I totally agree Gonzer..I have several friends who were duped not just by the photos..the plants were like they were someoens trash that was tossed out (like from cleaning out flower beds type stuff)...and all i can say is,,check the feedback on these jerks...where there is smoke a fire burns

Right-O gonzer. And for those of you that receive the BSI Journal,check out the article in Vol 56[4],Jul-Aug '06.
"A Pseudo Bromeliad in Chiapas,Mexico". A ruse used by street vendors to sell an attractive bromeliad...sort of.
The following is a brief description of the deception.
The 'pseudo' bromeliad consists of parts of three plants,only one of which is a true bromeliad: the rosette of a Catopsis species,a scape from an unidentified plant,and Gladiola flowers.
Unsuspecting customers think that the small catopsis plant they purchase will bloom as the vendors colorful sample.[I'm sure they don't hang around that town too long]
So,gonzer,does this one top your e-bay PhotoShop job,or is it a close tie? ;P
Bob
PS; Happy and Healthy New Year everyone !

I hate to admit it but I got suckered about a year ago into "Strawberry Circles" on Ebay. The auction said I was getting a pup from the picture. I was so excited, here I thought I was going to have the RARE beautiful red and green flouresent plant and when I opened the box I was VERY disappointed to say the least. I paid 35.00 for a pup that looked completely different. Well I complained to Ebay and Paypal refunded the total amount- the "strawberry circles" is still sitting out there and it still pale brownish yellow. I've found that bromlady & bromeliadgirl are reliable. Like brom lady says - " What you see is what you get here".

Ebay isnt a place you will find rare bromeliads...good place to start if you just started collecting if your careful

I started collecting neos about 3 yrs. ago- fairly new to this hobby. I buy on the web from bromeliadworld, tropiflora, and birdrock. Can you suggest other reliable websites? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated :) Thank You

Michaels Bromeliads

Here is a link that might be useful: Michaels

I would definitely recommend Bromlady on eBay as well. From time to time she does offer some unusual broms too, regardless, everything I have received from her has been big and healthy.

That Mantisbee, that offers the Strawberry Circles: I have never bid on any of their stuff and never would. Can't trust a seller that is knowingly deceitful, and just how long can you sell AeAe banana seeds from a sterile plant?

Sorry that I already deleted the original pics, so here are new ones showing "Fraudberry Circles" as shown and what it might really look like.
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I just want to highly recommend ebay seller shirleygk
I've bought from her several times and she's top notch with beautiful plants. I live 45 min from Tropiflora and she beats their prices many times.

http://myworld.ebay.com/shirleygk

I deal with Tropiflora on the same plants and while Shirley plants maybe first class they are twice the price

Its the same with everything on e-bay if it says RARE, I check and most of the time its not, and they play with the DL pics too. I just got burned on WHITE FEATHER HOSTAS, they both came up bright green, and according to the auction the leaves are supposed to come up white and get some green streaks later. The seller just replied that its a variable and unpredictable plant, and that basically it was too bad. I gave him the warning that if he didn't add a disclaimer to his auctions, I would post feedback stating he does not guarantee they will come up white and mine didn't. He then offered to take them back, but I'd be out the postage. I'm out almost $35.00! The sad fact is I have 3 0r 400 little bright green hostas in that look like what I got from him.

I purchased HANNIBAL LECTOR from Shirleygk. I was going to add it to my growing (go ahead and laugh Lisa) Michaels order, but I was able to use paypal so I bought it.

I'm going to visit a friend on Monday that has a bunch of stuff for sale. I'll take pictures. He has a Neo Pendula x Neo rosea cross, and in his words a bunch of stuff for sale that he doesn't have enough of to put on his web site. He sells stuff for terrariums mostly, but really likes Broms and Orchids.

I have a box coming in today, I'll take pics. I got them from eugenec922 on e-bay. He's in Florida, and hybridizes small Neos, He seems like a very nice man, and is sending me pups of some of his seedlings along with some other Bonus plants. I got BLUSHING TIGER from him for $7.95, along with pauciflora, ampullacea, Cheers, Sarah Head, Elfin, and Mo Peppa Please. I paid $6.95 for most of them but some of them have 2 or 3 pups already, and some of the pups are almost full sized.

Thats already more than 6!

LOL good luck BAMBI

Hi all,
I go along with what was said above about those named e-bay sellers.
I've found that reading a sellers feedback pretty much tells the story on what you can expect.If you want to check on a sellers Negative / Neutral ratings on e-bay,without going thru the whole listing shown on ebay feedback,try this site;
WWW.TOOLHAUS.ORG
This site gives direct info on negative/neutral feedback,Item feedback,Mutual feedbck,and bidder info.
Saves time,and gets you the facts you want to make smart purchases.Just fill in the sellers ID etc.
I've bought many broms on ebay over the years,and have not had a bad experiance. The ones I prefer are those that tell you that you will receive the plant in the photo.
It may turn out to be a bargain,or you might pay more than you should have,but at least you can obtain the plant you want,and its your choice,as you've seen the photo.
Bob

Feedback can be decieving, some people just don't know what to expect. I have also adopted a policy. When I sell something I post the seller feedback just before I send the item out. If I purchase something I WILL NOT post feedback until I have mine. I have actually had sellers tell me they will post my feedback after they receive theirs. Since I think buyer feedback is pretty much useless anyway I send them a nice little form e-mail that states how I feel about it. Its like they are holding back the buyers feedback so if the buyer isn't happy and leaves negative or even neutral feedback they can retaliate, which is wrong.

Thanks for the tip on toolhaus.org, I'll have to check that out.

My box showed up, and everything is nice, exactly as stated, I am pleased. Actually there is a another box coming tomorrow with elfin and mo pepper please another bonus plant and some more seedling pups. he sent Neo princess lea, and a pup of a seedling as a bonus. I have to load the pics to photobucket and resize them. I'll post them later. One of the pups of cheers is getting ready to bloom, I'll bring home pollen from Alexes house on Monday if I can find any I want to use.

I looked today, and the seller that burned me on the white feather hostas put in the disclaimer. I decided I'm going to put mine in my e-bay store with the title WHITE FEATHER HOSTA Buyer Beware at $50.00, and it will come up in any searches. I'll post photos of the green plants, won't tell anyone who sold them to me, but that most of what is out there is Tissue Cultured junk from Holland that is unstable and unreliable. There is one seller that actually grows the plant, and his photos are probably are what the plant really looks like. It'll cost me 6 cents a month to keep it in the store with a gallery photo. People have been paying $20.00 and more for a 1 eye division. I saw one sell for $36.00. I feel sorry for them.

Another thing that happens on Ebay ALOT! Buyers with good feedback wont leave negitive feedback because the seller retaliates and ruins the buyers rating...buyers just leave a feedback thats not negitive and consider it a lesson learned...so feedback isnt always accurate

Talking about E-bay,if you are interested in seeing some different kinds of bromeliads than usually seen here on the US site,especially Neos, try the Australian site, Ebay.com.au
There were 379 listed tonight,8 pages worth,compared with 3 pages on the US site.
Bob

Bob, I must admit that I buy quite a few broms from Ebay Australia. No complaints as yet. Carcharodon and its cultivars have been obtaining big prices on there over the past few months. I'm waiting patiently for the prices to go down to a reasonable level before I enter the fray.

I'm only guessing, but maybe one of the reasons there are more listings than you get on Ebay is that we don't have a outlet like Michaels in Australia. We have plenty of good nurseries but none I know of with such a large range.

neonut there are several but I dont know how close to you they are. they specialize in collector broms...many of which are Allan Freemans plants released thru Keith