I joined the group Daylily Auction on Facebook run by Jim Rowe. It's really more of a group buy than an auction. He just posted a big list of daylilies he has negotiated from Dan Trimmer and the final prices are supposed to be at least 50% off of retail...depending on how many people express interest in purchasing, how many total plants sold, etc.

It seems like an amazing deal and some really nice plants are being offered. There are a lot of comments with happy buyers on there. I was just wondering if anyone else here had joined that group or purchased from them before and has any comments on how well it works or if it is too good to be true, etc.

I believe you mean Jeff Rowe - and my advice is DON'T.

Before you make any purchase from him, do some research on him on Facebook. In 2015 he was all over Facebook about his "auctions" and group buys, about the pencil-sized, unhealthy, and mislabled plants. I am one who was taken in.

Maybe he has his supporters - maybe he has cleaned up his act in the last couple of years, but he will never, ever get another dime from me and many, MANY people I know on Facebook.

If you want to know more, just post his name in any of the buyer review groups on Facebook and say you are considering buying something from him. See what results you get and then go from there.

I'm about done with his auctions as well. The plants are tiny and lack vigor--I've lost six so far. Also, some are mislabeled and I've yet to get replacements for the mislabeled ones. The substitutions made me very mad last fall. The substitutions didn't even come close to what I paid for. In other words, my plants died during all the handling, so any ole plants from his garden were substituted. I've hung in there hoping things would improve, but it's probably not happening. Sad. It's a good concept.

Thanks ladies. I was wondering if it was too good to be true

Good example of why this forum is so valuable. Others experiences can save the rest of us a lot of heartache!
Thanks so much for the honest feedback!

A very informative thread about Jeff Rowe, his plants and his past customers was posted in a review forum on Facebook today. It includes photos of plants received.

As one past customer wrote: "Like alot of predators, jeff likes em new. He got me when i was new also. I received "fans" the size of #2 pencils. I was in shock! It happened at the same time he burned ALOT of other people and i saw things get down right NASTY. I still planted them ,and babied them and not one damn thing survived!!!!!! Welcome to the club."

Here is the link. https://www.facebook.com/group...

judydu2 said:A very informative thread about Jeff Rowe, his plants and his past customers was posted in a review forum on Facebook today. It includes photos of plants received.

As one past customer wrote: "Like alot of predators, jeff likes em new. He got me when i was new also. I received "fans" the size of #2 pencils. I was in shock! It happened at the same time he burned ALOT of other people and i saw things get down right NASTY. I still planted them ,and babied them and not one damn thing survived!!!!!! Welcome to the club."

Here is the link. https://www.facebook.com/group...

Interesting. I just asked to join the group. Can't wait to read more "dirt" on him. His FB page has been getting ugly over the last few days. All he does is JUSTIFY errors, mediocre plants and horrible customer service after the sale.

Stay far far way form him.

Elaine Seifert runs a different FB sales group. It is well monitored.IVe both sold and bought from it. I Believe it is called Daylily seedlings and sales .

Oh my - I REALLY wish I would have seen this before the nightmare I just went through. I did not receive one of the plants I paid for and just flat asked for a refund - not a replacement. There are 3 of us that purchased from him this last "sale". I am shocked. In addition to the plants being inadequate the postage I was charged is 6x higher than what he spent.

I've found Elaine Seifert to be a reliable seller, always healthy plants and the ones you order. Have also had good experiences with Bobby Scott's Daylily One Stop Shop, and there's a Daylilies Wanted page (can't remember the exact name) that has a lot of reputable hybridizers and is great if you are looking for a specific daylily that you can't find elsewhere.

Thank you for the great info. I have bought from several people on this site and have always been amazed with how friendly and helpful people are and I can't believe the nice plants people sell. I ASSUMED that the rest of the daylily world, aside from the growers, was the same. This fellow opened my eyes. From what I have read he has continually done the these same practices for years. It is too bad he can't be stopped.

Blueridge also has a group. Its my downfall.

Welp, I used to have daylilies but not anymore, and I am interested in getting some. Guess I won't be buying from this guy!

Start with the classified forum here before you go anywhere else for the best deals. Lots of reputable sellers on the LA. "Breeze" is loved by the masses including myself. "Morning_star" Mary Burgent is one of the best. Tell her I sent you. She will be listing soon. If you are looking for cutting edge plants, there are a lot of good sellers.

Is Jeff Rowe on LA? If so, what name does he operate under?
I also have had great plants from Breeze on LA and a few others.....but definitely want to steer clear of other problematic ones....like Eustace Daylilies...(not on LA that I know of) reported to BBB and currently pursuing them through State Attorney General's office....of course, they aren't responding and the order was placed Sept 4 2020!

jkporter said:Is Jeff Rowe on LA? If so, what name does he operate under?
I also have had great plants from Breeze on LA and a few others.....but definitely want to steer clear of other problematic ones....like Eustace Daylilies...(not on LA that I know of) reported to BBB and currently pursuing them through State Attorney General's office....of course, they aren't responding and the order was placed Sept 4 2020!

Eustace is also on my blacklist (in fact the very reason I created a blacklist). My order was also Sept 2020. I kept on emailing, and nothing. Just by chance I saw she was selling through another website (either Etsy or Ebay or Amazon, I forget now). So I tried contacting through there, and was rewarded with a response that they would ship out soon. Then a couple days later I got a Paypal refund from her with a note saying they miscalculated the stock and both the ones I wanted are no longer in stock. My own next step would have been to ask PayPal to investigate. They would have refunded me right away while they investigated.
Just to note that on her website I think she has a lot to manage and gets in her grandson to do the digging for her (if I remember rightly). So I was expecting to wait a little. But the lack of email responses is what really worried me that it may have been a scam. That experience is what soured me initially regarding daylily vendors. And why I will never ever pay by check or money order (as you can never get your money back).
I do not think her business is a scam, though. But I think she is totally overwhelmed by it to the point of not being able to cope any longer. Which is sad.

Daylilies of the World Auctions is a FB Auction gets a good amount of traffic and is managed well by Matt Henry. One seller per week, listing up to 100 plants, or something like that. His other auction site is Daylily Hybridizers. Sometimes plants get bid way up but sometimes they go underpriced, depending on who is bidding. Sellers are vetted and have their reputation to protect. I have bought some good material on the former. One may not get bonuses, but that's ok with me.

Elaine Seifert sends very nice plants and is great to work with. Mary Burgents is wonderfully helpful and generous.

Oh, I got enthused and forgot: on this site are we instructed to refrain from promoting or denouncing sellers?

I don't think posting your experience good or bad with a seller is prohibited...if just the facts are presented and no name calling or degrading comments are used. Personally I don't think relating a good experience is actually promoting, as long as it is an accurate representation of the transaction. Throwing in over blown praise or negative comments I am sure would not be appropriate. I am sure even facts could be over done with a lot of repetitions, no need for each transaction to be presented. But general comments like " I have always had good service and great plants delivered in a timely manner" I personally think are fine. Of course what actually is allowed depends on Dave.
Saying that you ordered plants back in September and still have not received them in November and have not been able to make contact with the seller I think is a service to the rest of us, just don't call them a scammer or a cheat...etc. Let the others decided if they want to buy or not based on actual facts.