Pleione autumn 2009

[Hristo]

Mark,
2 months of bidding last winter and I only won one auction for some pinkish clones of 'Shantung'.
9 bulbils for £7.00! They were large bulbils and have performed well this season.
Most of the guys selling are enthusiasts, some are small online nurseries. The problem is I think ( from wanting a bargain point of view ) that those bidding are not always aware that the clones they are bidding on are available in the trade. Currently a raft of clones are selling for substantially more than the retail prices from Maren Talbot, Bob Potterton, Edrom etc etc.
The more unusual clones generally represent the better value, i.e.. those that cost £20 or up from a catalogue!
eBay can be a good source of pleione cultivars but you need to have some idea of commerial availability and pricing if you want to avoid going a bid or two too far!
If nothing else the pursuit of a bargain is a harmless and cheap pastime, it's the winning bit that costs!

[mark smyth]

Thanks. This is very similat to people buying ordinary snowdrops on Ebay for 3 or 4 times their value elsewhere

[Eric Locke]

Thanks. This is very similat to people buying ordinary snowdrops on Ebay for 3 or 4 times their value elsewhere

Prices of Pleione on ebay have gone down a great deal over the past couple of years ,while the prices of Galanthus increase every year .
 I have sold many on both.
Last year purchased a pot of Galanthus (3 bulbs) at a show for £3 and sold the following week on ebay for £130.
This would never be possible with Pleione.

Eric

[Pete Clarke]

I agree that e-bay selling prices can be crazy, but as a Pleione fan and one loath to throw away excess bulbils / small bulbs, I now have too many bulbs to cope with. So how to distribute them to those that want them, e-bay is the only readily available method.
It is always nice to make a little profit in order to buy the new expensive varieties , but I would much prefer to swap, even for the other choice plants & bulbs shown on the forum. (I paid £5 for one tiny bulbil of Zeus Weinstein in 1996, now I have hundreds every year!)
I don't know if this forum would allow a wants & surplus available - swap thread?
Pete.

[Hristo]

Pete, I'm sure it is something Maggi would consider so long as it's made clear that we can't cross CITES and or Phytosanitary boundaries!

Eric, now that was a profit and a half eh? I guess from a buying point of view I welcome a price reduction, from a selling point of view......
I have had plants sell way beyond what I believe their commercial value to be, I'm always left with a twinge of guilt, though I guess bidders have the choice not to bid!

[Eric Locke]

Eric, now that was a profit and a half eh? I guess from a buying point of view I welcome a price reduction, from a selling point of view......
I have had plants sell way beyond what I believe their commercial value to be, I'm always left with a twinge of guilt, though I guess bidders have the choice not to bid!
[/quote]

Chris- I use ebay as a means of justifying a large amount of plant purchases every year. If I come out even in the end, I am satisfied. As you say it is a "bidders choice not to bid" . Best so far this season is nearly £40 for two rare pleione bulbils.

Eric

[Maggi Young]

Quote from: Hristo on November 17, 2009, 07:00:42 AM

Off eBay - Zeus Weinstein Desert Sands for £25 anyone?   


Also unauthorised use of photo  ( Belongs to Edrom nurseries )   Now changed it ,but this one could be too.

Eric

here is the link;

I am a little concerned at advertising an ebay seller who has I think, been shown to pinch other people's photos?  The "oxygen of publicity and all that!"

[Maggi Young]

I don't know if this forum would allow a wants & surplus available - swap thread?

Pete, I'm sure it is something Maggi would consider so long as it's made clear that we can't cross CITES and or Phytosanitary boundaries!

 It is something that is being discussed.... an area for Forumists to swap seedlings etc.... it would be  up to you all to "behave nicely" and, most assuredly, to observe, as Chris says, all the rules and regulations. The SRGC is not in the habit of law-breaking and we would expect the highest standards of compliance with all international plant regulations if such a Swap Area is initiated within this website.

[Hristo]

Maggi,
Mea culpa!
I guess one hopes not all publicity is good publicity!
I only included the link because Luc wanted to have a look for himself!

[Maggi Young]

Maggi,
Mea culpa!
I guess one hopes not all publicity is good publicity!
I only included the link because Luc wanted to have a look for himself!

 I realise that, Chris, and it is interesting!!! But perhaps best to pm each-other when a seller has been criticised for anything , or it really is rewarding their cheating! 

[Eric Locke]

My best clone of Praecox.
This superb clone has the most enormous flowers growing from huge elongated ,purple bulbs.
Very shy to flower, this is the first flowering for about three years although it still always grows these very large bulbs.
This was amongst a very interesting batch of bulbs imported into Belgium, from China several years ago.

Eric

[LarsB]

It looks like really big flowers, Eric.

[Eric Locke]

Large bulb too Lars.

This is last years bulb and it looks to be much larger this year.

Eric

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Stunning flowers Eric !!
Too bad it doesn't flower reliably 

[Hristo]

Eric, a super looking clone, my imagination or is it 'long'?
Has an almost Phragmapedium look about it?