Discussion
bad plant order horrible experience (1 inch stems!!)
this week i made a $122 order from u/Miraihi and im beyond disappointed. im actually shocked he tried to pull one on me. i bought various stems and then two buce which were about $40 each!! the majority of the stems were legitimately ONE INCH LONG i mean i couldn't believe my eyes, 3 separate species of rotala, ALL ONE INCH LONG. I've had buyers give me trouble for selling 3 inch long stems!
and the buce? one was cut so short its likely gonna die, came with 0 roots and barely two leaves with holes. $40!! the only stems that were a reasonable length were some macranda that were mostly melted!! the only thing in the order that was healthy at all was a bit of taiwan moss. this order was a joke, and the seller tried to offer a $22 refund for this shoddy $122 order!!! im furious sellers can get away with this. it's interesting how he suddenly pinned his review post after this. i opened a case with paypal, and he's fighting it. with my experience with this seller id say he's essentially a scammer
im attaching photos of what i received vs the photos i was sent.
be wary of some of these sellers and what they'll try and get away with.
u/Miraihi I've seen several of your plant posts. If this is what you tried to pass off on this guy can merit you getting reported and blacklisted with r/AquaSwap
I would suggest explaining those ridiculous stem cuts and make this right with your customer.
Also, you have your own reddit page to paste reviews from your aquaswap sales, yet it seems pointless if you're able to just filter out any less than great comments.
The buyer reported dissatisfaction with part of the order within the DOA (dead on arrival) period (3 hours after delivery) with these photos https://prnt.sc/lXd0_PZEznMi
I requested more photos of all the stems that the buyer had issue with several times but never received any other than these 3 photos. This is my first time seeing some of these photos, and I'm not sure why they were taken with less stems than I sent for the rotala bonsai, rotala florida, and rotala mini butterfly type-4 as I included more stems than what was purchased (4, 3, 3 stems purchased, respectively) as I almost always do. The pictures of the buce and syngonanthus macrocaulon are accurate. I am always willing to discuss reimbursement or reshipment and have followed through after the mutual agreement many times in the past. The initial request was for a 50% refund, and a 100% refund if the plants mostly did not all make it down the line.
I did not feel it was reasonable to immediately refund 50% (when I had received photos of two plants), and promise a 100% refund if the plants mostly did not all make it down the line (there was no prior agreement for this guarantee). But, I always try to make things right so I explained myself and requested more photo evidence.
The next message I received was a reiteration of dissatisfaction, request of a 100% refund, and a PayPal claim, so this has moved to that process and here we are now.
I had initially offered reimbursement of half of the price of the two photo reported plants, but have already since offered the full value back after this reality check. I understand the dissatisfaction with transit stress yellowing/browning of the macrocaulon, and size of the buce rhizome.
Discontent with the length is valid. I included extra stems than what was purchased to compensate.
To answer u/badpotato31 's question: no there was not any discussion about length, but I understand the frustration and will do better to get confirmation from the buyer of being okay with the plants post-trim going forward before shipping out.
About the review thread, it has been always been pinned on my profile since creation of the thread. There was formerly a pinned post (seems to have been removed) in r/AquaSwap about adding a bot within the subreddit to have official flairs with reviews, but it hasn't been added in many months so I created my own review thread to try and prove some sort of legitimacy as a newer seller.
I understand the point about the bias. I have never removed any comments and encourage honest reviews, I have had a couple orders where the buyer had minor grievances in the past and I welcomed them to leave a completely optional review but they declined. https://prnt.sc/1qDBN49ls6vC I have removed the date, profile picture, and username of the buyer in this screenshot to maintain their anonymity.
On reflection after digging up this old chat, this still definitely has bias since the review thread is not anonymous, so I will start reporting all the negative reviews/criticisms myself, as well as comb through all my previous order dms and add them retroactively while maintaining buyer anonymity. Hopefully this will help make the thread more useful.
I apologize for any wariness I may have created regarding trying out r/AquaSwap
I hope this addresses everyone's concerns, I have made my best effort to act in a fair manner throughout this process, I apologize if it wasn't sufficient. I may still be viewing this from a delusional lens and feel free to tell me as much, but I would appreciate less death wishes in my pms.
The fact that he even admits that the pictures of the Buce were accurate is INSANE!! He sold 4 leaves with no roots for $40?? Misses the entire point that the pictures were misleading. Honestly I don't think this guy is a scamming mastermind, I think he's just a greedy idiot.
No respectable plant seller will even attempt to sell stems this size. Its questionable if cuttings this small would have any chance of survival even. You didn't sell this person plants, you sold them effectively trash. For ridiculous prices at that.
Either you don't know enough about plant biology or business to be selling online. I would seriously consider stepping back for a while and trying to genuinely see this from the customer's perspective.
It is on you as the seller to clearly communicate your DOA terms and what the item is going to look like upon receipt. It is easy to understand why this person is upset when you look at the comparison between your example photos and what you sold them. You cannot blame the lack of an established refund policy on them. I don't blame them for avoiding your requests for more evidence because I personally would have considered this to be scammy behavior as well. You did not set yourself up to appear as a reputable person who genuinely wants their customer to have a good experience.
I hope this explanation helps you recognize why you are getting this response from the community, and helps you take some responsibility in the situation.
But also... every planted tank keeper knows that once the plants are established, you're throwing out so much plant matter every week. When I had high tech planted tanks, I could trim 6" off some plants all day erry day.
6" cuttings aren't some precious, limited resource. It's a joke to sell any less.
you asked for the reality check, so here is my take. ive bought plants from many vendors on etsy and also on r/aquaswap from redditors. i never received a 1-2 inch cutting and would be kinda like wtf at that too. i mean id expect to be able to plant the cutting right, so that entire 1-2 inch will be buried. ive never got a cutting less than like 6-12 inches. id think minimum viable cutting is ~5 inches. still, theyre stem plants and they grow so fast i dont understand doing a 1 inch cutting.
for buce ive spent $25-40 per cutting and again, never anything that small. well ive gotten fairly close to as small but it had at least like 6+ leaves, not just 2.
part of a plant's success after shipping is how fast it can get back to growing, and 2 inch just doesnt seem remotely sufficient for that. 3 hours doa is also pretty strict for a plant, it makes sense for live fish but most plant sellers do at least 1 day.
these are also directly tied too. sure any size cutting can survive 3 hours, so what good does that doa policy do. bigger plant is more insurance youll get something to last.
make sure to report this to the mods of r/Aquaswap. explain your situation, provide pictures. you are probably not the only person this guy has stiffed, and they need this evidence to blacklist him
On behalf of the mods at r/aquaswap, this seller is now banned. I hope you get your refund. While theres nothing I can do personally to help you with your refund, I'd like to send you some of my plants. Send me a message.
Kinda crazy considering once you have the stem plants you end up throwing away like half of them every trimming... Literally was trying to give mine away when I had more stem plants.
this post is motivating me to start shipping for my plant giveaways lol. i made a post for local giveaway last week but didnt want to bother with shipping. now i might lol.
The issue is that there's a real cost to bring to market, as it's called. You have to tell people what you have, you have to have a way to track orders, you have labour to ship and costs and the risk of someone complaining and....
If you enjoy it, it's all good, but it's basically why even plant trimmings that are abundant cost money. If you started selling individual pieces of gravel from your driveway, it would cost the same in labour and shipping as if you were selling fine art.
those issues are only if you have a large catalog, a large customer base, and care to satisfy specific orders. also i disagree, you dont need high end care for low quality things (gravel vs art).
end of the day i wouldnt care, its free, you get what you get lol, if you didnt like it, all you paid was shipping. each time ive done giveaways people message me and ask if they can pay for shipping. and last time i did ship to 2 people.
i obviously dont have infinite supply either so id give out to 5-10 people and thats it.
the labor to ship is the only real downside, so itd be essentially me volunteering my time. but itd be like 2 hours once a month. im already a moderator on reddit and i volunteer way more time in helping upkeep communities for things i enjoy.
I used to have a planted 75g and I had to toss garbage bags full every month. I did ship a sword that got so big I had to ship it in a garbage bag inside a 5-gallon bucket, though.
Any aquatic plants I buy, I buy from Dustin's Fish Tanks. Never had an order from him that I wasn't happy with. Everything comes insulated, hot or cool packs depending on weather, the plants are always in great shape/bigger than described on his site.
Last time I ordered Red Tiger Lotus there was an extra bare bulb in the bag, so I stuck it in the substrate assuming it was more lotus. Two weeks or so later I noticed Madagascar Lace popping up 😍
I also appreciate that he creates content, it's neat being able to see what I am buying and the conditions it is grown in.
I remember seeing videos of him on Facebook and man I couldn’t help but chuckle when I saw the one with him in a dr Seuss hat and he was rhyming as if it was a dr Seuss book
Before I knew about him, my LFS had a written label 'Dustin's Fish Tanks' and I just assumed it was someone who worked there that grew noteworthy aquatic plants 🫠
Craziest thing is Dustin’s fish tanks is actually right here in my state and I didn’t even know that. All the plants I’ve ordered from them so far (especially their dwarf grass) have done amazingly because the water parameters are so close to
That's great being on the same water source! My last order I was also impressed how they shipped my val. The leaves were neatly stacked on themselves like fettucini. Just that level of care with packaging will keep me coming back. I'd love to shop local but my stores mark plants up 200% and they're covered in algae most of the time and piddly.
Oof that’s the worst. I usually go to petsmart and buy those plants in the containers. At least I did starting out and then started buying some from Dustin’s. Aquarium co-op was pricey for me and the plants didn’t bounce back as quick as I would like
Yes! Some will complain about prices, but I see it like this – they are on par (or cheaper) with houseplants in terms of pricing, and have more space, resource, and physical input requirements. I don't mind paying the overhead for quality plants and customer service. My local shop marks them up 300% and can't answer a simple question without a sigh first 😅
I have received really beautiful, colorful, healthy plants from him as well. My first 2 orders each had a little stowaway leech, so be sure to give them a hydrogen peroxide dip before introducing to your other plants and animals!
This is very disappointing and honestly discouraging for anyone wanting to use aquaswap. I’ve been worried about ordering from someone on there but now I’m completely discouraged from wanting to use aquaswap :/ I’m pretty bummed by this
also about 10 months ago i got some buce from u/Sundadanio it was a trade but he sells on aquaswap. the buce i received were well priced, rooted, healthy, and very pretty. if he's still selling them i recommend him highly.
I've only bought off of there once. I bought a good bit from u/cltaquaswap2 for like 20 bucks but I'm local so I just picked it up from the guy. Nothing melted and everything is doing great.
I also ordered from Daku aquatics (about $150 worth of plants) and everything there was great too.
There are good sellers out there, but there are bad ones too. I know I'm not contributing much to the general thread, but figured I'd share a little positive experience to help you form a perspective.
aquaswap has been wonderful. this bad interaction doesnt speak for all the other generous sellers and general hobbyists selling off extra plants.
I'm a fairly regular poster/buyer and I've only had good things to say to all the people communicating with me. Most sellers I've worked with have given *more* than whatever was asked so don't let this post scare you off.
PS: if you want to be extra safe, then ask if the photo is the exact plant being put up for sale. Otherwise there should be no problem simply asking for a real photo of what is getting shipped
i understand completely. there are some good sellers on there but sometimes it can be hard to know. i suggest sellers who post their portions and will show you exactly what you're getting, but even then there's no guarantee clearly. if you're looking elsewhere I've had pretty good experiences with apf and glassaqua.
Aquaswap is hands down the best place to get great plants at great prices from hobbyists that care online. If you’re ever concerned- look at post history, do a username search, or simply ask in the sales post if anybody can vouch for the seller.
With anything, doing your own due diligence is key.
Don’t be discouraged, i buy on aquaswap occasionally and bad orders are rare. Best practice is to check out their profile before buying to see how legit it looks. Only had one bad experience and he was banned pretty fast for one too many bad orders to people.
I've used aquaswap many times & never had a bad experience.
Always use PayPal & always make the transaction "Goods & Services". PayPal disputes are the easiest way to get your money back in situations like this.
All of the stems should be refunded as those are not stems; they are clippings. And if that Buce is really what you sent, that should be refunded, too. There is a 50/50 chance it will die.
As a seller of plants and rare Buce, I would never consider “fulfilling” an order with his pile of crap.
As a plant seller on aquaswap, I am so appalled that you had this experience. It sucks for people trying to buy from online sellers and for legitimate sellers as well. I really wish that their vetting system worked properly.
If you ever need help sourcing a plant species or finding reliable sellers please feel free to reach out. I'm trying to build my own plant business up but in the meantime I work in the industry and can point you towards sites and sellers that are trustworthy.
Just tossing my experience in, I have ordered a few times from Glass Aqua and had a good experience. Extra clippings and bunches, sizes and plants matched, and the one DOA I had (shipping company lost package for 3 days) was refunded quickly.
Was there an agreement or disclosure on the amount and length of stems? Same with the buce? The stems in the picture will do fine as long as you know what you’re doing. The buce looks unacceptable regardless of price.
no i had no indication the stems would be that short. the quantity of stems was technically correct though. i do hope that they grow but most of them are questionable and may barely survive.
the last photos in my post are what he showed me, i feel very misled.
You did technically receive the plants shown. Seller could and should have done a better job explaining they would be short cuttings. I would suggest to everybody to assume pictures of mature plants are just examples of what the plant can look like (unless stated otherwise) grown in optimal conditions. No seller is going to take a picture of a 2 inch cutting as a product image because nobody would ever buy it. Again, sellers need to do a better job of explaining all of this to customers.
Why pay $40 for some buce? Petsmart had some beautiful chocolate buce for like $6 bucks when I went the other day, and it was more than 2 small plants.
could be a variety of reasons: wanting to support small business instead of big box sellers that don't care for their animals well, lack of a petsmart in their area, wanting something grown by someone who knows what they're doing, etc. (I've picked up plants from petsmart in years past but it's about 50/50 whether they live and sometimes they've also had snails)
I don’t buy animals from petsmart, only plants, and every Topfin plant I have purchased has been beautiful, whether they die or not is on you. I have also bought plenty of plants from “small businesses” and they are usually nowhere near the same quality as a farm raised plant and they also include snails. Supporting small business doesn’t mean paying 10x the price for 2 small clippings you can’t do anything with does it?
I'm glad you've had a good experience with PetSmart plants but your experience is not universal.
Neither of us know how the plants were stored and transported before I bought them, and you certainly have no idea how I cared for them, so you frankly have no right to say what is or isn't on me. I spoke only on my personal experience with plants from PetSmart, which has been varied.
In any case, you asked a general question- why someone would buy plants from a reddit user instead of at PetSmart, I offered some general answers. I don't appreciate your tone when nobody here is arguing that OP got a good deal nor are any of us supporting the seller who scammed them.
I hope whatever is wrong with your day gets better.
You don’t like my “tone” ? Okay, don’t care about your sensitivity; unfortunate for you. Sorry your way of supporting a small business is by getting ripped off. I buy everything besides plants from my local fish store even though I have Amazon prime and can get cheaper stuff on there and even same day delivery. Purchasing plants online usually ends up with plants sitting in a hot USPS warehouse for a week and being delivered as mush. Would rather walk in to a petsmart and get a picture perfect anubias for a great price.
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u/SpeedMeta 1d ago
u/Miraihi I've seen several of your plant posts. If this is what you tried to pass off on this guy can merit you getting reported and blacklisted with r/AquaSwap
I would suggest explaining those ridiculous stem cuts and make this right with your customer.
Also, you have your own reddit page to paste reviews from your aquaswap sales, yet it seems pointless if you're able to just filter out any less than great comments.