Last year a reader shared a link to a site that sold seeds for blue watermelons. These watermelons are a longtime Internet hoax, yet seed scammers are still taking advantage of gardeners and their love for interesting varieties.
On eBay right now are listings for blue watermelon seeds:
Note where these so-called “blue watermelon” seeds are coming from.
It ain’t the good old U.S. of A.
But you can bet that’s where the money is flowing from. Out of a gardener’s pocket and into the pocket of a scammer.
When you buy seeds from overseas, your chances of being scammed are much, much higher. How do you know that you’re going to get what you order?
You don’t.
And how will you take recourse if you plant the seeds and get something different than advertised? Or if they don’t come up at all?
You can’t.
Caveat emptor is the phrase of the eon when you’re dealing with overseas seeds.
Of course, if you fall for something like this:
. . . then maybe the scammers deserve your $1.39 + $0.28 shipping.
Here’s another batch of bizarre seeds, this time in the world of flowers:
Seeds for a RAINBOW ROSE!
I need that!
OMGOMGOMG I NEED IT!
Some of these seed offerings are believable, and some of them aren’t. You might have an ad for “heirloom tomatoes” which still aren’t heirloom tomatoes. Watch for those as well. If it looks too weird to be true, avoid it. And if it’s coming from China, avoid it.
The Chinese are well-known for scamming.
They have elaborate dating scams:
“A new study, ‘Quit Playing Games With My Heart: Understanding Online Dating Scams,’ a collaboration between University College London and Jiayuan, China’s largest dating site, revealed the unbelievably creative and involved cons that plague online dating there.
The authors of the study analyzed more than 500,000 profiles, drawn from Jiayuan’s 100 million users, which the site’s employees had flagged as scam accounts. And while by far the most popular of these scams—fake profiles promoting escort services—will be familiar to anyone who uses Tinder in the U.S., the remaining scams could be drawn straight from The Sting or The Grifters.
The most ingenious of the Jiayuan scams starts when the owner of a fancy restaurant hires an attractive woman, who then makes a dating profile. The woman then contacts a lonely heart over Jiayuan and convinces him to take her on a date to the expensive restaurant, where she runs up an enormous tab. According to the study, these dates can cost anywhere from $100 to $2,000. Afterward, of course, the bilked bachelor never hears from his date again.”
And who could forget Chinese drywall?
Or deadly Chinese pet treats:
“When Kevin and Candace Thaxton’s 10-year-old pug Chansey got sick late last year, the couple assumed at first it was simply old age. The small dog started showing symptoms of kidney failure—drinking water excessively and urinating in the house. By the time the Thaxtons got her to a veterinarian, Chansey’s kidneys had shut down and she was in extreme pain. She died two days later.
‘It was so hard. It was just devastating,’ Kevin Thaxton told ABC News.
But the Thaxtons would go through the ordeal again just weeks later—leading them to a new theory behind Chansey’s death—when their new Pekingese-mix puppy Penny exhibited the same symptoms, finally resulting in kidney failure. When Candace Thaxton stumbled on a Food and Drug Administration warning that there’d been an increase in complaints about chicken jerky dog treats made in China, she says she knew immediately what had happened to her beloved dogs.
‘I grabbed the bag of treats and turned it over,’ Candace said. ‘At first I saw it said “Manufactured in South Carolina,” so I thought I was safe. Then I looked harder and it said “Made in China,” and I just said, ‘Oh no.’ “
Of course, it’s not just China. There are hoaxes coming from other places, too. Nigeria has a legendary reputation for fraud. Instead of a few bucks for seeds, they’re stealing people’s entire retirements:
“Spears, who is a nursing administrator and CPR teacher, said she mortgaged the house and took a lien out on the family car, and ran through her husband’s retirement account.
‘The retirement he was dreaming of—cruising and going around and seeing America—is pretty much gone for him right now,’ she said.
She estimates it will take 2 years to clear the debt that accumulated in the more than 2 years she spent sending money to con artists.
Her family and bank officials told her it was all a scam, she said, and begged her to stop, but she persisted because she became obsessed with getting paid.”
Stupid!
This is why I’ve buried all my retirement money in mayonnaise jars where no one can find it.
Seriously though, if you see something like this:
NO.
JUST NO.
I understand the allure of blue watermelons and exotic seeds, but if it’s really out of the ordinary—and it’s coming from somewhere out of the ordinary—I can almost guarantee you’re going to get scammed. Fortunately, it’s not a huge loss—but every person who sends a couple of bucks to these thieves is just encouraging them.
If this sort of thing makes you mad, feel free to post this article on Facebook in various gardening groups. Also be sure to report nonsense on eBay when you see it.
I don’t like to see scammers making money or my readers losing it. Stick with good companies like Baker Creek for exotic seeds and just say NO to weirdos with weird-colored watermelons.
Check out my video on blue watermelons here:
David The Good is a Grow Network Change Maker, a gardening expert, and the author of five books you can find on Amazon: Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting, Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening, Totally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening, Create Your Own Florida Food Forest, and Push the Zone: The Good Guide to Growing Tropical Plants Beyond the Tropics. Find fresh gardening inspiration at his website TheSurvivalGardener.com and be sure to follow his popular YouTube channel.
COMMENTS(6)
I wouldn’t buy that cat flower, even if it existed. It looks more like a cat skeleton/zombie flower. Nightmare fuel for sure.
In other news, I have some really rare and special watermelon seeds. They’re invisible, except to expert gardeners. I’ve attached the picture. Let me know what you think. 😉
There is no shortage of people trying to make a quick buck at someone else’s expense. Shame they don’t put all that time and effort into making a legitimate living. The IRS has called me twice today desperately needing me to call back on the provided number to stop the legal proceedings against me for fraud.
Those multi-colored tomatoes are some of the most unappealing veggies I think I’ve seen in quite some time. Ewwww.
Scott – loved the photo
Blueberries are not blue and neither is blue corn. I know of no organic/natural food that is blue!
As always you give great advice. Thanks.
David the Good – tell the truth, man! You wrote this article so that you could buy up all these rare seeds yourself and create your own monopoly on zombie cat flower seeds. ;-p
I think you’ve figured it out. He’s going to corner the market on nightmare inducing plants.
This reminds me of an old scam guaranteed to kill flies. You received two blocks of wood with instructions to place the fly on one block and hit it with the other.