[agiopwer]

I've been watching slipper orchid auctions on eBay Australia and some of the prices seem insane. This plant http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/220989554845 seems pricey but I'll have to admit I would have bid a little higher If I hadn't been in transit.

It's the price of some seedlings and plants with no history or information about the genetics that amazes me.

Why are the prices so high? Was it that the Australian $ was so low a few years ago? Is there now a huge interest in Slippers? Will the bubble burst?

I was talking to Howard (Howzat) via Skype last week about the Paph market in Australia and I mentioned that over the last 2 years, a few people I know have imported around 1000 Paph flasks and Howard said a friend of his recently imported 400 flasks. It's my guess that at least 3000 + flasks have come in over the last few years. Does this mean that in 2-3 years, Australians will be paying similar prices to the US?

Mick

[Illisezek]

The biggest problem is that most of the big Paph breeders here are gone, closed up. The amount of crosses and quantities available from the newer Parvi Paphs plus others being produced in Taiwan, for one, and the length of time they have been produced have made doing them locally with the lab' costs make it an unviable effort to do them here. Private growers will make their own crosses but in very limited amounts. The demand is so great for these plants, importing them is the way to go. They are an extended flavour of the month orchid. Promotion has another big bearing on them also, as per usual, nurseries only show the good ones and if the truth be known, these nurseries also flower 1000's of crap plants. Some / most of the mixed parvi or brachy x multiflorals are a big con, there is a very large portion of plants from these crosses rarely if ever flower. Growers have large multi growth plants they can't flower. The pics of the ones they see look fabulous but the nursery has 1000's & fortunately do get a few to flower to show the pics. Growers get sucked in.

[LSg44PDu]

I tend to think the prices for seedlings and unknown clones will come down as there are alot of flasks coming, literally thousand on the east coast alone, but I also think a fair few of them are rubbish that will take years to flower if ever as Roy said.

I do think that premium / awarded plants will continue to hold their value as they are so hard to come by.

[agiopwer]

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[farmarrl]

I can't see the bubble bursting anytime soon. Plants are getting more expensive if anything. The few nurseries left seem to be exclusively selling through eBay as they know they can get much higher prices. It is insane how much small seedlings are going for. Large flowering size plants are impossible to obtain and sell for a fortune. I don't think that will ever change no matter how many flasks come in. It is pretty depressing actually. Ten years ago there was so much more available. I regret not buying a lot more but didn't have the resources to do so then.

That PEOY went pretty cheap in the end. It is worth more than that I think. If he had included a better photo of the flower that would have helped. The seller is in our society and is a friend. Actually it was this Paph that got me hooked into Paphs, especially the multi-florals. I was totally blown away. I had seen nothing like it before. Below is a couple of photos of it when it won Champion Orchid of the Canberra show 10 years back. He has subsequently flowered it better although I never saw it when it was awarded or when it won Champion Orchid of the show at Cronulla with 3 spikes. I tried to organise with him to let me photograph it when it had 3 spikes but he pollinated the flowers before i could get a chance. I think that cost him money in the end.

I would have bid for it myself but a combination of big expenses has meant my priorities are elsewhere. The winner of that plant is getting a very strong division unlike many eBay purchases.

[agiopwer]

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[farmarrl]

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[agiopwer]

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[farmarrl]

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[LSg44PDu]

I did bid on the PEOY, but currently being overseas I was not able to see the end of the auction hence got beaten, oh well, cant have them all.

It will be interesting to see what does happen in the next few years, most of the stuff coming on is from taiwan and a bit from sam, I have been quite reluctant to but the taiwanese stuff because of the issues of incorrect naming etc

[farmarrl]

[agiopwer]

Thanks David...
I see the AOC has that award number for a clone called 'Queensclift'. Must be a typo.

Regards, Mick

[Illisezek]

I think the var' name given in the AOC pics is definitely a typo, "Queenscliffe" is award number is 3643.

[18holesin]

Seedling market prices aside, whoever got that division got a very nice plant for a good price. Nice sized division too.

[farmarrl]

No sign of the bubble bursting. Check out the price this division of St Swithin 'Summer Storm' went for on eBay today. It is an exceptional clone, but way beyond what I was prepared to pay.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ORCHID-PA...em4d0 051e40d

I actually have a piece of this clone. I flowered it once in 2006, but it went downhill after I flowered it. It is just a really small single growth going nowhere. After what it sold for today, I am going to have to make a big effort to save it. Here is my plant when it flowered.

[agiopwer]

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[farmarrl]

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[LSg44PDu]

prices are high right now, but I thought it was a good looking division and fully expected it to go for between $200 and $250. A little higher than I expected, but good luck to the seller.

I dont see anything wrong with single growth divisions provided they are established with a decent root system and this one did look to be exactly that.

Prices on this quality of paph have been the same for a long time, try buying a piece of St Swithin 'Sunnybank' and see what it costs

[vioppyskype]

Maybe I'm the exeption? I've never bought anything on ebay (but I plan to try selling) A while back I desperately wanted a venustum alba and I saw one on ebay. It was a seedling maybe 1 year from flask and went for over $90!, so I bowed out. 6 months later I have 2 alba clones. one was $20 and the other was $15. I hope the nuseries don't all end up on ebay If they do, maybe we hobby growers should band together and start an inter-grower supply of seed, flasks , seedlings and divisions?