There is an eBay seller Id: eclecticbotany that says in their item description that they are a member of both F4F and Garden Web forums as well as several professional organizations. They do not, however identify the F4F membership ID. The seller is out of Columbus Ohio.

There are quite a few fig types listed but here is a listing link for Black Madeira...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Madeira-fig-tree-cuttings-trunks-cut-1-13-/112272207142?hash=item1a23f1ed26:g:kWcAAOSwnHZYfdgl

Anyone know who this member is? Would be a great idea to identify themselves in their listing if they are a member of the forum...

I just asked him the important questions. Wait and see ..... .

I did as well Richie and since my question went unanswered, I posted my topic question. Am not suggesting that the person is not legit but by posting that they are a member of the F4F without indicating who they are, they are not doing themselves or buyers any favors. EBay right now is RANK with scammers, likely large percentage of the for sale items are by known scammers and they are adding new id's all the time so without an sellers identifying trademark (i.e. forum id), a buyer would be a fool to even consider a purchase....

I believe he is Greg, OctopusInk on our forum. Someone I would trust, if indeed it is him.

A couple recommendations for you- the seller doesn't have to be active on the forums to be legitimate but I wouldn't trust the auction if they don't have pictures of figs from their own tree.

This is just advice for anyone, I'm not putting any seller down I just don't like to hear about people getting scammed on eBay. I'm sure the seller has pictures so you can always email them through eBay and ask.

Good luck and happy figging! :-)

Gary... Am glad to hear that he is likely known and trustworthy... Too many scammers out there already on eBay and a forum known and recommended seller is the only way to go. Still don't know why a seller would mention F4F membership without providing the id but.... to each his own....

Just want to weed out the bad guys when possible...

@Padsfan I agree with you 100%. I was doing due diligence in checking the forum since the seller mentioned membership although as you mentioned, active membership doesn't mean everything... for evidence we can point to "pofigist"....

@Figgary - Gary... You are right... I found a post by Octopusinc from mid 2016 where his signature line says:

I am both Octopuslnc & EclecticBotany on eBay 

Thanks,
Tony

Speaking of Black Madeira, this seller is using my picture without permission. I messaged them a few days ago and told them it was not cool. They told me they found it on google. They "might" be legit, I have no idea but makes me wonder if any of those pics belong to them. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fig-tree-Black-Madeira-3-cuttings-/322382480204?hash=item4b0f7e434c:g:mCQAAOSwnHZYcFB9

Not to keep aggravating the issue but I was alerted from a member that an eBay seller is using one of my pictures. It's of my Black Madeira figs.
It makes me question whether any picture you see on a seller's listing is really from their very own tree.
The buyer will have no clue what they bought until their tree fruits and by then it's too late.
It pays to investigate and get all the facts before you waste your time, your money and all your effort. Just sayin.

@KK  Thanks for the additional feedback. Your frustration is understandable....

Hey everyone,

I am indeed eclecticbotany, I originally got my black madeiras from TMC2009 (or maybe it's 209?) from here, AKA NewEnglandGardening on eBay and youtube.

You can search through my other threads to see pics etc. of my black madeiras over the years.

Thanks!
-Greg

When I see New York and stolen pictures I see scammers kk

To be clear, everyone, this discussion about a scammer using stolen pictures is not related to the items I'm selling ^.  My cuttings are legit. 

Sorry I apologize

Keith / Brian, I agree... I had assumed ebay seller "onthyme' was a scammer when I saw the listing. Unfortunately, there are a load of scammers or unverified sellers operating out of the NY, CT and NJ area.... Its a veritable den of 40 thieves....

Yall ate giving a innocent man a bad name. Stop jumping in till you research what your jumping in about.

Yeah KK, that's not my auction you're upset over, my auction only includes the pics of my cuttings.  :-)

You and I have done business multiple times, too, KK!  

I saw where it got mixed up above, that's why I wanted to speak up and point out things were getting crossed.  No worries.

This is my auction that the thread was about:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Madeira-fig-tree-cuttings-trunks-cut-1-13-/112272207142?hash=item1a23f1ed26:g:kWcAAOSwnHZYfdgl&rmvSB=true

Hey Greg, nice cuttings that you are offering on ebay. Good luck and success, hope they sell very well for you.

For anyone that doesn't want their pics used by others, does anyone know how to put a "watermark" to identify ownership on their photos?

I'm not a photography person so, this might be a stupid comment/question.

Just throwing it out there.