Flora, overseas phone calls are an option, however, I'll be damned if I can figure out how to actually do the dialing right on the first try. LOL And if you use a pre purchased card like I do to keep costs down, there is lots of dialing involved. LOL. I have occassionally made some calls to New Zealand, Australia, and England, and I just hate the cost. I know there are some economical phone plans out there but to have to pay a monthly fee when I call maybe three or four times a year, it isn't worth it. The other thing, not everyone I've dealt with speaks english, so.... it's better to do business with the old computer that interprets for you and use the credit card, hence a pre paid credit card. As it is, I always use my office address anyway. My personal info stays personal. However, if you read the posts, you'd see that not everyone is comfortable with putting credit card info with your personal info on the net. Kind of gives me an upleasant feeling anyway...identity theft and all. Not ALL those site are so secure you know. Finding the most cost effect way to do it is key.

When I opened my account - and this may have chenged in the many years since then - you HAD to have a bank account and they verified who you were by putting a few pennies into the account and you would then report a day or two later how much that amount was. I never use my account for paying...I use a credit card. The problem with changing my bank account is that I have several automatic withdrawals each month - two of which are mortgages which ask for at least 30 days notice of any account change - and I am even at a loss for things like account numbers on some "paperless" monthly charges, like Comcast. I have been to the bank (actually, credit union) to fill out fraud papers and have spoken to both EBAY and Paypal. EBAY has no record of this "win" and someone WAS able to change my password for both my Ebay and PayPal accts. NO I have not responded to any phishing emails and I do have antivirus software installed.

To be fair, Craig's List has plenty of warnings on it about buy from and selling to only local buyers and sellers. The scam alert states the following: DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts on craigslist. NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer. FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later. CRAIGSLIST IS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TRANSACTION, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification" NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.) AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES and know that ONLY A SCAMMER WILL "GUARANTEE" YOUR TRANSACTION. DO NOT RENT HOUSING WITHOUT SEEING THE INTERIOR, OR PURCHASE EXPENSIVE ITEMS SIGHT-UNSEEN - in all likelihood that housing unit is not actually for rent and that cheap item does not exist. DO NOT SUBMIT TO CREDIT CHECKS OR BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR A JOB OR FOR HOUSING UNTIL YOU HAVE MET THE INTERVIEWER OR LANDLORD/AGENT IN PERSON.

I have ordered from many Thai sellers and Rinoa from Taiwan for many years and have been either fortunate and stay with sellers w a good track record. A concern for labeling a seller as bad, can all be subject to information given by each individual. I believe that any concerns should be made apparent to all individuals here, so that each one of us can make our own educated decision as to whether we want to pursue purchasing from a seller. To many variables fall into play, unless obvious as in the Pom issue. Which is deceitful at the least. What is happening w the Thai sellers, is that they want to take payment either through Western Union or PayPal (Friends & Family). This way there is not recourse for us when purchasing. Basically putting cash into someone hand and hope they are honest. The one thing that I was made aware of at first getting into these plants, was to not order after Oct/Nov or before Mar. If we do order plants within these parameters then we risk the chances of cold conditions. Even if we live in a warmer area through out the winter months. The point of entry into out country is relatively cold. Not the best conditions for these Adeniums. Especially in the winter where my plants would arrive to. A friend many years ago had told me to hold off as much as it might be difficult, as I wanted them right now. Glad he did make this apparent to me. I have been caught in a similar situation as Tyler did w Rinoa. Fortunately she made good with it. In my situation it had become apparent that she had built her business up and had many people hired to help her, as she could not manage on her own. This leading to unqualified or uneducated eyes packaging plants for export and not aware of what healthy plants look like. This falls on Rinoa's hands and is responsible for this. For me, my one question to a seller will be. "If a plant is shipped with rot or unhealthy and received within reasonable time frame, Will it plant be replaced and shipping paid by them." If the resulting answer is "No" then I will not be ordering anything. Probably will find that most will not conform to this. I feel for most of you within the U.S., to have people such as Tracy (may be others, but I do not remember) growing these throughout the year and selling with the U.S. This is where I would look if not wanting to purchase from outside of the country. I can purchase from the U.S., but the cost of the Phytosanitary Certificate from U.S. makes it not very expensive. That's it for me. If a "Thread" is to be started with a heading so that people can peruse it and make an informative decision based on what they read, then I am for this. Rick