Agree that the prices are up but, the orchids seem to be bigger, better and the three I just purchased are in very good shape. I have got some sorry plants from ebay in the past.

Nick,

'tis the season for TAX REFUND checks. Ask again in two months....plus + + +

--Stitz--

I have to agree with you all. I just purchased a few plants this weekend (4 plants to be exact) spent close to $90 with the shipping. This vendor (Kawamotoorchids on ebay) that I have recently discovered had 500 orchid listings for sale "Crazy!!!". Some were "buy it now", but most were auctions! I estimate that they had over 300 different orchids for sale! They must have sold almost all of the plants because I only won 4 out of the 24 items that I bid on "Darn it!" I bid a maximum of $18 each and still no luck! This has to be the most awesome selection of orchids I have ever seen on ebay from 1 vendor! They must have a Huge nursery to house this many plants. I have been very impressed with size "Really large cattleya's" and quality and service. You may pay a little more for the shipping, but the packing is second to None! I asked how come they do not use U.S.P.S and they said "that many of there orchids do not fit in the prepaid boxes". They also said that the prepaid boxes are "flimsy and cheaply made compared to their "custom flower boxes". They also said the post office does not guarantee the box will get to its destination in 2 days. This Vendor uses Federal Express 2nd day service and always emails a tracking number. I was very impressed with the speed, in which they answered my questions. They seem so confident that I would be satisfied with the plants they told me to "compare them with other competitors". No comparison!!! I ordered a Blc. Lawless Walkiire 'The Ultimate' from them that was extremely healthy with at least 10 canes and 4 new leads. I recommend buying any plant that is in a 5" pot from them. The economy must be making a come back or the Orchid industry is turning itself around for the better, because bidding on orchids is getting tough! I would recommend looking on ebay for this seller, but I would be screwing myself up for next weekend (I already have 7 things I'm bidding on) :) They already have 497 orchid listings (also the owner told me "more new items will be listed on Tuesday") on ebay for this week Sunday. Good luck everyone!

Apart from it being Spring, and tax refund season ;), there have always been crazy Ebay buyers and sellers - I've been using it for 10 years and there's always a good handful of people who, for whatever their reasons, grossly overpay or seem to think Ebay is the only place to buy orchids even when they would save money buying literally the same plants direct from standalone vendors. And of course there are always sellers ready to prey on them with "specimens", "rare" plants, etc... Ebay, while sometimes useful, is a truly bizarre phenomenon, imho. By now I'm sure many dissertations have been written on the subject, I won't try to address to the topic in a single forum post. (lol)

Otherwise, it's become rather a mantra in our consumption-driven society that people splurge on comparatively small things as compensation of various sorts when they can't afford bigger-ticket items.

A lot of people are hesitant to have orchids shipped to their homes during the winter and wait instead until the weather is warm again in the spring. While it is only occasionally that I find a plant I really want on eBay that I can't buy from a regular online dealer, noting where the seller is shipping from is a first consideration. I don't order orchids from Hawaii or up North during the winter, except from a few proven companies.