# Very Disapointed



## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

Bought some Fissiden Moss from Friend688 on Aquabid and recieved it last Friday. I paid a total of $30.00 for two portions and $25.00 extra for fast shipping. I have no complaint about the shipping or the packaging. For 30 bucks I got 6 1" long strands (most wouldnt make 1") and was told that that was two orders and 1 extra just to be nice. Im not gonna say anything bad but have you seen how small 6 1" pieces of moss is? It woulnt cover one square inch....Just a note to anyone thinking of buying some Fissidan, dont expect a large amount...Jim


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## mlfishman (Apr 4, 2005)

*sorry man*

This is why I will only buy mosses and such in which the portion is illustrated with a photo......this sucks jim....I feel for ya man...but im sure everyone hasnt gotten what they expected while purchasing online at one point or another.....I know I have


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

If you look at the picture involved it shows a fully covered aquarium. NOT the actual amount,...Jim


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

I found the auction you won and it says


> Selling in tub with 40 leafs.


If you got 6 fronds, that is bogus. you should have gotten 40x2=80 fronds.


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

As an update, I was charged $34.00 for shipping not $25.00....Jim


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment. But thank you Jim for giving us the heads up. I was going to place a couple of orders for the fissidens from that particular seller. I'm glad I was torn between the shipping options, which delayed my impulse buying. 

-John N.


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

APC Sponsor AquaticMagic sometimes has Fissidens available. 

Write and ask.


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

I have not seen the portions, but you might have 40 leaves in what he sent you. A little bit of more questions to the seller might have prevented you for buying and not being dissapointed. His auction clearly states it is 40 leafs.
40 leafs can come in 1in stem, 2 stems, one stem, depending on the plant.

This is why I do not buy moss unless I am told it would cover X cm by Y cm(or in inches). It can be very tricky with mosses and related things.

Sorry that you feel that way. In my opinion it is a too slow grower to even invest in it. I hope this does not discourage you from buying from other folks.


I have use AquaticMagic before and he is a very good seller.

Cheers,
Pedro


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

Pedro: I have ordered many things over the net in the last 5 or 6 years and have only really been disapointed twice. Maybe I've been lucky, I don't know. What I do know is I have no argument with the man except the misrepresentation of the amount. It was shipped on time and packaged well. Who knows? Theres no way tho I'll ever buy another item from him. Whats really beginning to frost me tho is I ordered Fissiden from Aquamagic also and paid for express shipping the same day as friend688 and still dont have the order. Its been 11 days. Ill wait to see how this one turns out...Jim,


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

As an update about the order from Aquamagic. Apparantly its my fault. When I sent the PayPal to him I didnt add in the shipping after he gave me a deal on it. It should be here tommorrow..My Bad...Jim


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Jim, keep us updated on how the the fissidens from AquaticMagic comes in.

-John N.


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## brad (Jul 10, 2005)

I contacted both those sellers to ask about how much it would cover. Both replied quite promptly with a straight answer. Sometimes it can cover a little larger area, depending on how compact or how mature the particular peice is. Both told me fissidens is a very small moss, and if I had trouble with my eyes, I`d have a hard time seeing it.  Eitherway, with an email or 2 to each, I found both were very up front and told me it would be small.


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

*I'm at least happy now with 2nd order*

Hi All: thought I'd let everyone know the rest of the story. Recieved the order from Aquamagic today finally and am really happy with what I got. Decided to take a picture of both orders. On the left is the order I got from Aquamagic (cost= $40US). On the right is the order I got from Friend688 (cost = $30US). I think I'll just let the picture finish the talk for me.....Jim


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

I guess the 'friend' wasn't quite so 'friendly'.  But I am glad you got a decent amount from Aquam.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

glad it finally worked out for you!


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## rusticitas (Mar 10, 2004)

Where is "AquaMagic"? I cannot find a URL for them. Can you post that to this thread? Thanks!


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

rusticitas said:


> Where is "AquaMagic"? I cannot find a URL for them. Can you post that to this thread? Thanks!


AquaticMagic isn't a store, he's just a seller on Aquabid. Thanks for posting the pics Jim. I ordered some from him too. I'll see how it comes in.


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## gnatster (Mar 6, 2004)

AaronT said:


> AquaticMagic isn't a store, he's just a seller on Aquabid. Thanks for posting the pics Jim. I ordered some from him too. I'll see how it comes in.


And a sponsor of APC as well.


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

Just a final note: Friend688 did ask how we can make this right, but I really dont feel there is a way. I don't need the money I wanted a fair amt of Fissiden. Sending such a small amt was, to me, (my opinion) just a blatant ripoff. If you're going to show large amts in pictures, then send large amts. Be honest about it. 40 leaves to me would be 40 of the 1" lenghts that were sent. To his credit Friend688 did ask to make it right and his shipping was as quick as it should be. But He would have to have sent what he would have charged eveyrone else in the world $200US for! I doubt he would have done that.

Aquamagic sent what I thought was a good amount but shipping was 20 days getting here. Most mosses would have arrived as a slimy mess, but this moss arrived looking very good. I would have paid extra for quick shipping but I messed up and sent just the amt he was asking for the Fissiden. (My fault)So the moss was delivered for free. I emailed him yesterday to complain about the length of time and he emailed back that he would send out another order no charge. I told him today not to send.

Now who would you do business with. I went back to AquaBid and looked at the ads. Today both Friend688 and Aquamagic have the same ad with the same amount for $15US . I guess in the long run you'll have to decide for youself. All I can do is to tell you what happened to me. Maybe if we all do that we can keep the ads a little more honest. ;-) ...Jim


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## rusticitas (Mar 10, 2004)

Ah! My bad, I look on AquaBid all the time, didn't recognize that as a seller's name. Will have to go back an look. I'm intrigued by fissidens.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

For the record, and as a few others have pointed out, it is _Fissidens_ with an S. It's unfortunate, but sometimes things are introduced under an incorrect name and passed around as such for a while.


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## david lim (Mar 30, 2004)

hey all,
Since Cavan brought up writing names, and since I'm friends with aquaTICmagic then I just wanted to let people know it's spelled aquaTICmagic and not aquamagic. Anyway, aquaTICmagic is a great seller and will try to find almost anything as long as it's available in malaysia for a nice price. again AQUAticMAGIC... AQUATICMAGIC... aquaticmagic... ok rant's over .

oh yea... also it's Cavan and not Calvin. 

David


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

That's good to know David. Thanks for pointing that out. 

BTW, I wasn't taking a shot at anyone.


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## david lim (Mar 30, 2004)

shot? nah. didn't mean to make it sound that way. the calvin thing was in jest about a time when someone called you Calvin . I made a similar speech. Anyway, we digress. These posts are about how Aquaticmagic is a good seller . (Calv... I mean Cavan... your mailbox is full .)


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## Gonzofish (Mar 26, 2005)

*not so much of a "friend"688*

Geez,

I ordered $65 worth of mosses from "friend688" at about the same time as JimJim. I did haggle him down and saved about $20 on the total order. A few days after I placed my order, I noticed that he cut his auction prices on Aquabid nearly in half. Standard Global shipping took 14 days to arrive, not 10 days as advertised. When the mosses arrived, they literally stank. He had used plastic cups (he calls them tubs) poorly sealed with tape and filled to the brim with water. The worst of the bunch, willow moss, mini moss, and fissidens nobilis, were brown and smelled like s#[email protected] The only salvagable plants were fissidens sp. and star moss. The portions for the latter were similar to JimJim's. Now a strong current caught them and now I can't even find them.

In his defense, he did offer to rectify the situation, but only if I paid for more plants! Unfortunately for me I never bid on an auction so I can't even leave negative feedback.

My search for healthy Fissidens nobilis continues.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I'm always glad to hear positive and negative experiences with plant retailers (especially overseas) gives me a better idea of who to order from. I've like ordering stuff from Mike (aquaticmagic) his stuff is always good, and he does make every effort to please the customer, and is very responsive with email.

I guess with such negative press of Friends688, aquaticmagic will be my primary overseas supplier. 

-John N.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

I don't get why people ship mosses like that. The "vacuum" seal method of shipping mosses is by far supperior.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

What's the _vacuum seal_ method? I'm picturing that machine sold by the AS SEEN ON TV people, that puts the stuff in a bag, and sucks out the air to preserve food, and/or to seal clothes in a bag to make more room in their luggage. If that's what we're talking about I guess these folks don't want to get that machine, or know about this vacuum method to do it.

-John N.


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## bharada (Apr 17, 2004)

I'll have to agree with everyone in saying that AquaticMagic is great to deal with. I ordered six, 6"x6" portions of mini-moss from him a month ago and they arrived well packed; two individually wrapped 6"x6" portions to a bag, plus a bonus 4"x6" thrown in. I would not hesitatae to order more moss from him in the future.


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## raven_wilde (Nov 16, 2005)

Yes I agree, AquaticMagic is wonderful to buy plants from... good prices, great quality of plants... the shipping does take some time, but keep in mind that he's shipping out of Singapore! That said, I am continually amazed at the quality of mosses I've purchased from him!


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## david lim (Mar 30, 2004)

John N. said:


> What's the _vacuum seal_ method? I'm picturing that machine sold by the AS SEEN ON TV people, that puts the stuff in a bag, and sucks out the air to preserve food, and/or to seal clothes in a bag to make more room in their luggage. If that's what we're talking about I guess these folks don't want to get that machine, or know about this vacuum method to do it.
> 
> -John N.


Haha.. you could use the machine, which seems pretty neat, or you can take your plastic bag with plants and submerge part of it in water while keeping the open side in the air. This will push most of the air out of the bag giving that "vacuum" like effect. For domestic trips I don't think this method is needed, but it certainly helps for international trips.

David


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

I find this very interesting. I wish you posted this on Planted Tank. It sounds like at the very least the same size portions as what I was selling, perhaps even smaller than mine. I charged quite a bit less and yet when someone posted a picture of it, the general concensus of people looking at the picture was it was way to small. In my case it was several short strands in between two peices of plastic.

You paid $30 for two inches of moss plus an extra 25 dollars you said to have it mailed to you from half way around the world? I don't get it. How is the portion size from Aquatic magic? Any better? 

I bought moss from Aquatic Magic a few months ago. Singapore and Taiwan moss I think it was. The size of the moss "mat" did cover the area he said it did, but the trick was the thickness of the mat was razor thin. When I peeled it off the plastic bag, it became a ball smaller than a ping pong ball. My hopes of using it to grow enough stock to sell quickly dashed away.


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## bharada (Apr 17, 2004)

Robert Hudson said:


> I bought moss from Aquatic Magic a few months ago. Singapore and Taiwan moss I think it was. The size of the moss "mat" did cover the area he said it did, but the trick was the thickness of the mat was razor thin. When I peeled it off the plastic bag, it became a ball smaller than a ping pong ball. My hopes of using it to grow enough stock to sell quickly dashed away.


But like Riccia, moss is better started off in a thin layer. I got some weeping moss and when I tied it to wood I treated it I was tying fishing flies. I'd lay out individual fronds and tie their bases to the wood leaving their top halves free. Within two weeks the moss had doubled in volume. The wood I tied it to forms a /\ and with the moss growth looks like a pair of legs wearing some green sheepskin chaps.


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

regardless of the price its good to know the actual quanitity he sends. i was wary about buying from him and now i know i wont. i sent him an email and he refused to send me an availability list on an inane premise.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

> This is why I do not buy moss unless I am told it would cover X cm by Y cm(or in inches). It can be very tricky with mosses and related things.


When I ordered some moss from an aquabid seller in Asia... it covered the exact amount of area he said it would. The problem was it was spread so thin it was like tissue paper and I had to peel it away from the plastic bag. When I rolled it all up in a ball, it was smaller than a quarter. I am used to buying moss by the Kilo, so perhaps I am jaded.

Jimjim, I'll be real interested in your feed back to see if you have a simular experience. Perhaps you could PM me. And btw, thanks for the hug.

OOps, I guess I am repeating myself. Sorry



> But like Riccia, moss is better started off in a thin layer.


That may be true Bill, but I have sold portions twice that size and got reemed by people saying I am ripping them off for selling such small portions. Maybe I should spread it out too


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

Uh, Robert, When did I say I gave you a hug? If you think back a few years, you and I had the same differance of opinion over a small amount of A. nana "petit". When I complained you gave me a real lesson in how not to keep and influance customers....Jim


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Well I guess I left myself open for that one didn't I!

I thought you were this person



> Robert just needs a hug from time to time. Like all of us men, he just gets grumpy from time to time.


Jimbo205

All these darn internet names. Ok Jim, when you get your rmoss and peel it off from the plastic and roll it up into a little marble size ball, tell me if that satisfies you! Maybe now he will throw in an extra handfull just to spite me! wait... thuis is months old! So tell me Jim. tell me honestly, was I right or was I wrong?


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

Robert, It isnt about the amount of money or the size. Its about mis-leading advertizement. I liked the the moss in question and would have gladly paid extra for shipping. I recieved "THE EXACT AMOUNT" shown in the picture. I've bought quite a lot of on-line plants and really have to say I've only really been disapointed twice....Jim


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

oh common! I could have sold you the exact same amount and you would have screamed at me just as loud as you did about the nana PETITE! That cracks me up.


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## jimjim (Jan 25, 2004)

You know, I really like this forum and before this degenerates into a "screaming" match . How about someone locking the thread?...Jim


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

> Robert, It isnt about the amount of money or the size. Its about mis-leading advertizement.


Are you talking about me here? I have had the same picture of petite nana in my online store for the last four or five years. It is a picture of my hand holding several plants. In the last five years, only two people were dum... were... whats a nice word to use.... naive enough to think they were getting a whole handfull of petite nana plants for 8 dollars. Were you one of those people? This is too funny. The picture was meant to show scale of the size of the leaves. If you really think that is misleading I guess I will have to find a new picture.

I am trying to be humorus about this and keep an open mind.


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

To me it just seems that Robert gets "sooo" offended when members talking positive about other retailers. It seems that every thread that is created about another online retailer, Robert jumps in and says what ever he wants. 

If I were you, i'd just keep my mouth shut and let it be.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

aquariumplants.com, great company. Freswhwateraquariumplants.com great company. Aquariumgarden.com great company. Love Vic. Great guy. 

Green Chapter, Roland, best online business in Singapore in my opinion. Straight up, honest. Means what he says, says what he means. 

Plenty more I have nothing but praise for.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I think this post is diverging from it's intended purpose. Thank you Jim for posting your experience, and for everyone else's feedback.

-John N.


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