FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I just wanted to let everybody know about these cheap "Venus Flytraps" sold on eBay, same with the fancy "blue" flytraps which don't exist. I have a feeling most of you might already be aware of this but I'd rather share it with you anyways just in case there's any new people that might be tempted to buy these on impulse.

EDIT: I've noticed this post is popping up on Google's first page so HELLO! If you've googled anything regarding fake flytraps, blue flytraps or flytraps originating from China...they're all fake. Especially blue flytraps...FAKE, FAKE, FAKE. There's no blue flytrap in existence.

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon these on eBay, sold for 89 cents with free shipping. Red flag!

Many sellers are advertising these as Venus Flytraps, ensuring "Dionaea Muscipula" is mentioned in the description. The sale page for mine said: "1 bag Venus Fly Trap Flower Seeds Dionaea Muscipula Giant Clip Garden Plants New". In the front of the seed packet it fails to mention it's a Venus Flytrap, deciding to go with the vague "catch cordyceps". Google searches for this bring you nowhere besides a few image results sending you to chinese sellers and images from those websites.

Seeing how cheap these were and knowing eBay's good with refunds I decided to give them a shot to see whether they were the real deal. They arrived two days ago.

This is the front of the packet(via google):


Picture of the packet I received as proof:


Back of the packet most sellers don't show with the REAL information:


It's actually "Gysophilla elegans", known as "Annual Baby's-breath, Showy Baby's-breath" and this is how they look:


Seeds in the packet(left) vs seeds bought from a well-known eBay seller(right):


Hopefully this will help someone eventually. Have a good weekend, everyone!

hahaha i've seen these on ebay, alot of the sellers have hundreds of thousands of feedbacks, seems stupid to offer such a shotty product
lol
i had thought about buying some of the same packets b/c of the price, maybe some sellers of these cheap seeds are legit?

Same here, I've been seeing these for months and I finally bit the bullet and tried them out lol. I think these specific packets are switched out intentionally since they have the Flytrap image in front of it and they have the name of the plant included at the back. I'm surprised people haven't complained about this yet.

It's probably why the sellers just show the front....I might be wrong but it seems these are mass produced only focused on cheapness(as usual) and I've yet to find anyone selling Flytrap seeds for less than a dollar unless it's a bid

lol...

I have bought from one such seller on ebay... shopname "offerperk"

Seeds came in a ziplock but looked exactly like the one you have. Huge seeds in teardrop shape.

But I was half expecting them to be fake.. so not too much disappointment haha

Yep, it looks like there's 20-30 sellers with the same fake seeds. I'm going to try and report these fake products to eBay and see if they do something...I doubt they will but I'll try anyways.

The seller I bought them from contacted me on the last day before eBay stepped in asking me to contact them directly. I guess private messages aren't direct enough. I explained their product was mislabeled and lied about its contents, and of course all they say is "srry u wnt refund?" so I guess they'll keep selling them.

l0l keep us updated

A list of unscrupulous dealers, both on eBay and the web, needs to be made so users do not fall victim to money grubbing shysters!

If you've been "grifted," leave a message here.

Maybe we can eventually get a sticky of "Folks to Avoid!"

One lesson I've learned is: there's always a risk when ordering anything from China, whether it's on eBay or Amazon. You are really taking your chances. Either the item won't be want you want, or it's different, or there is some sort of language translation problem that gives you the wrong information.

Granted, I go there to buy cheap iPhone cases, because you can get many for the price of one here!

That is known as the "Bait and Switch", classic sales technique. China's is just putting a new spin on it.......z

Just wondering, could someone pin a topic like this? it seems to pop up frequently

All should thank the poster. His topic is on the first google page, to warn you !

Another scammer, cyberpunk theme

insects break time, five little fingers outstretched , as long as there above it is a small mosquito landed stick, After the pots filled with pure water matrix on the left has a glass tank or basin

Cultivated soil in loose, fertile humus

, yeah right...

Thats my style of item name.

lol I was one of the victims who bought these fake VFT seeds from Ebay and Taobao in 2015.