Marc Torppa / Marc Torpa / Mark Torppa / Mark Torpa @ the Growing Grounds - AVOID

[bobtabla]

My Experience with Marc and GG was a good one

Hi All -

I'm a new member and found this thread. I live in upstate NY, am 51 and have been a friend and student of Chase Rosade since I was 16. I discovered the Growing Grounds while searching online over the winter to see if there was any material for sale other than "mall bonsai" out there. I found the GG site and opened a dialogue with Marc so that I would be in the loop when he did his spring dig because I was in the market for some trees that were cultivated with bonsai in mind, but were field-stock and not too far along. In other words 3-5-year projects. Long story short - communication was great, every photo I requested was sent within a day, and the trees I bought were exactly what I paid for. No issues. Very pro. Very fair pricing considering the years invested. Given that quality raw material is so hard to come by I am glad that Marc is doing what he is doing and will be an ongoing customer. I don't know of any other nursery working at this level.


Bob Muller
Edmeston, NY

 

[jkd2572]

I agree. I have been in communication with him. He is overly helpful if anything. This thread should be deleted. The title is horrible lie about a man's business.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I agree. I have been in communication with him. He is overly helpful if anything. This thread should be deleted. The title is horrible lie about a man's business.

As long as people are being respectful and truthful about their experiences, I think these threads provide a service. Certainly no two people have the exact same experience with ANY vendor or product - I read reviews all the time on products that have worked flawlessly for me, while other people have had bad experiences.

 

[buddhamonk]

I agree. I have been in communication with him. He is overly helpful if anything. This thread should be deleted. The title is horrible lie about a man's business.

Have you actually bought a tree from him?

 

[Q-Bonsai]

Please pardon the multiple spellings, but I want to be damn sure that the next person who looks for a review of this guy will find one, no matter how they spell or misspell his name.

There is a very informative thread on bonsainut here: http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?6212-Arakawa-woes(Thanks-UPS)&highlight=torpa . Unfortunately, I didn't see it when I was researching this vendor, because his name was spelled incorrectly in the thread.

I would recommend staying far, FAR away from Marc Torppa at the Growing Grounds. He was pleasant enough as we were discussing a few trees I was considering buying, although I detected a strong smell of b/s from the beginning. I decided to buy a wildly overpriced tree (that he also was misrepresenting), just because I had been looking for something like the tree he had. Big mistake.

He does not accept any modern forms of payment (i.e. credit cards, PayPal)--so I sent a check to him. Bigger mistake. He claims he doesn't accept credit cards or PayPal because nobody ever wanted to use them. Seriously? I now suspect he doesn't accept credit cards or PayPal because it's much easier to get your money back if you use them.

Once my check arrived, it was cashed immediately...and then he went completely AWOL--well, nearly (see below). I now sit here nearly a month after he cashed my check with no tree, no expectation that I ever will receive my tree, no response to any of my email messages first asking then demanding to know what was going on, and no other way to contact him.

If you think that I might just be a difficult person, I would strongly encourage you to read the other thread on this forum that I mentioned/linked above.

Unfortunately, when I tried to find reviews or commentary about him, I didn't find this thread--because they misspelled his name in it as Torpa rather than Torppa. After reading all of that, it sounds like I probably should expect to find my tree and/or its pot broken if it ever arrives, on top of all of the other trouble.

So, just to lay out various parts of my experience in one concise list:

* The only thing that happened smoothly and quickly in the whole experience was when he cashed my check, nearly four weeks ago.
* He stopped answering email messages after he received my check.
* Although he did ignore all of my messages (which sounds like standard practice, judging from the commentary on the bonsanut thread), he did send one random message saying he would ship my tree last Wednesday and would send a tracking number - that never happened.
* I've received emails from at least 2 different addresses for him, maybe more. My guess would be that he is doing this so he can claim that someone must have used an incorrect address while trying to contact him or some other nonsense.
* He doesn't accept credit cards or PayPal - which is just annoying and also makes it very difficult to dispute payment.
* I couldn't find one review for him online--as I said, I didn't see the bonsainut thread, unfortunately. This should have been a warning sign, but I ignored it.
* I only found one other mention of him on any bonsai forum, and it was unclear if the person who mentioned him had ever dealt with him. Another warning sign.
* He has no phone number listed in his contact information; I found two phone numbers for him online, and both have been disconnected.
* I found a yellow pages listing for his company online, and it listed the business as CLOSED.

So, until the bonsainut thread confirmed that he existed at all, I was nearly certain that this was all a big scam. Well, it is kind of like a big scam, in my experience, but at least he and some trees do exist.

Again, I would encourage you to read the other thread on bonsainut - link above. I also would encourage you to share this information with all of your bonsai friends.

I repeat: I RECOMMEND THAT YOU AVOID MARC TORPPA / MARC TORPA / MARK TORPPA / MARK TORPA @ THE GROWING GROUNDS.

One of my friends went to his nursery while driving through NC... Originally, he didn't know what to think due to the lack of a telephone contact number. However, once he got there, he said that Marc was incredibly helpful and his stock is top notch. He bought a Trident and a Japanese maple off of Marc but only had cash for once of them. What did Marc do? Let him take the tree home without paying at that time and told him to just mail a check!

I was hesitant to contact Marc due to what some people have said, but since my friend told me that story I emailed him anyways. Although I have yet to do business with him, Marc is very helpful and super responsive via email. Maybe there are some differing experiences with him but personally, I think he is top notch.

 

[MACH5]

Buyer beware!!!

I agree. I have been in communication with him. He is overly helpful if anything. This thread should be deleted. The title is horrible lie about a man's business.

I don't think anyone here is maliciously trying to hurt Mr. Torpa or his business. All that I have read seems to corroborate at least in part with my own experience.

About four years ago I bought a large Japanese maple form Mr. Torpa. The communication with him throughout the entire transaction was quirky to say the least, using excessive amounts of "LOLs", exclamation marks, questions marks in his emails for no apparent reason. When UPS finally left the box in front of my door weeks after I had purchased the tree, its apex was actually poking right through the box. The pot was also completely destroyed. Mr Torpa had basically placed the tree inside a big cardbox box with absolutely no protection whatsoever except for a flimsy plastic wrap around the pot to keep the soil moist. To say this tree was ill-packed would be a huge understatement. Four years later I am still rebuilding the top of this tree. When I contacted him about it, he had NO response and decided to ignore any and all emails. Unfortunately, I have also heard other members stating that they never got their tree delivered even after it had been paid for!

I do think Growing Grounds has (or at least used to) some of the best rough stock in the US. If you must, I will say that perhaps the best way to deal with Mr. Torpa is if you're willing to pick up the tree in person and NOT have it delivered. Otherwise it is a VERY risky proposition doing business with him. I can't in good conscience endorse him or his business. Buy at your own risk.

 

[Bonsai_Bubba]

One of my friends went to his nursery while driving through NC... Originally, he didn't know what to think due to the lack of a telephone contact number. However, once he got there, he said that Marc was incredibly helpful and his stock is top notch. He bought a Trident and a Japanese maple off of Marc but only had cash for once of them. What did Marc do? Let him take the tree home without paying at that time and told him to just mail a check!

I was hesitant to contact Marc due to what some people have said, but since my friend told me that story I emailed him anyways. Although I have yet to do business with him, Marc is very helpful and super responsive via email. Maybe there are some differing experiences with him but personally, I think he is top notch.

Hey, I'm that friend! Marc's been very kind to me, given me great deals on trees when I visit his nursery and has some of the best stock I've ever seen. I've enjoyed getting to know Marc personally, have always found his emails enjoyable and colorful, and he's always been extremely professional and courteous. I would unrestrainedly recommend anyone to deal with him.

 

[GrimLore]

Chase is a bad name to drop in my book...

Grimmy

 

[Bonsai_Bubba]

Chase is a bad name to drop in my book...

Grimmy

Could you expound on that? I'm living near him now and wanted to check out his studio...

 

[GrimLore]

Could you expound on that? I'm living near him now and wanted to check out his studio...

It is not my intention to disparage or state my opinions in public on this matter but I will be honest and respond in PM. It may be others think different but I will share my experience as well as my Spouse and let you or anyone else form their own opinion...

Grimmy

 

[bwaynef]

Chase is a bad name to drop in my book...

It is not my intention to disparage or state my opinions in public on this matter but I will be honest and respond in PM.

from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Apophasis
Apophasis: noun Rhetoric .
denial of one's intention to speak of a subject that is at the same time named or insinuated, as “I shall not mention Caesar's avarice, nor his cunning, nor his morality.”

 

[GrimLore]

from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Apophasis
Apophasis: noun Rhetoric .
denial of one's intention to speak of a subject that is at the same time named or insinuated, as “I shall not mention Caesar's avarice, nor his cunning, nor his morality.”

ok...

Grimmy

 

[5th element]

Marc is good in my book!!!

Just had Marc ship me a beautiful Trident maple in squat pot. He was awesome to deal with, very good communication. He helped me with any questions I had and sent me tons of pics of available trees. I sent him a check, just as soon as it got to him he contacted me to let me know I was deposited and was going to ship the following Monday. His customer service could not have been any better. The tree got to me safe and sound, just as it looked in the pictures. I will be dealing with him from now on.

 

[Vance Wood]

Just had Marc ship me a beautiful Trident maple in squat pot. He was awesome to deal with, very good communication. He helped me with any questions I had and sent me tons of pics of available trees. I sent him a check, just as soon as it got to him he contacted me to let me know I was deposited and was going to ship the following Monday. His customer service could not have been any better. The tree got to me safe and sound, just as it looked in the pictures. I will be dealing with him from now on.

Better go cash the check before it bounces.

 

[5th element]

My checks don't bounce

 

[5th element]

All that talk about Marc was a bunch of hot air, like I said you could not ask for a better experience. Most all the bad mouth people are just hot air anyways. Just gotta pay to play. Or keep buying of ebay?

 

[coh]

How do we know you are not full of hot air? Anyone can come on here and post anything. How about a pic of the tree?

Chris

 

[Dav4]

All that talk about Marc was a bunch of hot air, like I said you could not ask for a better experience. Most all the bad mouth people are just hot air anyways. Just gotta pay to play. Or keep buying of ebay?

It's not "hot air"...it's other people's experiences with this particular person, and their opinions are just as valid as yours.

 

[5th element]

I am not going to argue with all of you, just wanted to share. If you want to pass up good material that's on you. I wish you all the best.

 

[Vance Wood]

My checks don't bounce

I was not suggesting that your check was going to bounce. A photo of the tree he (Marc) sent you would go miles in defusing this discussion.