Horrible ebay experience. Are these healthy phals?
 

I bought these orchids from ebay.

https://picasaweb.google.com/MsMayZh...eat=directlink

I was upset when it arrived via media mail which took 5 days from MD to NY.

Next I emailed the seller about the condition of the plants and ask why they would send it via media mail. This is what the seller wrote...
======================
"I'm not sure how familiar you are with orchids. Both plants look healthy to me. Older roots and dead roots wick water into the plant and help retain water. Are the leaves succulent or turgid? The moss that was attached to the roots should remain on them unless they are immediately going to be transplanted. Removing the moss usually does more harm than good for one the tiny root hairs are attached to it and two there are good symbiotic fungi that are in that moss that help the orchid grow. If the leaves are flaccid which it doesn't look like from your picture then I can refund or send out new plants once both are returned to me. If you want new plants or a refund both plants will need to be sent back undamaged/alive.

Once in a while I order exotic orchids from China and Japan they are in the mail from at least a month and arrive in good condition. Orchid are much more hardy than people give them credit for."
===============

Now someone tell me that the seller is correct and that these plants are perfectly healthy? Should I ask for replacement or refund? Either way I am going to lose out of shipping both way. What a horrible experience.

I would soak them and see if they green up, five days shouldn't kill an orchid., was the moss moist.? I never have any luck when I've bought bare root.

If you want to compare notes use the name of the seller. I'm sure someone else has had a problem also. There's a vender feedback column you might check. Good Luck!

They're not the healthiest looking Phals that could be purchased, but they're still pretty salvageable. Some of them have new roots emerging, and plus this is prime growing season for Phals. This is the time of year when they grow like crazy.

Don't cut any of the roots off yet. Wait until after you've soaked them in water first to see which roots perk up and which are truly dead.

Soak the roots in water for an hour or 2 and see if the roots will perk up. Look for dead roots and remove them.

The leaves should become fully turgid again in a few days.

You can always give the vendor a neutral feedback rather than a negative one.

As a side note, I think the explanation they give for the science behind your Phals might be a little out of whack. In other words, I think it's a half-truth.

Thank you for Carol and Philip for your replies. I will try soaking the roots. I'm pretty sure one of the plant will have no good roots.

The orchids were shipped with moss in pot. Top was dry bottom was still moist. The seller said he would give it a good watering before sending.

I was upset with the five days because MD is really close to NY. I understand the seller wants to save on shipping but instead of using first class or parcel post the seller used media mail. media mail is intended for medias only.

Also the seller ask me to send back "undamaged/alive". I really wonder what his def of "undamaged/alive" is.

I just looked at the seller's ebay return policy on the listing.

"Item must be returned within
7 days after the buyer receives it
Refund will be given as
Exchange
Return policy details
If the plant arrives dead or dies within seven days of you receiving it a new one will be sent out."

The policy is different from what he is requesting for the condition of plants that are returned.

I guess since I can not ship back till Tuesday anyway, I will give these plants benefit of the doubt.

The seller trying to call these plants healthy and to justify his using media mail to ship makes me mad.

You can try to have Ebay resolve the issue for you if you're really unsatisfied, idk.

It's up to you.

As for the plants themselves, I'd find out which ones have roots and which don't, then go from there.

In the future you could always consider getting orchids from places like Oak Hill Gardens or Orchids by Hausermann.

I've sent the second set of pictures to the seller. Waiting for a response...

I think I am going to stop buying Ebay orchids except for those on the recommended list. The last time I ordered I found mealy bugs when I went to inspect the roots... yikes...

I have not purchase from Oakhill or Hausermann, but I do have a to buy list going.

Thanks again Philip.

Wow what a nightmare! I agree that the plants don't look great but they might pull through :) I definitely would go with an orchid grower next time....this person sounds a bit ill informed :/

I have to disagree with the rest of the posts. The plants are in very bad shape for a new purchase. This kind of condition wouldn't have happened in that short of a time in the mail. These are roots that have been over watered and rotted as a result. They look desicated because the outer velamin dries and begins to come off after a period of rot. I also notice the condition of the leaves. They are wrinkled and limp, also indicative of poor watering and belive me that didn't just happen on the trip in the mail. Phals are very hardy and you can revive these, but expect to wait up to two years for the plant to grow enough roots to support blooms. I would send it back to the seller and not buy from them again. There are enough sellers out there who are fair in their return policies that you don't have to put up with this kind of treatment.

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!

:helloFirst of all, please identify the ebay seller. I was going to buy from an auction site and maybe now I will wait. Second of all, if you paid by Pay Pal, notify them and they will make sure you get a refund. Make sure to go on ebay and make a complaint about the seller. Pay Pay is really on top of these complaints.

As far as the plants, try to revive them as some of the other members have stated. If not, let the seller issue a refund. PayPay can do this 4 u. Good luck!

I've never thought of sugar. I have been using root stimulater and seaweed, though.
Ebay certainly isn't what it used to be. Their fees are getting higher all the time and with the economy the way it is, I'm selling almost nothing. It used to be good in the begining, but now we only list a large number if there is a 5c listing day, or some such deal.
Using Pay pal, however, does protect the buyer better.

Nancytheartist

Thank you for all the replies. I sent one of the plant back and the seller has given me a full refund plus return shipping. The seller wrote that after my email he went to check his stock and noticed that batch of orchids all had few roots even though they look healthy on top. He has taken that stock off ebay. Maybe all this was an honest mistake but I did send pictures for the seller to look at.

ebay seller that I bought from is plfdeleten

That sounds good. I had good experiences with ebay sellers, except one that was aggressive in his tone but eventually refunded me after contacting ebay and paypal.

I think when we are dealing with plants mishaps can happen. Some seedlings are stronger than others in the same conditions.

Although this transaction was low cost it doesn't make receiving unhealthy plant any less of a bad experience. I expect what I buy to arrive in good condition.

The plant that I sent back was plant #1, it did not have any new roots and the old ones were all brown and stringy. I don't expect overnight shipping but shipping plant via media mail is unexceptable and is mail fraud.

I think what made this a "horrible" experience was that the seller couldn't admit that the plant was not in good shape and had bad roots. Made me feel dumb and a liar. Even after he admitted that the his own stock at had few roots he still insist the plant I sent back was doing well.

Even though I received full refund all in all this is not an experience I would recommend.

I agree that mishaps happen. I don't expect perfect but when there is a problem the seller should really correct.

haha I think the seller attitude when replying really affects the buyers experience. good for you in getting your money back. which seller was this? I would like to avoid anymore of these stressfull experience.

What are some sellers you recommend?

sidenote: I received a plant from orchiddoc last week! :biggrin: good price, very healthy plant, very fast shipping, and really good communication from seller.

Thanks Tony, I will keep this recipe and try it on my plant.

Sellers I'd recommend (general, some are much better at certain species/types). I've had no complaints with those below.

KawamotoOrchdis
Shermantp
Nia22d
eoorchids

Unless you made this purchase for a unique orchid that you couldn't find locally, I'd recommend trying to make your orchid purchases at local flower retailers. I'll bet anything that there are plenty of them in NYC. I live in the metro area and have seen plenty of places selling them. Also, believe it or not, Home Depot & Ikea sell them at a pretty decent price. One of mine came from there and is off to a healthy start. You don't always get a winner orchid, but there's at least a good selection. :)

Those two phal look like crap in my opinion.

Again, I don't pay money for plants that need to be rescued. I usually get them given to me for free.

Sure they can be salvaged....but after doing that with plants for 6 years now, even I would have difficulty in my greenhouse with two phals that literally have no freakin roots. Please.

And if they survive, maybe they will flower before 2020...maybe.

I'd crucify that seller.

Sorry, it's been a long day too...so I'm not in the best mood :((

I've purchased from KawamotoOrchids, and they ship 2nd day from Hawaii. Slightly more expensive, but the plant was giant sized and very healthy.

Yikes...those plants looked HORRIBLE!

A low price is NOT an excuse for a seller to send out orchids that look like they belong on a big box store's "discount/rescue shelf." Maybe that's where the seller got these plants? Unless, of course, the seller explicitly stated that the phal is a "rescue orchid," which is not the case here. I personally don't buy rescue orchids anymore because they are just too much hassle. Shelling out a few extra bucks for a healthy plant is more worthwhile than the time and effort spent trying to revive a rootless plant.

I agree with you. You have perfect reason to be disappointed. A person saying those plants are healthy does not know what he/she is talking about. Sure, your plants are salvageable, but certainly not "healthy."

Just a tip, if I wanted some regular phals I'd go to Trader Joe's. They have healthy mini phals in bloom for just $8.99 each. Don't get discouraged from using ebay; there are great sellers there.

Also, media mail shouldn't be used to send plants.