veracruz37 on eBay

[Becca]

I recently made a purchase from veracruz37 on eBay. I actually missed out by minutes (got distracted getting ready for work) on a Dendrobium rohdostictum that was up for auction. I was pretty disappointed since I had previously killed a tiny seedling of this a couple of years ago and was having a hard time finding them....maybe I didn't know the right places to look. Anyways, I contacted this seller via ebay (his name is David Hunt) and asked him if he had any more that he was going to put up for auction. He told me he had one more he would just invoice me via paypal. The price was great (more like a steal) and shipping was great so I jumped on it! He shipped the same day via priority mail on Thursday and I got my 'chid today! It arrived in great shape despite the cold rainy weather (he used insulation for packing material). And a bonus....it is in spike!

Just wanted to share my great orchid buying experience with everyone...I would definitely buy from him again!

[Izzie]

Link? I can't find him.

[trdyl]

Becca, I have to agree he has some very nice plants and at very reasonable prices. He almost gives them away.

[cb977]

Thanks Becca

It's always nice to learn of a good ebay vendor for chids! YAY!

[ronaldhanko]

Dave is a member of the Houston Orchid Society and has many AOS awards to his name. He is a friend, too, and a great fellow.

[dounoharm]

its good to hear a sucess story from ebay sellers....so many post negatively and i know there are good sellers there....thanks becca!

[got ants]

Originally Posted by Izzie

Link? I can't find him.

eBay Seller: veracruz37: Home Garden items on eBay.com

[gnathaniel]

Not to rain on the parade, but I just had a not-great experience with this seller...

Bought a B. nodosa 'Minnie Mouse' for a very good price, but when it arrived and I checked it out it had no living roots! They were all completely rotted with none salvageable at all. The rhizome was also rotted through in several places, so what I had bought as an 8-growth division turned out to be 3 smaller, rootless pieces. Other than that the plant(s) look surprisingly healthy, which says to me that the rot happened pretty recently and they haven't gotten too stressed yet.

I contacted David to (politely) let him know about the problem and ask for advice about how I should rehab these little ones, but I still haven't heard back. Right now I've got them sitting in medium light on barely damp sphagnum in the hope that I can get some of the dormant eyes to activate and put out roots before water stress takes too much of a toll (luckily Brassavolas don't demand a ton of water anyway).

So, the price was nice but the quality was less than satisfactory, and I'm definitely not pleased that the seller didn't bother to respond. Happily, it sounds like my experience is the exception (and a previous plant I bought was certainly quite healthy), but I don't think I will personally patronize him again (unless maybe of course if he's selling something I've just GOT to have )...

--Nat

[got ants]

Nat, when was the plant purchased? And how long did it take to arrive (from Puerto Rico)?

I bought a long section of Vanilla Diiloniana from him. It was dry packed but in superb condition. It was doing great on my coconut palm but because of a hard freeze this year, the tree dropped about twenty fronds (in a 2 month period) and numerous coconuts. Sadly, it about destroyed the plant. It was removed and planted on the ground to rescue it.

As for B. Nodosa, I find I can't water it enough. I have it mounted on driftwood and tree fern, both require daily waterings. The good thing is it flowers all summer long, up until a hard cold.

Good luck,
Brady

[gnathaniel]

Brady, I won the auction and paid for the plant on 3/24/10, and it came in the mail (from Houston, not Puerto Rico) on 3/29. The plant was well-packed and the pot and roots were totally dry, so I don't think the rot occurred in transit. After I finished looking the plant over I contacted David that day to let him know about its poor condition and ask for advice with rehabbing it. I still haven't heard anything back, which indicates to me that he doesn't really care whether I'm satisfied or not. But enough griping...

Thanks for the tip on watering and the well wishes for my new plant! I sure hope I can bring this one back to life, it's a neat variety of a great species.

--Nat