Here is a question that I would like to hear real answers to, because for the life of me I cant see how this results in many sales for the seller (who I will leave remain nameless for the time being in hopes of an unbiased poll).
How many of you are willing to spend $85 right now to secure a 1 1/2’ - 3’ tall common fruit tree from a well known nursery? Delivery to your door NEXT Spring.
Thanks for your responses and thoughts.
I’m not…but there are lots of gullible people that are scared into trying to plant things for fear the grocery stores may not be perpetually open! And one sale at $85 is better than 4 at $19 right???
Even if I thought the sky was falling, I would not spend 85.00 for a small common fruit tree, I really don’t see the point.
Local Costco had apple trees for $23 recently. They are good sized trees, probably 1" or better caliper. $85 for a fruit tree? It had better be huge
Stark Brothers sells Elberta peach for $59.99. Add shipping and handling to that, it would cost you about $80-85.
My local nursery sells 6-7’ tall potted common fruit trees around $80 a pot.
Why should anything cost what it costs? A fruit tree is no different than a airplane ticket or a mattress or a vehicle. Unless the price is high at every vendor, then we can obviously choose to give our business to the more affordable sellers.
I love to hate on expensive fruits and plants as well, but don’t have a good answer to the question I posed above.
I guess we each have our own limit for what we can pay and for what size. If the seller is selling at the price, it must mean they’re being sold. So someone is buying it. The buyer is contributing to the problem. A seller will increase the price as high as people are willing to pay.
I guess if I could unload the things I sell for 85.00… I wouldn’t mind it. lol 
1 1/2 - 3’ tall.
Would you spend that much for the tree?
I got some 4’ tall antonovka rootstocks from Burnt Ridge this spring, cost $5 each plus shipping. So no…ain’t paying $85 for a 1-3’ any kind of fruit tree
Well I just wonder if “chingchungly’s” post above holds merit. “So someone is buying it.”
But are they? I cant begin to wrap my head around anyone paying that kind of a price for a fruit tree of that size. It would seem that people must buy enough of them to justify paying the IT guy/ gal to produce the emails and make the changes to the website. We are going to raise our prices some next year, but to no where near that price! LOL While I certainly believe in capitalism and obviously work to make a living and then hopefully some. My “soul” keeps me from raising prices merely to cash in on the panic that has been set into play by the last year or two. With that being said I know for a fact that the product that leaves our door is hands down better than the product being sold at that above mentioned price, so that is a bit irritating. It is an interesting topic that has come up around the board room table (aka the supper table) 
more than once lately.
By now most of you know I’m a big fan of Vaughn’s. You can buy a 3-5 tree with huge roots for about $9 plus shipping. They do ask you to buy 10 trees, but if you get their 24-30 inch trees you can buy 10 for around $85. So why on earth would anyone pay that for one tree. Granted, the $85 sounds a bit larger, but I’ve found that small ones catch up in one year.
So no…under almost no circumstances at all can I imagine paying $85 for a tree. I’d question those who would!!!
Yeah, I don’t believe in trying to cash in on the panic either. Price gouging isn’t my style. I will say that I am not above paying more than I want to for certain rare items if I can’t find a way around it. Also, if people believe that they are getting “top of the line” because their parents/friend/neighbor swears by ______ company and money is no object, yes, I believe that people will spend that type of money on a common tree. In fact, I know people will spend that type of money on a common tree. You only need look no further than the Harry and David Catalog to see that in action. I worked for them briefly in customer service and there was no break in calls, people calling to order these expensive fruit baskets (and other food items). Apparently some people have more money than they know what to do with. lol
The consumer willing to pay the exorbitant asking price is definitely a part of the problem
Local Big box store has bagged fruit trees for $11. Most are sold by now.
Think of the trees that you have ordered in the past that you were unsatisfied with. Now imagine paying $85 for it. Not going to happen. Must be Stark Bros.
The closest to that price I paid was for a fruit tree was for a jujube but it is not what I call a “common tree”. I bought a 4-5’ tall jujube close to $80 a tree including shipping and handling. (the tree was $50 and S&H was $20+). Those trees were sold out.
I am certain some people have bought common fruit trees (apples, pears, plums, cherries) at my local nursery at the price it lists.
At those prices I can purchase from local nurseries a 4’-8’ tall tree with scaffold that will possibly produce fruit the following year. However, the variety selection is usually quite limited and overall quantities seem low. There seems to be a shortage of fruit trees available in general. I wonder if any of that is the result of corporate interests purchasing much of the supply, as we currently see happening in the real estate market.
I purchased a 8’ Gala apple last fall for around that price. Not a unique variety, but it blossomed and I expect it to fruit this year.
If the price is including the shipping, I would be more inclined to make the purchase IF the tree was a unique variety that I could not find elsewhere and that I wanted badly. Though, the size is quite small. Generally, I will purchase in multiples to offset the shipping cost.
i think we’r all biased here. If you know how to graft and have bought rootstocks for a dollar or around a dollar. 85$ for a small fruit tree seems insane.
However with 0 knowladge and experiance. Looking at supermarker fruit prices and hearing how productive fruit tree’s can be (10-20 kilo’s a year)
You could think that 85$ to be a worthwhile investment that pays itself of in 3-4 full crop years.
If also seen sucsful buisnesses sell “manure tea-bags” for dollars. Literaly selling a bag of shit. Unfortunatly there are plenty of unexperianced or people lacking the gardening knowladge around for others to scam.
Another thing i wonder though is, is the tree you mentioned a maiden whip? or a small tree with some natural side branches? or an esplaier? A properly formed espalier can be really expensive especialy for it’s size. But there are reasons for it.
Prices and demand are way up. Supply is way down. My wife couldn’t get into the local nursery to buy a few Japanese eggplants. She turned around and went home.
I’ve grown almost all my own tomatoes myself the past few years . When my wife decided she wanted an extra ‘Stupice’ the local nursery told her that they were unable to buy the seed this year.
My take rate in grafting stinks. I never thought that I would have to start all my own seeds as a matter of necessity. It’s so crazy and inexplicable that it’s a little unnerving.