Beware the “Rare”

[Sod]

PSA, and full disclosure this is a huge pet peeve of mine.

For some this goes without saying, but I saw a couple listings on figbid earlier this summer and again tonight claiming a variety is rare as a major tag line to get buyers. The guy earlier this summer was selling grantham’s Royal cuttings and a couple other extremely commonplace varieties. I actually messaged that person to ask if they could explain why they said that variety was rare. Their reasoning was because they didn’t see it being offered on figbid at the time. Seriously.

The few I’ve seen tonight are from a different seller, but again, very commonplace varieties. This type of thing really irritates me because I was new to the hobby once and I had plenty of people try to exploit me both directly through private messages and indirectly with “sales” like this. The seller tonight makes it sound like they’re a contributing member of the forum but they have 5 posts here. They might have a bigger footprint elsewhere, but buyer beware.

TLDR version: when you see the word “rare” it’s a red flag unless you recognize the seller and it’s someone you trust.


Ok. Sorry to bring a negative message. Let’s get back to posting some positive stuff here for the hobby we enjoy.

[Halligan-]

preach it!

Hype
new finds
renamed
stock photos not of actual plant
all red flags, Unless you trust the source

[Halligan-]

That’s going to be a good thread.
“Catfished by figs“, hahah

[Sod]

Catfigged?

[Halligan-]

Yes!!!🤣

[Figology]

Thanks for the heads up. Some of those “Rare” plants were for sale @ $300 either currently or last week.

[TahomaGuy2]

ANY variety that requires the wasp is "rare" here in the PNW. So, valuable and desireable? HECK NO!!!

[ieatfigs]

Rare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[key88sf]

Not available at Home Depot = rare!

[goodfriendmike]

People use the word rare to often. I saw panache on eBay as rare tiger fig lol. But that’s eBay. I hold members of this forum to higher standards.

[doubleblue]

PM me for this premium and rarest fig in the universe, "Rayures Françaises"
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Just kidding, my fig friends, there is nothing called Rayures Françaises in the world, be careful with photoshopped "rare" pictures.

[standalonus]

on my waiting list now.

[Figbert]

PSST ... You want rare? Put the stripes on the parallels instead of the meridians!

[Shaft]

Figbert lmao I nearly peed myself

[MyDogMike]

I saw the same listings you’re referring to and thought the exact same thing.

[Shaft]

Lou Monti made a good point, it might be rare for a reason. Maybe it's a finicky diva who dies if you look at it wrong. Maybe it's a late producer and you get few figs. Maybe it's the hidden secret gem no one knows about but probably its rare for a reason

[mwhight34]

The topic of this thread is sellers using the word rare very liberally in order to generate more interest in their listings, which is harmful to people who’re new to the online plant buying world. It’s false advertising. Being a late ripening fig might make it more uncommon in certain areas but it doesn’t make the fig a rare one. My reading comprehension is just fine, thank you.

[Netstars]

How did this post go from easy to obtain figs called rare to completely unrelated points so fast?

[Shaft]

"The topic of this thread is sellers using the word rare very liberally in order to generate more interest in their listings, which is harmful to people who’re new to the online plant buying world. It’s false advertising. Being a late ripening fig might make it more uncommon in certain areas but it doesn’t make the fig a rare one. My reading comprehension is just fine, thank you."

So did you miss the fact that I agreed with the op,that selling this type of thing on figbid looks shady? I simply pointed out that if he is a regional seller, they could be rare to HIM and it could be a miscommunication thing.

"How did this post go from easy to obtain figs called rare to completely unrelated points so fast?
"

Because people want to assume the worst and dogpile any chance they get. It's virtue signaling. Notice how many people didn't even recognize the reference to Lou Monti and just started attacking lol!

https://youtu.be/IB3CsY7wh_A

Before I saw this topic I watch the video that was highly related and I wanted to share it with you guys but no one bothered. It was topical but people have a one track mind for turmoil https://youtu.be/IB3CsY7wh_A

Before we got bogged down on an individual sellers practices I was speaking to the idea of a rare fig as a phenomenon. It's rare for a reason. Figure out the reason, stop relying on marketing gimmicks and making impulse purchases. Another person in another thread said it well

"As a "newbie", I'm inclined to say that to some extent it is the buyer's responsibility to do research. Just as we would in making a purchase for anything of substance in our lives, we literally have access to information at our fingertips. Before I purchase from a seller, I Google them or check out forums like this and others to find out what other consumers say about that seller. Before I spend my hard earned money on a plant, I check out the very convenient electronic databases or historical texts to learn of the origin of the plant and if it has any other known names that I may already have. "

In other words, stop being so patronizing. It infantilizes the people you pretend to care for and demonizes everyone else.

I really get sick of the assume tge worst and attack mentality that is so pervasive here. It shows me few people here have actually known real conflict or they wouldn't be so gung-ho for it all the time

Bottom line: target audience matters. Context matters. "Rare" in a region is different than "rare" on a national platform like figbid. Maybe it's an frame of reference mistake. Maybe it isn't. Maybe he's targeting a specific region (figbid does offer options like local pickup only). Maybe he's just using basic marketing 101. In any case, this dogpile is unnecessary. Smdh

[JMF75]

I couldn't agree with you more Sod. I noticed the same thing.. I'm glad you brought this up.

[RedRockFig]

Webster's definition - Infrequently occurring; uncommon. Unfortunately the use of the word Rare is not Infrequently occurring nor uncommon.

[ginamcd]

Sadly there will always be newbies that haven't done their homework and will jump on anything labeled "rare" just to get in the game. And there will always be sellers who know that.

[figgarooni]

I check figbid pretty consistently, if I see something I don't recognize I'll search the web. I like when I find a fig that was all the rage on f4f, but has lost popularity in current times.

Unrelated, but I also dislike the people who post other fruits in the fig section. I really wish I could filter out sellers, or report them through the page.

[ginamcd]

The other tactic buyers need to be aware of is the use of "Last One" in a listing title. All that means is this is the last one that a particular seller will be offering at this time.

Not only will there be other sellers offering the same variety, but I'm sure the seller offering the "Last One" will soon be back offering it again.

[Sod]

I admit I’m guilty of doing that. I try to remember to also say “for this year” or “this season.”

[Shaft]

"I'm sure the seller offering the "Last One" will soon be back offering it again."

I could see two legitimate reasons this might happen, but I fully admit that it could be for less-than-honest purposes:

#1- this person is out of cuttings until fall, no more propagation, nothing, but will return to the game after pruning
#2- this person does one big batch of propagation once every few months, and they're out right now, but others are rooting and growing and getting nice and ready for market

That said, it's a well established marketing tactic called FOMO, fear of missing out. I'm not sure why this community is so against basic marketing practices and conventions but gets their panties in a knot when one of their conventions are broken

[FigTex]

I noticed this years ago when my boys were collecting Pokémon cards. The most highly coveted (and highly priced) cards were sold as “super rare!”, “ultra rare!”,
“super ultra mega rare!!”. Something in human nature makes those words hard to resist. 😂

[mwhight34]

I’ve seen this on figbid a lot unfortunately. Anything to make a quick buck ☹️. In some cases I’ve considered messaging these sellers to call them out, but you have to be careful because I’ve heard of people being threatened when calling out eBay scammers

[Shaft]

" We're dumb, we are stupid, if it was so good, if it didn't have any drawbacks preventing us from stockpiling, wouldn't we all have them? Wouldn't they not be rare? Some Italian Gardener, somebody in Greece, somebody in France, somebody in Spain wouldn't have discovered it and made it widely available because it had all these amazing attributes?

so just be careful when you see these rare figs being offered at extcessive prices. [...] Don't get sucked into that, use your own brain, your own intelligence, your own personality, your own wits to figure it all out and say maybe it's not worth all that. Maybe there's a reason. Maybe it cracks,, maybe it splits,, maybe it's this,, maybe it's that. Maybe it's too late,, maybe it's an abundant producer. Maybe it's just a Primadonna fig that is hard to care for." -Lou Monti

https://youtu.be/IB3CsY7wh_A

In this same video he explains why he won't grow late season varieties. He wants figs, late season varieties tend to be less prolific, according to him. That is one of many, many reasons a variety might be rare.

Common figs are common for a reason. Rare figs are rare for a reason. Supply and demand

[It Could use another day]

you're defending them a little to passionately my friend, majority of the time its to get sales and target the newbies grower. maybe not all the time, but if people are pointing this out its happening more than enough.

[Shaft]

I defend them passionately because I believe in innocent until proven guilty. This assuming motive then dogpiing tactic has been used against me in the past. It's not good, it's a gesture of bad faith. It tears people down.

It would be much better to praise the virtuous. I think the rest is quite patronizing. Fomo seems like a low bar to criticize someone for when we teach that to high schoolers in basic e-commerce classes

https://sleeknote.com/blog/fomo-marketing

I guess it would be different for me if we said this is a bad example of fomo. It is very bad. But that doesn't mean fomo is bad or deceptive.

Thanks for the post. I know I spent the whole comment disagreeing with you but I do appreciate the thoughtful comment my friend

[wellingtonbill]

Shaft are you having fun?

[Shaft]

I'm always having fun bud

How bout you?

[wellingtonbill]

Great times my man - fun reading posts and noticing jousting suddenly gets edited. I hope everyone is having fun.

[Shaft]

wellingtonbill l yeah I'm at work. I usually go back and clean things up, or elaborate and provide sources.

Check the edits. Is this statement untrue? Links were provided and I wrote up a YouTube transcript on a crappy cell phone in between edits while driving.

I would think a much bigger concern for the moderation team would be the dogpiling and the unproven allegations than my edit history. Then you wonder why the so-called jousting happens. Shrug

[TorontoJoe]

This thread is closed pending review by the moderators