US retailers (rant warning)

[JB in Utah]

I may be new to this forum, but I wholeheartedly agree with everyone who has posted. I often contemplate the Heliamphora and Cephalotus prices that I see on European sites and try to justify the shipping costs. I find it lame that most American retailers only have a couple species of Helis, but one Euro-site had many of the described species, including H. sarraceniodes which I absolutely love, not to mention several hybrids. I realize that I may not be completely competent yet to grow these plants, but there's no better way to find out than growing one, and not just by proxy - love everyone's photos that they share of these beauties BTW.

When I lived in the Czech Republic for two years I had no idea that there was 'gold in them there hills.' Of course it would have been extremely impractical to bring CPs home on the flight. Imagine the look on my neighbor's face when I would ask him or her to "Please stop violating my Heliamphora!"

[mark.ca]

JB, price is not the issue here. Prices are made by you, me and everybody else. As long as some are willing to pay 200$ for a stupid cephalotus the seller will take it. This is about the possibility to buy certain species. Possibility...or maybe impossibility. Many will pay big $ for them but they don't have where to buy then from.

Tamlin, i'm just curious...You, from what i now, had a big collection of pygmy drosera...right?
What happened to them and the plants you sent away? I remember 4 years ago even if you wanted to buy them you could not find any. On this forum nobody had more than just a few to trade. A few popped up on ebay selling a gemmae for 3$!!! It seemed like they got lost somewhere.
It's all about the demand. You don't think a big ocean can stop a seller from getting them, do you?!