Where Can You Buy Bonsai Pots?

If you want to buy a bonsai pot, there are a number of different places you can get them from, so I will go through exactly where you can go to find them.

Some of these places will be more reliable and have better options than others, but it is good to know all the possibilities and use what works best for you. 

Buying Bonsai Pots In Person

If you can, you should try and buy your bonsai pots in person. This is always going to make sure you are happy with what you get as you can check the quality and size right there and then and there and you also get the pot right away, you don’t need to wait for it to be delivered. 

Bonsai Shops Sell Pots

Not everyone has as bonsai shop nearby, but if you do, then this is probably going to be one of the best places to buy your pots.

They are going to be the best prices and have the biggest selection as well as the best quality pots.

All bonsai shops are ran by people who love bonsai, so they are going to be stocking the type of pots that are popular and they will have a better understanding of who makes the best pots and understand what high quality actually means.

If you are looking for specific pot then this can be a very good place to go.

Buying Pots At Bonsai Exhibitions/Shows

One of the best parts about visiting a bonsai show is that they always have a sales area. This can be a great place to get new trees, but also pots.

The sales areas will usually be filled with bonsai suppliers and potters, so you are probably going to get the best selection to choose from all in one place.

The only problem is that these are maybe once or twice a year, but if you know they are coming up and can attend and enjoy the trees …and spend a lot of money.

Even if you do not end up buying anything you can still do a lot of research and find out about who the local potters and bonsai suppliers are. You can talk to them all and find out how you can buy pots from them outside of the exhibition.

Bonsai Clubs Can Be Good Place To Buy Pots

If you have a local bonsai group, you should join. This can be a great place to get everything you need for bonsai, especially pots.

Usually the clubs will arrange the exhibitions I have already spoke about, but they will also occasionally put on sales for the members at their meetings. This can be both members selling stuff to each other, or inviting people in, like potters, to show and sell their pots to the group.

You are also going to make friends with the members so you can arrange to sell or swap pots between yourselves. 

Non-Bonsai Shops Sometimes Have Pots

While the best place to get a bonsai pot is always going to be somewhere that is related to bonsai, don’t write off everywhere else.

It can be a lot harder to find pots in non-bonsai shops, but it’s not impossible.

Usually any sort of hardware store/garden centre is a good place to looks. Basically if it sells plants or anything based around plants, then it’s worth having a look as you never know what you might find.

The reality is that they are probably going to be cheap pots, or even just basic plastic ones, but these might be what you need. Just don’t expect any high value Japanese imports or handmade masterpieces. You are probably only go to find them in places that deal with bonsai. 

You should also not forget about second hand shops. It’s pretty rare to find pots here, but you never know. I have seen people do it, so I know it can happen.

Buying Non-Bonsai Pots

I think it is also important to remember that you can buy other pots … that are not for bonsai and then modify them.

Usually you will come across some sort of ceramic, especially in a second hand shop that is super cheap and looks awesome … but has no drainage holes. This is probably as it’s a casserole dish or something, but it doesn’t matter. You can still buy this and alter it. You can usually drill holes in things like this and convert them into a bonsai pot.

Just be aware that you will need a special drill bit, but apart from that, it’s pretty easy to do and pots like this are usually extremely cheap.     

Buying Direct From Potters

A lot of cheap pots are just made on factory production lines, but not all of them. You can get a lot of handmade pots and you can buy these directly from the potter.

You can do this both online and in real life, although I would say the majority of the sales happen online.

These pots are going to be more expensive but they are going to be a far superior quality. You are also going to know a lot more about the pot, such as how it was made, who by and what with.

Most of the time the potter will just make a pot and then list it for sale. However, you can actually ask most of them to make a pot for you.

Most potters have their own unique style and this could be the shape, texture or even type of firing and glaze they use and you may want a custom made pot in this style …so just ask, most will take commissions.

You would usually do this so that the pot will be the exact size you want and basically have it specially made for an individual tree.       

Most of us are going to be more than happy with the pre-made pots, but this is always an option.

Buying Bonsai Pots Online

While buying a pot in person is always going to be better, for the vast majority of us, online is going to be the easier option.

There is always going to be the biggest selection here of both new and second hand pots. It can be little trickery buying online as you don’t get to have the pot in your hands before hand, but you can still end up with exactly what you want

(You can read more about – What To Look For When Buying A Bonsai Pot Online)

Where Are Good Places To Buy Bonsai Pots Online

The internet is a vast place, so I will try and point you in the right direction so you end up getting a decent pot.

Bonsai Shops Websites

The internet is full of bonsai shops, some local, some maybe further away from you, but the cool thing is that most of them will ship pots internationally.

The same isn’t true when it comes to trees, thanks to customs, but we are not worried about that right now, as we are only interested in the pots.

Having access to all these shops usually means we can get exactly what we want and hopefully at a good price. You are going to be able to shop around and find exactly what you are looking for and this is usually the best option to use if you are looking to buy a new bonsai pot.    

Bonsai Pots On Ebay

If you are looking a bargain then second hand shops like Ebay can be a great place. Most of the pots on here are going to be second hand, but not always.

Usually if the pots are new they will be cheap factory made ceramic pots and plastic training pots …although, some small potters will use Ebay to sell their new pots, rather than setting up a whole website system.

I would say sites like this are mostly fully of second hand pots and you can get some great deals, just always be careful and make sure you can trust the seller.

I have bought a lot of cheap pots this way and never had any trouble, but it’s always good to be careful.

Amazon Sells Bonsai Pots

If you look on Amazon you will actually find some bonsai pots. These are going to be new pots and usually the exact same ones that are listed on eBay.

They are the cheap, low quality massed produced pots, but they can do the job.

If you are after plastic training pots then this can be a good place to look. You will generally find there is only a small selection here, but it’s worth looking at.

Aliexpress Can Be Worth Looking At

Another place that doesn’t have a great selection, but is worth looking at is Aliexpress.

Usually the pots you find on eBay and Amazon have actually come from here. Sellers buy them in bulk, extremely cheap from China and then resell them on the other platforms.

If you want to save some money you can buy direct from China yourself, but the shipping times are extremely long, which is why some people are happy to pay the extra price on Amazon as they get the faster delivery.     

I’ve bought a few plastic training pots from here and they are perfect, so it is worth checking out.

People Sell Pots On Social Media

Social media can be an interesting place to look for bonsai pots.

You will have three general situations, you will find pots for sale in the like “sales area” such as facebook marketplace and so on… or you will have people just posting in the public bonsai groups and lastly you will have people posting on their personal instagrams saying they have things for sale.

You will also find some people posting saying they are looking for X or Y type pots and then the community will point them in the right direction.

This can be a great place to get some good deals, but of course the availability and selection is very random and you also need to be careful with who are buying from. A lot of the scams can take place in these types of groups. Luckily the admins and other users are quick to point out the scams, so you shouldn’t really be getting caught out by them. 

Conclusion

As you can see there are a lot of different options you can use to buy bonsai pots. Take the time to look at as many as you can and decide what you like or what you think is best for you.

There is an unbelievable amount of bonsai pots out there and it doesn’t matter what your tree looks like, there will always be a pot out there that will work perfectly with it, so just shop around and hopefully you can find the right pot at the right price.   

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