Sarah Johnson, a plant enthusiast from Portland, learned this lesson the hard way when she spent $500 on what was advertised as a variegated Monstera deliciosa. "When it arrived, it was a regular Monstera with painted leaves," she recalls. "The paint started flaking off within days." Another common scam involves sellers shipping cuttings instead of established plants or shipping nothing at all. James Chen, a collector from Vancouver, paid $800 for a Thai Constellation Monstera from an Instagram seller who disappeared after receiving payment.
