ko is VERY RELIABLE. don't fret. it will all be fine. stuff can take up to six weeks to get here. once the phyto is issued, it goes to their post, which can sometimes take another week. then it's got to come to the states, and undergo another security check, which can stretch things out again.

Carol,

As bragu mentions. Ko is very reliable. You must have received an invoice from him, in order to pay? His moving and transitioning happened quite a few years ago now. You may not hear anything until they have been shipped. Though that he sent out Tuesday's?

Rick

Bragu and Charles, thanks for the replies. No, I did not wait for an invoice. After a short wait after sending the order email and receiving no reply, I realized he was 12 hours ahead of me and it was 2:00 AM on Friday for him. So I went ahead and made PayPal payment, including in the PayPal note all of the identifying info that would let him know it was payment for my order. (And the email address on my order and on my Paypal account match, too.) I then followed the payment up with a direct email to him regarding the payment. All of that was in an effort to not lose time (ie. the weekend) waiting for an invoice whereas, if he had payment, he could go ahead and prepare my order for shipment.

Rick, Ko says, "If you want a prompt shipment, please
do place the order
before every Wednesdays am 10:30 (Taiwan),
because that's the deadline for applying quarantine inspection."

He doesn't say which day he actually ships.

I went ahead and jumped into ordering seeds because we are already at the end of May of the growing season. I thought if I'm going to do this in 2017, I better get moving. So of course, I'm eager to get those seeds and start them.

I'm sure I cannot find the thread quickly, but someone here received their seeds as quickly as 7 days after ordering.

Carol

I do wonder where Mr. Ko got the idea that the postman will contact you if you're not at home? He says it several places on his website. Not in my world, but it makes me smile. The kind of service offered long ago. I would fall out of my chair if my mailman called me. :)

Carol, have you receive your seeds from Mr Ko yet. I got my Ko seeds today, took about 2 weeks, it had a phytosanitary certificate inside but my customs didn't even open the envelope. I notice he takes time responding to emails, but he is reliable in sendind seeds.

ko sends by registered mail. you have to sign for it. if you are not home when it comes, they leave a card, which you take to the post to retrieve your item. hope this helps,

dave

Agartta. good to know - that gives me some assurance. So it took awhile for you to receive an email reply, too, huh? No, I have not received the seeds as I only ordered them last Thursday (five days ago). But I still have not received any email reply from him or his secretary/helper/assistant/translator. So you're right, he takes time responding to emails. :) Did you ever receive a reply? Or just the seeds?

Bragu, thanks for the reminder. I saw that in the FAQ: registered mail. I have wonderful Mailman Rod so he may be willing to bring it to the house instead of making me go to the post office. For some weird zoning thing, the post office for my zip code is about ten miles (16 km) away.

Rick, I found in the FAQ today (Q5) his shipping days:

"We usually send packages once a week, and usually on Thursday or Friday."

Wouldn't it be amazing if my seeds went out last Friday? My order and payment were made last Thursday... so it's possible... but not likely...

I'll post an update when I receive either an email or the seeds!

Carol

Dave, just realizing I was a little hazy in expressing my thoughts. Ko specifically says to add your telephone number so that the postman may contact you in event of a delivery problem. So although you're exactly right about the Registered Mail process, my raised eyebrow came from the implication of a telephone call. :)

Agartta - Two weeks! I'd be happy with that.

Carol, bought seeds from Mr Ko on the 8 May and received seeds today 23 May, pretty fast. He usually replys back but not stright away, but he does. Im happy with his service so far, and seeds are excellent condition. Hope you will get a reply soon and your seeds soon so you can plant them :)

Agartta

It is always an anxious time, while waiting for either seeds or plants. I know I feel they do not always respond as quickly as I like, but forgetting the time difference (in most cases), I am not their only customer & their hours of operation.

Your seeds will arrive safely, Carol. Looking forward to seeing your seedlings.

Rick

I'm with the others. Be patient. For all we know Mr. Ko's mother might have just passed away or his daughter got married, or who knows what. If you haven't heard anything after more than a week then I'd drop a followup note. But as you already paid chances are they'll just send it out on the following week's shipment. It won't likely have made that week's inspection.

I emailed Mr Ko yesterday regarding phytosanitary certificate I need for Australia and he replied to me in half a day. He is really good.

So he was actually reading his email, passed over mine, including a follow-up email now, and answered yours? Wow. I'm still at goose egg.

Carol

Cheer up. If he hasn't opened your mail, the inbox will have notification that he has unread message.

Unless opened and left unanswered, right?

Carol - I only buy seeds from Mr Ko from Ebay, Occasionaly, I had to send "contact seller" with question twice, I don"t send private emails to him, only through Ebay. Keep emailing him till you get a response. Change the email title and put " Urgent !!! Paid for seeds", include the seeds order and PayPal transaction receipt. The seeds will come if u paid for them after phytosanitary inspection.

in the FWIW column, my seeds ordered from mr ko [4 sets] on 15_ May, arrived today, on 24_May by registered mail (had to be signed for). Among the quickest fulfillments I have had ...

ordered thru the bay of e's … on auction

dave

Any updates on Ko? I emailed him too and haven't received a response, I did see on his Facebook page that he was having trouble responding to emails earlier this month.

Ten (10) days have passed and I've received nothing: neither an email reply nor the seeds from Mr. Ko, or his translator, Angelique.

Over the first several days, I emailed him three times and forwarded my Paypal receipt to him twice. In the last email, I implored him for a confirmation of my order. Still nothing. Perhaps he doesn't feel that a US $15 purchase warrants his time.

Purchasing through eBay may be a better option, where Mr. Ko has to be concerned with his Communication feedback rating.

If purchasing direct via email (not through eBay), regardless of the additional time incurred, in hindsight it would have been, without question, better to have waited for an invoice before I made payment via PayPal. That would have either forced an acknowledgment of the order (via invoice) or saved me the cash (if my order is never fulfilled).

Time will tell. :)

Carol in Jacksonville

Properly you want you seeds more than your money back. Whichever the case, You might want to file a complaint with PayPal to get your money back. I would wait for his response before purchase the next orders. Hope everything work out for you.

I've read through your thread, and it kind of makes me sad. When you ordered, I don't think you entirely understood what to expect, or that some patience might be required. I've ordered seeds from Ko in the past, and it was very easy, it just took some time to arrange. I think your first mistake was emailing on a Thurday, which when you consider Asia is on the other side of the date line, might not give ample time for a response before the weekend. Second it appears that you sent money before a paypal invoice was sent by Mr. Ko. I'm not sure if I read that correctly, but it's definitely the wrong way to go about it. By not waiting, you have interrupted his traditional workflow for seed orders.

I'm sorry you are frustrated, and feel ignored. I had another seller in Taiwan skip out on delivering the promised item, even after it was invoiced and paid for with paypal. I was really upset, so I know how you feel. The reality is you need to give it some time. Perhaps Mr. Ko is away or has an emergency to deal with. We just don't know!

Mr. Ko is an absolute gem, and we are lucky to have someone like him who had done as much for the 'adenium community' as he has. Like I stated, all of my past dealings with him have been excellent. I personally think he deserves a bit more respect than you are giving.

Just my 2 cents.

Well said, Dain. The seeds have most likely already been sent but they do take 3 or 4 weeks to arrive by airmail from Asia. Sometimes faster. I too am sorry for the lack of communication but Mr. Ko certainly has a very well deserved and excellent reputation. I don't think he'll let you down.

There is one other option. ISP's /do/ sometimes block emails from other ISP's and it is very, very possible and even likely that /your/ ISP is blocking emails back from his provider. If that is the case they will not be showing up in even your spam folder either. The only way to find out is to call your ISP and give them his email address to see if his ISP is on their block list. Being as to where he is located, it is highly likely that it could be.

In which case he may have responded several times but his emails may not be getting to you. Such blocks are one way and do not bounce back your own emails. It's a rather common problem but a very effective way for ISP's to manage what they think are spam sites.

"I think your first mistake was emailing on a Thurday"

My mistake was not the day on which I sent the email. It was expecting a quicker reply.

"Second it appears that you sent money before a paypal invoice was sent
by Mr. Ko. I'm not sure if I read that correctly, but it's definitely
the wrong way to go about it."

Maybe, maybe not. It depends upon how you interpret his instructions:

Payment
Instructions:

(1) Pay
via Paypal (our paypal E-mail account: adenium@adenium.com.tw)
or offer us your paypal account email. We will send the
invoice by paypal as soon as possible.

It says "Pay via Paypal *OR* offer us your paypal account" (emphasis mine). I interpret that to mean EITHER send the payment OR wait for an invoice. In fact, I did wait a short time for an invoice. When one did not arrive, I thought maybe I could preclude the weekend delay and invoice/payment communication delay by going ahead and making payment. Yes, in hindsight it was an error - but not because I didn't follow instructions - it was an error because I didn't force an invoice.

"I'm sorry you are frustrated, and feel ignored."

I don't "feel" ignored, I have been ignored. Ten days is ignored! And especially so, when it is documented that he responded to another customer's email subsequent to mine. If Mr. Ko has a family emergency, it is interesting that he has found time to answer other emails.

I do not believe it is an ISP issue because I am involved in missionary work and regularly receive emails from Haiti, DRC (Africa) and other foreign countries.

Mr. Ko is an absolute gem, and we are lucky to have someone like him who
had done as much for the 'adenium community' as he has. Like I stated,
all of my past dealings with him have been excellent. I personally
think he deserves a bit more respect than you are giving.

REALLY. That's an astonishingly accepting position of shoddy business practice. After last Wednesday's post, I had nothing more to say about it until Stxeriscape specifically asked me about the status. Hence, the update. It was not to further complain. I am glad that so many have had a great experience with him and have
found it such a privilege to purchase from him. I would be singing the same song if it was going the same for me. However, ignoring one's customer
for a full ten days is disrespectful to one who should be a valued customer and is bad business practice.

When and if I receive either communication, seeds, or refund, I will post an update.

Carol

'I do not believe it is an ISP issue because I am involved in missionary work and regularly receive emails from Haiti, DRC (Africa) and other foreign countries.'

No offence but that's a foolish assumption but it's up to you. You can either check or you can blame someone else for something you won't bother to check that would take you all of five minutes.

I think dissing everyone here for vouching for Mr. Ko's thus far well proven character is rude. You could instead thank people for taking the time to try and help and suggest advice which you were seeking and then quite unwilling to act upon, mostly.

It's been posted that it's known he is having email issues and so a major network or ISP's blocking his server service is not unreasonable. Some maturity, a little broader effort, and patience IMO would do you some good. Or just contact Paypal and get a refund rather than wasting everyone's time here with a bitching fest.

Yes, I speak my mind. I'm a biker chick and I'm not afraid of saying what I think either. ;) /Even/ so I hope it gets resolved -politely- and should you decide to wait and see if the seeds do show up, then I am sure everyone else would appreciate hearing about it in the event that there is reasonable grounds for others to be cautious about ordering. But lots of people are ordering from him like crazy even now and getting their products so it is likely a technical problem causing issue with communications.

Wow, Patty, you are downright mean. If you wanted to be hurtful, you succeeded. Firstly, I haven't "dissed" you or anyone. I have only "dissed" Mr. Ko - and not his character (geez!), but his business practices - for not valuing his customers more highly. I have "thanked" everyone along the way, daily, for their replies down in the the "Say Thank You" area. Maybe you didn't notice or maybe that doesn't count with you.

Secondly, you didn't have to get personal. That's really rude and I haven't personally attacked you or anyone else. I've been more than polite to all. Whether you are a biker, a chick or whatever, I don't know where you arrive at any of the derogatory comments you made. And do you not allow everyone here the same freedoms you reserve for yourself? Am I not allowed to also provide facts and circumstances and my reflections on those?

I'm "wasting" your time? Holy cow, girl, no one makes you read this or makes you respond. Heck, you don't even have to come to the forum.

I was responding to another reader who specifically asked for an update. "Bitchfest" - more unnecessary personalizing - you didn't have to say that, Patty, except to be unkind. Do you not allow for others to respond to requests?

I am more than willing to do the ISP research you recommend. I would hate to be foolish (again with the personal stuff). Would you kindly please tell me how? My ISP is AT&T/Bellsouth/Yahoo. This would be a first with emails not coming in from global locations. Please, tell me how, especially since it can be done so quickly. I am not "quite unwilling" (where do you come up with this stuff?) and I would be the first one willing to rule that out.

I stand by my assessment of MY situation with Mr. Ko.

Carol - as 10 days has passed, I would give another 10 days, if nothing happens, I would easily go to PayPal and ask for a refund. Simple as that. I'm sure an email from PayPal refund would be easily spoted. I would not scrutinise any seeds supplier over a forum, especially when they do have a good reputation. If for whatever reason in the past, Paypal always sorted it out for me, and I got my money back or other party sorted it out.

Good luck!

Agartta

Agartta, thanks very much. I appreciate it. I have been doing exactly that: waiting it out. As I said before, time will tell.

I have contacted my ISP regarding their Block List and whether or not Mr. Ko's email address and/or domain is on their block list.

It's crazy how people don't believe that a seller's business could go south. I'm not saying that Mr. Ko's business has gone south... I'm sure it hasn't. But if it happens, it has to start with someone. It's not impossible. It seems that some don't want to know what is going on. I don't understand that. Almost all of the suppliers - of seeds and plants alike - have been scrutinized here in great detail! I've read the posts!

Heck, even Rinoa had to reconsider a transaction from the recent past.

Why wouldn't you want to know about this, especially if you regularly
deal with Mr. Ko? I'm not asking anyone to defend him - I'm just
passing along the information. (Hmmm, maybe that has been the problem all
along. I should have posted from Day One: "No replies or defense
necessary - just stating facts.") If I was in the market for buying
seeds and read this, I would want to know and I wouldn't want
others to squelch the info. That is so puzzling to me why some want to
suppress valuable sharing of information.

Not too long ago, a wise person said, "It's good to look out for each other. It's what makes us a community.
Even if sometimes we butt heads over potting mixes, best training or
grafting methods, styles, whatever. Adeniums brought us together."

Thanks, again, Agartta. One more time: Time will tell!

Carol

Hi All, Please everyone stop getting so upset. You are ALL my favourite people and this is my favourite forum. I love talking to all of you and I appreciate your different views, personalities and how passionate you all are. Sending 'happy thoughts' to all and a big SMILE. :D

Same here, I see no wrong with trying to find out what's going on with Mr. Ko. I asked Carol if she had heard anything about Mr. Ko in hopes of seeing if anyone other than me or her have tried contacting him lately. I trust the gentleman's reputation and history, but sometimes whether news are good or bad, they are worthy of knowing.

,Abel

Hi Carol, I can understand your situation. I didnt get any response or payment invoice from KO despite 2 emails for my recent email order (since early Apr'17). But for my previous email order with KO in Sept'16, it went perfectly smooth with very impressive service provided. I am guessing he must be very busy currently, hence ordering seeds through his ebay "automated" platform may be a better option at the moment. Perhaps, you may want to give it another try at his ebay store :)

I'll add my info as well. I ordered seeds via email and requested confirmation so that I could pay through paypal 5 days ago. I have not received a reply as of yet. I do recall that when I ordered seeds last summer, it took about a week before they replied.

Hello! I want to add this information I've found on mr Ko fb site, I think it can be helpful and a response to the issue with your orders :)

Cynthia, thanks so much for the update. I had not seen the top, most recent post. I can see on his Facebook page that "Tuesday" was May 30th.

To recap those that are waiting for response/invoice/product:

• tan808 - order placed in early April via email - waiting for invoice

• love_the_yard/Carol - order placed and paid on May 18 via email

• dedward11 - order placed on May 28 via email - waiting for invoice

• Stxeriscape/Abel - ordered?

Let's keep our fingers crossed. Please post an update if you hear or receive anything.

Thanks!

"Patience-is-a-Virtue" Carol

Update that I am not pleased with. I have sent three emails since 5/18/17. I just received this email in response to my last one. I had placed an order for 10 varieties of seeds and am very disappointed in Mr. Ko. This is not the type of customer service I would expect from him, and the reply was less than acceptable.