You may be familiar with the expression, “Give me the tea,” and if you’ve been around the plant community long enough, you know there is no shortage of drama. Whether it involves plant Youtuber criticism, Facebook purge comment threads, or scamming and misleading plant sales, plant community tea grows faster than a new leaf (sorry, had to).
YouTubers
It may come as no surprise that the life of a Youtube star isn’t always private. For example, long time plant Youtuber Kaylee Ellen has often dealt with backlash, bullying, and criticism on her channel and Instagram. There often seems to be a crossed line where viewers criticize her and her shop personally (obviously not cool).
This type of Youtuber plant drama primarily circulates on Instagram via stories and screenshots, creating a long chain of replies and opinions shared across the Instagram plant world. Many topics include price shaming, personal criticism, and just downright bullying.
Unfortunately, putting yourself out there on Youtube comes with some consequences. And on the internet, haters are abundant. Everyone has their own opinion, and in the plant community, these opinions can run deep.
Facebook Purges
Facebook is just naturally a place where the drama unfolds. There is a sense of security when you comment behind the safety of a screen, and people get a bit heated.
As we talked about in our previous post, Facebook purges are full of amateur buyers and sellers. That being said, plants are not always cared for in the best way possible, shipping is not always done correctly, and inevitably, people get scammed.
This behavior leads to a lot of comment threads critiquing individual sellers and buyers. There are even specific Facebook groups (that I LOVE) that are just for posting about the plant drama that happens in the community.
Like any social setting, when you get many people together with opinions, stuff can happen. It just goes to show that Facebook may not be the best place to be purchasing goods; although there are plenty of great sales, it comes with inherent risks. And I’m sure the last thing you want is to be publicly grilled by the entire Facebook community on a plant purge page.
If something happens in the plant community, it definitely gets posted to a plant tea Facebook page.
Scamming & Spamming
It comes as no surprise that with the selling of hot commodities comes the appearance of scamming. eBay, Facebook, and Etsy are not safe from false information and fake listings.
Frequently, other people’s photos are used as fake listings on eBay. The community is pretty good about regulating these, since well, there aren’t many sellers of Spiritus Sancti out there. So when someone posts a plant that isn’t theirs, the community hops on it.
There are sellers, though, that are just not faithful. Fake listings pop up frequently, fake accounts are made, and unsuspecting plant lovers are taken advantage of. There seems to be an ever-growing number of Paypal complaints circulating online. Ultimately, it’s essential to be careful about who and how you send money. The Paypal friends and family setting is often taken advantage of.
Unfortunately, there are also just plants that are shipped horribly. Or plants that are in no condition to be sold.
But in terms of drama, there are abundant comment threads and forums regarding the receipt of dead plants. Questions of fault arise; is it the seller’s fault? The buyers? The mail service? And who is responsible for the replacement of lost plants and lost money?
Since we are dealing with money, hearts get broken. And when hearts get broken, public bashing and complaining spread across the internet. It’s just yet another topic that adds to the tea that is the plant community.
The Tea
You would think that in a community of plant lovers, conversations would primarily consist of plants. But it can get real personal real quick. Whether it’s a scam, Youtube backlash, or Facebook drama, the plant community is no stranger to hot tea.
See any good plant tea lately? I’d love to hear about it!
