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tlturbo
07-18-2005, 01:19 PM
I was sent an invite to join (didn't know you existed) so here I am.

I'm TLTURBO (Terry) that just sold the Ae-Ae on E-bay.

I was told to join here and let everyone know I still have more to sell. The E-Bay plant went for $162.50 and was picked up locally.

If anyone wants one, I will let them go for $150 + $10 shipping. That way I don't have to pay the e-bay commission or ad cost. These plants are 2-3 ft tall with 6 or so leaves. NOT little pups just cut off.

I know that is expensive, but everyone I have checked with that occasionally sells them are planning on raising the cost with their next batch. So if you can find them cheaper on the internet, GRAB THEM. They will go up.

Thanks for the invite to join. I hope to get to know some of you - take care - Terry

sean
07-19-2005, 07:18 AM
welcome to the group!

right now, the $160 is a bit steep for me...I've also heard that the ae-ae may revert back to being non-variegated. Any thoughts?

tlturbo
07-19-2005, 07:31 AM
Hi Sean

I could be wrong on this BUT from what I have seen and heard, once it is verigated, THAT plant will stay that way. My Ae-Ae that I get pups from puts out verigated pups with the occasional (2 out of 13) pup being cream white. It has NEVER put put a solid green one but I hear they will.

People say the white ones won't live, but I have one (still connected to the mother plant) up to almost 2 feet. What an outrageoul looking plant. Totally ivory white with a very thin bright red edge to all the leaves and stems. It is in total bright shade to avoid leaf burning.

Anyway - that's my $.02 worth.

I need to sell a couple of these plants as they will soon be too tall to ship.

Take care - Terry

smalltubes
07-19-2005, 01:34 PM
150$ is too steep for me as well, if i do eventually get one i would not raise the price i would lower the price! Thats what im hoping to do anyways if everybody keeps up the price it will never drop. I bet if somwbody has them for less then 100$ tehey would be sold out as soon as they put them up!!!!

JoeReal
07-19-2005, 02:28 PM
reminds me of real estate around here. As long as there are plenty of people who want to buy it so that they can reproduce it at still higher prices, the demand will exponentially build and so the prices sky rockets. Then at one point, a bubble will come bursting, when there are too many ae-ae suppliers. I am patiently waiting for that, it is a banana that I would like to have as a novelty, not for profit, I am not into it. If I were to put price on my time based on my hourly rate, it would actually cost me a lot more than the current price of ae-ae to separate a pup from a mom plant, pot it, water it and make it grow, then package it and go to the post office to ship it, and back home. I am doing it because I love it, connecting with possible nice people, sharing ideas, for me, that is priceless.

One of these days, my friends in Tissue Culture laboratories will unlock the secrets to mass TC of ae-ae's and I will have loads of them for free. Two years now, and results are still not encouraging, but ultimately, I can wait of course for that to come, or when someone will trade an ae-ae with the unglamorous but equally pricey California Gold pup with me. California Gold is available only in auction from eBay or from Jeff Earl, trade with other people, no online stores are selling this banana. Here's my research on California Gold:


California Gold:
Rare Dwarf banana plant that is proven to be the cold hardiest of all edible fruit producing types bananas in Northern California. An excellent cold hardy mutant, most probably brought in from the Philippines more than 25 years ago, and has mutated and adapted to successfully produce fruit in Zone 9. While it is related to blueggoe and Dwarf Orinoco, some veteran growers that have grown California Gold observed that it has different shape of fruit than Dwarf Orinoco and slightly different growth habits. For more than 10 years that Jeff Earl (original seller), this banana has consistently produced an average of 25 lbs of good tasting yellow fruit in Zone 9 Northern California, thus nicknamed "California Gold - a real cold hardy fruit producer". Exceptionally frost hardy compared to other bananas, and produces good fruit, year after year, in Northern California, without any frost protection. Only a few banana plants might equal the cold hardiness of California Gold, such as the inedible Japanese fiber banana Musa basjoo. Cavendish type banana plants such as Super Dwarf, Williams and Double Mahoi, and most of the other edible banana plants will freeze to the ground and die during the cold winter spells when left outside without any winter protection. The California Gold banana shakes off the cold. It may lose its leaves after a hard freeze, but then continues to grow when the weather warms in the spring. The leaves lost during the winter don’t seem to slow this plant down much. California Gold have produced tasty bananas outdoors during the summer after enduring winter low temp in the low 20’s! These plants should be able grow fine in USDA zone 8 and above as an outdoor plant. They have been fruited as far north as Washington State and British Columbia with only minor winter protection. The mature plant is small only 5-6 ft tall. Some of plants have produced fruit in as early as 11 months from a pup. This exotic looking plant makes a stunning tropical impression in any garden as well as a lovely indoor potted plant. Delicious fruits rival any store bought fruit in quality and flavor, with just a hint of lemon and strawberry.


The above research could be very well hype, but I have tested it to be true so far in my backyard in zone 9. I got my California Gold from an auction by Jeff Earl, a couple of years ago. The California Gold is blooming at this moment, will post pics on that later.

tlturbo
07-19-2005, 04:15 PM
You beat me to it. I was going to reply with the Real Estate example but decided to plant some palm trees and reply later. Came back in when it was Miller time and there you were.

I agree, unfortunately that is the free enterprise society. I live in Palm Beach County, FL and our real estate went up 38% last year. Sounds great until you find out that your preoperty taxes on that new $500,000 house is over $12,000 a year, then therr's flood ins, hurricane ins, regular insurance. So it isn't that great. IF you make a killing on selling your house and move to NC or somewhere cheap, it's great. If you sell a 200K house for 400K and buy a 300K house here - you will loose money because of the taxes probably.

I had ONE Ae-Ae that I brought with me when I moved in March. Luckily, I have gotten a bunch of pups off that plant. I am putting some back around the new house to enjoy. I'm selling the extra pups off to buy some other stuff. I want a clump of Bambusa Lako (black bamboo clumper) and that is even more expensive than the Ae-Ae.

Take care guys - Terry

tlturbo
07-20-2005, 07:26 AM
OK guys, Enough.

I was INVITED to join this board because I had a plant for sale that several people on here had evidently expressed an interest in. So I joined and offered the plants at a reduced rate to anyone one here. I didn't join just to try and sell the plants.

Now I'm getting e-mails telling me that my price is OUTRAGEOUS. The latest one told me they bought plants LAST YEAR for $100 and would go back there again. GOOD LUCK.

As I replied, that is like people that I deal with in S FL Real Estate that say "I was down here last year and saw this house for 300K, WHY is it now 400K?" So if you bought your house for $300K last year and had to sell it this year and the neighbors sold for $400K, I bet damn wlll you would sell it for close to $400.

I have checked 3 places that I know of - one local and 2 on the internet that HAD Ae-Ae for about $100. Ther are ALL out of stock and I know my local guy is raising his prices to $130-$150 when he gets more which won't be until this fall. He grows them in Mexico and has to go get them and transport them back.

I agree, the price IS a bit steep. I wouldn't pay that much for one. I paid $75 for my plant 4 YEARS ago and about died. But obviously they are in demand. If you DON'T want a plant from me, that is fine and dandy and I hope you find one somewhere But PLEASE quit ragging on me for selling the few I have at market price.

I am putting another on e-bay this week probably and it will be interesting to see what it goes for. I expected about $135 on the last one and was surprised. If you notice, I had a RESERVE on that one at $100 so would have sold it for that. People drove it up to $162.

Take care - Terry

JoeReal
07-20-2005, 10:23 AM
Terry, you have the correct approach. People should try their best to understand supply and demand in an almost free enterprise environment. It was kind of you to go out of your way to offer here first, at a reduced price. People who can't wait, there's a steeper price to pay, that's just how the market works.

Joe

smalltubes
07-20-2005, 10:57 AM
Hey i said it was too steep for me, i am not a seller , beleive me if i could lay out that cash i would, i dont blame you for selling it. I have been wanting it ever since i saw it. I will be around if anybody ever does get one. Until then i will wait patiently>

Bonheur
07-20-2005, 05:13 PM
Terry, I also think it was a nice gesture for you to offer your plants here at a reduced price. You have a rare plant & there is obviously a demand for it. I watched your eBay auction & noted that the final price was not the result of a last minute bidding war. The bidders had thought ahead what price they were willing to pay & bid accordingly. If the market price continues to rise, those people who complained your price was too high may end up kicking themselves that they didn't buy one when it was "only" $150!

Gabe15
07-20-2005, 05:39 PM
On the 'Ae Ae' subject, I got mine for free, hahaha! I beat you all for finding the cheapest 'Ae Ae'!:D

Gabe15
07-20-2005, 05:42 PM
Oh, and on the 'California Gold' subject, I got mine for $40 directly from Jeff Earl himself, however, I have the power to make this plant readily available within the next year or two, but I dont know if its worth putting Jeff "out of business" so to speak.

tlturbo
07-20-2005, 06:31 PM
Bonheur

If you (or anyone else) want to know WHY the bidding war on the auction stopped, write me and I'll tell you. But it did and someone else jumped in.

Terry

JoeReal
07-21-2005, 01:24 AM
Here's a place where Ae-ae is almost always available, and they have very good feedback from people over at banana forum of garden web:
Royal Palms Enterprises
http://www.rpetropicals.com/store/cart.cgi?action=search&category=Bananas

Price: $129.00
2nd day Fedex: $21.00

Total including shipping and handling: $150.00.

So if the ebay bidding goes beyond ($150 - ie. $16 estimated shipping cost) or bidding goes beyond $134, you are really better off ordering it now rather than bid it out at eBay, so why wait and spend more?

As a practical rule of thumb, do your research on your item of interest before bidding on eBay. And we are here to help based on our own mistakes. Too often, I end up paying too high, mostly due to shipping and handling, simply because I did not check local prices first or other online sources. Sometimes you could find items in big box stores, and there is no shipping and handling overhead at the same retail price for the bid price, and no waiting. The only big problem right now with the big box stores is they don't have terminals where you can do a search for your items if they carry it and which shelves they are located, unlike eBay, it is easy to search for items. But a time is coming that soon, every item will be RFID'ed and each real shopping cart will have a powerful search item and directed navigation (already on trial), then I will only go for eBay for the very rare items I can't search in the stores.

This and other info come from various people for free and would pass it on to others. Some sellers have ran out of stock. I think the above seller in the link is in Hawaii, the home of the Ae-ae and it is inconceivable that they will ran out. With too many people wanting to grow and sell Ae-ae, it is only a matter of time that its price will go down. Many nurseries are holding off and propagating which creates a temporary shortage, and hence the price going up, as most will offer next year, along with the offering from various hobbyists, the price should go below $100, just my speculation. It could only go up if there are more people who think they can propagate more of this plant for profit, so it could extend for some time. For me, it is only a matter of time before I'll get mine for free, a good friend is expecting a shipment, and I can wait for the pups, but could take two years in our colder climate.

The seller that ran out of stock:
Natural Selection Exotics
http://naturalselections.safeshopper.com/41/cat41.htm?816
$99.99
I don't think they are going to raise their prices when inventory will move very slowly after supplies are replenished.

tlturbo
07-22-2005, 08:07 AM
MAURY - Please e mail me at tlturbo@aol.com

Terry

Tropicallvr
08-10-2005, 01:25 PM
There was a place last year that was selling Ae Ae last year for 70 bucks(or within 10 bucks of that). I can't remember where, but it must have been their fall sale.
Hey Gabe, are you going to be doing some tissue culturing? That would be great to have some of the wild seeded bananas more available!

tropicalkid
08-10-2005, 03:35 PM
Anyone have a photo of a "california gold" flower/bunch?
How rare is it?

Thanks,
tropicalkid

JoeReal
08-10-2005, 03:54 PM
Mike (Bananavilla) has several pics of California Gold. I have one California Gold blooming right now, and I just lost to an auction for digital camera. You can also check out Mike's site: http://groups.msn.com/BananaVillaImageandDiscussionGroup/pictures

There are several pics of Blooming and fruiting California Gold. I will post pics of my California Gold later.

One thing for sure, the fruits of California Gold seemed to get bigger a lot faster than that of Williams even if the California Gold bloomed 2 months later.

Bananavilla
08-11-2005, 09:36 AM
Geez, in all this rinky dink bickering over the price Terry is asking, it seems that everyone has missed the most important point of all - QUALITY OF THE PLANT!
Terry stated that these are 3ft AEAE's, almost too big to ship. No online rinker dink nursery is going to send you a plant that size.

I say more power to Terry. If I had them I would hold firm on my price as well.

Basically, **** or get off the pot!

Mike

Bananavilla
08-11-2005, 10:22 AM
This is California Gold Fruit.

http://members.aol.com/bananavilla/04a902c0.jpg

Bananavilla
08-11-2005, 10:23 AM
This is California Gold Fruit.

http://members.aol.com/bananavilla/04a902c0.jpg

Tropicallvr
08-11-2005, 10:50 AM
Good point, sounds like a really good deal for a three foot AE AE. I wasn't trying to piss anyone off.
Best regards,
Kyle

tlturbo
08-11-2005, 01:36 PM
Thanks Mike,
Yep, my problem now is I have some more pups I need to sell that are going to be to big to ship in another 6 weeks to 2 months. The last one I sold on E-Bay I had to fabricate a box for and then I taped an aluminum rod the entire length of it so no one could bend or break it. Ready to ship it was over 4 ft long. Buyer was thrilled and said it came through great. I guess I'll just plant these and enjoy them myself. But if anyone wants one for $125 + ship, I'll sell a couple.

BY THE WAY - there is one on e-bay (auction runs out later tonight) with current bid of $81 I think. One of you might pick it up for a good price.

I have to laugh at the comment Tropicallvr made (now DON'T get upset here, just laughing about it). I'm in real estate in Palm Beach Co, FL and people are coming in asking about buying a house in a certain development that they saw last season for 400K. They want one like it. They don't understand that same house is now 500K. Last year or even 4 months ago doesn't mean diddly in house prices. Same with other stuff.

The place I got my Ae-Ae 3 years ago was $75. Now they get $125 IF they can get any. They brought in 30 last time and had them all sold before they arrived. When I asked about them 2 months ago, I was told I could put my name on the list but there were already 30 ahead of me.

Later - Terry

MediaHound
08-11-2005, 07:59 PM
Hey Terry, it was nice to meet you today. Thanks for the Ae-Ae's, the ornamental grass, and the Stags.
Hope you enjoy your purple palms in a few years when they start to show. And I know you'll enjoy the Velutina in the meantime...
Anyone else that's considering an Ae-Ae, you should definately get in contact with tlturbo.
If your lucky enough to live within driving distance, it's well worth the trip!

I'm about to post those pics I snapped to your album. They will be here: tlturbo's Gallery (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=16) in just a few minutes.

Thanks again! It was great to meet you finally! Thanks for the Ae-Ae bananas!

tlturbo
08-11-2005, 08:32 PM
Same here,
It is always great to meet new people who you can share your interests with. I hope your Ae-Aes grow as good as mine do. I was really surprised that one I had planted in the ground 3 weeks ago, you found a pup on already. After you left, I drug Vicki out to show her. Thanks for the trade material, I think we both got some neat stuff. That grass is cool. I'll see if I can find the name of it.

Tried to get to the pics you took but the link doesn't work. I'll try later. Thanks again and talk to ya soon. I'll let you know what I find out about the bamboo you showed me. I'm also going to go look at the lako this weekend I think. After all, I have some $$ now ha ha

Later - Terry

bananalover
08-11-2005, 08:45 PM
Soil look muddy and too wet in photos and leaves look burnt like they get too much sun.

MediaHound
08-11-2005, 08:53 PM
Hey, fixed the link (see my edit at 9:28, must have been while you were typing ha) - check it out now, they came out EXCELLENT!
@ bananalover - yes, some leaves are partially burned. Terry brought this up and explained to me why. The plants were in a shadier place before they were moved out into the open space where they are now. New leaves emerge and grow just fine. But as with most plants grown in partial shade, move them to sun and they sizzle a little. This is not a known problem with the Ae-Ae, don't let it throw you off.
The soil was wet, but rest assured, it's not a mud-pit day in and day out ;).

I should let Terry explain what you noticed in his own words, tho...

tlturbo
08-12-2005, 07:01 AM
Na, why bother. Some people just always have to find something negative to say. :(
Suffice it to say I had just watered, the soil is very high in BLACK composted humus and of COURSE things get a lot of sun and tend to burn some in South Florida if you don't have lots of shade trees. :cool:
I guess I should move them, after all, 3 new leaves on each plant and a pup after 3 weeks in the ground obviously means they aren't growing well there. :confused:
Next time I'll make sure everything looks perfect before I let someone take pictures.
Terry

tlturbo
08-12-2005, 08:07 AM
That Ae-Ae on E-Bay I mentioned yesterday that was sitting at $81 sold last night for $132.50.

Terry

JoeReal
08-12-2005, 08:55 AM
Bananas are truly very hardy and can stand some abuse and able to recover. Their strength lies in the health of the corm, and not the stems nor the leaves.

We were taking care of a friend's dog. One summer, while I was mixing a potting media, that dog grabbed my USPS priority mail with banana pup in it, ripped open the box, mangled the banana psuedostem, then held it by the leaves and drag it around the block, with the angry me chasing the pup-dragging-pup. Of course I caught up, simply cut off the pseudostem to half height and planted the banana pup. It grew quickly to a beautiful plant. It would not have survived if it was a potted blueberry or any other stone and pome fruits at that time of the year.

tlturbo
08-12-2005, 09:48 AM
Thanks for the visual image of you chasing a pup-dragging-pup. Got a good chuckle.

Terry

Casa Del Gatos
08-14-2005, 07:55 AM
Geez, in all this rinky dink ... {SNIP}I say more power to Terry. If I had them I would hold firm on my price as well.
Basically, **** or get off the pot!
Mike

I agree!
(Hey, we can say "****" here? :D ) BIG difference from that "other" banana forum!LOL!

modenacart
02-26-2008, 10:20 PM
I won an AEAE but they won't mail it to me.

Taylor
02-26-2008, 10:25 PM
Hey, What is the eBay link to it? Thanks-