Finger Limes

[bsbullie]

Excalibur has finger limes in stock on a limited availability.  They are in five gallon pots and are $75.  Below is an image of the beauty...man, do they have thorns.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Wholesale those trees are 18 dollars at the nursery near me (Record Buck), I've seen the same tree sell for $30.

I'd hate to see someone overpay for such a tree.

[edself65]

A couple North Florida Nurseries have them for $30. $75 seems pretty expensive to me also!

Ed
Apopka, FL

[bsbullie]

Well, there have been a number of people in the SFla area looking for finger limes over the last year and their search was unsuccessful.  IF a nursery DOES have them in North Florida for $30, for one to drive there for the supposed savings seems impractical and uneconomical.  If a wholesale nursery has them cheaper, that helps the general public how ?  And again, the previous sentence applies.

Remember a couple of things boys and girls, 1) Excalibur is in South Florida, not North or even Central Florida...there is gas and time involved if one were to drive hundreds of miles in each direction; and 2) IF Excalibur buys stock from a wholesale nursery. do you expect them to resell it at the cost they got it for ?  There are many factors that go into pricing.  They are a business, not doing as a hobby.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

If you bought the tree from another nursery or even an individual willing to ship, you could save around 20 dollars or more, off of excaliburs price of 75 USD.

Figure this:

Cost of plant retail $25-30
Cost of shipping in FL  estimated $20-30

For those looking to save money, I think this is a better option that over paying for a tree. 

I put what the wholesale price was to illustrate how cheap they are for retailers to buy...its no secret.  Come to think of it I know a lady here in town that actually sells them for $25 each. 

How is it practical for anyone who isn't near Excalibur, to drive to their location?  How does that help the rest of FL?  Its not hard to find someone willing to ship, just be nice and make a friend where they aren't so pricey! Maybe central or Northern FL.

[bsbullie]

If you bought the tree from another nursery or even an individual willing to ship, you could save around 20 dollars or more, off of excaliburs price of 75 USD.

Figure this:

Cost of plant retail $25-30
Cost of shipping in FL  estimated $20-30

For those looking to save money, I think this is a better option that over paying for a tree. 

I put what the wholesale price was to illustrate how cheap they are for retailers to buy...its no secret.  Come to think of it I know a lady here in town that actually sells them for $25 each. 

How is it practical for anyone who isn't near Excalibur, to drive to their location?  How does that help the rest of FL?  Its not hard to find someone willing to ship, just be nice and make a friend where they aren't so pricey! Maybe central or Northern FL.

Cost of a 5 gallon citrus retail at $25-$30 ??  Again, they are a nursery, a business, not selling out of the kindness of their heart.  They do like to make customers happy but not at the cost of breaking even or losing money.

Odd that Floridians have posted looking for finger limes on the various tropical fruit forums and there were no responses mentioning availability other than someone naming one website who claimed to have them only to find out they they actually didn't.

[edself65]

Odd that Floridians have posted looking for finger limes on the various tropical fruit forums and there were no responses mentioning availability other than someone naming one website who claimed to have them only to find out they they actually didn't.
[/quote]

No its not odd. The time of year when people were looking for Finger Limes no one had them in stock. Now all the nurseries are getting fresh supplies from the wholesalers. Probably all nurseries buying them from the same wholesalers. But anyway the plants are showing up at retailers at different prices.

Thanks,

Ed

[Patrick]

Pricing is a touchy issue in any business.. Richard and his wife have always been kind to me and other customers that visit and hang out around the nursery, even when its only a social visit and not business! So they are kind hearted.. They even give my daughter treats when we visit!

Richard does a lot of exploring and traveling for the good of the Tropical Fruit Community and has introduced a lot of things not previously available.  When it comes to things like finger lime, its definitely a supply and demand issue in South Florida, and as a "collector's" tree it does allow for some "higher" pricing..

Often times I ask myself how things like avocado and sapodilla are priced the same when grafting and growth don't compare in terms of difficulty and rate.

Although its hard to compare pricing, its our human nature to feel that we have prospered in business on both sides of the counter.. I myself have paid $70 for a mango tree bare rooted (1 Gallon Size) on Ebay, and at the other end of the spectrum paid $9 for another mango tree (7 Gallon Size) at Lowe's on clearance..

Anyone have a 7 gallon Achacha?? Bet you could ask $150!

[natsgarden123]

I agree with PJ- Richard and Linda have always been super nice and helpful. I have been a customer for 15 years.   They have given me a lot of advice. Richard always showed me his new "projects". It was , and is, very interesting . You can't get that when you buy online.  Like PJ, they were very nice to my kids. They let my son taste a large variety of fruits (that was when he was a young guy; now He is 19-still talks about Excalibur and asks me to buy him Jackfruit to keep in his Dorm!).  I am willing to pay a bit extra for great service and I have found their prices pretty much comparable to everyone else's down here.

[bsbullie]

I thought what I wrote made perfect sense and stated the same thing that both Patrick and Nat said.  Yes, both Lynda and Richard have a very kind heart and treat their customers and friends with the utmost of niceness. 

When I stated, "not selling out of the kindness of their heart", I did not mean they do not have a kind heart.  I meant that they are a business and they would not be a successful business if they gave plants away at cost or at such a minimal markup that they lost money. 

[fruitlovers]

I have only visited Excalibur once several years ago. I have to tell you that you Floridians are extremely fortunate to have such a nursery in your state. I have visited very many nurseries but have never seen anything like it! I think it is truly unique on the planet in the assortment of rare trees Richard has and also in the incredibly giant containers he uses. I did not even know such large potting containers existed until i visited his place. Richard was also very nice and drove me around in his golf cart and took the time to answer all my questions. When a nurseryman makes the extra effort to travel to foreign countries to introduce new cultivars i think it says a lot about the amount of commitment and interest involved. You don't know how extremely difficult it is to do this until you have tried. Also when you factor in all the travel costs one new introduction is costing unbelievable amounts of money, and then it can easily die or get obliterated at customs.
Oscar

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Nice they may be ( owners of Excalibur), but I still think the price is high considering wholesale is around 19 dollars.  I would say the same thing to anyone selling the same tree for over $50.  Please don't think I'm attacking them, or accusing them of having high prices either ( i love the nursery and would buy from them more if I was closer, or had someone who picked up from them. Pricing was not an issue when I spent around $300 or so at Excalibur  a little while back ) i just had to state my opinion about fingerlime price. 

[murahilin]

I think prices should be as high as the market will allow. If people are buying it for $75 without having to store the inventory for too long, why not sell it at $75. Who cares if they paid $5 for it or $70.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

If I could sell them for $75 ea I would!  More power 2 Excalibur if they sell them...I bet no one else near then has one!  If that's what the market bears, so be it.  So I guess this just shows, central FL is cheaper for citrus plants retail and that it must be harder to get them further south.  Kind of like mango and Jabo trees being priced high near me.  I suppose they are cheaper near u.