What To Look For When Buying A Bonsai Pot Online

Buying bonsai pots online is something we have to do from time to time. Not everyone has a bonsai shop nearby and even if we do they may not have exactly what we want which means we need to order it online.

This may seem pretty straight forward, but it can be a little troublesome and it’s kind of like buying clothes without trying them on.

Most of the time is its fine, but sometimes you can end up with something slightly different than what you where expected, so I will go through some things you can look out for when buying your bonsai pots online to avoid this.

Buying Bonsai Pots Online Is Never As Good

Buying online is never ideal as you can’t see the pot or gets hands on with it before you buy.

Of course you can see pictures and read about the dimensions, but it’s just never the same as actually holding the pot in front of you.

If you have the option to buy in person I would always do that. Buying online is usually fine, it’s just not as ideal.

(You can read more about – Where Can You Buy Bonsai Pots?)

You Can’t See The True Size And Shape Of The Pot

The biggest issue for me is that you can’t see the true size of the pot when it’s online. I have ordered pots in the past and when they have arrived they have either been much smaller or larger than I thought they would be.

It’s quite annoying as I usually get the measuring tape out and try and imagine it as best I can, but imagination and reality are often not perfectly aligned.

The good thing is that majority of pots I have bought have only been a little bit off and I have still been able to use the pot as planned. The measuring tape does help keep things realistic and it is something you should be doing when buying your own pots.

I try and look at the measuring tape next to the tree and its current pot, to see roughly how the new pot would compare with it.  

You could also argue that  when you see the pot in a shop, you may not remember the size of your tree properly, since both the tree and pot and not side by side and you could easily buy the wrong size.

I guess it’s always a risk no matter what you do, but if the pot is the wrong size you can always use it for another tree or I imagine if you had to, you could send it back, but I’d just keep it and use it for something else.

You Can’t Inspect the Pot For Damage / Quality

It can always be a good idea to inspect a pot before you buy it, which you can’t really do online. You have to trust that the pictures are not hiding anything.

Checking For Damage

When it comes to damage, this is probably a bigger issue with second hand sellers on places like Ebay and facebook marketplace. If you are buying from an actual shop, or direct from a potter they are very unlikely to try and sneakily sell you something damaged.

However, I have found most second hand sellers are pretty honest, if something isn’t perfect they will point it out, show pictures and the price will also reflect the damage …but of course not everyone is this way.  

If there is something you are not happy about in the pictures, just ask the seller. They will usually clarify something or send more pictures. If they don’t want to help, or you are just not happy, then don’t buy the pot. 

Checking For Quality

When it comes to quality, this is something you can’t always check online. When you have a pot in your hand you can instantly tell if it’s high quality of not, although I would argue that the price and description of the pot should help you work some of this out.

 If you are paying £15 for a pot it’s probably not going to have the same quality as one that is £150.

While size can change the price of a pot (the bigger the pot, the more expensive) there is still plenty of other information you can check. Information like the type of clay, where it was made and who by can all help confirm its quality.

If the pot is handmade, by a well know potter and has their stamp on the bottom to prove this, then this is probably going to suggest it’s going to be a better quality pot. However, I would say that confirming the true age of the pot is difficult, but you would have this same problem if you bought in person.

You can also get a lot of information from the pictures. You should be able to see the quality by looking at little details such as the glaze finish, although this cannot always be easy to see. 

It’s Going To Be Posted To You

When you order a bonsai pot online it is nearly always going to be posted to you, unless you happen to live near the seller and can pick it up.

Sending anything ceramic through the post is always terrifying and dangerous. Most people are aware of this and will protect the pot as much as they can, but damage can still happen.

Luckily I have never had this happen, but I know many people have opened the box to be met with a smashed pot. I can’t imagine that pain.

Really you need to check the shipping policy before you buy. They should have some information about what will happen if the pot breaks on the way and if they don’t …ask them.

You don’t want it to break only to find out they don’t care and tell you that there is nothing you can do.

(You can read more about – What Do You Do With A Broken Bonsai Pot?)

You Need To Check The Seller

When it comes to buying anything online you need to ask if you can trust the seller.

If you are buying from an online bonsai store you can of course quickly search the shop and find out other peoples experiences with them. You will quickly be able tell if they are legit and actually care about their pots or if they badly package things and so on.

Most online bonsai shops will have a positive reputation so you shouldn’t have any trouble there.

The real issue is the second hand sellers again. A lot of these will be genuine people just selling old pots, but you will always get that one guy who is up to no good.

These types of sellers are the ones who will tell you they have an antique Japanese pot that is worth 500 quid and they will sell it to you for 50. If you start seeing deals like this, you have to question if it is legit.

To be honest, this happens more with trees, than pots, but it can still happen. Unscrupulous people take (steal) pictures from social media and then put the tree/or pot up for sale …you buy it at the amazing low cost …and guess what shows up at your house …nothing, as you’ve been scammed.

When it’s a second hand sale you can only check so much. You can try and see if they have sold any similar products and you can also check other sellers selling similar items …if the deal seems too good to be true… it might just be.

Just Go For It

While I have said all the way through this that buying online isn’t as good … don’t let that put you off.

If you see a pot you like just go for it. For the vast majority of us, we are just getting cheap pots. Unless you are actually trying to buy something expensive I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

If you are actually wanting a high quality pot then of course do some research and check a few things out before actually purchasing, even if you are buying direct from a potter, still double check things to make sure you are happy with it.

If you are just getting a cheap £20 pot, just go for it. It’s worth the risk. I’ve never had any trouble and if things are slightly different to what I was expecting, that’s fine. You will always find a tree for a pot at some point.

(You can read more about – What Shape Bonsai Pots Can You Get?)