Im not one to bash anyone...anyone! I try to take the high road. However, I felt that it was important to post this in order to save another person from making the same mistake as I did. I will share ut here for others to see. You be the judge.

We rely on the good reputation of this forum to choose eBay sellers, right? I thought this was the right thing to do also, which is why I chose to bid on these cuttings. Unfortunately, Giacomo Calebrese (spelling?) who goes by "Justfigs" on this forum sent me cuttings, which I won on for what I thought was a good price. By the way, his cuttings are NOT shown on his post but rather he posts a picture of trees! Now I understand why! When I received the cuttings today, I was horrified. They were diseased and had huge burrows! Something is chewing up the cuttings and still lives in there! Why would someone knowingly send out these cuttings? Why? Why do this just to make a few bucks? Why risk reputation, money and more? When I sent him a pm and asked for a full refund. He simply answered "I can get you a refund." No apology. Nothing! He didn't know the buyer was someone connected to this group?! My next pm only received this response..."I already put in a refund request. Im not mother nature. Get over yourself." What? After he ripped me off he still dares say this to me? Still no apology. You take a look and tell me what you see and what you think.

why dont my pictures show?

I think the forums storage for pictures is full so you have to upload to photo bucket, Flickr, ect. And post the link.

I bought cuttings from Justfigs last summer. Col de Dame blanc, Col de Dame Noir and Col de Dame Gris. 10 cuttings, they were really thin, half pencil thickness, none survived.

If something is inside a cutting eating it, borer beetles, moth grubworms, ect. The cuttings are doomed from the start.

The best eBay cuttings thickness, length, healthiest, were from Fatnsassytexan.

I think I ordered 30 cutting, but they were long enough that I was able to cut them and double them to 60. I think I rooted them all as well.

Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I just found out the storage issues.

Yes, the cuttings were unbelievably horrible! I dont have flicker or other but I will work on this to get photos posted! Thanks for posting about your experience. I wanted to post my experience so that others realize that some of these people are actually here on this forum for the sole purpose of scamming others on eBay or otherwise.

Thanks so much for confirming what I also discovered with my cuttings!

Meg,

I am so sorry that this happened to you.  Thanks for sharing.

thanks for letting us know   sorry

What were the varieties you ordered? Maybe someone could help you out.

Hey, Aaron, its nice of you to even post but I would rather just thank you than say. I really wanted to just express that this person uses the goodness of this forum in the wrong way thats all. I think people here are great and in my eyes, just plain kind. In fact kindness here goes far beyond monetary value for me. Again thanks for even suggesting that i post the items here but its best just to let things be.

That's pathetic. Sorry about the waste of your time and money

Ouch sorry to hear that and thanks for the heads up! Btw, I bought from fatnsassytexan as well last spring. Great cuttings!

Giacomo seems like a nice person and always helped me with my questions on SIP designs.

I suggest that you burn them so the eggs never hatch.  If you throw them out the eggs will hatch in your landfill and you may have a colony spreading in your area.

Giacomo sent me awesome cuttings every time......I also sell a few cuttings in the spring. A year ago a customer got a few cuttings that probably froze on the plane, truck or mailbox....I didnt appreciate him assuming I sold him dead cuttings... I sold him about 5 mission cuttings for about 5 dollars.....I hope he got black listed.. LOL.

Sometimes mistakes are made as well, send them pictures and ask if they looked the same when shipped out. If not, we all know the postal system is perfect lol not to mention many states have had freezes lately

I have gotten many cuttings from him in the past. I have always been happy with what I received. Shame to hear this news.

Hi, Elin: im sorry: i dont like speaking poorly of people. I was disappointed & truly shocked. Truly shocked. More than anything, I was shocked to receive his uncaring response.

I know he has been on this forum & thiz is why i went with his suction. Im sorry for this negative post.

i thought that too...maybe a mistake. However, he was not surprised at all nor did he seem to care when I sent him a pm about it. He never apologized. Rather, he seemed flippant about it. The burrows are almost 2/3 inches long and one cutting had at least four! At first i thought the cutting was possibly bent in shipping and it got stressed to the point of shredding the cambian. I have never seen anything so obviously bad.

Posting this is not something i really wanted to do. I had hoped to receive a difference response from him.

Im glad you have. Something has obviously changed for him and Im sorry for that.

Hi Armando: i try to see all sides. Most of all I try to never assume. In research, we look at things from different angles and ask different questions. We watch for changes when something is introduced to the model. We never first assume. When I sent Giacomo a pm, I was hoping for an apology. Or some sort of explanation but he didnt seem to care about that, which surprised me. I would never knowingly send cuttings that were so horribly diseased. A dried cutting, that could happen for many reasons. Huge 2/3 inch burrows, its obviously a sick tree. EVEN if its been bad weather in his part of the country, there is an ethical responsibility for both parties. And in my opinion, more so when one is a member of a forum that holds to high standards such as here and, when this forum is mentioned in the sellers description.

Im not angry & I have forgiven him. I hope he makes some changes in his life.

Hi, Rob: I thought about this but im afraid of beetles running out. The burrows are huge. Do you know of a chemical i can pour into a container that would kill things that big? They are in a bag inside another bag in a box outside on my car port. I didnt know what to do with then.

I know we can post many more responses here but perhaps this has been enough said. I hope Giacomo will make better decisions in the future.

Try to post using photo bucket? Maybe that will offer a further explanation by someone.

Liquid Sevin mix to normal mix....soak the cutting about 1 hour should take care of them. Soak in clean water after to remove the remainder. I use this every fall and spring to kill the grubs of many pests in my berry patch. I  Pour 1 Gal on each root clump for Blackberries and Raspberries never had a problem with my figs or Cherry trees. But have lost lots of berry plants......... 

Personally I would burn them to insure I do not end up bringing problems in. The cost of the cuttings is not worth the chance of harmful eggs getting loose.  I have enough pests already.

Looks like he pulled all of his cuttings off Ebay as of yesterday, I sense a resolution on the horizon for you Smyfigs... Fingers crossed.