A few listings I have for some of my palms. The price reflects what it actually cost for rare and exotic palms now. It’s not cheap growing exotic palms nowadays with customs fees, germination rates, shipping, phytosanitary certificates, soil pots, water, electricity for pumps. Plus many other hidden fees.

So what should a rare palm be priced at when you consider what it takes, after the real mathematician has had at go at some numbers. Is it how rare the seeds are, how hard to obtain and so on.

If you import the seeds it’s a whole new number again that gets added to the cost of everything.

So just one plant germinates from a hundred seeds that cost ex amount of dollars to buy and import. You’re not going to take a lose on that business venture. If you germinate a hundred out of a hundred then the cost of a palm can be a lot cheaper from the grower.

Seed availability is another factor, hard to obtain seeds of endangered species changes the mathematical equation a lot. This puts a higher price on such palms.

So it’s not the growers fault for the prices it’s the cost of the whole thing of growing rare and exotic palms. Some palms will take years in Australia before there is a local source of rare palms, and then they may not set seeds. And even then a not to open public supply, with seeds being so rare they would most certainly go to others in the palm community.

That’s the cost of rare palms nowadays. It’s supply and demand like any business it cost to produce. The only real solution is to have a garden full of exotic palms to collect seeds.

Mind you though they all look beautiful in my garden, so I know the look that can be created with rare and exotic palms. I would happily pay this amount for such beautiful palms to have in my garden if I wanted a tropical garden that’s for sure worth every penny!

It's a shame we're so far away, otherwise I would have bought the chamaedoreas, obviously you would have given me a little discount, jokes aside, people don't know what's behind a plant, finding good seeds and how much it costs everything else

I would happily pay those prices, though the only way they would make it to Western Australia is through a concierge service, the only reliable one I’ve found is Bob and Bev up in North Queensland. The plants would end up doing a round trip of Australia, triple the price and that’s also assuming they arrive healthy enough.. It drives me crazy our bio security laws.

7 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

It's a shame we're so far away, otherwise I would have bought the chamaedoreas, obviously you would have given me a little discount, jokes aside, people don't know what's behind a plant, finding good seeds and how much it costs everything else

Obviously a discount is awarded for IPS members, and a free chamaedorea elegans just for visiting.

6 hours ago, Jayce said:

I would happily pay those prices, though the only way they would make it to Western Australia is through a concierge service, the only reliable one I’ve found is Bob and Bev up in North Queensland. The plants would end up doing a round trip of Australia, triple the price and that’s also assuming they arrive healthy enough.. It drives me crazy our bio security laws.

Did you say bio security laws, that’s a nasty word. I would post to you anyway!

It’s such a shame you have such strict rules the same as a few other states do.

I don’t see them stopping the bird flu as it fly’s across the border!

As you say, it’s supply and demand. The only thing I’d add is that to an extent it doesn’t matter what it costs you to buy and grow, if that sets the price too high people won’t buy. Over the course of a couple of years I spent hundreds on rare Syagrus seed from RPS to end up with 1 S harleyi and 1 S cataphracta. That doesn’t mean they are both worth $300-500 on the open market. If I set that price just trying to recover my cost I know no one will buy.

On the flip side, as a collector, there’s species that I might be willing to pay a significant amount for and likely much more than cost price because there may not be other alternatives. Again, all comes down to supply and demand.

5 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

As you say, it’s supply and demand. The only thing I’d add is that to an extent it doesn’t matter what it costs you to buy and grow, if that sets the price too high people won’t buy. Over the course of a couple of years I spent hundreds on rare Syagrus seed from RPS to end up with 1 S harleyi and 1 S cataphracta. That doesn’t mean they are both worth $300-500 on the open market. If I set that price just trying to recover my cost I know no one will buy.

On the flip side, as a collector, there’s species that I might be willing to pay a significant amount for and likely much more than cost price because there may not be other alternatives. Again, all comes down to supply and demand.

I did the maths on my sabinara 55 out of 100 plus import cost, $170 they each owe me, to get my money back. So $250 each palm so I make $80 bucks per sabinara and that doesn’t include my growing costs. So really say $60 bucks I make for one sabinara. Which is quite reasonable considering the fact it’s imported seeds.

As you say you’re syagrus seed ventures went out the window, and to justify that sort of money, its not a good incentive for one to import seeds. And that’s what the main issue is, how rare is rare. And a palm nut collector will and I have pay top end for that holy grail palm.

Sell all my sabinara for $45 each and another grower is going to grow them on and sell them for $250 or higher. It seems you can’t win importing seeds at the going economic rate we are seeing.

Being realistic about the whole palm growing and finding that market to supply due to demand!

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

I did the maths on my sabinara 55 out of 100 plus import cost, $170 they each owe me, to get my money back.

$9350 on 100 Sabinaria seeds?!!

8 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

$9350 on 100 Sabinaria seeds?!!

Surely not? I hope not anyway!

It's irrelevant what the production costs are if there's no market at the break even price point. There might not be 50 people in the whole of Australia willing to pay $250 for a small Sabinaria, but there might be hundreds willing to put 5 Chambeyronia for $25 in their shopping basket along with 5 Chamaedoreas for $25 and one Sabinaria for $100.

The profit made on the cheaper species buffers the loss on the Sabinaria, but the Sabinaria draws the customers into your shop. It's called a loss leader in retail. Our local shop used to do the same with fuel; they always had the lowest price for miles around, so people stopped to fill up, then went into the shop to pay and bought a bunch of other stuff, which was where the actual profit was made. The new owners banged the fuel price right up, and yep, no one goes into that shop anymore. The market dictates the price.

17 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

$9350 on 100 Sabinaria seeds?!!

I may be crazy about palms but not crazy enough to spend that on a 100 seeds. I got that mucked up it’s $60 a seedling to get my money back, not $60 profit.

9 hours ago, Jonathan said:

Surely not? I hope not anyway!

It's irrelevant what the production costs are if there's no market at the break even price point. There might not be 50 people in the whole of Australia willing to pay $250 for a small Sabinaria, but there might be hundreds willing to put 5 Chambeyronia for $25 in their shopping basket along with 5 Chamaedoreas for $25 and one Sabinaria for $100.

The profit made on the cheaper species buffers the loss on the Sabinaria, but the Sabinaria draws the customers into your shop. It's called a loss leader in retail. Our local shop used to do the same with fuel; they always had the lowest price for miles around, so people stopped to fill up, then went into the shop to pay and bought a bunch of other stuff, which was where the actual profit was made. The new owners banged the fuel price right up, and yep, no one goes into that shop anymore. The market dictates the price.

It’s all for the love of palms basically my drive and passion for my hobby, so can one put a figure on a hobby not really. But you also have to make your money back when that hobby goes into a small business stage.

As you say the fuel station is an example, remember the Telstra phone cards sold by the fuel stations, they made no money on the phone cards sold by but it got the people into the shop.

That one sabinara as a seedling grown on to a six inch container is still sold for $250, so if you’re buying a small seedling it’s still worth $250 in my nursery that’s the potential of the seedling.

Chambeyronias are sold gor $10 bucks in a six inch pot, mainly because the seeds are available locally, take a sabinara and golden canes to the markets and you will bring home the sabinara and sell all the golden canes. The palm collecter market is very small in Australia.

It’s tricky market the rare and exotic one, take my palms to the Gold Coast and you will sell the sabinara over time, you have to find that market and in my area it’s another ten years away, it’s slowly coming to my area but slowly.

It’s a volatile market out there and until the rare palms become more available it’s a supply and demand thing. And once they become common, there not rare anymore. But for the time being the fuel station is beating my nursery hands down. @tim_brissy_13 summed it up with the syagrus seeds!

The other part of cost is the actual sale itself. I have been on eBay for many years . It used to be an awesome way to move things along. Now , They charge for everything , and a pretty healthy clip at that. The last bicycle I sold was very profitable ….for them !! I was lucky to break even . The benefit is exposure but the cost is hardly worth it by the time the fees are stacked up. I ended up giving about 5 bikes away rather than pay their fees . All told , I moved 10 bicycles along and it was far easier just to give them away. It is a shame that such a wonderful thing became a fee based , money grab. I still buy stuff occasionally but not selling at all any more. Just my humble experience , Harry

3 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

The other part of cost is the actual sale itself. I have been on eBay for many years . It used to be an awesome way to move things along. Now , They charge for everything , and a pretty healthy clip at that. The last bicycle I sold was very profitable ….for them !! I was lucky to break even . The benefit is exposure but the cost is hardly worth it by the time the fees are stacked up. I ended up giving about 5 bikes away rather than pay their fees . All told , I moved 10 bicycles along and it was far easier just to give them away. It is a shame that such a wonderful thing became a fee based , money grab. I still buy stuff occasionally but not selling at all any more. Just my humble experience , Harry

They did that with me on a few palms I had for sale. Sent ridiculous offers out when I didn’t approve of the offers. The buyer got top quality rare palms for an absolute bargain. All I got was a good review from the buyer saying what a great buy for rare palms. I guess a website is next for me, the internet is a great marketing platform along with social media. It’s one thing growing a stack of great palms but it’s another thing selling them.

Someone asked me once are you going to sell all these palms, my answer was no Iam going to plant them all on my property, and if I sell a few before I plant them all, I guess I got my money back and a heap of great palms for the garden.

Tim and Jonathan have summed it up pretty good, they are in the palm game so to speak Tim is a zone pusher and doing what iam doing also but only on a smaller scale, being only able to produce from a backyard. But give @tim_brissy_13 a couple of acres and he most certainly would be in the running!

Supply and demand that has a logistical chain that goes unseen.

Richard

Just watch how often eBay changes fees and extras are added on to the sale. I would plant the palms you love and try to attract buyers to your lovely garden . The guy on Maui did ok with a small nursery and getting folks to tour the gardens for a fee that was reasonable for the tourists. He had nematode certs on the ready for all the plants . He would even ship for you if you didn’t want to carry them home. I was there during the week and business was lively . I found him on through a flyer that was on the rack at the hotel. Harry

Just now, Harry’s Palms said:

Just watch how often eBay changes fees and extras are added on to the sale. I would plant the palms you love and try to attract buyers to your lovely garden . The guy on Maui did ok with a small nursery and getting folks to tour the gardens for a fee that was reasonable for the tourists. He had nematode certs on the ready for all the plants . He would even ship for you if you didn’t want to carry them home. I was there during the week and business was lively . I found him on through a flyer that was on the rack at the hotel. Harry

Not a bad idea at all, when I open up my new greenhouse with all the special stuff. There is a local magazine that showcases all the what’s on and happening stuff, they also do stories on small local boutique businesses, they are a free magazine you pick up in those high end places, hopefully it will be good for business then. But eBay see you coming and line you up good. Not what it used to be!

Richard

i think it all depends on location, if it's impossible to import or bring in seed for certain species to your region, then those prices seem pretty fair. for easier to obtain species, whether native or from local collections, it helps you out in the long run and also your buyers. living in florida, i'd pay the price for some, however can't justify the others bc of availability in my region. For your region, looks like you're providing great options that may never have been available to your region!

Your prices are reasonable Richard but I’m a palm nutcase and I know the hurdles to produce your top quality palms.

It’s the old question of passion vs profitability. If profitability is your aim, grow a billion golden canes and sell to Bunnings. The passion will be non existent, you might as well grow sugar cane like all the sugar cane farmers before you but your accountant will be happy. If passion is your aim grow all the rarest stuff and sell nothing because you love them too much and nobody will pay what you want. Somewhere in the middle is what you want. A nice mix of profitability and passion to keep you interested. Never lose the passion. We need people like you.

On 8/23/2026 at 1:37 PM, happypalms said:

A few listings I have for some of my palms. The price reflects what it actually cost for rare and exotic palms now. It’s not cheap growing exotic palms nowadays with customs fees, germination rates, shipping, phytosanitary certificates, soil pots, water, electricity for pumps. Plus many other hidden fees.

So what should a rare palm be priced at when you consider what it takes, after the real mathematician has had at go at some numbers. Is it how rare the seeds are, how hard to obtain and so on.

If you import the seeds it’s a whole new number again that gets added to the cost of everything.

So just one plant germinates from a hundred seeds that cost ex amount of dollars to buy and import. You’re not going to take a lose on that business venture. If you germinate a hundred out of a hundred then the cost of a palm can be a lot cheaper from the grower.

Seed availability is another factor, hard to obtain seeds of endangered species changes the mathematical equation a lot. This puts a higher price on such palms.

So it’s not the growers fault for the prices it’s the cost of the whole thing of growing rare and exotic palms. Some palms will take years in Australia before there is a local source of rare palms, and then they may not set seeds. And even then a not to open public supply, with seeds being so rare they would most certainly go to others in the palm community.

That’s the cost of rare palms nowadays. It’s supply and demand like any business it cost to produce. The only real solution is to have a garden full of exotic palms to collect seeds.

Mind you though they all look beautiful in my garden, so I know the look that can be created with rare and exotic palms. I would happily pay this amount for such beautiful palms to have in my garden if I wanted a tropical garden that’s for sure worth every penny!

Fascinating topic. Thanks for sharing.
I also briefly(!) thought of trying to grow and sell. Until I saw the different success rates of germinating RPS seeds...
I take it you dont live of your growing business? Would be interesting to start from the other end: How much money do I need to make? And go from there to understand the size of my nursery and the turnover.
I do see people growing the hip indoor plant stuff. Begonias, Philodendron, etc. In transparent plastic boxes in their cellar under LED. But again, to make a living in an expensive OECD country? When you have growers from Thailand and Indonesia...
Palms are still not that much en vogue in the indoor plant world. Which I dont really understand.

Many greetings to down under

Matti

15 hours ago, Jdash said:

i think it all depends on location, if it's impossible to import or bring in seed for certain species to your region, then those prices seem pretty fair. for easier to obtain species, whether native or from local collections, it helps you out in the long run and also your buyers. living in florida, i'd pay the price for some, however can't justify the others bc of availability in my region. For your region, looks like you're providing great options that may never have been available to your region!

It certainly does depend on location, the are I live in has some of the highest unemployment in and some of the lowest wages in Australia. Drive 3 to 4 hours north and you can smell the money in the air along with the extravagant lifestyle and spending that goes with it. That extravagant lifestyle is the market iam after.

When you factor in the cost of electricity and freight costs, you can buy a $10 dollar plant on eBay and pay $20 postage.

It’s the whole economic situation that keeps on driving up the cost of everything while wages stay the same, and at the current rate the way the world economy is going the cost of everything is totally out of control.

So if iam spending x amount on things just to produce palms, let alone the cost of seeds and the import fees, add into that you have to make a living, Iam going to go broke real fast. For sure locally sourced seeds and seeds from the garden will reduce the price quite a lot, and market availability like any other bussiness supply and demand sets the prices on thise locally sourced seeds.

15 hours ago, Tyrone said:

Your prices are reasonable Richard but I’m a palm nutcase and I know the hurdles to produce your top quality palms.

It’s the old question of passion vs profitability. If profitability is your aim, grow a billion golden canes and sell to Bunnings. The passion will be non existent, you might as well grow sugar cane like all the sugar cane farmers before you but your accountant will be happy. If passion is your aim grow all the rarest stuff and sell nothing because you love them too much and nobody will pay what you want. Somewhere in the middle is what you want. A nice mix of profitability and passion to keep you interested. Never lose the passion. We need people like you.

Iam in it for the love of palms and I love palms that’s for sure. As I quoted before I will sell more golden canes than joeys in any given sale day.

Iam also in it for a ten year plan and if i havent made a go of it by then iam wasting my time.

It’s the passion for plants and gardening that drives my bus.

I have a mate he does the markets with all those easy to grow granny plants, we discuss our business ventures together, I know he will sell more of the granny plants than I will sell rare and exotic at the markets, so as you say out come the golden canes from my nursery to the markets or I will miss a sale. But in the other hand I only have to sell 4 rare palms and i equal my mates sales.

I know the market iam after, my prices are what I have paid for rare palms in the past and will continue to pay what I think is a reasonable price, the grower deserves what he asks for his plants I should know because iam a grower and understand what it takes to procure and grow such beautiful exotics.

Go giving them away and somebody else will profit of my hard work. It’s not easy importing seeds only to get one seed to germinate out of a hundred, or even worse nothing germinated out 300 seeds, better still pay all that for seeds only to have them confiscated at the border. Fairs fair and it’s crazy palm nuts like you and I that are taking the risk, both winning and losing.

But look on the bright side I get the best of the best for my garden plus some!

8 hours ago, di matti said:

Fascinating topic. Thanks for sharing.
I also briefly(!) thought of trying to grow and sell. Until I saw the different success rates of germinating RPS seeds...
I take it you dont live of your growing business? Would be interesting to start from the other end: How much money do I need to make? And go from there to understand the size of my nursery and the turnover.
I do see people growing the hip indoor plant stuff. Begonias, Philodendron, etc. In transparent plastic boxes in their cellar under LED. But again, to make a living in an expensive OECD country? When you have growers from Thailand and Indonesia...
Palms are still not that much en vogue in the indoor plant world. Which I dont really understand.

Many greetings to down under

Matti

Iam a hobby grower or is it hobby obsessed grower who loves palms.

It’s my retirement fund my hobby something to help pay the bills along the way, and if I can make a few extra bucks even better, a lot of what I make now goes back into the hobby.

To survive in business nowadays it’s a tough act, you also need to spend money to make money. Sooner or later theres a cut off point with any business it has to pay for itself.

Even if I was an accountant I would still be doing this as a hobby at a lose or profit.

Time is another factor with palms, grow 30 joeys to sell and by the time you get to sell them for a few decent bucks, you should have been growing them by the hundreds, saying to yourself I wish I had more joeys.

You can’t put a cost on your hobby otherwise I stops being a hobby and a business that either goes broke or makes money!

I don’t see a specialty nursery as a good source of income . The ones I’ve seen around here have all gone . As a hobby they can be rewarding . As they say …don’t quit your day job! If you spend enough time , I guess it could be a supplement if you were able to maintain your inventory , but the economics are challenging. Harry

On 8/26/2026 at 11:03 PM, Tyrone said:

Your prices are reasonable Richard but I’m a palm nutcase and I know the hurdles to produce your top quality palms.

It’s the old question of passion vs profitability. If profitability is your aim, grow a billion golden canes and sell to Bunnings. The passion will be non existent, you might as well grow sugar cane like all the sugar cane farmers before you but your accountant will be happy. If passion is your aim grow all the rarest stuff and sell nothing because you love them too much and nobody will pay what you want. Somewhere in the middle is what you want. A nice mix of profitability and passion to keep you interested. Never lose the passion. We need people like you.

Totally agree with that.

You'll grow the Sabinaria regardless of whether you make your money back on it, because you enjoy the challenge and love the plant, if you happen to sell a few along the way the costs are slightly defrayed...but really it's irrelevant, because you'll do it anyway. Try explaining that to an accountant - their head would explode!

That's the real strength of a small business based on a hobby - passion - and you've got it in spades Richard, so power on.