Hello everyone! I'm a newer member, but have been a lurker for a long time! :-) I have found this site to be an invaluable source of info for my gardening obsession!
I just want to warn those of you who might be tempted to do business with a "gentleman" here or on GardenWeb named Mike or Michael from Sparta Wisconsin. He sounds like a very nice guy who has a lot of hard to find varieties of different plants (iris in my case) but he claims to sell coneflowers, cactus, etc. I was looking for "Eye for Style" iris as well as "Painter's Touch". I sent him a money order (luckily I'm only out $30, but it's the principle) for the agreed upon plants. He gave me the run around for weeks; one excuse after another. They got more and more elaborate as time went one. Well, it's been since July and15 emails later and I still haven't rec'd the iris and I don't expect them anytime soon. It's very sad that someone would scam people like this, but I guess he needed the $30 more than his scruples. If anyone wants his last name or address, feel free to contact me. I just wanted to save you the aggravation I've been going through.
Happy planting!
Warning to those who may buy or trade with this person-
How did you meet him and how did it come about. I mean what drew you to him. Was he on a trade list or is he a seller. What is the name of his company. Do you have the zip code or anything so we can look him up. Also you can go to WatchDog and leave a comment. That is where everyone rates the sellers with good or bad feed back.
I had a similar experience with Agrich a couple of years ago...I looked up and called the country attorney for his county and had a chat with him...he asked me to write a letter and I did citing the information of the transaction...and TOTAL lack of plants or communication. I received a complete refund about 3 weeks later.
and never mind how much or how little you think the amount is...whether it is downright scam, too busy to take care of business, or internal crisis...then do not accept the contract or commitment. As I understand it, as soon as the check cashes/clears, an agreement is in place.
I encourage everyone with similar experiences to do the same thing and then log it on Watchdog so others can learn as well.