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esofva

anyone bought from the iris cottage???

esofva
15 years ago

HAS ANYONE PURCHASED IRISES FROM THE IRIS COTTAGE IN CANADA

I received an email last night from a spicedtiger and they told me that a seller was selling bogus irises that I had bought a couple of. The Iris Cottage in Canada. The irises I have received have been nice and I have at least 4 more that I have ordered but have not paid for yet. The email said they were using unregistered names of irises and using pictures of others including Shreiners. I checked out the one that the company called Mellow Dreamer and sure enough it was a picture from Shreiners web site. I emailed Scheiners, forwarded them the message that I received and gave them the URL of the site with the pic. Now I don't know whether to pay for my irises that I have not gotten yet!!! Neither do I know if the irises I have already gotten from them will bloom true to color!!! What a mess!!! Of course, this is a message from someone I don't even know, but their info on the picture was right. Now I have to go to Paypal to look at my receipts so I can tell which of my irises came from there ( just a very few). Then I can mark those rhizomes in the garden to check them next year!!! GEEZ!!! Has anyone bought irises from them last year and if so did they bloom true to color???? Guess I have learned my lesson and will only trade for ones from people I have traded with here, DavesGarden or the companies that people here have given good ratings on. I know that Shreiners is good. Have gotten nice irises as well from Sandhollow and have will probably include BlueJ next yr.

What a mess!!

Debbie

Comments (30)

  • iris_gal
    15 years ago

    Big question is how Spicedtiger got your name, email and sales data?

    I would also forward the information to Iris Cottage. They may be legitimate and this type of thing could put them out of business. Thank you for bringing it to everyone's attention. I haven't heard of them (no surprise) --- I do know some sites use others' photos.

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    15 years ago

    hmmm...I'm confused...no surprise, huh?

    I'm not finding a site on the net by the name of The Iris Cottage, in Canada, or otherwise. Are they by any chance an ebay store?

    I did see that there is an ebay seller by the name of spicedtiger, but could only read the feedback from sellers...not buyers to see if maybe she is also an iris seller.

    hmmm....

    Sue

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    15 years ago

    Did you get your iris on Ebay...ie Iris Cottage a name of an ebay store?

    My guess is that maybe they are ebay sellers competing.

    I think I would refuse to pay for the last order, just because of them being unscrupulous and using Schreiner's pics.
    I just went to Schreiner's and it does not look like their pics are watermarked or copywrited ....but still.

    Sue

  • iris_gal
    15 years ago

    To confuse things more I did a search at Schreiners on 'mellow' and 'dreamer' --- nothing came up with either word.

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    15 years ago

    Well, the actual ebay member name is the-iris-cottage

    I'm wondering why they would use Schreiners pic, and then give it a new (basically NO ID) name? Why not use its actual name that was with the pic they swiped? I'm just scratching my head on this one.

    How many Schreiners pics, and misnamed ones can everyone find?...just curious.

    Here (hopefully) are the completed auctions

    Sue

  • carolynmo
    15 years ago

    If an ebay seller does not use their own photos its a good indication that the irises they are selling are coming prepackaged from a "mart" or they are buying cheap rhizomes from a RiverV type place and reselling them. They are NOT growing them on site. Acouple years ago there was a seller on ebay by the name of Droughtfighter that took everyone for a ride. He sold the irises then ordered them from RiverV and the commerical garden was sending him very small rhizomes and having to sub alot--- and his buyers were mad. The following year he sold under the name Mizlily and the same thing happened. He was using pictures off of Daves garden site and even cutting and pasteing them to different backgrounds trying to make them look different. Moral of story, hope he has not established another seller name.

  • charlotte304
    15 years ago

    Hi,
    I'm a newbie. Just signed up. I've purchased many iris this summer. I bought 16 from The-iris-Cottage on ebay. The rhizomes were kind of small and a little dry. I really didn't think much about it until I read the question about them. I still have my package I received from them, and I haven't planted my iris. I just got them this past week. This seller is from Colorado. The thing I'm worried about is, after I saw this posting, I did a web search on each iris that I bought from her, and of the 16, 6 of the names didn't come up at all. I did a web search through Google. The following didn't come up as an iris with both words in the name: Angel Kiss, Spring Dusk, Midnight Jewel, Dragon's Breath, Nature's Blessing and Rythmn Moon. Is anyone familiar with irises with these names? The name: Mellow Dreamer came up on Dave's Garden site, but there was no picture. It just said "not available". This seller is listed as having been an ebay member since 2002 and has sold many irises. She received some negative feedback, mostly for small, dry rhizomes. The feedback was mostly good, but most was from this year's buyers. The other iris I bought are supposed to be: Lady Friend, Peaches and Cream,(2), Change of Pace, Confidante, Midnight Passion, Huckleberry Fudge, Poem of Ecstacy and Full Tide.
    As a newbie, I guess it's better to make mistakes early on and learn from them. It will be next year or possibly the year after that on some of these before I know what I actually got. I'm going to keep all the information on this seller, label my iris when I plant them, and wait to see what happens.
    Will let you know, the Lord willing, what I get when they bloom. Oh, by the way, as of about an hour ago, this seller still has items for sale on ebay.
    Will appreciate any info and advice. Thanks.

    Charlotte

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    15 years ago

    Neither do I know if the irises I have already gotten from them will bloom true to color!!!
    Bingo! If it is a non registered iris, aka NO ID iris, there will not be a pic of it anywhere available to even check to see if it blooms like the ebay pic. I would suggest you copy the pic to your picture file along with the name of it.

    This seller is listed as having been an ebay member since 2002 and has sold many irises.
    The heck of it is that she has not been exposed selling a named iris under a made up name. Those that she sells that are named, like you said, can't even be verified for a year or two....way too late to leave or change feedback.

    As a newbie, I guess it's better to make mistakes early on and learn from them. It will be next year or possibly the year after that on some of these before I know what I actually got.
    Yes, and you too had best save pics of those that appear to not have registered names.

    I have contacted the ebay member that originally contacted esofva. I asked for more details if she had them to share. I told her too that I would add the info to this thread and gave her the link. Maybe she will join GW if she isn't a member already, and share more info with us.

  • charlotte304
    15 years ago

    Thanks for the advice. I will copy the pics. They were still on ebay last night.
    As for the question asked about how Spicedtiger could get ones information from Ebay: If you go on ebay and look at the seller's feedback, you can read the feedback from each buyer and see the usernames. If there's a buyer you want to contact, click on the "contact" link beside the username and you can type a message and Ebay will forward it to that person's email. It's possible Spicedtiger had a bad experience with the seller and contacted other buyers to warn them. Wish she'd warned me. LOL. My problem was that I didn't check far enough into the feedback. All of the recent feedback was positive, but if you go farther back, you see the negatives. However, the feedback is usually made right after you receive your items, so recent buyers probably don't know they may not have been the irises they thought they bought. I wouldn't have if I hadn't seen the posting on this forum. Also, some sellers wait until they receive buyer feedback before giving theirs, so if you give negative feedback, you stand a good chance of getting some back. That did happen with at least one buyer from the iris-cottage. She added a complaint that she got negative feedback for just telling the truth.
    Charlotte

  • irisinthegarden_yahoo_ca
    15 years ago

    Hello all!
    Being a Bearded Iris collector with over 350 named cultivars in my collection, I admit to giving in to temptations far too often when I first started collecting.

    I ended up with numerous NOID's purchased from nurseries, WalMart (and-the-like) and EBay. WORD OF ADVICE ... nurseries, WalMart (and-the-like) and 'some' sellers on eBay are a sure bet that you will NOT get a plant true to name. They purchase bulk from a dealer that purchased bulk from a wholesaler that purchased bulk from a grower. Figure the odds of getting the correct cultivar from thousands of rhizomes handled in a day by a packer who really doesn't give a hoot about which tag he/she staples to which green leaf!

    Although rare, even growers can mislabel their rhizomes! The best part about purchasing directly from a grower is that most of us keep meticulous records so we know exactly which ones you purchased. Although very few growers will guarantee the plant, some will replace the incorrectly named one(s). If not, at least most will be able to quickly identify the bloom from their field notes and let you know exactly which one you received.

    I too sell rhizomes on eBay in the spring and summer as well as potted plants in Farmers/Garden Markets locally but if I didn't keep meticulous field records, I too would likely mislabel a few. During a very busy season, volunteers do their best at keeping track but it can get pretty confusing for someone that doesn't understand the sorting/labelling/packaging system.

    In short, mistakes will happen to the best of us. I order rhizomes from all over the world and still get mislabeled ones, even from the hybridizers!

    At the end of the day though, I have never come across a Bearded Iris, true to name or NOID, that didn't make the cut as a cherished plant in my gardens!

    Just my 2-cents!

    IrisInTheGarden
    :o)

  • blissfulgarden
    15 years ago

    Charlotte, eBay no longer allows sellers to leave negative feedback for buyers, so there is no fear of "retribution" when leaving a complete and honest review of a seller for a purchase.

    I must say, I find it interesting that this whole discussion is going on both here and at Dave's Garden and spicedtiger seems to be at the root of both. There is also a poster named Mainecoon over at Dave's Garden who admits that she has not had photos stolen nor has she purchased plants from this vendor... yet she still is ranting on and on about the vendor. After a while, it certainly seems more like a personal vendetta rather than a friendly warning to other iris lovers in the forums. To go to the trouble of looking up prior purchasers on eBay with the express purpose of contacting them to encourage complaints seems extremely excessive to me. While active discussion among those who have actually purchased from a vendor is helpful and appropriate, I believe this ongoing negative discussion smacks a lot more of an ulterior motive at this point.

    Stolen photos should be reported to the copyright owner and the fight should be that of the copyright owner from that point forward. Poor vendors should be noted (ONLY when the poster has actual buying experience from the vendor) and passed on in appropriate forums, such as Garden Watchdog or a general note here in this forum. But this recent outbreak of public flogging such as what's happening over at DG leaves a really bad taste in my mouth in an otherwise positive forum. I hope the same does not happen here.

    Ev

  • laurief_gw
    15 years ago

    Charlotte, I'm very sorry to say that none of the following iris names are registered with the AIS through 2007: Angel Kiss, Spring Dusk, Dragon's Breath, Nature's Blessing, Rhythm Moon, Mellow Dreamer. There is a remote possibility that they may be new, 2008 introductions which would not yet show up in the AIS online registration database, but it is extremely unlikely. New intros typically sell only through the original hybridizer or his/her commercial agent, and they usually sell for $40-50 per rhizome in their introduction year. I think you have to assume that you have purchased a bunch of inaccurately identified, maybe or maybe not registered irises from this seller.

    the-iris-cottage has already been verified to have used other people's photographs and to attach inaccurate cultivar names to them. When I checked through their closed eBay listings earlier today, I was readily able to recognize the inaccuracy of the pic they are using of Lady Friend.

    Yes, there is likely to be some anger on the part of the person who is posting about this seller, but I personally would like to see unscrupulous sellers put out of business before they contaminate the iris market with mislabeled plants and before they profit from the theft of promotional materials from other sellers and websites. As someone who has had photos stolen and used without my permission by various other sellers in the past, I am very sensitive to this issue.

    Laurie

  • esofva
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    OK... Anyone that is interested in this discussion that is taking place on Daves Garden:

    http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/907697/

    At least this is what is left. DG admin. cut the other threads as being of unacceptable content. The discussion was totally about TIG's use of other's pictures and links to the proof. Iris buyers and sellers were also expressing their concerns about receiving irises from this seller under false pretenses.
    The original message was started by someone that had never bought from TIG and does not know them. Their concern was that others were the use of copyrighted photos and the likelihood that purchased irises would not bloom true to color.

    I sure am glad the discussions on this forum are not cut because the admin feels that they should be!!! All of the threads have been eliminated except this one...so far!!!
    ESofVA

  • blissfulgarden
    15 years ago

    Actually, I agree with the cutting of the thread over at Dave's Garden. It had degraded into some members using taunting language such as "I double dare you!" (direct quote) and antogonizing other DG members who chose to send dmail rather than posting in the forum for their messages. I don't know the member, Linda, who chose to use dmail, but certainly I can understand why she was reluctant to post in the open forum, given the very aggressive tone that had begun in that thread. People were posting derogatory statements about a vendor when they readily admitted that they (1) had not had their own photos stolen, and (2) had not purchased from the vendor. I think we can all agree that there are appropriate places for negative feedback for a vendor. Garden Watchdog, Better Business Bureau, eBay's feedback and VERO systems, PayPal refund processes, the Agriculture Commissioner of the seller's state, the Interstate Commerce Commission for mail orders, and many, many others are available to remedy the situation described. Sure, it's great to warn others about a bad vendor in a general comment about your personal experience, but not when it turns into a slam fest like what was going on at DG, with hearsay flying from people who admit they have no direct experience with a seller and childish comments like "I double dare you!". I believe many others here would agree that GardenWeb and Dave's Garden are both better off if those types of discourse are left out of what should be a helpful and friendly forum. Additionally, I believe sellers must pay for a membership to post on the DG forum, don't they? So for this seller (or any other seller that is being slammed in a thread) to respond, they would have to pay for a membership to defend themselves. I'm not saying The Iris Cottage is right or wrong... I have no direct experience with them. But, regardless of who is right or who is wrong, I don't think the open forums should become an attack ground.

    Ev

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    15 years ago

    Anyone that is interested in this discussion that is taking place on Daves Garden:
    Esofva, non paying members can only read the OP of any thread...they cannot read any replies.

    People were posting derogatory statements about a vendor when they readily admitted that they (1) had not had their own photos stolen,
    I for one would not trust a seller at all if they lead me to believe they had grown irises for 'years' yet could not produce a pic of their own.

    (2) had not purchased from the vendor. I think we can all agree that there are appropriate places for negative feedback for a vendor. Garden Watchdog, Better Business Bureau, eBay's feedback and VERO systems, PayPal refund processes,
    The fact is that this seller's practices need exposed, and a lot of exposure.
    A Garden Watchdog useless...a report cannot be made because they are not a 'real business' complete with an address and telephone number.
    eBay's feedback is useless once the iris blooms, and there is no pic of it anywhere next year, because it is really a NO ID iris...just like GW member esofva bought 6 of.
    PayPal refund processes again...useless when the iris blooms next season and there is no pic on line of the NO ID iris.
    Better Business Bureau...about useless...just a report and nothing will come of it. Who would ever think to check the BBB for an ebayer selling some irises.

    Agriculture Commissioner of the seller's state, the Interstate Commerce Commission for mail orders, I would not bother them with something like this...as I imagine they have much bigger fish to fry.

    esofva...so are you going to keep those 6 NO ID irises? That's $30 of irises, plus shipping.
    I sincerely doubt if on down the road, if you go to try and trade those NO ID irises, few folks will want to their named cultivars...just something to think about.
    A local grower (1500 varieties) sells a 'lot' of her irises for $1, $2, $3 and on up, and they are all registered varieties. $5 for a NO ID iris is awfully expensive, imho.

    Below is a list of just 'some' of the discrepancies that were found and noted by a forum member here. I would be disappointed if my rebloomers never rebloomed...though I know all are not reliable rebloomers, even when they are labeled as such by the hybridizer.

    These are a few listed as rebloomers that are not registered as such:
    CRAZY IN LOVE not a rebloomer
    MIDNIGHT PASSION photo is not true and two 2007 intros for $4.99 is about $40 short
    ARCTIC FOX not a rebloomer
    BRAVE FACE not a rebloomer
    CRANBERRY ICE not a rebloomer photo wrong no white beard
    STAR SURGE not a rebloomer
    CHINA WALK not a rebloomer
    and the list goes on.

    Sue...oh...who also thinks 'friendly' is good....


  • thurston
    15 years ago

    I, for one, am grateful to Mainecoon for exposing this vendor and getting the word out.

    Blissfulgarden, if you knew of someone stealing from your neighbors would you feel you have to keep quiet because the person hasn't stolen from you?

  • blissfulgarden
    15 years ago

    No, I would report them to the police and to the neighbors, and if asked, would serve as a witness. I would use the avenues that are available to me. I wouldn't come online and post about it, or run around telling all the neighbors that the other was a thief. Ev

  • blissfulgarden
    15 years ago

    I would report them to the neighbors they were stealing from. I would leave it to those who suffered a loss and the police to make the information public. Ev

  • blissfulgarden
    15 years ago

    BTW, there is a big difference between a general warning intended to help others steer clear of a disreputable vendor, which I also appreciate, and what the DG thread had become. It had spiraled down to personal attacks and taunts against other DG members, which I do not appreciate.

  • thurston
    15 years ago

    I would use the avenues that are available to me. I wouldn't come online and post about it, or run around telling all the neighbors that the other was a thief.

    In my opinion, Mainecoon WAS using the avenues available to get the word out to as many people as possible. If I remember the thread, the taunts were to the person stealing other people's copyrighted pictures and selling unnamed iris as named. The authority (Ebay) refused to do anything when contacted by the rightful owners.

  • blissfulgarden
    15 years ago

    The attacks were also directed at a DG member, Linda, who chose to send dmail to another member rather than posting in the open forum. That, in my opinion, is when the thread crossed the line. Regardless, you are entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. As I've said, I believe friendly, factual warnings based on personal experience are great... open rant fests and attacks are not. Since this thread now appears headed in that same unpleasant direction, I'll leave it to those with more of a taste for the fray. Ev

  • thurston
    15 years ago

    I apologize if I appear as part of that unpleasant direction. Wasn't my intent - just sharing a different slant on things. This will be my last comment on this.

  • esofva
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    OK.... The main thing of concern for us.
    What irises has The Iris Garden sold so we know which ones to watch next year. Can we make a complete list of irises that we have purchased from her?
    I will list mine as soon as I can get them together.

  • esofva
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    OK...I put up a list of all of the irises that I can find that she has sold. If anyone can add to it please do!!!
    Deb

  • nallie
    15 years ago

    This Linda on Dave's is not a member but in fact the Iris-Cottage

  • laurief_gw
    15 years ago

    This thread is getting rather confusing. Who is being discussed here? The Iris Cottage, The Iris Garden, or both?

  • rootedinreadyville
    14 years ago

    I stumbled upon this post while searching for information on the eBay seller the-iris-cottage since I purchased $41.45 worth of irises from them last year (2008). I found the record on PayPal where I paid her for the irises. I'm hoping she will refund me for Starship Enterprise since it is blooming now but it isn't Starship Enterprise. It turned out to be an old timey looking purple with a long whitish beard.
    Anyway, I have my fingers crossed that I will get a refund. Wish me luck!!!

  • rootedinreadyville
    14 years ago

    I GOT A REFUND TODAY!!!

    She explained that other people were working in the fields helping to dig the irises which contributed to the mistake in my not getting Starship Enterprise.

    Also that her name which had been the-iris-cottage was very similar to another seller's name on eBay which was theiriscottage, and she changed her name on eBay to avoid confusion since she was getting calls that belonged to this other seller.

    I can see how it could happen, so I wanted to be sure to update this thread and let everyone know that I was refunded.

    Cathy

  • lokidog
    13 years ago

    It's all so confusing but I ordered from The Iris Cottage from a Women named Kim from Colorado, and all were great and seemed to be what was described. Have no idea whether they are registered varieties or not. I have to admit that I participated in an iris sale and we had un-named old varieties and named them ourselves and sold them. Maybe was a bad idea - but none of us even questioned it.

  • lokidog
    13 years ago

    Anybody know what rhythm moon is supposed to look like? I planted it, but now there is no reference for it, and I did not record the description...