Steve, in reference to the improbable requirements you listed above, probably knowing they could never be filled, I just received four bands from Vintage this morning and the average height (of just the portion above the top of the band) is over 18 inches. Actually, three of them are between 12 and 16 inches tall, but one is 32 inches, which brings the average up to 18.5 inches.
Vintage is using a bigger shipping box now -- something like the box florists use for cut roses, so they don't have to prune the plants to fit them into the box. I've been amazed by the size of my most recent purchases from Vintage.
