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Paid $60 for a 'rare' philodendron cutting off Etsy that arrived as a shriveled twig
It was dead on arrival and the seller ghosted me when I asked for a refund. Anyone else get burned buying plants online?
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the_anthony15d ago
That "single node with one shriveled leaf" part hit way too close to home. I fell for the same trap last year, paid $45 for a "rare" syngonium cutting that was literally just a stem with a dried up nub where the leaf used to be. The seller had all these glowing reviews too, probably all fake or bought. I think these Instagram and Etsy plant sellers know exactly what they're doing, just shipping dead or dying cuttings to people who are too excited to notice the red flags. The worst part is Etsy's buyer protection barely covers plants, so you're just out the money with no recourse. Now I only buy from local plant groups on Facebook where people actually show you the mother plant in person.
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ruby_jones15d ago
Local swaps are safer. My city's plant group caught a seller reselling dead cuttings twice.
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joel_jones15d ago
My neighbor spent $85 on a "variegated monstera" from some Instagram seller last summer. It came as a single node with one shriveled leaf in a tiny box with no heat pack. She tried to water prop it for like three weeks and it just turned to black mush.
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