AKME Gardens

[BayTropics]

Does anyone know what's going on with AKME Gardens.

Adam has really been fantastic all the times I purchased from him in the past few years, but I ordered items from him months ago and I have no received the items or heard from him? I hope he's ok. Anyone know?

[johnb51]

Say what?  Scroll to page 3.
https://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=42490.0

[BayTropics]

Say what?  Scroll to page 3.
https://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=42490.0

Thanks. Will give the post a look.

[JCorte]

This is a copy of my response to Bay Tropics on the thread shared by Johnb51.

BayTropics,

It's been three years since I ordered custom grafted trees from Adam.  I really don't like posting anything negative about a person, but I don't want others to lose their money either, so I'm sharing my thoughts and experience.

I have received some scions I ordered from him, it's my custom grafted trees I didn't get.  He told me many of the varieties I wanted would only be available to me through ordering grafted trees because he had very limited supplies of them.

In his reply #27 to the forum he explains his situation and states he offered this service for $15, this is not wholly true.  For example, a one gallon tree may need more than one graft in his opinion if it has a couple of branches and then of course you have to pay for the tree itself which he also profits from.  Also, he didn't have enough one gallon sizes so if I wanted them I needed to upgrade to 2 gallon size.   I think I ordered around 5 trees but I paid over $700.  He wanted me to prepay for all the shipping of the trees which seemed high, but he told me he would refund me the difference if shipping turned out to be less.

I have no problem with waiting for over a year if I trusted I was actually getting my order, even though credit card companies will only refund you for a 6 month period.  However, he didn't respond to my emails or phone calls about when I could expect delivery.  I was sympathetic to his situation, but didn't think it was right that he was still taking orders if he didn't have the time to deal with previous ones.  He could have posted a statement on his Facebook page if he didn't have the time for any correspondence, but that may have stopped his current orders cash flow.

I understand why you want to give him the benefit of the doubt because of health issues, being busy, behind on orders, bad weather, employee issues, moving, wife having baby, etc.  However, at some point, you stop making excuses and don't make promises you can't deliver.  He had the opportunity when he came on this thread to respond and actually make amends and I don't think anyone would have held it against him.  I have no ill will towards him but I would not recommend buying from him.

Janet

[johnb51]

That was the perfect response, Janet.

[CarolinaZone]

Gosh darnit. I just sent in another order last week. We'll see.

[BayTropics]

This is a copy of my response to Bay Tropics on the thread shared by Johnb51.

BayTropics,

It's been three years since I ordered custom grafted trees from Adam.  I really don't like posting anything negative about a person, but I don't want others to lose their money either, so I'm sharing my thoughts and experience.

I have received some scions I ordered from him, it's my custom grafted trees I didn't get.  He told me many of the varieties I wanted would only be available to me through ordering grafted trees because he had very limited supplies of them.

In his reply #27 to the forum he explains his situation and states he offered this service for $15, this is not wholly true.  For example, a one gallon tree may need more than one graft in his opinion if it has a couple of branches and then of course you have to pay for the tree itself which he also profits from.  Also, he didn't have enough one gallon sizes so if I wanted them I needed to upgrade to 2 gallon size.   I think I ordered around 5 trees but I paid over $700.  He wanted me to prepay for all the shipping of the trees which seemed high, but he told me he would refund me the difference if shipping turned out to be less.

I have no problem with waiting for over a year if I trusted I was actually getting my order, even though credit card companies will only refund you for a 6 month period.  However, he didn't respond to my emails or phone calls about when I could expect delivery.  I was sympathetic to his situation, but didn't think it was right that he was still taking orders if he didn't have the time to deal with previous ones.  He could have posted a statement on his Facebook page if he didn't have the time for any correspondence, but that may have stopped his current orders cash flow.

I understand why you want to give him the benefit of the doubt because of health issues, being busy, behind on orders, bad weather, employee issues, moving, wife having baby, etc.  However, at some point, you stop making excuses and don't make promises you can't deliver.  He had the opportunity when he came on this thread to respond and actually make amends and I don't think anyone would have held it against him.  I have no ill will towards him but I would not recommend buying from him.

Janet

Janet,

There is no doubt with any business communication is a must. Hopefully you will get your trees. $700.00+ is a lot of money! I would imagine he's in the hospital. The last time there was a long delay on shipment. He told me he just got out of the hospital and he delivered as promised.

[Pan Dulce]

Guys a conman

[CarolinaZone]

Guys a conman

Tell the truth when you know it so the the wicked will be punished and the innocent will be redeemed I gotta be honest. I would sign on to that statement but I have contradictory evidence. I know what it's like to not get a fair shake so here it is. I just walked out the door and the box of my scions were there. I felt a little burned by my last order which did arrive but about a month later than I would have needed. That said it did arrive.

The guy has some problems for sure. He needs to either give some refunds or some three for ones or extras or discounts to make up for the people he burned. I'm not talking about me. Every order I have  requested showed up and this one was about the speed I would expect for a reliable sales operation. This forum has supported him so he owes it to himself to at least serve the community that recommended him to others and who will keep him in business for years if he does right. I know I will because I love loquats and I love grafting and my grafts fail therefore I need a reliable supplier.

Adam, I am rooting for you but you got to tighten up. Even if it's form emails. Give people ETA's or quick refunds or make things unavailable for purchase when you you are backlogged. Don't take orders you can't fulfill in a timely manner. In e-commerce your rep matters and even renaming your business won't save you if you burn too many people because the internet never forgets.

[FloridaManDan]

Hate to burst the bubble of anyone holding out hope, but there's been no official business or social media updates for almost 3/4 of a year. And thats already after all the broken promises and billion excuses.
I also checked and he did not register his business as a nursery grower in Alabama for 2023. Something tells me he doesn't intend to do business; good thing he left his nursery page running and accepting payment though...

I would recommend getting in touch with your Credit card company and/or paypal and getting that order canceled real quick. Rip the band-aid off.

Adam I am not rooting for you because you are a scammer. And if not a scammer, just scummy. Lame!

I hope someone like Kaz on the forum can supply all you good people with loquat scions.

[sc4001992]

Dan, I also gave Adam the benefit of the doubt when I heard all the complaints about not getting their orders. I use to trade cuttings with Adam a few years ago and he was a good guy, always sent his part of the trade cuttings to me. But last year he stopped sending any reply to my messages. I think that is when everything went bad for Adam.

I do have most of Adam's loquat varieties since we exchanged for a year, but the grafted cuttings have not all grown enough to share/sell to those who lost their orders. I did sell some Peluche to those people (3-4) who first complained on Facebook about their 2yr old orders.

When my grafts are large enough to take some cuttings, I will try to help out some of you on this forum who have not received anything after placing your custom grafted loquat orders of his varieties. Maybe after summer I can take a few more cuttings of Adam's varieties. Next year if I'm still active on this forum, I should have plenty more of the varieties that can be cut.

[FloridaManDan]

Now thats a QUALITY RESPONSE TIME! lol

Kaz, very kind of you to offer what you can.
Its just been weird to see these AKME threads go on and on, people just need to stop spending money and hoping for hope.

[Bush2Beach]

Good or bad publicity doesn’t matter if this guy is still taking orders.

He made up a bunch of his own varieties.
I wonder if those fancifull descriptions are also a bunch of bullshit .

[sc4001992]

I have fruits on most of his grafted varieties now (2yr old grafts) so I should know by summer.

[JCorte]

Dan, I also gave Adam the benefit of the doubt when I heard all the complaints about not getting their orders. I use to trade cuttings with Adam a few years ago and he was a good guy, always sent his part of the trade cuttings to me. But last year he stopped sending any reply to my messages. I think that is when everything went bad for Adam.

I do have most of Adam's loquat varieties since we exchanged for a year, but the grafted cuttings have not all grown enough to share/sell to those who lost their orders. I did sell some Peluche to those people (3-4) who first complained on Facebook about their 2yr old orders.

When my grafts are large enough to take some cuttings, I will try to help out some of you on this forum who have not received anything after placing your custom grafted loquat orders of his varieties. Maybe after summer I can take a few more cuttings of Adam's varieties. Next year if I'm still active on this forum, I should have plenty more of the varieties that can be cut.

It would be a huge loss to this community, if you were no longer active on this forum next year. 

Janet

[sc4001992]

Thanks Janet, I will try to stay on the forum long enough so that i can spread many of the loquat varieties I have on my trees before I leave. Also, my seedling loquat trees (KTxx) that have good tasting fruits. This summer I hope to finish my loquat taste test of all the varieties I have and post the results (brix).

[JCorte]

Hi Kaz, look forward to seeing your loquat tasting results.  I love loquat trees and now that I have the space will be planting a lot more trees and seedlings.  I'm interested in your white sapote, mulberry, guava, and citrus trials as well.   Will read your posts and appreciate the experiences you share for as long as you choose to post.

CarolinaZone, I agree about having a reliable source for loquat scions.  When I need loquat scions, Kaz and Bush2Beach are my first choices.

Janet

[achetadomestica]

Thanks Janet, I will try to stay on the forum long enough so that i can spread many of the loquat varieties I have on my trees before I leave. Also, my seedling loquat trees (KTxx) that have good tasting fruits. This summer I hope to finish my loquat taste test of all the varieties I have and post the results (brix).

Where are you going?

[sc4001992]

don't plan to be so active on the forums after this year.

[K-Rimes]

don't plan to be so active on the forums after this year.

I hope it's nothing we did! You will be sorely missed, Kaz. Understand your sentiment though, we all spend so much time on the internet when there's a whole life to live offline!

[sc4001992]

No, nothing to do with people here on the forum. I'm retired and I should do other things besides my fruit trees. I have all the fruit tree varieties I wanted to collect so now I will enjoy the fruits from them.

[brian]

Hah, and here I am looking forward to being retired so I can spend more time putzing around with my fruit trees. 

We'll miss you, good luck

[BayTropics]

Dan, I also gave Adam the benefit of the doubt when I heard all the complaints about not getting their orders. I use to trade cuttings with Adam a few years ago and he was a good guy, always sent his part of the trade cuttings to me. But last year he stopped sending any reply to my messages. I think that is when everything went bad for Adam.

I do have most of Adam's loquat varieties since we exchanged for a year, but the grafted cuttings have not all grown enough to share/sell to those who lost their orders. I did sell some Peluche to those people (3-4) who first complained on Facebook about their 2yr old orders.

When my grafts are large enough to take some cuttings, I will try to help out some of you on this forum who have not received anything after placing your custom grafted loquat orders of his varieties. Maybe after summer I can take a few more cuttings of Adam's varieties. Next year if I'm still active on this forum, I should have plenty more of the varieties that can be cut.

Do you have Sugar Cane cuttings for sale?

[elouicious]

Next year if I'm still active on this forum, I should have plenty more of the varieties that can be cut.

Please tell me you arent thinking of quitting! I shudder to think what we would do without the graft master

[CarolinaZone]

GROWQUEST!!!!
Does anyone else remember that scammer? He got me about15 years ago.