eBay nonsense?.

August 7

I'm a wee bit skeptical here since this is $60 cheaper than every other Butia on ebay right now

I think it should be a federal law that anyone selling something online be required to post the actual item they're selling or get kicked in the crotch by a startled horse. But if anyone wants to drop $40 to see if they're for real, let me know. I'll go sell some plasma or something.... Wait I'm not sure I can do that anymore. I'll sell some Sabal Bermudana or pretend to be an e-girl on Twitter and sell feet pictures.

August 7

The old saying buyer beware, like they say if you got the money we can do anything you want! At that price put me down for half a dozen actually make it a bakers dozen!

August 7

If a deal looks too good to be true,it probably is.🤷‍♂️ The seller doesn't offer ANY details about the item.

1. Is that the actual plant that will be shipped?

2. What size pot is it currently pictured in?

3. Will it be shipped in the pot to avoid root disturbance?

4. Did the seller grow the plant or just a reseller?

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

August 7

I would be skeptical on that . I have never bought plants on eBay but I have bought lots of other stuff and been satisfied with what I received. Harry

August 8

I spent way too much time reading their feedback, but I try to avoid sellers that have over 100 negative feedback in a year and less than like 96%. Most of the negative stuff is about the plants being a lot smaller than pictured, packaging being awful (puppy pads????), and one person said they folded a fiddle leaf fig to get it to fit in a flat rate box.

Maybe after I take my night night meds I'll message them again and ask them all of those questions again. Or maybe I'll ask them if they're a real nursery so our Orlando palmtalkers can go buy a bunch of $30 Butias.

August 8

56 minutes ago, aztropic said:

If a deal looks too good to be true,it probably is.🤷‍♂️ The seller doesn't offer ANY details about the item.

1. Is that the actual plant that will be shipped?

2. What size pot is it currently pictured in?

3. Will it be shipped in the pot to avoid root disturbance?

4. Did the seller grow the plant or just a reseller?

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

Don’t forget the shipping charges for a plant that size!

Richard

August 8

14 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I spent way too much time reading their feedback, but I try to avoid sellers that have over 100 negative feedback in a year and less than like 96%. Most of the negative stuff is about the plants being a lot smaller than pictured, packaging being awful (puppy pads????), and one person said they folded a fiddle leaf fig to get it to fit in a flat rate box.

Maybe after I take my night night meds I'll message them again and ask them all of those questions again. Or maybe I'll ask them if they're a real nursery so our Orlando palmtalkers can go buy a bunch of $30 Butias.

John to get your money they will answer all the questions with what you want to hear! Get some seeds and grow your own pocket money to sell on eBay. I sell on eBay!

August 8

3 minutes ago, happypalms said:

John to get your money they will answer all the questions with what you want to hear! Get some seeds and grow your own pocket money to sell on eBay. I sell on eBay!

Oh I ain't buying it. I just get bored when the pills kick in. I'm terrible with the phone solicitors too. I'll keep them on the phone for like 10 minutes sometimes.

August 8

58 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Don’t forget the shipping charges for a plant that size!

Richard

Exactly.👍

Just shipping charges alone are going to be over $40 USD for a plant that size shipped in its 3 gallon pot. That doesn't even count the cost of a box, packing materials, tape, time, and a trip to the shipper...

For that total price,I would guess you'd be receiving a bare rooted 1 gallon plant.🤷‍♂️

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

August 8

1 hour ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Oh I ain't buying it. I just get bored when the pills kick in. I'm terrible with the phone solicitors too. I'll keep them on the phone for like 10 minutes sometimes.

Do what my wife does string em along waste there time. Then say no thanks 🤬scammer’s!

August 8

47 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Do what my wife does string em along waste there time. Then say no thanks 🤬scammer’s!

I love doing that with the fake cop charity. Those dudes have a humiliation fetish.

August 8

It cut off but my concerns were about their negative feedback for shipping much smaller plants than pictured and packaging plants with puppy pads and breaking them to make them fit in flat rate boxes and you'd have to run over this with a car to get it into a flat rate box.

August 8

I’ve bought dozens of palms on eBay and a few on Etsy. Have been exceptionally happy with all the purchases but I would never do business with any seller with lower than 98% positive feedback. It’s not difficult to have an even higher feedback than that. I’ve sold hundreds of items on eBay and my feedback is 100% positive. 84.7% feedback is deplorable.

August 8

1 hour ago, Jim in Los Altos said:

I’ve bought dozens of palms on eBay and a few on Etsy. Have been exceptionally happy with all the purchases but I would never do business with any seller with lower than 98% positive feedback. It’s not difficult to have an even higher feedback than that. I’ve sold hundreds of items on eBay and my feedback is 100% positive. 84.7% feedback is deplorable.

Couldn’t agree more Jim. A lot of my new collection is from eBay. Only once have I been stung with complete garbage and dead palms of a said variety yer right I thought. But it’s the sellers lose not mine, I simply won’t buy from such a seller again. Iam happy to spend good money with a seller who offers quality rare stuff! I have a 100 percent feed back and pride myself on sending out quality plants 🪴

August 8

8 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I'm a wee bit skeptical here since this is $60 cheaper than every other Butia on ebay right now

I think it should be a federal law that anyone selling something online be required to post the actual item they're selling or get kicked in the crotch by a startled horse. But if anyone wants to drop $40 to see if they're for real, let me know. I'll go sell some plasma or something.... Wait I'm not sure I can do that anymore. I'll sell some Sabal Bermudana or pretend to be an e-girl on Twitter and sell feet pictures.

If you're in MS z8b you must be less than one hour from the coast. Do an Internet search, then drive down to a couple places and shop in-person.

August 8

1 hour ago, SeanK said:

If you're in MS z8b you must be less than one hour from the coast. Do an Internet search, then drive down to a couple places and shop in-person.

I'll do that whenever I get the funds together for Sancho's surgery. I really need to call GoFundMe so I can get back into my account since I don't have that phone number anymore.

August 8

7 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

It cut off but my concerns were about their negative feedback for shipping much smaller plants than pictured and packaging plants with puppy pads and breaking them to make them fit in flat rate boxes and you'd have to run over this with a car to get it into a flat rate box.

They said it's a 1 gallon. That's a huge 1 gallon.

August 8

We had a couple surgeries on a small dog years back. I would try to get multiple procedures done under one dose of general anesthesia.

August 8

1 hour ago, SeanK said:

We had a couple surgeries on a small dog years back. I would try to get multiple procedures done under one dose of general anesthesia.

He needs a knee ligament replaced. I can't stand seeing my buddy in pain but he's tough and hides it well.

August 8

Oh man, makes me want to list these Butia I've been growing for a couple years now.

As an eBay seller myself, the only time I use the same pictures is when selling in bulk and I expressly state the item pictured is representative of plants for sale and may not be identical to the one you would receive.

All others sold are listed individually, and if I were selling the below pictured Butia the ad would state item pictured is the exact plant you'll be receiving.

Butia in a 4x4x12 Stuewe pot

Butia in a 5x5x12 Stuewe pot

That being said, the one pictured in the ad posted above DEFINITELY is not a one gallon pot as a crown that size would be pushing towards the edges as seen in my 5x5 picture. I can see why the feedback is the way it is.

Once I'm healed from my ankle surgery I'll be back to posting plants for sale.

August 8

55 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

He needs a knee ligament replaced. I can't stand seeing my buddy in pain but he's tough and hides it well.

Instead of doing the go fund stuff, have you reached out / looked into contacting the ASPCA, local rescue groups, etc. who might be able to help w/ costs? ..I know here in AZ there are a couple groups that can help w/ such things for pet owners who might need the assistance.

Regarding anesthesia, at his age, i'd also consult with at least 4 vets regarding it.. Some, -The good ones anyway- will provide honest and educated advise regarding the risks to older dogs, Rather than just give you the glossed - over " your Dog / Cat will be just fine ".. response when you reach out to discuss / educate yourself on the topic.

An ethical veterinarian shouldn't charge much - or anything- for a simple info- related consult, either.

August 8

9 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Instead of doing the go fund stuff, have you reached out / looked into contacting the ASPCA, local rescue groups, etc. who might be able to help w/ costs? ..I know here in AZ there are a couple groups that can help w/ such things for pet owners who might need the assistance.

Regarding anesthesia, at his age, i'd also consult with at least 4 vets regarding it.. Some, -The good ones anyway- will provide honest and educated advise regarding the risks to older dogs, Rather than just give you the glossed - over " your Dog / Cat will be just fine ".. response when you reach out to discuss / educate yourself on the topic.

An ethical veterinarian shouldn't charge much - or anything- for a simple info- related consult, either.

I honestly don't even know where to begin. I know that this is not a healthy coping mechanism at all, but when things get bad my initial response is to just shut down. Years ago when I was in Houston, I had the PetSmart program where it was like $50 a month for all of his annuals and unlimited vet visits - the downside was I saw a different vet each time. One said Sancho had a heart murmur, the next didn't, the next did, and after he started seeing the same vets regularly nobody noticed it. (We were talking about the anesthesia to clean his teeth)

I really don't know what to do. At a minimum, he needs a brace and my vet gave me several brands recommended to her when she went to a conference- he'd have to be sedated for the fitting too, since they make a cast of his leg then manufacturer the brace specifically for him. After reading reviews on Reddit and so forth, the best bang for the buck was GoHeroGo and I think it was just under $1k, I don't have my notes handy.

I got excited when I found a company called Tailwinds that had much more affordable braces and they have great reviews - on their own website. Once you veer away from that, it's bad. I don't know what kind of resources are here, honestly. The local shelter closed down due to lack of funds, and I hate to say this - but in this part of the country, people just take their unwanted puppies and kittens and drop them off in the woods.

The surgeon the vet recommended - and she recommended him due to my financial situation (big Dr. Nick vibes) is in a town called Lucedale, home of Cubs pitcher Justin Steele. Steele is out for the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. I just randomly tweeted out hoping someone could get me in touch with him to see what he could do and there's only one vet in Lucedale so Steele obviously knows him. In a perfect world, I could convince him to help me out, meet him, and he and Sancho could bond over ligament replacement surgery.

I just don't know what to do. I can't stand seeing my buddy in pain and he is literally my heart and soul. Anyway, I'm depressing myself over here.

August 9

@JohnAndSancho, I made my first eBay palm seedling purchase this week supposed to arrive here today. USPS tracking details were nonsense:

August 5 Departed Merritt Island, FL

August 7 Arrived then departed Orlando Dist. Center

August 7 Arrived Houston Dist. Center 10:51 pm

August 8 Departed Houston Dist. Center 4:05 am

August 8 Departed Orlando Dist. Center 7:09 am

Currently in transit to destination. Really? I wonder if it's coming here to Sunder or "return to sender"?

August 9

2 hours ago, Fusca said:

@JohnAndSancho, I made my first eBay palm seedling purchase this week supposed to arrive here today. USPS tracking details were nonsense:

August 5 Departed Merritt Island, FL

August 7 Arrived then departed Orlando Dist. Center

August 7 Arrived Houston Dist. Center 10:51 pm

August 8 Departed Houston Dist. Center 4:05 am

August 8 Departed Orlando Dist. Center 7:09 am

Currently in transit to destination. Really? I wonder if it's coming here to Sunder or "return to sender"?

USPS tracking is a joke. Was it last year or the year before that I bought that Pritchardia Pacifica? It took it 2 weeks to get here and all I ever got was a label created notification. @happypalms sent some seeds out to me and @DoomsDave but he didn't remember which tracking number was which. One has already passed through inspection in LA, the other one shows it's still in Sydney. I understand why the sellers on here have all switched to UPS, it costs twice the price but it's accurate and you know the package will actually get to its destination. Years ago when I was still in Huntsville, Dave sent me a few envelopes of seeds and they ran them through the sorting machines and maybe 3 months later I got a note in my mailbox to go to the post office. They show me some absolutely destroyed envelopes, 2 of them were completely empty and one had a handful of seeds falling out on the counter and the poor lady.... She tells me there's postage due and I'm like postage for what? Y'all destroyed all of this. There's holes bigger than OJ's alibi there and you want me to pay for this? I think you owe Dave for the insurance claim.. anyway I did not pay them and suggested where they could place these envelopes and left.

August 9

2 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

USPS tracking is a joke. Was it last year or the year before that I bought that Pritchardia Pacifica? It took it 2 weeks to get here and all I ever got was a label created notification. @happypalms sent some seeds out to me and @DoomsDave but he didn't remember which tracking number was which. One has already passed through inspection in LA, the other one shows it's still in Sydney. I understand why the sellers on here have all switched to UPS, it costs twice the price but it's accurate and you know the package will actually get to its destination. Years ago when I was still in Huntsville, Dave sent me a few envelopes of seeds and they ran them through the sorting machines and maybe 3 months later I got a note in my mailbox to go to the post office. They show me some absolutely destroyed envelopes, 2 of them were completely empty and one had a handful of seeds falling out on the counter and the poor lady.... She tells me there's postage due and I'm like postage for what? Y'all destroyed all of this. There's holes bigger than OJ's alibi there and you want me to pay for this? I think you owe Dave for the insurance claim.. anyway I did not pay them and suggested where they could place these envelopes and left.

I used to send important things via USPS Priority. No more. 2 to 3 years back problems began where things got lost in distribution centers. ATL and SATX are black holes. Postal employees started to post videos. I now use UPS 2nd Day.

August 10

Back to the eBay nonsense topic - what's up with these people who literally just pull seedlings out from under trees in their yard and then want to charge like $10-15 apiece for them and then charge you $15 for them to just stick them in a $6 bubble maile

And yet somehow there's still some I'm tempted to buy - I know this is Etsy but it still counts.

And back to the one that started this all, I'm gonna see if they'll take my Starbucks gift card with $6.28 on it. This email showed up while I was writing this post.

August 11

Update on this Butia. Anybody want to talk me out of this? That clearly is not a one gallon pot and it's gonna cost more than $30 to ship that to me. I'm either gonna be very happy or fighting eBay for a refund for "item not as described," but everything is logged and screenshotted.

August 11

5 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Update on this Butia. Anybody want to talk me out of this? That clearly is not a one gallon pot and it's gonna cost more than $30 to ship that to me. I'm either gonna be very happy or fighting eBay for a refund for "item not as described," but everything is logged and screenshotted.

John they can’t spell yes, hello warning bells are ringing!!!

August 11

I put 1/3/5 in my cart. Shipping was very cheap. I saw a few bad reviews also.

August 11

39 minutes ago, SeanK said:

I put 1/3/5 in my cart. Shipping was very cheap. I saw a few bad reviews also.

A lot of the bad reviews that are specific are kinda petty. Lol don't mail order plants in the winter... I learned that lesson but thank jeebus I bought it from Lowes and just took everything to the store and got my money back. And it sounds like they only go to the post office one day a week but package the plants up when you order them. I dunno. Maybe I roll the dice.

51 minutes ago, happypalms said:

John they can’t spell yes, hello warning bells are ringing!!!

I either get the plant pictured or I get my money back. I also don't think English is her first language, and that's kinda common here but we all make it work in this big cultural melting pot.

August 11

1 hour ago, JohnAndSancho said:

A lot of the bad reviews that are specific are kinda petty. Lol don't mail order plants in the winter... I learned that lesson but thank jeebus I bought it from Lowes and just took everything to the store and got my money back. And it sounds like they only go to the post office one day a week but package the plants up when you order them. I dunno. Maybe I roll the dice.

I either get the plant pictured or I get my money back. I also don't think English is her first language, and that's kinda common here but we all make it work in this big cultural melting pot.

Looks like the place is in Sanford. That's kinda far for you to drive just for one plant.

August 11

15 minutes ago, SeanK said:

Looks like the place is in Sanford. That's kinda far for you to drive just for one plant.

I know the area well from when I lived in Polk County, but they said they'd ship that exact plant in the pot for $30.

Or now I can get this Phoenix Canariensis shipped for $18 from a much more reputable seller. Jesus.

August 11

2 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I either get the plant pictured or I get my money back. I also don't think English is her first language, and that's kinda common here but we all make it work in this big cultural melting pot.

Prepare for disappointment... 😒 The pictures they are sending you are NOT 1 gallon size plants in my opinion. 🤷‍♂️

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

August 11

7 minutes ago, aztropic said:

Prepare for disappointment... 😒 The pictures they are sending you are NOT 1 gallon size plants in my opinion. 🤷‍♂️

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

Oh I know that. And looking at some of their other stuff, the pictures of their plants are screenshots from Facebook and other sites. At this point I think I'm trolling. The Phoenix looks nice though.

August 11

7 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

I know the area well from when I lived in Polk County, but they said they'd ship that exact plant in the pot for $30.

Or now I can get this Phoenix Canariensis shipped for $18 from a much more reputable seller. Jesus.

Interesting. When I put it in my cart, it showed about $9.50 for one and added approx. $2 for each additional one. That was for a Butia at $29.99

August 11

7 hours ago, SeanK said:

Interesting. When I put it in my cart, it showed about $9.50 for one and added approx. $2 for each additional one. That was for a Butia at $29.99

Maybe they use Pirate Ship or a similar service for flat rate packing? I dunno though, it seemed like it's cheaper to use UPS through them for most stuff anyway.

Tuesday at 07:02 PM

On 8/8/2025 at 11:38 PM, Fusca said:

@JohnAndSancho, I made my first eBay palm seedling purchase this week supposed to arrive here today. USPS tracking details were nonsense:

As an eBay seller I stopped using USPS because they have horrid customer service and unreliable delivery. Almost exclusively use UPS 2 day air for all palm shipments now.

Tuesday at 09:34 PM

2 hours ago, Scott W said:

As an eBay seller I stopped using USPS because they have horrid customer service and unreliable delivery. Almost exclusively use UPS 2 day air for all palm shipments now.

USPS makes sure those Amazon packages get there on time though. Our mail lady drives a beat up old yellow 2000s Ford Escape, and I started seeing these new USPS sprinter vans out here and I felt so happy for her. I was out walking the dog last week when she showed up in the old busted ass duct tape on the seats no air conditioner yellow hoopty again, and I asked her about it - the new vehicles are strictly Amazon.

Shipping prices are insane now, too. It's $57 to ship a $25 seedling to me from Plant Delights. I don't care that I can get 5 plants shipped for the same price, 57 bucks to ship a 3 inch $25 pot is just absolute nonsense.

Wednesday at 12:29 AM

5 hours ago, Scott W said:

As an eBay seller I stopped using USPS because they have horrid customer service and unreliable delivery.

You said it! The seedlings arrived today dead as a doornail. It took 56 hours to go the final 45 miles! It's probably more the seller's fault though - the roots were wrapped in sopping wet paper towel and put inside a ziplock bag. Now I need to figure out how to make my first eBay refund claim! 🙄

Wednesday at 12:39 AM

9 minutes ago, Fusca said:

You said it! The seedlings arrived today dead as a doornail. It took 56 hours to go the final 45 miles! It's probably more the seller's fault though - the roots were wrapped in sopping wet paper towel and put inside a ziplock bag. Now I need to figure out how to make my first eBay refund claim! 🙄

Ok so you got some compost. What was it supposed to be?

WELCOME GUEST

eBay nonsense?.

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