Selling Plants on E-Bay

illusio

I've received lots of plants from Ebay with mixed success - some absolutely fine, others near death.

If you want to make a few bob, I'd recommend selling seeds - no worries about arriving in poor condition, cheap postage, not time-critical to sell by a certain date.

I did this for a while quite successfully - I bought a whole load of cheap seeds in bulk(,000s), broke them down into smaller sized packets (20-100) and then resold. If you list lots of the same category of seed (veg, herb or flowers) then people tend to buy an assortment, especially if you offer free postage for additional purchases.

Then made the mistake of handing over to DH to run it for me, and he proceeded to send all the wrong seeds to people, which was a logistical nightmare to remedy/destroyed any profit!

Davesnave

eleanora wrote: »

Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum. I found you all by googling for information on selling plants and there seemed to be a wealth of knowledge here.

Does anyone know if or when a licence is needed for selling on plants. I'm thinking specifically of plants originally bought from a garden centre and then propagated by division rather than from seed. I've given away such a lot in the past, but it dawned on me this year that I might be able to make a little extra by doing something I really enjoy anyway.
Any and all advice appreciated.
Thankyou

No you don't need a licence as long as you don't soft touch fruit, which ought to be certified virus-free.

Your main concern, however, should be how you're going to market your product, as each method has its pros & cons. If you are just after a bit of pocket money, then gate sales and car boots come to mind.

If you want to go further than that, then a van and an eye for all the local events like Village Days, Fetes, Gardens Open and so on will be required. Things like third party insurance will also creep into the equation then, as will considerations like how you will label and display your wares.

Many of those at the 'professional' level; that is people who sell at Plant Fairs and big shows, don't have any formal qualifications, but they'll have cut their teeth on the smaller events described above, and many won't turn their noses up at those either! You have to learn to take the rough with the smooth; the bum event where it pours with rain with the occasional sell out and ££££ in your pocket.

People go 'on the road' because the great British public are notoriously bad about visiting nurseries. One way round that is Internet selling, which sounds great, but plants are perishable and easily damaged when posted and the £££ competition is just as fierce as in the real world.

So, when I say that we took £300 in 3 hours yesterday it sounds great, but if you add up the growing, nurturing, preparing, labelling and transporting prior to that event, you'd see thart DW and I are really working for peanuts!

But we like it.......!!!!;)

I haven't read this thread for a while, so if I've said all this before, apologies!:o

eleanora

Thanks Dave, that's really helpful Somewhere though I'm sure I've read about plant breeders having some sort of 'ownership' of their plants. Almost like a copyright. After all they must be investing hugely in development &.have a lot of failed attempts. I have scoured the web for info, but am having no success whatsoever. The thought of merrily propagating and flogging off my efforts and then ending up being sued, frightens the pants off me.

I'd only be looking at selling at small scale affairs. (Very small). If it developed into something bigger - well great. I love the idea of owning & running a nursery, but it isn't something I'm aiming for. (Not yet anyway :-)

peter_the_piper

""I love the idea of owning & running a nursery, but it isn't something I'm aiming for. (Not yet anyway :-)""
Great life with the exception of the long hours, 7 day week (little time off for good behavior ) Uncertain financial return and the possibility of the odd week with such cold nights when you lose plants even in heated greenhouses.
The keen look on customers faces while they visualise their new garden makes up for all the disappointments though.

Davesnave

eleanora wrote: »

Thanks Dave, that's really helpful Somewhere though I'm sure I've read about plant breeders having some sort of 'ownership' of their plants. Almost like a copyright. After all they must be investing hugely in development &.have a lot of failed attempts. I have scoured the web for info, but am having no success whatsoever. The thought of merrily propagating and flogging off my efforts and then ending up being sued, frightens the pants off me.
:-)

Keep your pants on!! That's not a problem. What you mean is PBR; Plant Breeder's Rights, which is a kind of patent which may be assigned to a plant if it is registered with Royalty Administration International. For that they'll have to be satisfied that the owner has bred or found a unique variety. If they are, then they'll charge a substantial fee to levy a surcharge on commercial operations which propagate that plant, literally taxing every plant produced.

Royalty Admin International really aren't out to get Mrs Gubbins who takes a few cuttings to sell at the WI, so although Mrs Gubbins may see a warning about the illegality of propagation without a licence on the label, she can cheerfully turn up at the village hall with her plants without fear of arrest. They are only concerned with the big boys who propagate thousands of plants, and who pass on the few pence of PBR cost to their nursery customers. RAI take the proceeds, keep some for themselves for their policing and admin work, and then pass the remainder to the plant owner, who is usually in partnership with a major nursery company.The company will have trialled the plant first, assessed it and then, if satisfied, they will do the go-between job of having it patented and bulking it up for sale.

The reason I know all this is that I own a plant patent. I may shortly own two, because another plant of mine is being bulked-up for sale right now and might be patented.....or we may just go for maximum profit before everyone else joins in! It won't be up to me anyway; the nursery company will decide. Whatever they do, I hope it is more lucrative than the last one, which has yet to show a profit above the fees RAI charge!:rolleyes:

peter_the_piper

What was the last item?

Davesnave

peter_the_piper wrote: »

What was the last item?

The last item is a dahlia.

I can't say what the other one is without revealing my identity, as there are links to myself and DW from the name, if it's Googled. However, it is a member of the family scrophlaraceae!;)

eleanora

Ahhh. Pants firmly on. Mind at rest. Thankyou. I was thinking of Plant Breeder's Rights.

'Great life with the exception of the long hours, 7 day week (little time off for good behavior ) Uncertain financial return'....That's my life anyway !

This has been the fastest, most informative source of information about something I've been trying to pin down for ages. Thanks to everyone.

Good Luck with the patent Dave. It's amazing that you've managed to create something new. Whenever I see a new plant now, I'll be wondering .......

Davesnave

Good Luck with the patent Dave. It's amazing that you've managed to create something new.

Credit to the bees, not me. I just know how to spot the good un's when they've done!

Arny_2

I have been interested in the huge potential for gardeners to swap and trade plants for some time, and got talking to someone who developed a new site for gardeners to do just that recently.... Although it is only just getting going, if you want to sell a few plants or seeds on line, you should try out agriola .com or sellmyplants .com

Hope this helps; please let me know if it does...

Arny:T