Question 1

How to use Cycad Central

Accepted Answer

Start by creating an account with a valid email address and WhatsApp number, then confirm your email and complete the seller onboarding steps if you intend to sell. Buyers can browse the catalogue, follow live auctions, ask public questions on a listing and message a seller privately from the inbox. Sellers add a plant under List a plant with photos, measurements, province and permit details, then choose whether to request expert verification and whether to send the plant to a 24-hour or 48-hour auction. On every sale the buyer transfers the seller's Cycad Central fee (5% on sales up to R5,000 or 2.5% on sales over R5,000 — paid by the seller out of the sale price) to Cycad Central and the rest straight to the seller, and the plant is only released once both payments are confirmed. The How to page walks through each step in detail.

Question 2

How verification works

Accepted Answer

Verification is optional and is never required to list, auction or sell a plant. It is a service we facilitate only: we connect you to independent cycad experts rather than verifying plants ourselves, and verified plants may sell for more. Request it when you list a plant or afterwards from My listings. The submission is routed to independent experts who have no financial interest in the sale, and the scrutiny level depends on the declared value of the plant. Each expert reviews the photo set and measurements, confirms the species and form, records a confidence score out of 100 with a short explanation and signs the finding. Once the panel agrees, the listing is marked verified and a permanent Cycad Certificate is issued under a registered number that stays with the plant for life.

Question 3

What is a Cycad Certificate?

Accepted Answer

A Cycad Certificate is a permanent registry record issued once a plant passes expert verification. It holds the confirmed species and form, the standardised measurements, the photo set and the full ownership history, all under a registered certificate number. The certificate stays with the plant through every future sale, so the next buyer inherits the evidence instead of taking your word for it.

Question 4

How do expert confirmations work?

Accepted Answer

Independent cycad authorities assess the plant, and the declared value decides the scrutiny it gets. Each assigned expert confirms the species and measurements from the photo set, states a confidence level and signs the finding. Unanimous approval verifies the listing and issues the certificate; disagreement escalates to panel review. Experts can never verify their own listings.

Question 5

Do I have to have a plant verified before selling it?

Accepted Answer

No. You can list a plant unverified and it will still appear in the catalogue and in auctions, clearly marked as unverified. Verification costs a flat R100 and is what earns the Cycad Certificate, the verified badge and priority placement in search results.

Question 6

How do the auctions work?

Accepted Answer

A seller lists a plant as normal and then sends it to auction over a standard 24-hour or 48-hour window with a live countdown. Every running auction appears under the Auctions tab. Bids follow set increments based on the current price, and you can set a maximum bid so the system bids on your behalf up to your cap. If a bid lands in the final two minutes, the auction extends briefly so nobody wins by sniping.

Question 7

What happens when I win an auction?

Accepted Answer

Winning creates an order automatically. The order shows two amounts: the Cycad Central fee (5% on sales up to R5,000 or 2.5% on sales over R5,000 — paid by the seller out of the sale price), which you transfer to us on the seller's behalf, and the rest of the sale price, which you pay directly into the seller's bank account, both using the order reference. You log each payment on the order. The seller confirms the money reached their account and Cycad Central confirms the fee, and only then may the plant be released to you. We then issue two invoices — ours for the fee and the seller's for the plant. If something is wrong you can open a dispute and an administrator reviews the case before the plant moves.

Question 8

What about permits for protected species?

Accepted Answer

Nursery sellers must keep a valid selling permit on file, which buyers can download for their records. Private sellers upload a possession permit or state that no permit is available, and that status is shown on the listing. Cycad Central records provenance and permit documents but does not issue permits — holding the correct paperwork remains the seller's legal responsibility.

Question 9

What does it cost to buy or sell?

Accepted Answer

Browsing is free and you only need an account to bid, make offers or message a seller. The platform fee is 5% on sales up to R5,000 or 2.5% on sales over R5,000 — paid by the seller out of the sale price. The fee is deducted from the sale price: the buyer pays it to Cycad Central and the rest directly to the seller, and we issue two separate invoices.

South Africa’s cycad marketplace

IDENTIFY. CONNECT. TRADE. PRESERVEWHERE CYCAD ENTHUSIASTS CONNECT

How it works

List plants, seeds or suckers

Optional expert verification

Cycad Certificate

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How to sell a cycad

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Frequently asked questions