Warning: a guy at the Portland plant swap tried to sell me a 'rare' cactus for $80

It was a totally normal prickly pear he'd just stuck in a fancy pot. I told him I could get the same thing for maybe $15 at the local nursery. He got real quiet and said, 'You don't understand the value of a story with a plant.' Happened about three months ago. The story was that he grew it from a cutting he found in Arizona, which just means he didn't pay for it either. Has anyone else run into sellers making up wild tales to hike up prices?

4 comments

4 Comments

milarodriguez1mo ago

Okay but "the value of a story with a plant" is a real thing to some people. It's not just about the species. That prickly pear from Arizona has a history now. It survived a trip, got cared for. Some folks will pay for that connection. I bought a jade plant from an old lady who was moving. She told me about growing it for twenty years. Cost me more than the store. Worth it to me. The story made it her plant, not just a plant.

nancyj111mo ago

So you'd pay more for a plant with a story. Where do you draw the line on that price?

murray.jana1mo ago

Got a little peace lily from a lady who had it since her wedding day forty years ago. Paid triple what Home Depot charges because she told me it's survived three moves and two kids. Totally get paying more for that kind of history with a plant, don't you?

the_wesley1mo ago

You said it's "her plant, not just a plant." That's the part I'd tweak. The story makes it feel like her plant to you, but legally and biologically, it's yours now. You're buying the feeling, not the ownership history. The line is when the price is just for the story and not a healthy plant.