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Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 1:34 am
by Matt
Ever since Mike Howlett joined and posted here on the FlytrapCare forums, I've been curious about Petflytrap.com. Having never ordered from PetFlytrap.com, I decided to place an order with them on August 7th. The order arrived on August 16th. Shipping was a bit slow, but not ridiculously so.

I ordered a G14 rosetted for $18 and a "large" Bohemian Garnet for $30. Shipping was $10.98, so the order total was just under $60. Those prices seemed a bit high to me, but I was hopeful that the quality of the plants received would make up for the high prices. I have to say that I was severely disappointed.

Below are some shots of the plants.

Plants still in the packaging right after being taken out of the box:
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A comparison shot of the "large" Bohemian Garnet from Petflytrap.com with a FlytrapStore.com "FTS Crimson Sawtooth" young adult plant that I was packing up when the order arrived:
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G14 rosetted with a quarter for scale (note that the stake is simply labeled "G14" and not "G14 rosetted"):
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"G14 and "G14 rosetted" are two different clones. The listing on the website clearly read "G14 rosetted" while the plant stake that came with the order simply read "G14." Very confusing.

"Large" $30 Bohemian Garnet with a quarter for scale:
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A side by side photo of the PetFlytrap.com "Large" Bohemian Garnet with a FlytrapStore.com Bohemian Garnet that was being held to be sold as a young adult because it was deemed to be too small:
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I guess I'm most disappointed with the "Large" Bohemian Garnet that set me back $30, but the $18 "G14" or "G14 Rosetted" (whichever it really is) was almost as disappointing. I was anticipating something really nice. For the prices of each plant, I feel I should have received something really nice. But the plants I received looked like they were no more than a couple of months out of tissue culture and not properly hardened off. Having a lot of experience tissue culturing and potting out Bohemian Garnets, I know that they clump a lot and tend to not get very large in tissue culture. It takes time and effort to grow them out to be large plants. The Bohemian Garnet certainly wasn't a "large" plant in my opinion as evidenced by the side-by-side comparison of the FlytrapStore "young" Bohemian Garnet, which is much larger and sells for $10 less. I believe Mike Howlett buys his tissue culture flytraps from Gary Gipson (goldslinger here on the FlytrapCare forums) and it appears that Mike is minimally hardening them off prior to sale, not growing them out to make them large, robust plants. But the price he's asking for them certainly would make one think that a lot of time and care growing them before sale would be going into the plants. The "G14" certainly looks like many of the plants that I have growing under fluorescent lights just out of tissue culture. It usually takes them several months to properly harden off and become robust enough to sell.

In summary, I have to say that I'm very disappointed with the size and quality of the plants I received from PetFlytrap.com given the high prices I paid for them.

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:13 am
by Shes Crofty
$60? No thanks. I can get a couple nice 5 plant bundles at FTS for that. ;)

The g14 kinda interests me though.. have contemplated ordering one. The "large" Bohemian Garnet from PFT.com is a bit sad..

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:46 am
by Dubstep13
hahaha you should sticky this so everyone cant miss it...
Matt they strait up did you Dirty bro. thanks for this ill never ever think of even visiting that website let alone consider buying a plant from there :twisted: WOW!

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:28 am
by Daniel_G
I think you may have lost PetFlytrap alot of business Matt. But definetly for the better!
$60 for all of that? It's not right. And that "Large" Flytrap? I have never seen a "Large" One that small!
Oh well, at least no one from this site will order.

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:33 pm
by Naja002
I was wondering what the outcome of your order was. It is much appreciated for your posting of the photos, comparisons and review. I was tempted by the G14 rosetted...but now I guess I will pass. My advice would be to just keep doing what you and Steve are doing. It will either raise the bar for the other sellers, rock the VFT-world....or both! :ugeek:

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:47 pm
by chriscanivorous
Cowboys of the flyTrap world!

Your plants you sell look pretty impressive to bad your not in the uk.

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:29 pm
by markus13
I've ordered twice from pet fly trap and my experience was mixed. I ordered a "Hummers Giant" Ceph from them and was very disappointed in the packaging. I had gotten a Ceph from FTS before I placed my order with pet flytrap so I knew what proper packaging of a ceph should look like and theirs was pathetic. It looked like they took plastic wrap and slapped it over the top of the pot (crushing the crown). There wasn't a cup or anything protecting the crown just the plastic wrap. The plant has come through ok but it would have gotten to me in much better shape with better packaging. I also got a Nepenthes (Sang) from them that came with better packaging, but the size stated on the website wasn't the size that I got (quite a bit smaller) so I have decided to avoid pet flytrap from now on.

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 11:46 pm
by hackerberry
That sucks man. At least you tried and maybe they will learn from your review.

hb

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:43 am
by DTDream18
That G14 looks nothing like the plant advertised on their website. I was thinking of ordering a G14 from Petflytrap but forget about it now. Thanks Matt ... You just saved me from wasting $18.00. After reading this post I would think twice before ordering anything from Petflytraps.

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 4:13 pm
by jht-union
Thanks for posting, this should be a sticky, and definitely don't buy never from petflytrap.com.

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 3:17 pm
by dantt99
Wow. That G14 Rosetted doesn't look like a G14 or G14 rosetted :lol:

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:39 pm
by stitz25b
send them a complaint with this link

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:08 pm
by FBIMOBSTER
I wanted to say but didn't! But NOW that I got all of my orders in I will! He has been talking mess on facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/petflytrap he said
We just had a customer contact us regarding our flytrap availability, and I thought I would summarize their comments for our Facebook friends:

They happened to be checking out one of our competitors for flytrap varieties, and while the other site showed 38 types of flytraps, only FIFTEEN of those were in stock; the other 23 were OUT OF STOCK.
LikeUnlike · · August 5 at 12:32pm
2 people like this..
PetFlyTrap.com This is why the PetFlyTrap.com web site is set up to only show those items that are IN STOCK and ready for shipping; in our opinion, it is false advertising to show over twice as many plants as what are actually available for purchase. Rest... assured that with VERY few exceptions (one of a kind type items), if you order a plant from PetFlyTrap.com, it's in stock and ready to ship; of the 11 types of flytraps we show available, all 11 are available for your enjoyment; and we will be adding the new 'King Henry' cultivar just as quickly as we can do so!


I think he is MAD at FlyTrapStore on if he looks there are 39 flytraps and 2 are OUT OF STOCK!! LMAO!!!!

I would have said something earlier but I order something off his PRE SALE that just came in and 2 day's later is DEAD and I ask him to get more than half of the plants he order from B.E. and when he got them he sent them to me all sagging and droopy about to DIE and did It look like he didn't harden them off from the shipment that got held up at customs! And the one's in stock all them had aphids so bad when I insecticide them it lined the bottom of my trays with DEAD aphids! The last order I email him 5 time before he finaly responded and said it was on it's way and 1 week later I got it! DEAD!! WORSTEST EVER!LOL!!!

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:54 pm
by jht-union
My question is,

What can we do, or people do to make notice about petflytrap.
He's basically stealing people. He's not providing the plants on time, nor in good quality. If this continues the newer people will probably not buy vft's because they think is hard. They have never received plants from FTS, they assumed the quality of vft's, or their chances of living are that bad.

I have never bought plants from petflytrap, but for sure the quality is extremely bad.

Somebody has to do something, but is that even allowed to terminate someone on the internet???????
I'm sure lots of us have seen the quality of the plants by other members that have bought from petflytrap, and still we just keep going, and forget about it because we know FTS is here to solve all of our problems :D . But for the newer people who just don't look more vft's websites......i feel sorry for them.

Re: Recent PetFlytrap.com Order - My review

Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:05 am
by Dubstep13
yea lets bash petflytrap.com strait up!