I got some new plants!

[swords]

I received quite possibly the worst plants I've ever received today. Opening each plant was like a bad surprise party where each gift is worse than the next.

Here's the worst two:

N. ampullaria 'Harlequin' (assorted clones)
http://www.alienflora.com/gallery/nampharlequin.jpg

I always wanted a red ampullaria but what is wrong with this one I received? Is it virus ridden or been kept in the wrong temps or what makes the growth tip look like this? It was healthy at one point as the old leaves are decently shaped/sized for a plant this size but it looks as if there's something amiss at the growing tip. If you can't see it 4 of the latest leaves it's made are only about 1/2" long and curled.

Begonia bipinnatifida
http://www.alienflora.com/gallery/begbipinnatifida.jpg
You wouldn't know it by the picture but it's called a "fern leaf Begonia" which makes small red ferny sort of leaves. There are NO actual leaves on the plant I received, just two sticks poking out of the soil and a very tiny leaf start (circle #1) a couple leaf fragments on the soil surface. As I took the picture a piece of the perlite woke up and started crawling around (circle #2) it's some sort of pill bug looking thing. I put this plant in a ziplock so the bug doesn't escape to my other plants. The amp will be misted with rubbing alcohol and then moved to LFS and out of the peat/perlite it's in.

I'm not naming the vendor but I will be in touch with them, I don't expect replacement plants or even a refund but I at least wish to air my displeasure. I have ordered plenty of terrarium specimens from them in the past without any complaints but this is simply ridiculous.

[mark.ca]

You don't have to name them ...we know who they are. The problem is they sell the plants right after they import them, no recovery period or at least not enough ...this is why they look like somebody step on them.
Don't worry ...they will recover if you keep them warm and give them light...don't repot them now, just leave them alone for now.

[SirKristoff]

Yep i tried them again finally to see if they got better, got an amp harlequin from them as well. doesnt look much different than yours.

[swords]

Not the amp though, that guy needs LFS - I'm generally "peataphobic"! lol

I just don't understand what happened with these guys. They used to sell pretty good plants... granted it's been a number of years since I last ordered from them (due to not having any plants for a few years) but "downhill" is an understatement.

How mad would you be if you bought a hamata for $200 that looked like that amp I got! :(
Additionally,WHY is a hamata $200? I paid $50 for mine like 8-10 years ago, weren't they "rarer" in cultivation back then?

[Capensis]

Y'ouch.

Edit:
I paid $50 for mine like 8-10 years ago, weren't they "rarer" in cultivation back then?

Perhaps they weren't as much in demand like now?

[SirKristoff]

Well the ones they have on there are the 2 seedgrown ones, which were 120$ from BE....gotta make a profit somehow i guess, but damn.

[swords]

A big price is fine for a well grown specimen plant but it better not look like what we got with our harlequin amps for that sort of money. The prices at the local orchid shop are not pretty but the plants are stunning and rare specimens, you're wowed into buying.
Whereas I might leave empty handed from a greenhouse displaying plants that look like this.

[SirKristoff]

Yep i 100% agree Swords.
It is rather ridiculous as these were also the guys who gave me spider mites last year. i vowed to never buy from them again
but i had to try with an amp again, and even though its not the true original harlequin, i thought id give it a shot.
i think these are brunei red x harlequin

[swords]

Are spidermites what made all the deep red pits on the old leaf you see at the 9 o'clock position?

[nesler]

I know it's a policy to not allow the mention of other sellers on this site, but shouldn't an exception be made in this case, in order to protect future would-be buyers? (I don't know who this seller is that everyone has had such nasty experiences with). It seems like it'd be safe to mention this seller, since mentioning the site wouldn't be pushing buyers away from flytrapshop.com, but towards it, if anything.

[Celtics2008]

swords, Im sorry to see your new plants in rough shape. I got a heliamphora from the same vendor last year. It was growing horizontally not vertically like normal growing plants, and each pitcher was cracked, filled with growing medium (although I would expect something like that to happen due to shipping). Not sure why they keep selling plants in the same condition...swore I wouldn't order from them again after receiving a plant growing sideways. At a CP show back in september they had smaller, but somewhat decent looking plants for sale...but the things they send out to customers as of late look like they've been drop kicked/ infected with pests. They weren't very friendly either when I asked them about a Nepenthes that was in the sale area, but was apparently not for sale.....Good luck with your plant rehab.

[swords]

There is always the PM feature if you are burning with desire to know (and really can't figure it out) but as I said this was the first poor shipment after buying from them a number of times in years gone by. Sorry to hear others have gotten bad shipments as well, I wonder what changed in their operation?

[adnedarn]

I think I know who it is and got my spotted amp and a couple other things a few years ago. Also had spider mites and top growth looked bad... I lost the others withing a couple weeks thinking they'd pull though bud didn't. Unfortunately I didn't check for mites till it was too late and my whole collection was infested. My amp now looks great and I love it- but it took quite a while to get where it is today :p



I know it's a policy to not allow the mention of other sellers on this site, but shouldn't an exception be made in this case, in order to protect future would-be buyers? (I don't know who this seller is that everyone has had such nasty experiences with). It seems like it'd be safe to mention this seller, since mentioning the site wouldn't be pushing buyers away from flytrapshop.com, but towards it, if anything.

This is the policy because we have decided that if you cannot praise a company for a job well done, you also cannot pick apart a company. I wouldn't feel right about having a section where you could complain about plants you get, but not allow you to boast about great plants you got (from the same place or elsewhere).

Andrew

[mark.ca]

I don't think it's mites in this case....just lack of recovery period. At least your plants come potted, right?...not the plant in one corner of the box and the pot in the other.
I'm a seller too and maybe i should not complain about how others are doing their business but they really do a horrible packing job...prices are very good. Lucky for me that i know how to bring back a plant from the dead...because that's exactly what i need to do now!:-O
I will check for mites later:0o:

[swords]

I have sold many cuttings of plants on ebay in the past to pay for new R/O filters and replacement bulbs and things but I'd be embarrassed to ship out plants like these two. With ebay people had better ship out good stuff cos the buyer gets to review it! lol

I'm not a hard customer to please, I understand how things move through the mail system and am forgiving with that aspect of plant shipments. I work in mailing and have to go to the airport annex on occasion you'd be appalled if you saw how "fragile" packages are tossed from one end of a room to the other and dropped in mail sorting carts but the plant has to be in good shape before it goes in the well packaged box. Ironically the packaging was the best part of the package I got today! lol

[mark.ca]

"Ironically the packaging was the best part of the package I got today! lol "
I wish i was that lucky! In my case, ironically, the one that got pulled out of its pot and break most of its roots is the one that's doing the best now after a month. I'm sure your amp is going to be fine...not sure about that second thing you got....are you sure you ordered a potted plant and not a soil mix and a pot?:lol:

[SirKristoff]

this arrived yesterday, same plant as yours from the same place
http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz130/SirKristoff2/ampharlequin002.jpg
http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz130/SirKristoff2/ampharlequin001.jpg

[mark.ca]

Please edit the partial name out of this picture, then feel free to resubmit it. We don't allow you to give part of the vendor's name with text, so you certainly cannot by picture. Thank you.

--Est

Mine was missing the tip

[ieat100s]

Yours actually looks quite eccept for the missing tip.

[SirKristoff]

damn man. and it was actually a decent plant too other than the tip. i think they need to stop selling plants this way, seriously. the packing job was crap too

[Entwadumela]

I like that "_______" part of your ID tag . . . ha, ha, ha :-))

E

I don't like it. Folks, please take care when posting your pictures here. If it's against the rules to have it written out, it's against the rules to have a picture of it written out -- even if it's just partial. It's not a stretch to figure out what a store is if I show a tag that says "ly trap sho".

--Est

[back2eight]

They are notoriously bad with their plants. They have tried selling on ebay as well, and keep getting bad feedback. I bought from them once and will not do so again, especially since I now have a business license and an import license and can get the same plants they can.

On the price issue, the general idea for retail is to double your wholesale cost plus an extra 15 percent. Most plant people can't afford to do that because it makes the final cost to the customer too high. Retail stores do this however. Doing this will cover your wholesale cost plus any shipping and other fees that you had to pay to get the plants to you. Plus you have to heat, cool, water them, and since they come in bare root you have to have pots and soil ready, and greenhouses. All of this costs money that is not figured into the wholesale cost. So when someone knows that a Hamata is on BE website for 120 and you wonder why people are charging 200, they are not actually getting 80 bucks profit on that plant. Actual profit is much less than that. And if you have employees or any other bills that you have to pay, your profit dwindles even more. Ebay and paypal have huge fees, or if you have an online store you are paying fees, taking a credit card charges fees, and you have to have CITES permits if you are importing, and that costs as well. There is actually only a very small profit margin in plant sales. I am constantly amazed when I see plants from BE going for as cheap as they do on the retail market, because I know exactly how expensive it is to get them here and to keep them healthy and thriving, which mine are. Mine have grown out of the S category and into the M size and I only got them late October. They certainly look nothing like those pictured in this thread, that's awful.

[elgecko]

I never got any plants from them through the mail.
I was lucky and bought from them at the 2006 ICPS conference in MD. I was able to look at and touch the plant before I purchased it.

It's ashame that a company would ship out plants looking like that. I would be embarrassed to do so.

[thez_yo]

I got some utter garbage from them too - just threw out the remnants of what they sold me as a 4" amp that was really just a twig with gnarled leaves about 3 months ago. No replacements and no reply after they asked for a pic and I sent it to them asking why my plants arrived in such bad condition. The platychila I got from them was worth it and I'm glad it survived, but yowsa I'm never buying from them again considering I think they gave me bugs as well!

[dashman]

I have heard of a few complaints from them as well...

I finally decided to order from them. I got a Truncata Pasian and a Bical from them a month or two ago. Aside from the Truncata being in a Peat/Perlite mix with very little roots to speak of, I was pretty happy. I quicly repotted it and it is doing pretty good. Also, The bical actually had pitchers on it (although damaged from shipping). But all in all they were healthy and pest free.

Now that I read this, I think I will check for spider mites again. I hate those things. I have only had one case of it, but it nearly killed the plant. I ended up chopping off the main growth point once it formed two basals because I couldn't seem to get rid of them.

[mark.ca]

Many LL do well in peat/perlite so i really don't think you should blame them for using that has a soil mix...truncata and bical grow well on that mix.

[CN]

I would take my chances ordering A wild seed grown Ventrata for Antarctica before i would buy from them ever again.

[back2eight]

"very little roots to speak of" is normal. That is how BE sends them out. Sometimes with just a "thread", not much root at all.

[dashman]

Many LL do well in peat/perlite so i really don't think you should blame them for using that has a soil mix...truncata and bical grow well on that mix.


Unless I am mistaken (highly possible, probable, likely.. :)), truncata Pasian can be found in HL and LL and are distinguisable by pitcher color. Since mine is more red than green, I assumed it was highland so I decided to repot in a highland mix. I had thought only lowland truncatas did well in peat. I could be wrong there on both accounts, but was going from the info I could obtain at the time.

Yes, I left the bical in the peat mix and as I said it is healthy and doing well. I doubt it would do very well in a highland mix.

Point is... overall I was happy with my purchase and will probably purchase from them again in the future... except for amps.

[Jefforever]

Dashman - My hh and LL truncatas look very similar. Both have a lot of red in them.

This vendor was actually one of the first I ever bought from. They were actually fantastic a few years ago. I wonder what happened... :-(

[BigBella]

I know it's a policy to not allow the mention of other sellers on this site, but shouldn't an exception be made in this case, in order to protect future would-be buyers? (I don't know who this seller is that everyone has had such nasty experiences with). It seems like it'd be safe to mention this seller, since mentioning the site wouldn't be pushing buyers away from flytrapshop.com, but towards it, if anything.

I am sure that those who had the issues with the vendor would be happy to reply to a PM . . .

[Av8tor1]

I remember 3-4 years ago hearing something about a Mass. vendor (started with an E) buying them out. They had as spotty reputation themselves and their shipping methods were/are very similar.
But I have no confirmation one way or another,

They were very aggressive at gaining market share, but ended up burning some bridges with a few online CP groups. Then about the same time these rumors started the "E" vendor went under the radar.

soooooooooooo maybe, maybe not

I dunno

Av

[swords]

I remember from years ago when I was getting rid of my old plant collection that this place I ordered from was actually advertising to have someone knowledgeable in CPs apply and come to work for them. I had assumed by they'd really have their stuff together by now.

[justjack]

Sad. As a newbie I got a macfarleni, a villosa, and a raff from them. Under newbie care all perished but the macf.. I still loooove it! Too bad to see the company go south. :(
It sucks too watch someone else's aspirations dreams or efforts crumble, especially when they resemble yours or involve you, even as a customer.

[Nepfreak]

I'm about 45 minutes away from this place. Some of their plants are okay, some suck. No in between. I've seen their stock greenhouse a few times. Generally all the common ones, or anything "LARGE" is a safe bet. All their lowlanders suck. If there's one thing they are good about, it's terrarium supplies and frogs. Luckily, you can't kill a terrarium or mister, and they'll give you a big bag of cypress mulch for something like $4. But overall, I wouldn't suggest buying any CPs from these guys unless you can see it in person.

[mark.ca]

"Ironically the packaging was the best part of the package I got today! lol "
They pack their stuff differently sometimes....
Yours looks nicely done not like mine was...just noticed the details in your photo.

[thez_yo]

When I got mine from them, my packing was sopping wet chunks of newspapers. Think...take the roll you pick up in the morning from your front yard, don't unroll & douse it with water, shove it in a box, throw in a plant, and shove another wadded up piece of wet newspaper on top :censor:

[glider14]

i went the the NECPS show in September of 07. they had a stand of a bunch of plants which i spent nearly $100 worth on. of course i got to pick out the plants i got.... and man did i have to search. i ordered plants from them in may of the same year and they really werent in that bad of shape. packageing sucked. easter grass. but the plants werent damaged. i probably will never order again after what i see here.

Alex

[SirKristoff]

any time ive ordered from them, packaging always sucked! especially this time
like stated above, sopping wet newspaper rapped around the plant and in a sealed plastic bag!
the other times, the newspaper was dry, plants were in some crappy mulch, many had broken growth tips, and they had freaking spider mites to boot!

[swords]

On a more positive note I had a box of orchids coming my way (not from the same people) and it was lost in the mail last week. The USPS had no results for the tracking # all week or this whole weekend but they arrived today in good shape. I'm shocked but they look just fine, firm leaves, moist soil, decent packaging (free 72 hour heat pack which was cold now) and no ripped off/deformed leaves or bugs. Apparently wherever they got lost was at least warm! :D

[Lil Stinkpot]

I once had a box get lost. It was replaced for free. I never saw the first box.

[swords]

I sent a box of succulents to someone in June and they were notified 3 times by their postman and the package was held at their PO for several weeks and finally returned to me in August. The plants dead of course, but I've still never heard from the guy asking where his plants are. I've always wondered if he died or got sent to Iraq or thrown in jail or what? ???

i still have his box of dead plants with all the postal stamps just incase he ever emails...

[Lil Stinkpot]

So sad.....


On the bright side, I also had a box of big Neps make it from Canada. THAT was a treat! I bought each for about $25, and I got (to me) $50 worth in each pot; two of the three had basals. I still have them.

[SirKristoff]

my amp has recovered quite nicely and is putting out a nice healthy leaf now. how about yours swords?

[BuddhistAdam]

Well at least THAT is some good news! Congrats on the new Orchids! good luck with the new amp and fern! lol didnt notice how old this post was.. little late..

[swords]

Mine is starting to come back too, the first new leaf didn't have a pitcher but I think this latest one that's opening will have a pitcher, at least it has the little bud on the end of the leaf that could be a pitcher if all goes well. Surely the 3rd leaf should have one. It's actually coming back a lot faster than I imagined it would/could. Now if I could just make it spread carpet-style faster...

[SirKristoff]

cruddy iPhone photo
http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz130/SirKristoff2/ampharl.jpg

[uphwiz]

other than a little blurry thats a pretty nice camera on that phone.

[SirKristoff]

swords, how is your amp doing? mine is now inflating 2 pitchers and is in good health now......even producing nectar drops all over its leaves....id be interested in seeing how yours is doing now....

[swords]

Mine is coming along, it got cast into shade by a emerging gigantic Philo leaf so that slowed it down. I've moved it's pot into direct lighting now so it should start to inflate a pitcher soon - at least it's still alive!

[SirKristoff]

here is mine now, in what i would say is good health...its producing nectar drops on its leaves, cant tell in the crappy pic but you get the idea. leaves are green and red....
http://i820.photobucket.com/albums/zz130/SirKristoff2/amp.jpg

[Chris_Himself]

Is anybody interested in hearing my story? It's pretty good. Most of my neps are from them, and they're lookin good but I've gotten some crap from them as well and it's pretty BAAD. I spent all night ranting to Amphiron about it. I feel bad for the poor guy...

[Presto]

Amazing how small the CP community is, isn't it? Some of us are friends with these guys. It's painful to watch you talking about our friends this way.

Some of you are justifiably upset with the quality of your purchases. But really, is whining about it on a public forum the best course of action? It won't solve anything. If everybody who was upset with their purchases wrote them a letter instead, they would get the picture.

[Exo]

If everybody who was upset with their purchases wrote them a letter instead, they would get the picture.

Or, They simply wouldn't give a crap and would keep on selling bad plants. You really think that these vendors didn't notice that the plants that they send look terrible?

[BuddhistAdam]

kinda hard not to notice crappy plants leaving YOUR store... just sayin! (not any of you guys!)

[Presto]

Yeah, but if nobody makes their thoughts known, maybe they figure that nobody's bothered by it. There's no way they would have stayed in business as long as they have if they didn't "give a crap" about the customer.

I maintain that directly contacting the business and politely letting them know why you're upset will get you much further than passively complaining about it. This goes for any business, not just this situation.

[Chris_Himself]

I actually am in contact with him and I have been for 1.5 months. My story is just exceptional in quality and me and Amp definitely had a good time talking about it. If we don't communicate to the vendor, the vendor is out of the loop on the quality of his plants. If we don't share with the community, the community is out of the loop on the quality of the plants.

So if we follow your example, than the ebay feedback system must be pretty inefficient then?

I digress, I actually am happy with the company even with all it's faults and I still actually plan to buy there again when they get new inventory in stock if they maintain their price points. Richard is a nice guy and I have just been a victim of some seriously unfortunate events.

[RSS]

I've ordered from this company twice, once because like everyone else I did not know any better. The second time the prices were just so low I figure whatever.

Both times I didn't get "bad" plants I got ok plants. From the lowlands I recieved I would think they were grown in my living room.

Its very easy to do a google search of this company and find all sorts of negative comments, even if the customers are not beating down the greenhouse door demanding refunds its clear they are not doing research and thats a bad thing for them and good thing for the hobbist that discovers there extra plants and E-bay.

Anyway here is one of the Nep. amps 6 months later, it has lots of roots and I only have 1 leaf without a pitcher now. So there is Hope!

I hated the peat mix they sent it in, I had to repot it quickly

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39807474@N07/4511829537/" title="005 by randallsimpson, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2155/4511829537_85a2384a21_b.jpg" width="1024" height="685" alt="005" /></a>