I found someone on EBay selling fig cuttings with the EBay handle "houstonantique."

Any info on this person???

Alright, lets talk about EBay sellers. There are lots of them, and many either don't belong to the forums or don't say they do. 

Who's trustworthy, and who's not? It's not a nice thing to get something labeled as, say, Chicago hardy, and find out 5 years later it's Brown Turkey. I reckon it takes a bit of researching and examination by various people to be really confident of a variety. Just think of the amount of pressure on an honest person considering selling/trading plants to get it right. I would take a guess that even some honest people have unknowingly sold the wrong variety not knowing what they have... right?

I gather there have been some lists made for trusted sellers. I haven't looked at them today though. There are a lot of sellers in question, though. I doubt the list covers some of these.

I seem to recall reading some bad opinions of darikthepartsguy on one of the forums. Anyone know about this?

I think I recall good reviews of plant-creator. Is he a forum member? He does mention our forum in his ads.

cncstamps is a major seller. Any info on this one? needcashnow-2009 has a bunch of listings, especially LSU Purple. Anybody know him?

bkb-precision also has a bunch of listings.

I'm pretty sure we got last year's figs from wellspring100. Wellspring Nursery tended to get good reviews here, I think. The idea of tissue culture figs and no FMV was attractive. I don't think they really mention it though. Also, from what I've recently read, they're liable to have FMV anyway. There's one thing they're really known for though-- for sending itty-bitty plants. They even seem to market on this. I guess it saves costs or something. I can say their plants are ridiculously and very attractively cheap. I'm even tempted to buy more. However, one thing holds me back. I think HarveyC had a mix-up with them, if I'm not mistaken.

Wellspring's figs are started in plugs and then up-potted. They're still not big plants. My celeste was pretty puny. At one point, I didn't come far from losing it, partly due to rust. I won't blame everything on them, though. My growing conditions aren't the best. Often my plants get way too much shade from being on the porch. Anyway, I found myself massaging/ untangling the roots when I up-potted them. I seem to recall finding the original starter plug where they were started.

Now they are in 3 gallon pots. They've grown since then. :)

There are many more sellers. Some of them look worse than others. Is there anyone I shouldn't trust?

Idk about the rest of them but plant-creator goes by the name HooRay on F4F. I had a good experience - great product and he was really assisting when answering my questions. 

If they do not mention their username on one of the two major fig forums, skip them.

Also, always make sure to ask if their mother tree has fruited if they do not have pictures of fruit. Too many people sell cuttings that come from "reputable" sources prior to them fruiting, which I am ok with as long as they disclose it so the buyer can judge if they want to assume the risk.

the search function is your friend  :)

Agree with Ed.
 
Use that search function in the upper right corner and you learn so much.
So easy to use.  Search whatever you are looking for.

In this instance...
Search "EBay scammer"   Harvey has provided lots of information.

Sometimes it is true that size doesn't matter. In 2 years my puny Wellspring VdB turned into a gorgeous 6 foot dual shoot tree. For 2nd year figs, they tasted really good. I think if the stock they use is good, a little patience rewards us later on with tissue culture plants.
As far as eBay sellers go there is tons of lists and info on both forums, it's just really hard to keep up with the bad guys as they pop up quite quickly.
I  also sell on eBay from time to time, and I will only buy from forum members and fig friends that I know. 

I bought a LSU gold from needcashnow-2009. Everything seems on the up &up.Larry

If I remember correctly saladbeardfarm, plant-creator, and wellspring all did well form me. The size is less important as long as the plants are well taken care of in my climate.  Once summer rolls around they get fertilized and grow like weeds.

I think everyone that sells on Ebay should put there forum name in the listing and it would save allot of trouble trying to figure out who is who I know there are some people that sell fig trees that aren't members of the forum that are reputable but the ones that are members should post there name in the listing it would be a big help