Just a quick note to save newbies some time...

[greerhw]

If you have to buy your bonsai like I do and you can't collect in your neighbor...quality bonsai cost a lot of money!!!!
There are no bargains to be had , let me repeat that, there are NO bargains in quality trees, it's just a fact of life. Good material and nearly finished bonsai is an expensive hobby. Growing and collecting your own doesn't have to be.

keep it green,
Harry

 

[Ross]

There are no bargains to be had , let me repeat that, there are NO bargains in quality trees, it's just a fact of life. Good material and nearly finished bonsai is an expensive hobby.

keep it green,
Harry

I bought this two years ago as a total beginner for $110 at a club auction. It was prepped for the auction by Peter Warren and I have since learned it was originally styled by Craig Coussins. I was almost overwhelmed by it at first and hesitant to touch it for awhile, and as a result some of the wire cut in a bit on the upper branches, but the wire has since been removed and it is growing strong, full of mature foliage. I'd say that's a bargain, and it was within driving distance for you.

 

[Attila Soos]

I bought this two years ago as a total beginner for $110 at a club auction. It was prepped for the auction by Peter Warren and I have since learned it was originally styled by Craig Coussins. I was almost overwhelmed by it at first and hesitant to touch it for awhile, and as a result some of the wire cut in a bit on the upper branches, but the wire has since been removed and it is growing strong, full of mature foliage. I'd say that's a bargain, and it was within driving distance for you.

Bargain is in the eye of the beholder.
I would say that it is at a decent price, but the tree is a long way from finished (although a very nice tree). So, I would call that a fair price, not really a bargain. But I am using California standards, where one can buy bonsai everywhere.

On the other hand, club auctions have the best chance to offer you a bargain, if you are lucky.

I think Harry in his post was referring to nearly finished bonsai and high-end material/yamadori.

 

[ericN]

I bought this two years ago as a total beginner for $110 at a club auction. It was prepped for the auction by Peter Warren and I have since learned it was originally styled by Craig Coussins. I was almost overwhelmed by it at first and hesitant to touch it for awhile, and as a result some of the wire cut in a bit on the upper branches, but the wire has since been removed and it is growing strong, full of mature foliage. I'd say that's a bargain, and it was within driving distance for you.

I agree with Atilla, its a nice tree and fair price. Harry is talking about top notch material and nearly finished trees.

eric

 

[greerhw]

I bought this two years ago as a total beginner for $110 at a club auction. It was prepped for the auction by Peter Warren and I have since learned it was originally styled by Craig Coussins. I was almost overwhelmed by it at first and hesitant to touch it for awhile, and as a result some of the wire cut in a bit on the upper branches, but the wire has since been removed and it is growing strong, full of mature foliage. I'd say that's a bargain, and it was within driving distance for you.

Nice tree, there is always an exception when painting with a wide brush, but I was referring to more expensive trees.

keep it green,
Harry

 

[greerhw]

Bargain is in the eye of the beholder.
I would say that it is at a decent price, but the tree is a long way from finished (although a very nice tree). So, I would call that a fair price, not really a bargain. But I am using California standards, where one can buy bonsai everywhere.

On the other hand, club auctions have the best chance to offer you a bargain, if you are lucky.

I think Harry in his post was referring to nearly finished bonsai and high-end material/yamadori.

Exactly, I was referring to high end comma trees, but you can have just as much fun if not more than I do, if you like to create your own.

keep it green,
Harry

 

[Ross]

Bargain is in the eye of the beholder.
I would say that it is at a decent price, but the tree is a long way from finished (although a very nice tree). So, I would call that a fair price, not really a bargain. But I am using California standards, where one can buy bonsai everywhere.

On the other hand, club auctions have the best chance to offer you a bargain, if you are lucky.

I think Harry in his post was referring to nearly finished bonsai and high-end material/yamadori.

I agree, this tree still needs a lot of work, but from what I've seen online, I couldn't come close to a juniper like this for around $100. Auctions, people downsizing, shows, and sadly, the passing of a bonsaist seem to be the best places to look for bargains. But these aren't always happening, so I completely understand spending quite a bit more for the convenience of being able to shop from home and having it shipped to your door with a guarantee. Now I consider my tree a bargain also because it came with the pot, which is a stamped, limited edition (50 I think) produced for a Texas bonsai convention a few years back. The potter has since passed away, and an identical pot by itself sold at the same auction for $60 or $70 dollars if I remember correctly, and that was a good deal. My mom went to the auction with me, and although she has no experience with bonsai, she does know about auctions, and she advised me that the best deals usually come on the first couple of items and the last few items. People never want to spend all their money at the beginning of an auction, and at the end, a lot of people are tapped out or have left. This tree was the first item up for bid.

 

[Attila Soos]

Now I consider my tree a bargain also because it came with the pot, which is a stamped, limited edition (50 I think) produced for a Texas bonsai convention a few years back. The potter has since passed away, and an identical pot by itself sold at the same auction for $60 or $70 dollars if I remember correctly, and that was a good deal.

A good pot will indeed make your price look more like a bargain...

 

[Ang3lfir3]

If you have to buy your bonsai like I do and you can't collect in your neighbor...quality bonsai cost a lot of money!!!!

Depends on who you are buying from... some dealers charge a much higher premium for their trees. They sell fewer trees but often at inflated prices. However prices vary from location to location ... Here in the NorthWest the material you are buying would cost much less than I am sure you are paying, most likely by at 25% (if not more). The reason for that simply being we have a larger supply.

Way to discourage people in bonsai by freaking them out... You don't fall into the category of 80-90% of people who DO bonsai... Tho the intent of my comments on the other thread were to encourage people to focus on looking for more mature material and knowing it may cost more.... The 1500-2K+ you are prolly paying for some of those trees is beyond the reality for most people. But then again I wouldn't suggest they spend $350 on a Stovepipe straight Trident stump with no character or $1650 on a shohin trident , even if it is "well developed".

 

[greerhw]

Your right I don't DO bonsai by your definition, what ever that is, but I DO bonsai my way. At 67, I don't have the time or patience to DO bonsai the slow way. I wouldn't have the energy to go collecting material in the mountains if they were 2 miles away. that belongs to the young and experienced. So DOING bonsai the CORRECT way is out of my control. I like nice trees and nice trees and material are expensive, fact of life. I'm not recommending anybody buy anything. I buy my trees for me, not to impress anyone or to show, ( I hate judged events, they are never on a level playing field and politics always plays a part), but to take care of and enjoy looking at. I post pictures here for one reason, because I think there are other people that enjoy looking at nice trees too. If my way of DOING bonsai offends you, I can stop posting pictures at any time, or telling newbies the truth about a hobby they are just beginning, you're not going to build a silk purse out of a sows ear, not now, not ever. By the way, the material I'm buying you don't sell in the NW, so it couldn't be cheaper, however, it is for sale in California and it's more expensive.

keep it green,
Harry

 

[Thomas J.]

The mentioning of auctions brings back fond memories for me because I too picked up some good trees at a good price a few years back. This Oct. the Dallas club will be having their annual auction and I will be putting a few of my good trees up for auction unless I find a buyer first. These few trees you see here will be the ones and I know someone will enjoy working with them as much as I have. These are not rejects like you mostly see in auctions, but some well trained trees.

 

[Ang3lfir3]

Harry... calm down... I wasn't saying that you don't do bonsai... I was commenting that your experiences buying trees etc is different than almost all of the bonsai community online (a community that is large and most of which is not represented online). I was suggesting that while you were trying to save people from waisting their lives on sticks in pots you might have also scared most of them away... when I talk about the pervurbial $150 trees it is a price that many people can understand as being beyond "little nursery tree" ... and that was the importance of it all.

I don't want to tell people they must be prepared to spend 2K+ on tree stock when most of the time that simply isn't what most of the bonsai community is ready for. One day they might be... but it will only come once people start to move forward. You (from what i can tell) skipped all the little tree bits and went straight for the good stuff. That was all i ment to say.

 

[greerhw]

Harry... calm down... I wasn't saying that you don't do bonsai... I was commenting that your experiences buying trees etc is different than almost all of the bonsai community online (a community that is large and most of which is not represented online). I was suggesting that while you were trying to save people from waisting their lives on sticks in pots you might have also scared most of them away... when I talk about the pervurbial $150 trees it is a price that many people can understand as being beyond "little nursery tree" ... and that was the importance of it all.

I don't want to tell people they must be prepared to spend 2K+ on tree stock when most of the time that simply isn't what most of the bonsai community is ready for. One day they might be... but it will only come once people start to move forward. You (from what i can tell) skipped all the little tree bits and went straight for the good stuff. That was all i ment to say.

I spend 30 + years building street rods, I can only imagine if I had gotten into bonsai back then. Have a good weekend and enjoy some football.

keep it green,
Harry

 

[grouper52]

The mentioning of auctions brings back fond memories for me because I too picked up some good trees at a good price a few years back. This Oct. the Dallas club will be having their annual auction and I will be putting a few of my good trees up for auction unless I find a buyer first. These few trees you see here will be the ones and I know someone will enjoy working with them as much as I have. These are not rejects like you mostly see in auctions, but some well trained trees.

And VERY nicely photographed as well! Nice material.

 

[HotAction]

Not top of the line...

But, for us newbies there is decent material to be found if you keep your eyes open. I had passed on many opportunities to buy "bonsai" before I decided to spend it on these. In total, I have spent less than $100 on stock, with these 3 my most expensive. Now that I am a year in, next one will be in the $150-$400 range. Until then (could be a couple years) I will work with what I have, and collect.

-Dave

http://bonsainut.com/forums/showpost.php?p=31061&postcount=27

 

[head_cutter]

I'm up in Harry's age group but a little younger. I also moved to Vietnam a few years ago so it's like landing in a toystore of Bonsai. However...I'm a worker not a 'tweeker' or an appreciater so I have bought big cheap (by US standards) stuff to work on. 99% of my enjoyment of the art is in the creation of a piece. I bought a sort-of-finished ROR ficus b. as a present to myself two years ago at Tet Festival which has now been re-styled totally...just can't seem to leave things alone.

Bob