for those who buy plants/seed on ebay . . .

[journey11]

The thing with ebay is that you are dealing with individuals or small companies. There can be bad apples out there, but really, ebay's feedback system is very effective and as long as you pay attention to how new a seller is and how good their feedback is, you really have very little to worry about.

Honestly, most sellers are very determined to hold a good reputation (which is absolutely vital to their success on ebay) and they will want to work with you if something doesn't meet your satisfaction. Most all will have some form of a guarantee in their offer and make it known upfront how they handle returns.

I've bought all kinds of things on ebay for several years and I have never had a problem. It's definitely is a good place to look for hard to find items. I helped my MIL complete her Fenton silvercrest collection in a matter of months via ebay, which otherwise would have taken a lifetime!

 

[Whitewater]

I have bought stuff on Ebay for years now, and yes, I've had a few problems but by and large, the good experiences massively outweigh the bad. I've only had one seller not want to make things right and correct his mistake, but then, he was out to scam new Ebayers (which I was at the time) for all he was worth.

I *did* buy a raspberry stick last year and it died, but I think I killed it, because it was getting leaves and so on for a while. I don't hold sellers responsible for my mistakes, LOL!

Here are my rules for successful buying on Ebay:

1) If you ask a question via email and they don't get back to you within 24-48 hours (preferably 24) forget about it. Move on. Somebody else will have what you want. That said, DO ask questions. How do you know what you will get if you're not sure? Trust your instincts.

2) Check their feedback. Read their feedback. Don't even bother if they're at less than 98.6 (your body temp). Sounds harsh but it's true. Even for the big guys that have tens of thousands of feedback . . . if it's less than 98.6% positive, they have too many negs for you to risk it. Find somebody else. Oh, and if you don't want to wade through a sea of positives, check out www.toolhaus.org -- it's a free feedback search tool.

3) If you're going to bid, wait until the last hours of the auction (as long as your patience will let you), then bid *once* and bid as high as you're willing to pay, and no higher. A high bid will always beat a low bid, and a high bid will always been a sniper, too. If you bid higher than others, you'll win.

4) *Never* bid more (or less) than you think the item is worth. Bid what you want to spend, that's it. That way, if you lose you'll be able to laugh at the guy paying more than you think the item is worth, and if you win, you'll feel comfy and happy knowing that you didn't spend more than you wanted to.

5) Ebay is no longer about deals, though sometimes you can still find one if you look hard enough. Their business model has changed and it's not about an on-line garage sale anymore. Now people are selling stuff merely to compete with retailers like Amazon. Don't go in expecting to find a deal. Go to Ebay because you can't find what you want anywhere else.

And finally, there's a seller right now on Ebay that's selling non bare-root heirloom tomatoes for $2.50/plant, with decent shipping prices considering that he's selling them with dirt attached. His listing looks pretty good, just FYI. I'm going to buy from him because I can't get already-started plants of this sort anywhere around here without going to a lot of trouble. You might want to check him out!


Whitewater

 

[journey11]

That's excellent advice, Whitewater...and concisely put too!

 

[elijahboy]

i shall be getting my seeds in the mail in a couple days from ebay

ordered through ebates and got 2% from them and then whatever % from ebay when you purchase

total cost 6.53 for black brnadywine seeds, kentucky pole beans, and giant green bell peppers

but after the % i get back it will be more like just shy of 6.00 including shipping


OH AND BECAUSE I WON 3 AUCTIONS I WILL GET 6 FREE VARIETIES OF LETTUCE FOR FREE FREE FREE

 

[Whitewater]

Thanks, journey! Heh, I learned all of that through trial and error

And that guy I was talking about, he also has peppers and an eggplant variety, though I was wrong about the plant price, it's $2.99, which is comparable to buying live plants here at home. Shipping is $10 no matter how many plants you buy.

Of course, depending on your individual circumstances what's a good deal to someone may not be a good deal to somebody else. Trash and treasure, etc.


Whitewater