A couple questions about ordering plants online...
 

So far I've managed to resist ordering orchids, but with the cold weather no longer around to give me the excuse of poor shipping conditions my resolve is starting to crumble. However, I am curious about a few things...

Firstly, I have noticed that at times different sites will have vastly different prices for what appears to be the same type of plant (same name anyway). For example, a month or so ago, one site had a Psychopsis Mendenhall priced at $75, and another site had the same plant at around $20-$25. They were both listed at blooming size, so is there likely to be a significant difference (other than the $50 I could have spent on more orchids)?

Also, this feels like a silly question but I couldn't find an answer anywhere so I'm going to ask. How does shipping a "bare root" plant work? It seems like one can't just toss a naked plant in a box and hope for the best. So, is it still nestled in a pot and secured with paper/packing peanuts or I am missing something?

my advice would be to call the vendor and ask 1) the size of the pot and 2) the height/width of the plant......if you can't tell by the photo. Maybe also request a plant in bud ?....it is after all the season for blooming for most orchid species.
I have received bare root seedlings and they are fine - you just have to follow a process to plump up the roots ( the vendor normally sends instructions ). I would be a bit wary of a large plant but maybe that's just a bias. The shipping costs are definitely cheaper bare root.

Some on-line vendors just charge higher prices than others. Some of the more expensive vendors might have better quality plants, but that's not always true. Blooming size orchids are always more expensive than seedlings and plants in bud or in bloom are even more expensive. As far as bare root plants, they ship perfectly well that way. Most orchids can last a long time without being in a pot. Many of the international growers bring bare root plants to the Redlands Orchid Festival here in South Florida. They will have tables loaded with bare-root orchids in big piles. One more suggestion about buying on-line. I very highly recommend that you do not buy seedlings. They're very cheap but they may be three or four years away from blooming. Seedlings are also more difficult to care for and more likely to die. Look for blooming size plants.

I buy mostly seedlings and it does seem like forever until they bloom. They are cheap and I like watching them grow.