Snowdrop prices 2010

[GoodGrief]

I'm a newbie here. Someone please help...

Is "Galanthus !!! LOST LABEL !!!", as seen on ebay, highly collectible?

Regards, Malcolm <sarcasm emoticon>

[cycnich]

I'm a newbie here. Someone please help...

Is "Galanthus !!! LOST LABEL !!!", as seen on ebay, highly collectible?

Regards, Malcolm <sarcasm emoticon>

Excellent, great stuff !

[Paddy Tobin]

Pat,

I and, I am sure, many members of the forum have been the recipients of generosity similar to that you experienced and feel that it is the best and proper way to go with plants - to share them with those who would appreciate them and enjoy growing them.

Susanne, buying from e-bay is an extraordinarily expensive way to obtain snowdrops. Although some of those who sell snowdrops commercially might be regarded as being expensive they ask nowhere near the prices on e-bay and they will post the snowdrops direct to your door. Don't let your rush to get a few new snowdrops rush you into e-bay. Deal with the many reputable snowdrop dealers instead.

Malcolm, Galanthus 'Lost Label' is a commonly grown cultivar in almost all snowdrop gardens. It is, however, very variable and seems to be different is each garden in which it is grown.

Paddy

[cycnich]

Malcolm, Galanthus 'Lost Label' is a commonly grown cultivar in almost all snowdrop gardens. It is, however, very variable and seems to be different is each garden in which it is grown.

Paddy

Lost label or lost it completly ?.

[cycnich]

Susanne, buying from e-bay is an extraordinarily expensive way to obtain snowdrops. Although some of those who sell snowdrops commercially might be regarded as being expensive they ask nowhere near the prices on e-bay and they will post the snowdrops direct to your door. Don't let your rush to get a few new snowdrops rush you into e-bay. Deal with the many reputable snowdrop dealers instead.


Paddy

Wise words Paddy, Susanne I am only a beginner like yourself but next year I will have some things to split and if I have anything you want you can have it for nothing, anything that helps to bring this galanthus ebay thing down is worth it. Plants for friends not for profit. Pat

[Yorkshirelass]

Thanks for the advice Paddy, but I don't think I've been hard done by so far. I've got an Augustus (or more like three bulbs) for £6.00 and 5 Ophelia for £7.00. As a Yorkshirelass (if only by adoption) I wouldn't leap into anything without a bit of research first.... It was the Boyd's Double that blew the budget, but then I really REALLY liked it...
Susanne
PS thanks for the offer Pat - likewise!

[Gail]

Lovely story Pat.

I also agreed with what Susanne said re snowdrops on ebay - I have both bought and sold there (I sell a few each year in order to be able to justify buying more...)  You just need to be a bit careful who you buy off but that applies anywhere not just ebay.  Some of the experts forget that ebay is not all evil, it is an easy accessible place to buy from - I tried to get a ticket for the Galanthus Gala (posted my application by return of post) and they'd sold out and orders with 2 snowdrop specialists this year came back 'sold out'.

[Alan_b]

If you've ever bought a plant at all then I don't think it fair to disapprove of people who buy plants on eBay.  You may wish to disapprove of the people who sell but if they are reputable sellers then it is a very good way to reach a wide market.  There are some very kind and generous plantsmen and women out there who will give away some of what they grow but equally there are nurserymen who must make a living selling the plants they raise.  You might make money out of a garden centre but many specialist plant nurseries struggle to get by.

But eBay has two big problems:

• Snowdrops sold on eBay are frequently not what they purport to be and eBay offers very little protection against this type of fraud.  For example I don't think the snowdrop depicted here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-Very-Rare-Galanthus-AILWYN-Snowdrop-Flowering-Bulb_W0QQitemZ250599994959QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN?hash=item3a58ec764f#ht_1950wt_1137 really is 'Ailwyn' (though I could be wrong). 
• As others have observed, snowdrops often fetch higher then their 'market' price.

So eBay buyer, beware. 

[annew]

I am a buyer and seller on ebay, and I'm afraid I can't afford to give away all the plants that I've spent a lot of time, effort, skill and initial expense on over the three or four years it takes to raise them to flowering size. It is a part of my income as a very small nursery. Friends will know that I also exchange or give as gifts plenty of bulbs too, and to put a couple of interesting snowdrops onto ebay is a way to grab buyers' attention and help to sell other plants that they might not otherwise notice.
It is a matter of personal choice for anyone to buy a plant, at whatever price they feel they are prepared to pay. Even the price paid for the most expensive plant probably pales into insignificance next to what plenty of people would pay for a designer garment or even a meal in an expensive restaurant. And next year you will still hopefully be getting pleasure from your purchase, and it will have multiplied too!

[annew]

By the way, I bought some of those Ailwyn, I think....

[Diane Clement]

If you've ever bought a plant at all then I don't think it fair to disapprove of people who buy plants on eBay.  You may wish to disapprove of the people who sell but if they are reputable sellers then it is a very good way to reach a wide market. 

I agree with Alan_b but add that even if you haven't bought a plant it isn't fair to disapprove of people who buy (or sell) plants on eBay.  Ebay is an open market, the prices are set by what people are prepared to pay for something they presumably cannot get any other way.  I also couldn't get a ticket to the gala as it was sold out before I received my letter, and I can't get to other events that happen on weekdays or other times I am busy.   I have bought very good plants for what I consider good prices.  I have often received more plants than I expected, not all eBay sellers are disreputable, indeed several are forum members   

I have had very generous gifts from forum members for which I am very grateful but I feel guilty in accepting a plant for which I cannot send anything back.  I have sent out plants and seed myself although not always to the same people so try and pay it forward if I cannot pay it back.  I am also grateful for the knowledge here and the ability to consult and check that plants are what they say they are.   

[Gerry Webster]

If you've ever bought a plant at all then I don't think it fair to disapprove of people who buy plants on eBay.  You may wish to disapprove of the people who sell but if they are reputable sellers then it is a very good way to reach a wide market.  There are some very kind and generous plantsmen and women out there who will give away some of what they grow but equally there are nurserymen who must make a living selling the plants they raise.  You might make money out of a garden centre but many specialist plant nurseries struggle to get by.

A reasonable point.
Maybe what disturbed Pat is the existence of a special thread on Snowdrop prices. Why? There is no comparable thread on Crocus or Narcissus prices. Or even on Hepatica prices which can be grotesque. Why are Galanthophiles so concerned with the cash value of their plants? It strikes me as bizarre.

[Diane Clement]

Maybe what disturbed Pat is the existence of a special thread on Snowdrop prices. Why? There is no comparable thread on Crocus or Narcissus prices. Or even on Hepatica prices which can be grotesque. Why are Galanthophiles so concerned with the cash value of their plants? It strikes me as bizarre. 

I've never seen crocus, narcissus or hepatica on eBay except ordinary garden centre varieties.  Galanthus on eBay is a unique phenomenon, and for some, an intriguing spectator (or participatory) sport.

[Anthony Darby]

There seem to be two stems to this thread: (1) the prices people are prepared to pay for them and (2) people jumping on the band wagon and selling something they have found it growing in their garden and as it looks like a rarity they advertise it as such. Many people are unaware that a named clone must be traceable back to the original bulb. I sometimes wonder why 'Grumpy' is regarded as special when so many elwesii look just like it. I agree Alan, the plant on Ebay isn't 'Ailwyn'. Probably just another bog standard double. 'Ailwyn' is so beautiful when viewed from below.

[Alan_b]

Why are Galanthophiles so concerned with the cash value of their plants? It strikes me as bizarre.

If you read this thread and other similar earlier ones you will see time and again that the galanthophiles here are not concerned with the cash value of their plants but with the two issues I mentioned previously.  There have been several occasions when concerted action from this forum has forced the seller of a misnamed snowdrop to withdraw, but we cannot do this every time it happens.