STEELVIPER

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AnnaJW

I wouldn't mind paying that for the plant, (not that I can afford it) but almost $60 shipping?!!!

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-Anna Banana -

Living my life in MMORPG's

harveyc

Mark, it's somewhat confusing when you post eBay auctions for something other than a Caliornia Gold in this thread. It would be helpful if you wrote something to go along with the link, IMO. Because of Anna's comment I wondered if Jeff had made a mistake on one of his Cal Gold auctions but I see that you linked to a banana being shipped from Thailand. I doubt it would even get to us as it would probably be stopped by the inspectors.

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STEELVIPER

I'am sorry about that. Next time i will detail what i post. I was just lazy today. Its about 100F here today. Also i have a friend that has bought from this Ebay seller. He did receive his plant.

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chong

Usually, Mark posts items like this under the "Saw this on eBay" thread. Guess he just got carried away, since recently he's been following up on then CA Gold on eBay from Jeff.

Anna, the plant is coming all the way from Thailand, hence the steep shipping cost.

One of these days, if I can find someone to bring me some from the Philippines, I'm going to get several corms each of the Señorita and that Black Balbisiana. My Plant Import Permit will expire in 2009, so I better hustle. I need to contact someone to dig up the corms, clean them up, dry them out, get a phytosanitary certificate, and ship them. It needs a lot of my time to just get hold of the proper person to do it, but then, by golly, work keeps getting in the way. Like now, after I get back to Seattle, chances are good that I will be headed for Las Vegas after a couple of weeks. Wish I could settle down soon.

AnnaJW

Wow, Chong! That sounds like alot of work to get the plant material here!

We have an aquaintance who has a place in the Philippines. Can you give me the steps involved so I could have her bring some banana's back to the US?

Thanks!

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-Anna Banana -

Living my life in MMORPG's

STEELVIPER

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harveyc

STEELVIPER, I keep watching Jeff's Cal Gold auctions (this is about his 7th this year) since a friend is interested in getting one. I believe the highest any has gone for is $66.00 while the lowest is $48.52. Quite a demand for Cal Gold, obviously.

I wonder how many of the buyers are visitors of this forum.

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MediaHound

I wonder why Jeff doesn't come here and post links to his ebay auctions himself! Jeff, we don't mind!

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Apologies in advance if I am slow to reply to your PM. I suggest posting in the forums for support if you need something urgent.

harveyc

Jeff has no need to hype his auctions as enough folks are following them. His prior auctions this year went for $48.52 to $66.00, but today his latest pup went for an outragous $150.07 (a very disappointed second bidder lost out although they bid $150.00!). Gold, indeed! Go, Jeff!

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chong

Just get a plant import permit from the USDA. They will issue you a permit number. As I explained earlier, after your source obtains the plant (assuming that it's not a plant that's banned), they need it clean it up, remove the soil and replace it with some kind of medium, e.g., coconut coir, peat moss, sphagnum moss, etc. Then bring it to an agricultural inspection office to have it inspected and obtain a phytosanitary certificate. (Joe Real informs me that the Philippine government has opened an agricultural inspection offfice near the Manila International Airport.) Slap on the certificate onto the box/container, write down your Import Permit Number with the permit holder's name and address, and the port of entry into the US. . . . . . And you're all set - just have your "courier" bring a copy of your Import Permit to show the USDA inspectors at the airport.

If you're sending it via air cargo, as opposed to someone bringing it over for you, the steps are the same. Except that you will have to have someone ship the plants for you, with all the information on the box that I listed above, and you need to have to clear it through Customs and USDA. It's not a big deal if you want to clear it though Customs yourself. You just need to personally go through the motions yourself before the items arrive because the package has to be moved from one place of the airport to another, and it has to be moved by a bonded carrier while within the confines of the airport. However, you will need to be at the office where it is received to confirm that it's yours, and pay any Duties/Taxes due, then release it to the USDA inspection station, where, if things are in order, it will be released to you.

In certain airports, like in Seatac Airport, the Customs and USDA offices are not far from each other that they may even be in the same immediate building. Thus, you will not need a bonded carrier to move it from one place to the other.

If you call the USDA office nearest you, they can explain this to you and even identify the locations of where you have to meet your package, etc. They are actually very, very helpful. At least the ones here in the Seattle area are. I think that this is because they appreciate the fact that you are doing it the proper way.

And finally, if you're not strapped for cash like me, just hire a Customs Broker to do the work for you!

AnnaJW

Thanks so much for the info!!!

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-Anna Banana -

Living my life in MMORPG's

STEELVIPER

http://cgi.ebay.com/California-Gold-...QQcmdZViewItem



????? not sure what this one is? Musa Bordelon?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Banana-Tree-Gree...ayphotohosting

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STEELVIPER

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Taylor

It ends tomorrow and it has no bids! Thats odd.

harveyc

I've been watching all of Jeff's Cal Gold auctions. This is about his 10th this year. They have ranged from $44 to $150.07, with an average of about $65. I've got two plants (one in bloom) and have two tiny pups that I stare at a lot. LOL I hope to get an AeAe and I can only guess how I'd be watching that baby every minute.

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harveyc

Several of Jeff's auctions didn't have a bid until a day or so before the end. For some reason, he only uses 3 day auctions. I went ahead and bid $35 on this one but it should go for more than that. Someone with an ID of RickiTikkiTavi has bid on several auctions but has never got one yet. He bid $43 on the last one that ended up at $44. Maybe this is his/her chance to finally get one.

Taylor, you wouldn't happen to have an AeAe plant you'd sell me by chance?

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Taylor

Harvey,
I could only wish to have the holy grail or bananas! Seems im not the only one looking for it! They have them for sale on EBay sometimes and the prices (most of the time) are getting more reasonable. Ill PM you a link to an AeAe Banana that noone has seemed to have found on ebay.

SCRATCH THAT! Gooooo Harvey! The Cheap one I found on ebay..... you have the winning bid on so far! Good Luck and I hope you get it.

harveyc

Taylor, I'm not holding my breath on that one from Stokes. I finally bid because I was hoping the price would get high fast enough to discourage more parties from getting interested. Still, they sold one last week for something like $225 and I'm not in the market that desparately. I saw your avatar and thought "just maybe...."

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Taylor

Thats actually my Canna 'Stuttgart'. It has the same variegation as AeAe and thats why I bought it, for $25 not $250. The leaves burn up a lot where I put them, but it overall adds a nice tropical look to the area. It was 1 plant, I split it into 2 but accidentally broke the rhizome 3 ways. The 3rd way is still tiny, but the other 2 ways have divided and I probably have about 10 or so now. Ive been trying to get AeAe also but with no luck. I wish I was around when Terry had those 14 pups. I would've bought one from him for $125 without complaining because people who have them now don't want to divide them in fear of damage the the whole mat. I was just discussing this with Steve L.