Most expensive and best deal?

[Carkin]

What is the most expensive orchid in your collection...and what was your best deal?
You don't have to share the price if you don't want to but pictures would be nice!

Mine is Phrag. Sergeant Eric ($75) and Phal. violacea v. coerulea ($5)

 

[SlipperKing]

I guess my stupidist purchase had to be the jungle collected sanderieanum the late Richard Topper was selling after its re-discovery for 310.00 and it died 7 months later! Of course that was back in the 90's when I was younger and dummer:sob:

 

[NYEric]

Hmm, I have a couple of expensive OZ and EYOF Phrags. maybe $100 each. Best deal is freebies!

 

[SlipperKing]

Yep, I've gotten lots of feebies over the years too.

 

[Carkin]

I guess my stupidist purchase had to be the jungle collected sanderieanum the late Richard Topper was selling after its re-discovery for 310.00 and it died 7 months later! Of course that was back in the 90's when I was younger and dummer:sob:

Ouch!:sob:

Hmm, I have a couple of expensive OZ and EYOF Phrags. maybe $100 each. Best deal is freebies!

Yep, I've gotten lots of feebies over the years too.

Of course freebies are the best...but besides that!oke:

 

[NYEric]

I have lost a sad number of the seedlings from our Taiwan order but if the survivors bloom out the album paphs will make up for the value of th lost ones.

 

[eggshells]

A sanderianum for $225 was my priciest. My cheapest would be 4 -5 growth argus for $2

 

[Justin]

most expensive rothschildianum 'Canadian Club' GM/JOGA ...and also best deal as it actually lived as compared to most of my other roth divisions.

 

[cnycharles]

probably most expensive was for a yellow besseae or rare phal species and the best deal was for four compots on sale from royalorchidclub for our orchid club; total order price for four compots and shipping was around $25

I can't show pics for yellow besseae or the other expensive, rare things, because they aren't alive

I could list the most expensive as a collection of flasks from thailand that mostly eventually died due to improper care, and the phal speciosa flask from thailand that was left in my kitchen when I went to work, and the sun creeped in just enough to touch a corner of the flask and cook them all :sob:

 

[ehanes7612]

a charlesworthii album (w FCC parents) that was completely damaged in transit ..$400 US and many other flasks..but i think i have finally learned the best way for me to keep them alive, thousands of dollars later (remove all agar with a dental pick, rinse, place in compot with bark and lots of perlite, and leave alone for couple years)..the best purchase from one seller ... 7 monsoon Temptations($35 each) and 8 Wossner Kolarmi ($20 each) and 3 Gloria Naugle ($75 each) that i received from one ebay seller ..three of the MT's are incredible(one awarded so far) and one of the WK is incredible (probably awardable) and 1 awarded GN (waiting for one to bloom) ..i sold the rest and recouped my money..sadly, that ebay seller doesnt sell anymore

 

[Ray]

This was not MY deal, but I think that the most expensive and still best deal I've ever heard of happened when I was living in SC, almost 30 years ago.

A mature Phal. violacea and single seedling - coerulea - were wild collected and offered for sale for $35,000 by Kolopaking of Indonesia, and that wiped out the natural population. I have no idea what the actual purchase price was, but if you consider that pretty much all blue phals originated with that plant....

 

[SlipperFan]

Well, I just bought an andreetae...

My best deal has been trading with Rick H.

 

[cnycharles]

Well, I just bought an andreetae...

heeeyyy dooooot...... I think I just came up with 'something' you could trade to me for all my phal keikis

actually, noo, don't because I'd just kill it

 

[The Orchid Boy]

My most expensive plant was a Paph. sanderianum for $125 and $15 shipping.

My best deal (that wasn't a freebie) was a 15-20 growth Dend. lindleyi for $3.

My second best deal was 3 BS Cyp. pubescens for $15 each. We'll see how I do with them...
(Pictures coming later in a new thread.)

Best freebie was a Paph. Wossner Kolosuk v. album, a large seedling from Orchid Inn. (On the right.)

 

[SlipperFan]

heeeyyy dooooot...... I think I just came up with 'something' you could trade to me for all my phal keikis

actually, noo, don't because I'd just kill it

Oh, Charles... I hope I don't!!!

 

[cnycharles]

well i'm pretty sure you'll do better than I would

 

[Eric Muehlbauer]

My most expensive (relative to value) was a concolor I won on ebay. I was sloppy, and didn't check that my $16.00 bid had been typed in as $1600. I won a very ordinary concolor for $60.....I explained the situation to the seller, who said that it was OK, but he'd have to report me to ebay as a non-payer...I just bit the bullet and paid. It was my fault. On the other hand, my specimen sized B. cucullata was purchased maybe 30 years ago? I asked the guy in a plant shop how much the plant in the ashtray was. He was so embarrassed that he gave it to me for $5........

 

[limuhead]

Best deal was actually a transaction of a Paph topperi alba. I got a plant given to me by my friend and when it bloomed out it was an alba. I told him about it and he said good for me. Very few came out of a large crop, maybe 5% were alba. About 6 months after it bloomed he called me and told me he had someone who wanted to buy it. $1500 for a plant that I got for free. Not bad if you ask me....

 

[Rick]

Seems like I haven't paid over $150 for anything, But several in the $80-$150 range.

Generally I consider everything a good deal if I at least learn something from it. (though some lessons are hard learned as they say).

Actually I think the worst was sending money (~$150) for an adult P randsii that never materialized, and the seller disappeared/filed for bankruptcy. So that's about as worthless a lesson as I can think of.

 

[The Orchid Boy]

Maybe my best deal was a Paph. liemianum flask for $45 that contained 45+ seedlings, so less than $1 per plant.