alone for their intrinsic value but also for the added value that they came from friends.

Exchanges arranged through the forum have brought great fun and pleasure. And what do these exchanges cost me? Zero! It is always a matter of swapping some snowdrop bulbs that I have to spare for some treasure to add to my garden. And, it's amazing how the snowdrop which cost, perhaps, €30 does not seem quite as expensive or valuable when it has clumped up to five or six bulbs even. At that stage, a bulb can always be spared for a friend with no thought of cost or value; it is simply a spare bulb.

Long live free trade!

Paddy

[Brian Ellis]

Yes, sadly I am sure you are right Maggi.  I have to agree with Paddy that some of the most treasured snowdrops are those that have been given or swapped because everytime you see them you think of the kindness of the people they came from...and I am sure this forum is one of the best 'market places' for them.  It is still strange however, that people don't bother to find out where they can be bought at a more sensible price than eBay!

[art600]

A friend gave me 2 bulbs of 'Three Ships' - both have flowered.

On EBay a single bulb has just sold for £51.99 

[Maggi Young]

A friend gave me 2 bulbs of 'Three Ships' - both have flowered.

On EBay a single bulb has just sold for £51.99 

Hope your pal gets an extra special cake when they next visit for afternoon tea, Arthur..... it's what they deserve!

Brian Ellis: It is still strange however, that people don't bother to find out where they can be bought at a more sensible price than eBay!

Not really Brian... this is Ebay, after all, where Cherie Blair buys shoes ... or was it sells shoes? and you can bid on a cornflake with the face of Fidel Castro on it........ why would any of the Ebay snowdrop madness surprise you in the light of that? !! 

[art600]

EBay is not all bad, it provides a site for selling unwanted household items, unwanted presents, old collectables no longer required etc. etc.  I know someone who has recently sold things gathering dust in a cupboard and made a tidy penny or two.

When I am decluttered by my sister, prior to decorating, the unwanted items will be sold on EBay.  Any money obtained will be a bonus.   

I did sell ordinary snowdrops - reginae-olgae, peshmenii and 'Lady Beatrix Stanley' on EBay last year, and generated a tidy sum.  I did, however, send them several bulbs rather than the single bulb I advertised - I think to salve my conscience for the price I received.  It also helped to generate very positive Feedback, which is required to assure sales   

[johnw]

Hope your pal gets an extra special cake when they next visit for afternoon tea, Arthur..... it's what they deserve!

And of a fitting size.

Translation - "Three Ships Thank-You Cake"

johnw

[Maggi Young]

EBay is not all bad.....

Good grief, of course not... it's a marvelous place.... I love it!  Ian has sold old postcards and railway memorabilia ( the latter I was particularly pleased to see the back of) which has found a good new home in the USA...... we have bought all manner of stuff, from little silver flower brooches, through banjo parts to stained glass panels..... yes indeed, a marvelous place 

We are very fond of stained glass and have quite a collection, sourced from all over the country and europe and we've had a couple of pieces from Ebay. Lots of stained glass is of a religious nature and comes on to the market as churches are de-commissioned. Neither Ian nor I have a religious faith, though someone looking at out glass collection might be mistaken for thinking we were zealots......
 this is Ian's latest purchase, a case in point  about the subject matter since it depicts the crucified Christ being taken down from the cross .... it is not very large , about 40 cms wide by 52 cms high....1950s ..... very beautiful....

                   

[Maggi Young]

Oh my word, John, I did not see your post before I made mine......now THAT IS A CAKE!!!

Poor Arthur would put his back out trying to get a cake that size out of the oven!

 It would be most fitting as the Three Ships Thank You Cake though, that's for sure!

 I hope it's well cooked and that young lady isn't going to fall INTO it, as opposed to bursting out of it? 

That cake has the look of a Scottish "Black Bun" type, (as described elswhere in the Forum as the traditional New Year gift)  though decorated with Eastern imagery......perhaps the cake,  like our stained glass, has a religioussignificance?

[Gerard Oud]

I noticed that even well respected growers like Beth Chatto do sell on ebay!
At least the quality is garanteed this way a bit.

[mark smyth]

But not everyone on Ebay knows their snowdrops and/or is willing to rip people off like what happened last year to a forum member

[Brian Ellis]

Quote
Brian Ellis: It is still strange however, that people don't bother to find out where they can be bought at a more sensible price than eBay!

Not really Brian... this is Ebay, after all, where Cherie Blair buys shoes ... or was it sells shoes? and you can bid on a cornflake with the face of Fidel Castro on it........ why would any of the Ebay snowdrop madness surprise you in the light of that? !!

I don't knock eBay per se, it's the people who are interested in snowdrops and don't do their research, in the back of the Bishop et al Monograph there is a comprehensive list of sellers of snowdrops, having said that if you see one you want the Fever takes hold and you bid hundreds for one with the face of Fidel Castro

[Jo]

Ebay seems funny this year with all those ads for half someones garden being dug up and listed for 21 days, not really inviting 

[mark smyth]

He owns a huge acreage of snowdrops. I met him last year at a snowdrop event

[Jo]

So just a little corner of the garden missing then 

[Anthony Darby]

They grow like weeds in woods not far from me.