Bonsai sellers

[aa-rocketry]

    eBay NEEDS to crack down on **bleep** sellers of bonsai!  I would be willing to bet at least 75% of so called bonsai sales are illegal as they have no AGRICULTURE LICENSE, therefore their plants / cuttings can not be transported or shipped across state lines!  They could be sending out and spreading many plant diseases and or bugs to areas that don't have them!  Each seller should be required to put there ag license number in their listings, and eBay SHOULD verify it!

    I personally (a few years back) sold very nice "established" bonsai trees on here until the market got flooded with these type of sellers...out strictly for a buck, and not caring who they screwed.  Yes, I had an ag license, and had two nurseries in two different states.  

    Overlooking the lack of licensing, what I have recently observed on here are clowns selling "pre bonsai cuttings" which may or may not grow...depending upon the species I would venture to say about 90% of the cuttings would not ever take root for the purchaser!  Besides that, why pay $15 and up for a piece of a branch when you could go out and cut one yourself?  But my biggest complaint is the ones selling bonsai that (just) went to their local box store or nursery, bought a plant, went home and stuck it in a pot and called it a bonsai after doing a little trimming and selling them for $60 to $200!  An experienced bonsai person can detect that trick quite rapidly, as they can see the fresh cutting on the plant...THIS IS NOT AN ESTABLISHED BONSAI, and is worth no more than the cost of the plant and pot!!!  Just as the cuttings, it's a scam for a buck, as many of them die within a month of receiving them!  

    An established bonsai is just that...ESTABLISHED, it has been growing in the pot which it is in for one year plus!

    Also, MOST all of the sellers say you can grow it indoors or outdoors.......**bleep** on that one too!  A tropical can be grown indoors, but all other trees are outdoor ONLY, especially junipers, which I see many listed as can be grown indoors!  They can be moved inside for one or two days for show, but will not tolerate much time away from their normal climate...  Either these people are just plane ignorant and watch too much tv with bonsai trees, or they just don't give a **bleep** and are out for the buck!

    All trees should come with care instructions also, directed to indoor or outdoor, or even more specific to that particular species, which I doubt very few send along with the purchase.

    I personally no longer have my nurseries, but still care for and grow bonsai, some as old as 80 years that I have been caring for just shy of 30 years myself.  I just had to voice my opinion as I hate seeing people getting ripped off, then having a bad outlook on the hobby due to their loss which hurts legitimate bonsai sellers in the long run, as well as the craft / hobby...

    PLEASE LEAVE ANY COMMENT YOU HAVE, AND PLEASE PUSH THIS ISSUE WITH EBAY!

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@southern*sweet*tea 

Sweet tea I think you stated a very knowledgeable post that you are very familiar with ( being in the deep south)

Last time I replied to a plant post about " how they should buy American and invasive bugs" I got reamed by the OP ( again, not this post).

     Me being in the desert, the only thing I plant is my behind in a outdoor chair and crack a beer! 99* this Saturday, let the games begin!

[Anonymous]

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@silverstatetreasureboxes wrote:

@southern*sweet*tea 

Sweet tea I think you stated a very knowledgeable post that you are very familiar with ( being in the deep south)

Last time I replied to a plant post about " how they should buy American and invasive bugs" I got reamed by the OP ( again, not this post).

     Me being in the desert, the only thing I plant is my behind in a outdoor chair and crack a beer! 99* this Saturday, let the games begin!

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@silverstatetreasureboxes  Lotta that going around. The plant folk are protective indeed. I'm still walking funny 😁 

@southern*sweet*tea  That part about the regional seed thing was quite enlightening indeed. Thanks for sharing!

[southern*sweet*tea]

@Anonymous   You're very welcome!  🙂

[Anonymous]

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@aa-rocketry wrote:

All I can say to you without being nasty is may all the Japaneses beetles and killer hornets as well as many other non-native things infest your land

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I'm allergic to vespidae so, yeah, thanks.

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@Anonymous 

     Yeah the plant people will get ya! And it's funny ( on that other post) all I said was basically the same thing this OP is stating, about invasive bugs and plants and the perfect example in which sweet tea is all to familiarize with is Kudzu!

[greenhousefoliage]

I sell plants on Ebay and other online venues. I sell starter plants and cuttings of rare plants so I don't know much about the bonsai community. I only sell within the USA and I am permitted to ship plants to California, Texas and Hawaii. I am a responsible and experienced online plant seller.

I absolutely understand your rant about sketchy bonsai sellers. I posted a rant myself about some plant sellers wanting hundreds of dollars for clearly damaged and/or unhealthy cuttings and plants. Those sellers make us all look bad. Especially since people actually buy those cuttings/plants.

However someone here gave me some good advice that I am going to tell you . . . 

A lot of people buying plants, or bonsai online simply don't know what to look for.  Tell people in the condition section and/or in the description on your listing what they should look for and avoid.

I took this advice and changed my listings to subtly tell buyers what to look for. For example, things such as looking for undamaged, healthy leaf/ plants and for sellers that post pictures of the parent plant that any cuttings came from.

Since you are obviously upset about the shady dealings of some other sellers, then do something about it. Find a way to let people know what to look for when buying bonsai online and what to avoid.

Be part of the solution instead of just complaining about the problem. Ebay makes money no matter if the plant/bonsai sold is damaged, unhealthy or fraudulent so they have little interest in solving the problem for you.

[redmodelt]

Think about all the millions of boxes being transported across this country and all the pest that can hitch a ride. I bet the killer hornet didn't even get here on plants but was probable in a load of something from over seas. Heck they could have been hiding in the fender well of a car that was offloaded in Seattle.

[greenhousefoliage]

I am one of the 'plant people' and this is the first time I have seen any other 'plant people' besides myself on the community pages.

I don't get nasty with anyone

[shag182]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't know much about bonsai but I do know a random rant when I see one.

Shady Bonsai sellers. Now I've heard it all.

Also I sense anger and passion for the hobby from you...

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I also sense a bit of anger too, and I think the OP also offended Mr Miyagi:

[aa-rocketry]

Comments that lack sarcasm and put downs...after all, this potentially effects all people one way or another!  A simple fact, I "had" a plumb tree with an issue, which I cut down.  If I was to send a single plumb or cutting to anywhere where pitted fruit (plumb, peach, cherry) is grown that one plumb or cutting could wipe out an entire orchard!  Get the drift?  That's why there are transport laws in effect and why the ag dept does inspections...

[aa-rocketry]

Very well stated!  But since I no longer am licensed I do not sell any of my trees on here, therefore I can't inform people what to look out for...  Attached is one of my babies, I've been working this tree for 28 years now.  Not a current picture, it's been styled more and looks even better now!  5" trunk, 30" canopy, and 22" tall from bottom of pot.