I am curious as to how often you folks get the shaft when the bidding gets wild. I was just curious when I see some of the prices people are bidding on these trees or even cuttings. Sometimes it really just seems like an ego contest on there.

I went through it for a long time. Figs are only getting more popular and don't see prices coming down any time soon. Now when there are multiple people selling the same tree you have a better chance of paying a little less. Supply and demand especially the rare varieties. My advice, put in uc Davis order and become a regular here and there will be opportunities.

Brian, I was actually meaning how often the sellers don't get paid. I don't do bidding wars myself anymore.I just get a set price in my head and thats all I will bid up to. Over the years I have been the sniped and the sniper.

Oh sorry my bad.

Jake
Unfortunately a seller cannot leave a deadbeat buyer negative feedback any more  It is one of the great inequities of the eBay feedback system.

There are scams where the buyer puts in an insane bid and then sends a fake email that looks like it is from from eBay or Paypal saying the buyer paid but the funds will not show in the sellers account until they ship the item. Be careful out there folks.
http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/08/scammers-fool-ebay-sellers-with-fake-paypal-emails/

I have had several auctions go for high prices and have never had one of those bidders not pay me.  What happens fairly frequently is that I have another tree of the same variety and offer it to the next bidder in line for their bid amount.  These "second chance" offers are accepted about half the time.  I have also had people who have previously bought from me just make me attractive offers outside of eBay to skip the uncertainty of an auction.

Glad to hear that you haven't been burned by people not wanting to pay Harvey. Your starts are of the highest quality and I have 2 from you at this time. I couldn't be happier. It is very interesting tracking the prices trees go for. I have seen RdB go for over $400.00 this spring and I darn near fell out of my seat.

Thanks for the compliments, I'm very happy they have worked out well for you.  $400 would be nice for me, but that is downright crazy.  A fool and his money are easily parted, as they say.

Right now I'm waiting for nearly 48 hours for someone to pay for the California Brown Turkey they won with a whopping bid of $11.50! LOL  My biggest concern is I need to get it moved before it gets much larger.

One of my customers who has bought quite a bit talks about how she likes to go out and watch her figs grow every day.  It made me realize that selling fig trees lets me get to do a lot of that.  I originally thought I'd start a bit batch and sell extras but every time I have some room I start some more cuttings.  I get to watch a lot of trees growing and it's a lot of fun.  However, it is a bit of a problem when I travel away for a couple of days and in July I plan to be gone for a full week.  I hope to have things wound down by then with my new trees in the ground.

Harvey, for some people $400 is not all that much to spend on a day's recreation.  Casinos have people who drop $100,000 in a weekend.  Figs have flown under the radar for a long time but when a bottle of wine goes for $1200, 2001 vintage list price, then there's no reason a rare fig wont also.  Figs are a gift that keeps on giving.  They should go for more.  You could be a very wealthy man in 3 years if it keeps going in this direction.  Maybe I can get a job with one of your bidders as a fig consultant.

so.. what exactly is involved in selling on ebay? i do need some extra cash. do i need nursery license? or just sell them off the ebay and hope no one comes knocking on my door? my hobby is getting to be expensive. maybe try selling some cuttings this yr. 

Your state dictates the requirements but generally speaking, you are required to have a nursery license to sell plants and plant materials.  But that is not something that eBay verifies.  Then you must know the regulations for shipping to various states.

It seems like all sorts of sellers take money on eBay and ship everywhere - and it seems like it's only the buyers who get calls from the USDA.  Capitalism at its finest! 

I've bought a lot of plants on ebay and there were only 2 sellers I bought from who were licensed. I think it's a great way to share extra cuttings, plants, bulbs and seed on a small scale. It's also a place to get really good stuff at a great price. One of the canna lillies I got cost me $3 for 3 bulbs. They are very hard to find if you even can. When I found them at a nursery they wanted $15 a piece. The lady just had to thin her beds and wanted someone else to enjoy these beauties. It's awesome if you can find the right sellers.

I think if I were going to sell plants I would go ahead and get a license.  Maybe I'm just paranoid but I could see them going after sellers too.  They can't do anything about the ones outside the country but inside your fair game.

Most states don't have restrictions and if they do it's easy to find out. Why would you want to get a license if you're just selling extra out of your own yard?

What are you scared of? Sell your plants out of your yard. You gotta be kidding me, a license lol. They aren't coming after you, please. EBay is the mecca for anything legal and unlegal. Now if you are importing that is a whole nother ball game.

A fool and his money are easily parted, as they say. Harvey, who are they? That statement resembles me lately. Hopefully I will recover or get enough figs. The trees are looking great. Thanks

LOL Hershell, we've all been fools! I'm still a fool, I'm not ashamed to admit. To me, it's money well spent.
There are worse hobbies out there.

Hershell, you don't qualify for the jester's hat yet.  Spend $400 on a tree and I'll throw one in the box! LOL

Years ago Ebay was set up differently.  I have had on 2 occasions (not figs mind you), other ebay members contact me trying to collaborate on auctions.  For example, when the same people are bidding on similar auctions, one would say, "hey I'll stop bidding on X, if you stop bidding on Y".

And I knew a guy, who tried to convince me to bid on his auction to drive the price up.  I think this is despicable, and definitely amoral.  He then opened another account in his wife's name and did it anyway.  He justified it by saying he knew of lots of people doing it....some people I tell you ruin it for the whole bunch...banker/speculator mentality.

For the love of money is the root of all evil.

I had very similar experience back around 2000 Don. It still happens today but ebay did try to fix it by not seeing the whole other bidders tag name. Still, people do open multiple accounts and pull this nonsense. They also have family members bid on the item and if they win, mark it paid, leave feedback and go on about their business.

I don't think there is any way to stop the activity. I just decide how much I'm willing to pay and that's it. One penny more and it belongs to someone else.