Can I sell plants with soil?

[mobius2011]

I'm fairly new to selling on eBay and have sold a few of my personal stock to clear the place up a bit.

I have purchased various plants on eBay and they always come bare-rooted with no soil. But I notice some people say they sell plants with pots. There is no mention of whether they come with soil or not and I haven't actually bought any of these plants.

I'm in QLD and looking up the eBay seed and plant policy, it's a bit ambiguous.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

---

@mobius2011 wrote:

I notice that on any of the sellers I have bought from, they say we don't post to WA, NT or TAS due to quarantine restrictions. They obviously know something I don't, or they have just copied others. But I can't find why these particular states are different.

---

all I can say is that it is easy to find these things. Just do a Google search for 'primary industries western australia' and then click on the web link for the official government site . . . where you can do site searches to find information.

I  am posting from my mobile so I have limited capacity to post links or pics . . . but it only took me about 3 minutes of searching after reading your post above for me to find information.

Similar searches for the other states will get you to official sites . . . but just remember that just because you can't find info doesn't mean there is none out there.

Bottom line is that you need to ask yourself "do I want to risk the biosecurity of other states by sending soil interstate?"

Found a way to post the link for WA

https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/importing-plant-and-plant-products/importing-plants-bulbs-and-cut-flower...

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

here's another

https://www.pir.sa.gov.au/biosecurity/plant_health#toc0

[lizzyamelia]

Its the destination state you need to look at. All plants to another state must be clean roots. There are sellers that have on different plants that they cant send to WA etc due to state regulations. Some plants are classed as noxious weeds in other states. The fines are massive if you get caught sending them.

[mobius2011]

Yeah, I found the various sites, but interpreting the info is another matter. For starters they mostly list fruit and veggies and other plants aren't listed. Then when i search for a specific plant it says it is approved:

https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/organisms/99808?search_string=Bromeliad&per-page=20&sort-by=taxon&order-...

Yet, every seller who sells these says no to WA. Same with the other states. I can't find anything specific.

[padi*0409]

---

@mobius2011 wrote:

Yeah, I found the various sites, but interpreting the info is another matter. For starters they mostly list fruit and veggies and other plants aren't listed. Then when i search for a specific plant it says it is approved:

Yet, every seller who sells these says no to WA. Same with the other states. I can't find anything specific.

---

You've probably answered your own question there, in that plant sellers don't have the time to check each state's policies on every plant they sell and thus put a blanket ban on sending to WA, Tas and NT.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

---

@mobius2011 wrote:

Yeah, I found the various sites, but interpreting the info is another matter. For starters they mostly list fruit and veggies and other plants aren't listed. Then when i search for a specific plant it says it is approved:

https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/organisms/99808?search_string=Bromeliad&per-page=20&sort-by=taxon&order-...

Yet, every seller who sells these says no to WA. Same with the other states. I can't find anything specific.

---

The plant might be okay BUT you asked about SOIL.

If I was you I would not risk sending soil to another state.

The fact that you remain unsure should be enough for you to agree with me.

You could phone the departments of agriculture in other states to ask a real person . . . but if they say there are no problems sending plants in soil then insist that they confirm this by email.  That way you are covered if plants with soil get intercepted

[mobius2011]

No, I clarified in my 2nd post, I don't want to sell plants with soil. I just wondered how others are and why plants with no soil are not being sent to other states, as I can't see anything specific saying these type of plants are a no go. 

I think your suggestion of call departments of agriculture in the different states to ask a real person. For now, I'll just do as others do and not ship to WA/NT or TAS until I have it confirmed in writing.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

OK, I take your point, but found this paragraph on the web page of the first link I posted on this thread

In most instances plants will require certain treatments and certification issued by the exporting state's quarantine body, or by a business that operates under an approved certification scheme. If you are ordering your plants or bulbs online or by mail order it is advisable to check if the seller is approved to send to Western Australia before you place your order.

My reading of this paragraph is that if a seller is not approved to send to WA then they shouldn’t send to WA.

That is probably why many sellers exclude WA buyers.

[mobius2011]

Ok, thanks for that extra bit of info. I'll look into what certification requires.

[lyndal1838]

Unless you are a major commercial establishment it will not be worth your while getting certification.

Just accept that if most ebay sellers will not send to certain states then it is not worth your time persuing it.....just use the same restrictions in your listings.