I am no expert but I have had a few phals and by the time they reach that point they are usually needing some big TLC. I agree with Hera that they are not in good shape for a new buy and that they were mishandled prior to shipping. Good luck!

:whip::whip::whip: The seller should be ashamed those are not acceptable to sell to anyone. Who wants to get new plants that have to go into ICU a damaged leaf can happen during shipping but the damage on the one they sent is not new and the loss of roots did not happen in a few days .
I would make it very clear to the seller that you want a refund and if they want the plants back the cost of sending them back , I bet the cost of how they sent them is not near what they charged you . If they won't be fair I would file a complaint if payed on a credit card call them and file a complaint /stop payment . I had to do that once on e-bay not plants i payed and they did not send the item at all .I would post a Neg if they are not fair at least it warns others . Sorry about the trouble :(

Thanks Hera, CalypsoB, and Gin for replying. I agree these plants need some major tlc. My lesson for buying really cheap plants that I knew was too good to be true. I had the impulse to buy them anyway.

I bought both plants for a total of $10.
1 plant was $5+$1 s/h and the other one was $3+$1 s/h.

I don't want to write the seller's id on the forum but the guy still has these "Mini Phalaenopsis" on ebay, the color of the blooms are Fushia.

I am thinking about keeping one of them because it was in better shape and actually had a few viable roots. The other one is just dead to me.

so now I'm thinking is it worth my time to send the item back? After cost of shipping I will end up with barely any refund. If I'm sending back I would probably ask for a replacement, that way at least I will feel like I'm getting something from spending on postage.

The Seller will not pay for postage back, it is also written in their policy. The seller wants these plant back alive and told me to give the rootless plant a good watering before sending them out.

According to the return policy,

"If the plant arrives dead or dies within seven days of you receiving it a new one will be sent out."

--------------------------
Note to self: Only buy from reputable seller no matter how cheap the plants are.

Well at least they were not expensive probably not worth the hassle to send them back. I wound not get replacements they might be worse then the ones you got, with time they will probably recover ..

One thing you can be assured of, those Phals went into the box exactly as you got them. Five days in the mail would not have done what you received.

I don't do ebay anymore. Still waiting for the original plants I ordered from an ebay seller - that was three years ago.

They were quite cheap. I think for what you paid it is not a "horrible" experience. They have new roots coming out. Also 5 days in the mail are reasonable. I sent a Dendrobium cane with keikis to someone. It got lost in the mail and returned to me 2 days ago after 3 weeks in transit and the keikis looked like they had grown more roots.

Overnight shipping would have been quite more pricey.

I agree that the plants could have been better, but they are not that bad.
What is the name of the vendor? it woudl be helpful to compare experiences if someone bought something from them as well.

I would wait before giving negative feedback.

It would be different of there was rot or disease or no roots at all.

There is no way these were decent plants to begin with. They are technically alive, but you get the idea. If the cost to ship back is nearly what you paid, I'd keep the plants and post some really knarly feedback. Be honest, tactful, but don't give a neutral. People need to be aware that when you purchase from him/her, this is what you get, and he wont pay for return shipping, so you're stuck.
before you give up on eBay orchids, check out some of the more reputable sellers. Yes, the prices may be higher, but generally it's totally worth it. And this is especially true if you dont live near some good greenhouses. Good Luck, but do NOT be nice to this character

Because of my remote location I use e-Bay quite often. Over the years I've had bad transactions and good ones. The good ones highly outweigh the bad.

When I get a bad plant(s) from a first time buy. I add the vendor to a list that is posted on the wall behind my monitor. It's the first thing I look at when tempted by a plant on e-Bay. I have never left negative feedback, I simply do not ever buy from them again.

I do wish you would go ahead an post the name of this vendor. You would be doing many folks a service and save them a lot of .............well you know.:rofl: I think I know who it is or at least I know who is at the top of my list!!
Al

When an orchid is not expensive on Ebay, it seems worth the risk sometimes. I bought a vascostylis on Ebay from a seller in France, because I can't get one here. It took 13 days to come and the roots were mostly dried out, but in is a healthy, good sized plant for what I paid. I am now waiting for more to come in the mail, from the same seller. I hope for better roots this time. I don't know how he sells so cheap!