Oh, you poor thing, let me give you a hug!!! I say "fie on SBOE, Thailand and DOA!! (I'm jumping up and down and stomping my feet on your behalf) Wow, I feel lots better, hope you do too. All will be better soon.

Hey Lori

What a character building week you had. I envy you, how much you must have grown in these last few days.

Dept of Ag is a bear, import permits are free, they help so you won't receive any more empty boxes.

The GW trade is a bummer, please let me know who the offender is so I can avoid them, I know you are not allowed to make it public, a rule which should be changed.

The good State of Florida is another matter, no problem there. Place your order form SBOE, have them mail it here, I'll remove 10% of the plants for shipping and handling and pass the rest of them on to you.

Take heart, next week is guaranteed to be better, worse or the same so you have that to look forward to. I'll email you with the info for SBOE.

Nick

So sorry about your bad day. I IS Monday after all. We all have days like that so you are NOT alone.

P.S.,
I start drinking at 5:00pm! LOL! Only some Cabernet because red wine is good for you.

Sorry to hear about your ongoing battle. God is telling you something... just kidding.
You will quickly learn to find new places for your existing orchids, so hang in there.
Thai orchids are so tempting, but I have held up well so far. One way to look at it is, if they can freely send plants over here, all the local business will go down.
Last of all, it is a shame that some one has taken your plants and not responded back. Happened to me only once many years ago, the guy left town without informing me and the plant was outside- got killed by cold weather and he did not complete his end of trade- I am sure it will get around to him sometime. I will send you a truckload of white phals if you want....

It really will get better. Just go and sit near your orchids for a while and enjoy them. Daisies will never give you that kind of peace. As for drinking, my philosophy has always been that while it's, say, 3:00 p.m. here, it's 8:00 p.m. in London so I'd say you're overdue on a nice glass of wine. Have one for me too! (I'm recovering from a root canal, I have midterms and have TONS of repotting to do.)

Julie

Let folks know on the rates and review forum that you were stiffed by somebody on the garden forum. I'm sorry I didn't see this post earlier to let you know it certainly time to drink.
Barb

Lori
Boy, do I empathize! Wish i could fix you a Margarita. Remember, Orchids give you the Forum plus themselves, its all kind of delicate and lovely.

Glory

Yes, Nick, I'm building character and have grown! My character is now cynical and suspiscious, lol.

And regarding Thai orchids on Ebay...if it sounds too good to be true..well, you know the rest. Hopefully she'll get her money back from them, she said they had a perfect score in customer service. It was a birthday gift so I told her to send daisies instead, they're cheaper.

And thanks for the offer of white phals, but I had multiples which is why I sent him one, AS A GIFT! no less, the brassia and green flower was the true trade.

And there is a place to rate and review trades, so you can discuss them, and I am planning on doing so. But silly trusting me wonders if there's been some tragedy, or he went on vacation or such. I don't want to jump the gun and blast him only to find out there was a true problem. Even though I know there wasn't, how sick am I???? Prior to me sending my box, we exchanged 47 emails according to gmail. Multiple emails a day. The day I wrote that my box was in the mail they stopped. I had to write him and ask if he got it. He then wrote back and said yes, then I wrote a week later and said when's mine coming? He said tomorrow. It didn't. blah blah blah. I've decided if I don't hear by tomorrow I'm rating and reviewing him. This gives me a day to fester and then I can really blast him, lol.

Lori

All this is a bummer for sure. So sorry it happened to you.

Now, regarding the bad trade on this forum, you owe it to yourself and to all of us who regularly trade plants to file a Mail Fraud Complaint with the US Postal Service. See link below. I've known people who have been burned and did file the complaint and got results. If people don't take action with these jerks, scamming could become a regular occurrence.

I also took a look at your posting on the Exchange Forum and noticed you posted the first name of the guy and what state he lives in. Everyone should take a look.

Kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: Mail Fraud

Thanks for the heads up, I looked.

Nick

Follow-up to orchidnick's earlier advice -- if you want to directly import orchid plants (or any others) from outside the USA, you must have a permit.

It's easy. I've had one for nearly 30 years.

Contact Permit Services: Telephone (301) 734-0841 or (877) 770-5990 (Toll-Free Automated System); Fax (301) 734-4300; Email: Permits@aphis.usda.gov

These people are committed to quality. They have vastly improved their services through the past few years. Give them a chance to help you.

--Stitz--

Heads up everyone, still no word from the guy who got my orchids so I entered him in the Rate and Review Exchanges Forum. I did check there before trading with him but he didn't have a thread. I've traded with others who weren't reviewed and did fine so I wasn't suspiscious at all. I've been very lax in adding to the threads of those I have traded with so I will try to improve on that so no one ever gets taken again.

I went and looked at the mail fraud form. I'm not sure if I'll do that or not as no money was involved. Guess I'll save that for when my mood thoroughly deteriorates, lol.

And as to confiscated Ebay orchid and the permit--my sister had bought that orchid for me as a birthday present. I've never even used Ebay and considering my luck with orchids lately, I won't even consider getting a permit.

Finally, maybe it's the wine, but I'm starting to see the silver lining in all this orchid drama of the last two weeks....it's not that God doesn't want me to grow orchids anymore, she just doesn't want me to grow shade ones or any inside. He wants me to grow full sun ones outside! And that means whipping out that credit card and buying a bunch of new orchids. And that thought is having a dramatic effect on my mood...! Send recommendations while the plastic is out and the balance is low!
Lori

Here is a link that might be useful: Review of Trade with Taylor1952 in Ohio

I just tried something else. If you enter Taylor1952 in the Search box on the main page of this forum and then check Entire Site, you will find he has only been active on the trade pages. I see no posts at all on any of the Discussion Forums. I wonder how many other people he has ripped off?

Whenever I do a trade with someone I don't know, I always do this to see how active they have been on any of the GW forums.

As far the Fraud Form goes, your orchid had value. That's the amount you should use.

Kevin

Kevin-oops, I misunderstood. I thought you meant the fraud form for the guy who didn't hold up his end of the swap, not the orchid.

I couldn't do the form for the orchid either as the seller did indeed send the orchid, the fault was not on his end. It was confiscated by the Department of Agriculture at the port of entry, JFK airport. So it was they that took the orchid, not the seller that did not send it.
Lori

That's what I did mean. You sent orchids that had value expecting something of value in return. You got nothing. That is fraud. Like I said before, others have used this form in similar situations with success.

I just remembered one bad trade I did. I sent a TV box of orchids to this kid (at the time I didn't know he was a kid). He never sent his end of the trade and ignored my emails. Somehow I tracked him down in CO and actually found his phone number and called his mom. Needless to say, she took care of the matter. It was a great day!

Kevin

Kevin

I remember that incident, it was a number of years ago. Its amazing how few bad deals have happened, most people are simply straight up. I have made many trades and never suffered a loss so I assume every one is honorable until proven otherwise. Knowledge about a 'Taylor type' is valuable though.

Nick

OMG!!!! Kevin! Something you said about your scam being a kid hit a nerve. There was one line in one email with my scammer that I thought very "young"...as you can't tell with a name like Taylor, I asked if I was dealing with a man or woman. He wrote back that he was "a boy." I thought it a joke till I read your post. Then I did a google search for the full name and up comes a MySpace page with an orchid background for a 19 year old boy. Now I'm pissed. I then did a white page search for the last name and address I had mailed the orchids to and got a phone number and the parents name. I called and left them a message telling them their son was scamming people out of orchids and that if he didn't send me money for my orchids and postage, or orchids, I was going to file a mail fraud complaint. Sure hope the kid doesn't erase the message before mom and dad get it.

(clapping furiously here in Minnesota)

I am sooooooo happy and proud of you for doing this! Even if you get nothing from the phone call, this jerk is on notice and will think twice or even three times before doing this again.

Great work!!

Kevin

Good for you!!! If it isn't too much bother, I agree with the rest and file a mail fraud complaint. Welcome to the adult world 'boy'. I always wonder if these scammers just turn around and sell these stolen plants on ebay. There was a scammer from Lompoc CA a few years ago that would want to trade for really expensive plants such as AeAe bananas. When you google earth her address it was an apt complex in a city! Maybe she has luck growing them on her balcony but i doubt it.
Having said that, I've been very happy with my trades and I hope the people I've traded with have been happy with me.

Why is getting even so much fun? This morning, after I did all that I did, I email little old Tyler this...

If you're going to scam people, you should be more intelligent and not send them your name and address. They can then look you up on your MySpace page as well as get Donna and Roberts name and phone number. They can then call them and tell them what you're up to. They can also use all this to fill out a Mail Fraud Form with the US. Postal Service, just like I did.

And within an hour guess who emailed me back saying he'd send my orchids? I'm grinning from ear to ear.
Lori

Lori,

I just can't help but check this thread a few times per day. This is great!

I don't think it's so much as "getting even" as it is refusing to be a victim. I get so tired of people who have crappy things happen to them and then will not take any action when there are things they can do. (NOTE: You are NOT one of these people.) It's always easy to justify not doing anything (not worth it, too busy etc.), but when you do fight back it can be oh-so worth it. If nothing else, just for the great feeling.

I bet you anything this dude sends the plants.

Kevin

i bought some dendrobiums from here

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Royal-Orchid-Club__W0QQ_armrsZ1

i am new - but these seem reasonably priced and they give you a free orchid if you buy 3 [which are 6 actually].

I am really into mangoes as houseplant - brought safely back 8 seeds from fruits i ate in jamaica last mont -
i put 5 that were germinating outside my window on the fire escape and some squirrel ate 3 or 4 of them!!!

well have some left - and teh seeds from jamaica produced stronger lusher seedlings than any mango i got here in NYC.

Anyway that ebay store has many thai dendrobiums -
and you can buy 10 plants for 20 / 30 bucks....
you can buy a bunch that will bloom in a year or 2 maybe get a few that are about to bloom {{gwi:184031}}From phalaenopsis+mango

Here is a link that might be useful: ebay store - royal orchid club

I did not know about that site on EBay, its interesting to say the least and worth a closer look. They list 1,800 plus items. many of the plants appear over and over again. Many have no bids so it appears that if you bid on a plant, you bought it. I'm going to study the Cattleyas, the Oncidiums and the Dendrobiums in the $4.00 range. One bid gets you 2 plants for most of them, buy 3 and they give you a free plant their choosing. Probably a garbage Phalie or cane Dendrobium. $6 for postage for the first and $3 each for the other 2 brings the cost to $26 to $28 for 6, possibly 7 plants. That's less than $5 for a med sized plant, not bad if you choose right. I'm not buying yet, need to study the site some more but it got my attention.

The other thing they have is 10 Catts, Oncs, Dends or Phalies packaged for $20. Their choice. I might try the Catts and the Oncidiums just to see what they send. It would be $55 for 20 plants, less than $3 per plant. They describe them as just having grown out of the community pot. That's in the eyes of the beholder, again depends on how big they are and the quality of the plants. The price is right, the plants may or may not be right. If I do it I will report back.

I'm not going to do anything right now, will wait to see if anyone has experience with them, if you do please chime in.

Nick

I've heard bad things about that place, ranging from sort of bad to really bad. Check out the post below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Previous thread regarding that store

I forgot to say, good for you, Lori! I'm glad you let him know he couldn't get away with that. I always think it's valuable to fight back, even if you don't win. It's a message to yourself that you aren't going to just sit back and take it. I feel like too many people let themselves feel powerless.

Oh, and btw, I'm quite happy with my trade with you, Barb. I hope the violets are doing well!

Nick, no, don't go for it. Only the BS plants are good, rest are too small, bare root, dry as a bone and when they get to you, they invariably lick the dust. If you have some extra $$ to throw around send 'em to me!! Lori, hope you get something back- and thanks for the mail that you sent me!

They come from the Orient, Vanda country, some of the feedback was complimentary about their Vanda types. Vandas can also handle dry spells, so maybe I'll try them with some Vanda types, I can see where small Catts could not take that kind of treatment.

Have you actually physically seen their setup?

Nick

I sent them a question to see how long it would take to get a response. About 2 hours.

I have ordered 4 Vanda types in the $4 range, will report when I get them which won't be until Aug 7th.

Nick

Jane,
Thanks! and thanks for the African violets. They are doing beautifully.
Barb

Royal Orchid Club is Bill Asia, check his feedback . According to him it is always the buyers fault if there is a problem . Gin

He even lied on his MySpace page, saying he was 19. I got this from him this morning...

i am 14, i have to get my parrents to send them out, and stuff hasnt been going well
i am sorry

Do you think he's properly scared yet? or should I continue?
Lori

Yes, absolutely - continue! What does he mean "stuff hasn't been going well?" Can't he come up with his end of the bargain? If he lied once, he certainly could be doing it again and if you let him off the hook, the only thing he'll learn is by whining he can get away with this crap.

If it were me, I wouldn't even be dealing with him any longer. I would be in contact with his parents. I sure they would also love to know he has a Myspace page and is claiming to be 19.

Kevin

Lori,

Good grief! Yes, the Orchid Angels aren't supposed to give us more than we can handle re: our 'chids, but sometimes, it sure seems they make a mistake and put us on the list of growers who can handle more.

No matter. You're doing great, tracking down this kid. Also, you're doing him a genuine kindness by making sure he's accountable at this early age. Unchecked, no telling what he'd be doing when he was 19!

I vote for communicating w/ his parents, too. Maybe call during the evening, when they're more likely to be home, if you aren't already.

At some point, you'll know if you want to pursue options for any of the other outrages. In your place, launching on all fronts at once might be a bit much.

Kevin, I remember that mess of a trade you got into. Your tenacity was a good example for the rest of us.

Whitecat8

I ordered 3 small dens and getting the free random one.
It seems a pretty good site and they communicated very promptly [someone called miriam, for the most part]. it has a lot of photos regarding how the plants are shipped and what to do. for 25 $ i am getting 7 orchids and they let me swap one. the prev thread is from a coupel of years ago.
I am taking a chance and i will keep posted. but anyway seems a good deal. there is a photo with the actual sized plant and a blooming one. it does not seem sneaky. maybe not ideal but for less of the price of 2 ikea phals i can get 7 dendrobiums...

I have also ordered 4 Vandas and will get 9 plants for about $26 to $28 including shipping which comes to approx $3 per plant. If the Vandas have as many leaves as the photo of the sample plant shows, I'll be happy. If they look like they just came out of a flask it will be the last time I'll buy from them. Also got a very prompt response from Miriam to a question. If the plants are decent, I'll list the duplicates on the exchange forum, I only need one of each.

Keep you posted.

Nick

received the 6 +1 dens. nice box - but need some caring - a couple of plants with a couple of yellow leaves... but for the most parts roots seem ok after a soak. put them on fir bark / clay pot. put one in a coconut husk.

they were cheap - have received some better looking but the price of royal orchid club was pretty good. would trade a couple of dens for a mokara or some forgiving vanda...
I wonder if Nick / orchidnick received his

stefano

Thanks for the info Stefano. I think Nick did get his as well. Sorry, don't have any mokara
Lori

The Vandas arrived in good shape. The plants were excactly as pictured in his 'Sample Plant' photo. All the postings about him agree that his Vanda type plants are OK. The complaints were with the Cattleyas which people say were much smaller than the picture suggests they should be. I ordered 5 pairs of plants, it came to $39 including shipping. They sent me a 'Freebie' a cane Dendrobium which does not grow for me. I asked them twice not to send a Den like that or a Phaeli but I guess on shipping day they have a mountain of the freebies and you get what you get. I'll give it away.

So I got 10 Vanda type juvenile plants for $39. That's $3.90 a plant. Its not a bad price but not a rip roaring bargain one would scream about. All of them have a healthy dose of blue in them so I'll have a better chance of growing them through our cold winter. If I see any more of a similar nature, I'll go back other wise I'm probably done with the 'Royal Orchid Club'.

The plants were healthy, well packed, had no yellow leaves, nothing negative to report.

Nick

They also have 10 vandas for 19 bucks and anyway the dens were ok. A couple had yellow leaves but got 2 of each and I am sure they will be ok. They were well packed in a pizza kind of box. I got a 25% discount code for my next order. I am curious about getting one or 2 vanda, mokara or renantherA or asc. What is best for an apt? Also like den stratiotes and sun chuli. Maybe someone wants to trade one or 2 of the double dens I got? Anyway on the website they clearly explain they order from thailand. Pla ts go thru customs etc and then roc inspects the plants and sends them. They have real good variety and fast replies. Plants need care upon arrival and they state that. They do not seem shady. They lost all their orchids in a Florida hurricane so now they get pla ts from Thailand instead of growing locally. Plants have to be imported bare rooted to be admitted into the USA
Anyhow have a couple for trade if someone has some extra divisions or backbulbs

If you buy plants from overseas, you do need a import permit (which is easy to get) but the seller must provide a Phyto Certificate (which you will have to pay for as part of the sale.) The plants imported needs both permit and phytosanitary certificate. APHIS will still inspect the plant. The import permit should have a contact number for them to call you if need be. If the plant is infected with something rather innocuous, then you can go to APHIS and have the plant treated. However, if the plant is untreatable, the plant will be destroyed. Bacteria and of course visible virus needs to be eliminated. A plant with pests, it needs to be fumigated. Don't buy plants from nurseries overseas that are not certified. Even that, there still can be problems.
Santa Barbara Orchids Estates is a respected orchid nursery. They have very knowledgeable people and quality plants. As for plants that do well in Florida, you do need to ask. Most of the plants at SBOE are more climatized for cooler, coastal California. If you are growing plant in Florida, go to local nurseries in your area where plants are accustomed to the heat and humidity of your area. If you are into species, Andy's Orchids has quite a number of esoteric species: but always ask what plants would do well for your growing conditions.

here are some photos from Dens I got at Royal Orchid Club...
Think they are be going to be OK - and 2 for 1...

the one in the coconut in the window sill [others I got were a bit larger I just tried with the smaller one the coconut husk mount/pot]. the one after is the bonus one...
anyway I have more
{{gwi:184032}}From dendrobiums etc
{{gwi:184033}}From dendrobiums etc

{{gwi:184034}}From dendrobiums etc
{{gwi:184035}}dendrobiums etc