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I got some new plants!

  • #21
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
 
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  • #22
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.
 
  • #23
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.
 
  • #24
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!
 
  • #25
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.
 
  • #26
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.
 
  • #27
I would take my chances ordering A wild seed grown Ventrata for Antarctica before i would buy from them ever again.
 
  • #28
"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.
 
  • #29
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.
 
  • #30
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... :-(
 
  • #31
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 . . .
 
  • #32
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
 
  • #33
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.
 
  • #34
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.
 
  • #35
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.
 
  • #36
"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.
 
  • #37
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:
 
  • #38
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
 
  • #39
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!
 
  • #40
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
 
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