November 2014 snowdrops

[johnralphcarpenter]

However the seller on eBay did not use their own photograph but one that appears on the jardin-de-berthille web site and that always sets alarm bells ringing in my ears.

The seller on Ebay is "zorija" from Blackburn, Lancs. According to Ebay this seller has bought items from Matt Bishop recently, so presumably Matt knows his/her identity.

[Maggi Young]

I think this may be the forumist "zorija" - so he could comment if he wished.

[loes]

Sven,
Good to "see" you here
 (how are my bulbs doing?)

Loes

[zorija]

Sorry, I've come in a bit late on this one.

Is it the authenticity or the price that is at question here? Or another...

Edit : a) On reflection the photograph should not have been used and it should have been sold as a blank canvass i.e.
links to photos on the web.
         b) Berthille is true.
         c) I agree that there is little ebay buyers can do when their bulbs are not true. My bulbs are only sourced from reputable sellers - any excess/not required stock is sold on ebay. IF I had such a problem whereby I had sold a bulb that later was not true then I would issue an immediate refund.  I can assure you that if my bulbs were not true then yours would also not be true.
         d) I would not expect Matt Bishop to disclose my details - as already debated elsewhere on the SRGC.
         e) Given my comments above assuming the item is true then ebay is purely demand versus supply. If there are people prepared to pay, what may seem excessive amounts for a snowdrop, then so be it. If I have made a profit then it means I can put that money towards the next snowdrop on my wanted list.
         f) To assume that photographs are plagiarised does not infer counterfeit goods...

I'm guilty to the picture...

[Maggi Young]

Sorry, I've come in a bit late on this one.

Is it the authenticity or the price that is at question here? Or another...

Ah, you are the same "zorija" then.
I think it is the authenticity which is being queried by some of us . ......

However the seller on eBay did not use their own photograph but one that appears on the jardin-de-berthille web site and that always sets alarm bells ringing in my ears.

[Alan_b]

Zorija, the price is for you to decide, it's the authenticity that is being questioned.

You may or may not be aware that in the past people have sold fake snowdrops on eBay.  The get away with this, for a while, by selling a bulb that is out-of-flower.  And since they rarely if ever own the real snowdrop they use a photograph taken from another source.  Currently you are doing both of these, selling a snowdrop that will not come into flower until February and using the same photograph that is on the jardin-de-berthille web site.  You may have legitimate reasons for doing both these things but you should be aware that it looks suspicious     

[zorija]

I can assure you that Berthille is not sourced from the U.K. and it is 100% genuine !!!

Fraudsters wouldn't, in my opinion, post here.
If I was a fraud I think I would target plicatus Bumblebee. Will you remind me to post some of my pictures of Berthille in the spring...
One last comment - I am not very keen on Berthille but it is a stepping stone to others.

[Alan_b]

Hi I wonder if I could have the opinion of the other galanthophiles on here please, I was on ebay today ...There were two snowdrops on the buy it now option Galanthus E.A.Bowles & Galanthus nivalis Berthille  one bulb for each.

Oddly, the 'E.A Bowles' is on sale by ebay seller '2010coco44' and located in Swadlincote.

The 'Berthille' is on sale by ebay seller 'Zorija' and is located in Blackburn.

Forumist 'Zorija' says he is the 'Zorija' selling on eBay but on the forum his location is indicated to be Swadlincote.

Now that's a strange coincidence, isn't it?

Edit:  For those unfamiliar with UK geography, Blackburn and Swadlincote are over 100 miles apart by road.   

[zorija]

Alan_b
Whilst my address has changed for Berthille to Blackburn then that, per se, is not a crime. I accept that it may look suspicious
but there are valid reasons for doing so.
I will discuss the reason if you PM me...

[mark smyth]

The seller of Narwhal is using Joe Sharman's photo to see his/her snowdrop. The same seller is using a photo of EA Bowles from the Gardens Illustrated web site

[Alan_b]

And that seller, '2010coco44' is also selling those two very expensive snowdrop at fixed prices ('buy-it-now'), just like 'Zorija' is, and they actually say they are in Swadlincote     

[zorija]

Alan_b,
As stated if you want the answers then PM me...

Edit : This forum is about November snowdrops. I suggest anyone that disputes my authenticity then PM me...

[Alan_b]

Zorija, I have reviewed your record of postings on this forum.  You first introduce yourself in February 2011 here http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6675.msg185574#msg185574 as someone called Mark who has inherited a collection built-up by his father, not all of which you can identify.  Shortly afterwards you post a couple of photographs http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6675.msg185760#msg185760 and mention that your father lived in Blackburn http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=6675.msg185770#msg185770 , which seems to explain the Blackburn/Swadlincote connection.  To be frank, the identification questions you asked three years ago were quite naive and not indicative of someone with great expertise in snowdrops at that time.

You then drop out of sight and don't reappear on the forum until July of this year with pictures of some bulbs eaten by narcissus fly larvae http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12328.msg313763#msg313763 .  Thereafter you make occasional contributions but there has never been anything to prove that you own any of the really rare and expensive snowdrops.

Fraudsters wouldn't, in my opinion, post here.

I'm afraid they do, an instance from earlier this year springs to mind.  A young galanthophile, formerly a regular contributor to this forum, was identified as the seller of fake snowdrops on eBay.  Due to pressure exerted here and elsewhere the listings were pulled before the auction came to a close.

Sadly, Galanthophiles on this forum have become quite adept at spotting fraudsters.  And Zorija, you are certainly doing a lot of the things that fraudsters do.       

[Maggi Young]

Zorija, no-one has called you a fraudster.

It has simply been pointed out that many of the things which we here have all discovered in the past to be indicative of possible and probable problems are being seen in connection with certain ebay listings.

M.Y. - forum moderator



 

[zorija]

Maggi,
Seems to me Alan_b was over stepping his mark.

He had his chance to PM me but continued with his allegations on this forum. In my view he is completely out of order.