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Recent Cephalotus Price Explosion

Has anyone noticed that beginning this summer ebay auctions for cephs have been skyrocketing? plants that once went for about $30 or $40 are now going in the $100 to $200 range (even tiny new crown growth cephs are going for $50). any theories on this?
 
I think I'll go with the supply / demand theory. There are not many cephs available out there, and people are willing to pay big bucks for them.
 
i better start to get my ceph ready for next summer. "RARE CEPHALOTUS CARNIVOROUS PLANT!! WOW GREAT DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" riches...here i come!! hahha!
Alex
 
hahaha no kidding glider, I get tired of seeing those ads... Another theory could be there is only one person selling (or a group of people) and there are other people that help bump the auctions. I've seen quite a few plant auctions where the bidders are "private" and that worries me. It makes it so you can't watch to see if the same people are always bidding for the same people.
 
yeah ive noticed this too, and the good cephs are going for insane prices. look at that pretty nice crown on ebay right now. its like the 5th day and its at $50 i predict it'll go to $150
 
A while ago a clump sold for 600 dollars. It may have been a clump of "Hummer's Giant", can't remember.

The bidder was public and a well-known individual. Some of us even have plants that came from him.
 
yeah ive noticed this too, and the good cephs are going for insane prices. look at that pretty nice crown on ebay right now. its like the 5th day and its at $50 i predict it'll go to $150

I hope so.

I needed the room so it had to go.
 
bidding conspiracy theory...

i thought about the reason for this recent spike in ceph auction bids being a scheme to artifically inflate sales prices, but i have seen the same thing with many different sellers so it's hard to believe everyone is in on it... and if that were the case why isn't there a similar spike in auction bids for other cps?

i too have a few cephs and have recently felt the pressure to keep them healthy in case this trend continues, but the weird thing with me is that for whatever reason i have found that my cephs are easier to keep alive here in So. Cal than even vfts... but for some reason it seems like there is some supply and demand element going on. almost every internet cp nursery lists cephs as 'out of stock' but you can get some of the most sensative and hard to grow nephs anytime you want....

go figure.
 
The one currently on Ebay & the one in a larger pot enjoying the room.
cephstyp.jpg


a better shot.
cephtyp.jpg


The Ceph 'Hummer's Giant' are to laugh at, since they are so small in the larger pots.
cephsall.jpg
 
  • #10
$600... crazy!!! i mean what happens if it's lost in the mail or dies from shock? even if you are buying from a reputable person you can't guaruntee what happens in the shipping process... i don't care how nice the plant looks, i'd never spend that much for something that had to be shipped... it would have to be an in person transaction....

wow....
 
  • #11
$600... crazy!!! i mean what happens if it's lost in the mail or dies from shock? even if you are buying from a reputable person you can't guaruntee what happens in the shipping process... i don't care how nice the plant looks, i'd never spend that much for something that had to be shipped... it would have to be an in person transaction....

wow....
That is what postal insurance is for.
 
  • #12
I hope so.

I needed the room so it had to go.
$150? that clump looks soooo much better and more established than the others that have gone for $100+ recently that i'd make book on at least $200. if it doesn't t here is something rotten going on... but who knows... these things go in waves i suppose... i recently bidded on a vft cultivar a few weeks ago and got it for about $13... this week another plant from the same mother plant went for over $35 before shipping.
 
  • #13
I think some people are forgetting how slow these plants grow. These plants dont split as quickly as sarracenia or fly traps and grow even slower from seed !!
 
  • #15
Correct, USPS will not insure plants!
Peter.
 
  • #16
Makes me glad that I kept my Hummer's Giant when I went through my massive CP downsize way back when. It's happily growing in a low-light terrarium, retaining its beautiful, bright green coloring.
 
  • #17
el gecko, you also have that hamata for sale. Your insane to let even a baby side plant go. Your hamata are soooooo beautifull, im suprised you wouldn't trade it for a equally rare plant, for that hamata most people would trade real neat plants.
 
  • #18
It seems to me that tons of people have cephs. I see them in many, many growlists. I don't understand why they are in such demand if they are fairly common. Heck, even I had some (until an unfortunate repotting incident) and it wasn't very expensive (but it was TINY).
 
  • #19
el gecko, you also have that hamata for sale. Your insane to let even a baby side plant go. Your hamata are soooooo beautifull, im suprised you wouldn't trade it for a equally rare plant, for that hamata most people would trade real neat plants.

Thanks for the comment on the N. hamata.
I did trade / sell / give a few of the cuttings away to other growers.
My biggest problem is room. I just currently do not have room for more plants.
I'm rearranging what I have as I need to repot a few other neps into bigger pots. This is why the ceph and N. hamata cutting are on ebay right now.
I think it will be May / June of next year and I'll be taking more cutting of the N. hamata anyway. When they vine they really take off growing. And she's on here way to the ceiling again.
 
  • #20
Both my Cephs I've got under $25 w/ shipping already included, but I HAVE seen some effed up prices! ???
 
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