Questions About Ecuagenera
 

Hi Everyone,

I placed an order with Ecuagenera this week, however after reading some things it occurred to me that there may be some steps regarding customs that they didn't inform me about. Could anyone with experience ordering from them recently online give me some insight? They didn't tell me I needed to do anything else, but it is better to be safe than sorry since I am still able to get a refund if needed.

Hi. They take care of the customs as they import to themselves. They then really ship from their USA location in Apopka Florida

I know they mention that a VAT could be added but I have never had that happen

I pay them through PayPal as well so they do not have my CC information. I do that always online and only keep one CC linked to PayPal since they also have had breaches.

I'm in the boat with you ghuylar.
Working on trying to understand how to get them to ship to me. (see Ecuagenera vendor thread)

I will say, I have dealt with Ecuagenera for several years as the vendor liaison for the NH show. The communication is never "crisp" but I've always written that off to language differences. There has never, ever been any hint of unscrupulous action on their part.

I placed my first order with Ecuagenera 13 days ago (right before black Friday discounts :( ) and my order is due at my door tomorrow. I will report back. No extra steps required from my side.

My experience so far has been really good. They communicated with me efficiently when I wanted to add an additional plant (by the way, does anyone else always go back and add plants to an existing order or is that just me?).

I will let y'all know how the plants look when they show up.

Okay, your responses have made me feel much better. They have responded to my emails quickly, but communication is hard due to the language barrier. They said my order won't be shipped till February due to poor weather in my area, so keep me posted on how your orders go.

I read some threads on here from 10 years ago or so saying that buyers had to pay hundreds of dollars in import fees, and that reeeeally worried me. Glad to know that it is as easy to purchase their plants as I originally thought. Thank you!

I bought from them several times when they would vend at a local show, and just a few months ago did a mail order after I learned that they'd opened a facility in FL. I've been very satisfied each and every time.

Got a response from Elizabeth this morning.
Apparently they do not ship north during the month of December so will ship to me in Jan. I don't know if this means they dont have what I want in stock in Apopka or what?

Have all you guys ordered off the USA website or the original Ecuadorian site?

Maybe I should have ordered direct from Apopka???? I just used the link on the promotional email....

FWIW.... I ordered;
6 Phrag's- Peruflora cirilia, Eumelia Arias, Hanne Popow, QF Maria, Incan Treasure and St. Ouen. plus Catt. trianae.

I don't think that they keep a lot of stock in Apopka. It is handy to have a US base of operations so that they can better deal with the paperwork on the orders. (The same concept as when they ship from shows) Their stuff is worth waiting for. With the holidays they likely have staffing issues (and possibly shipping problems as well) But the the US operation is definitely a small "satellite" ... there is no way that they could maintain the acres of plants that they have in Ecuador in the US location. (Their operation in Ecuador has to be seen to be believed... and they have 3 or 4 facilities, at different elevations, all huge)

That's what I hear. Ivan keeps telling me to stop nickel and diming myself and just come down for a visit. :rofl:

It's on my bucket list.

Totally... when this plague is over and travel becomes possible again, Ecuador is a fantastic place to see orchids in the wild - and Ecuagenera runs outstanding tours. For me, it was life-changing for my orchid growing, to see and feel all the environments.

i am a big fan - no question, but some info i have heard about the USA division...not me, just anecdotal

i believe that unsold merch ends up there or perhaps they send the stock they anticipate will move fastest BUT the only complaints i have ever heard about their medium having pests or rot all came from the USA div. this makes sense to me since everything direct is ALWAYS bare root.

so, take it for what it is worth.

Well, my shipment has been in "pre-shipment" status since Nov 30th and Ecuagenera claims it was shipped. I reached out yesterday and they said this is common (it is not in my experience). I don't have a good feeling about this...

---------- Post added at 07:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:00 AM ----------

I placed a second order during the black friday sale for two phrags. I just got an email saying it won't ship until Feb. That is BS. That should have been clear at the time of order. I requested to cancel, no response yet.

That was my issue as well Claw.

If I had known that up front I may not have placed the order and just waited. Then again, maybe I would have done it anyway.

Are you located in a cold region? They finally agreed to make my shipment in Jan. as I'm in a subtropical climate. So, I will be patient and wait.

For Phrags I would be patient. You will get nice plants. It's so incredibly difficult to import orchids from elsewhere to the US that I don't mind the wait.

I think they are also wanting to avoid the Christmas rush and the potential for delays on getting through customs due to holidays. They should have mentioned it... I know that when they started aggressively selling this way, they did indicate that they typically ship about twice a month to the US by way of their Florida operation, so turnaround is rarely as fast as domestic sellers. But I agree with ES, likely to be well worth the wait.

just as a heads up- when i get the "your package is about to ship" notice it NEVER goes beyond the preshipment notice- even after it is delivered- i assumed this was a uniquely Florida experience as things here are often just Broken, but i would not be alarmed by that.

i received the box Friday

Den catenatum
Den forbesii
Den simillieae
Den thyrsiforum
Den tortile


all healthy and expertly packed


the USPS tracking still says preshipment notification....if any of you have ever been to Apopka....it kind of makes sense

DC----when did you order?

this is not the same time period as yours, this was placed in mid early Nov...whenever Roberta posted her Den simillieae thread LOL

Ah OK. So if mine show up in Jan it's probably about the same timeframe.

Order update: My shipment was shipped via Apopka on Nov 30th and the status remained in preshipment for 9 days. Today it shows as finally being received in Florida and is in transit. So it sat at USPS in FL for 9 days. I had assumed it was moving outside the tracking system and have been checking my icy porch every 15 minutes for the last few days. I think my plants are likely doomed. (Trying not to Florida bash here...)

1) all Florida bashing is likely deserved

2) i think more than likely they made the label and it sat there for that time. i hope for your sake...if not, take pics and contact them right away

Note that the shipment enters tracking when the shipping label is generated. It is "received" when the shipment is picked up or dropped off at USPS and they accept the package.

I've basically been emailing them every day about this and they have told me every day "sometimes it takes time for USPS tracking to update". If they did make a mistake in shipping it out after letting it sit around for 9 days then they aren't admitting it. Either way I'm prepared for the worst. Thanks y'all

Hey! I like Florida!

Me too, ES! But can you honestly say that it does not earn its reputation

As my very favorite bit of graffiti said, “welcome to Florida, a sunny place for shady people”

On i75 heading south into Miami lol hahahaha

Or my favorite personal reason, “ to live in Florida you need to have either a great job opportunity or a crippling addiction to the ocean”

For me, it’s the latter



Lol also, ES, you live in AZ?! So clearly you left for SOME reason hahaha just messing with you bud

I never lived there. My grandparents took us there in the 1960s to visit friends who had retired to Miami. I loved it. We saw the old family-run attractions including Orchid Jungle.

I've only been back a few times - cousin's wedding, visit friends, one Tamiami orchid show. But I really enjoy it. My friends are Cuban and I speak Spanish so I have an experience most tourists don't.

Your job might affect your perceptions....

“welcome to Florida, a sunny place for shady people” -- hahaha.

My company has a plant in Lakeland that I have to visit a couple times a year in normal times and I have had so many weird experiences with people I am convinced everyone on the run from the law in the other 49 states are in Florida. The "Florida man" challenge was really the best "challenge" yet.

DC, you are mitigating my extremist views though!

ES - you are so right. Most of those attractions have been replaced by strip malls. I saws barely old enough to get to Reptile World and the original Parrot Jungle. There is still Coral Castle which is insane that one man built it. And Monkey Jungle which rules bc you are in the cages and the monkeys are out

Also, you hit the nail on the head, you had the very insider experience

Claw hammer- the 80/20 rule of quality is more like the 90-10 rule here but there are some damn good people and some AMAZING nature...there are just 9 bleep holes for everyone ONE lol

okay- here is my LAST orchid order of 2020

brassia caudata
brassia verrucose
brassocattleya fuchs star
epi calanthum
epi medusae
maxillaria callichroma
phal cornu-cervi
phal pulcherrima
prosthechea sceptra


i have really just opened them all, opened the sphag bags and sprayed the roots a bit as it has gotten to the low 60s here and i don't want to get anything cold and wet.

i think i'll dive into them tonight

It's only December 10.

I got the above in July. The Brassias bloomed at the end of summer. The Phal is very small but grows new leaves vigorously. It has much narrower leaves than I expected. The sceptra arrived looking amazing and huge. It went straight downhill and died. I don't know why.

What did you pot the pros. in?
Mine is also looking huge and healthy so I’d like to avoid your fate if I can

My order was in the mail for 2 weeks. Everything was worse for the wear and significantly set back. I did not ask for any money back despite a lot of brown / falling off leaves on two lycastes and the laelia anceps.

What I am irate about is they shorted me a plant (lepanthes calodictyon) and I can't even get an email back from them for 10 days. I have sent a followup every single day asking for compensation for the missing plant and I can't even get a return email. I will not order from these guys again after this baffling experience.

that is HUGELY disappointing and quite a shock to me.

major bummer and worth noting for future ordering....

i would give one more email and then contact your CC company or Paypal...not including a plant is NOT okay