It looks as though they were left too long before harvesting.I'd plant them in a container to ensure that you don't inadvertently introduce any soil borne diseases to your garden from the bulbs.

I'd plant it - it looks like a variety with nice large cloves. They did a poor job of managing the harvest, but if the cloves are firm they'll grow nicely. When you harvest early next summer, you'll get them out of the ground before they get like this (or not). It doesn't make the garlic bad - heads like this are perfect for getting planted in the fall since they certainly won't keep as well to make it through the winter.

Agree with drmbear. Looks like a nice variety that was dug too late and the wrappers deteriorated. Perhaps I'm naive, but the thought of SB diseases never even crossed my mind. I vote to plant! Do you know the geographic origin of the stock? That may affect your decision, too.

Steve

My only thought is that the eBay seller deserves negative feedback for selling that crap. I strongly recommend purchasing plant materials from legitimate, reputable businesses.

Did the seller say they tested for Garlic Bloat Nematode? Do they have a copy of the test results posted on their web page? Soil borne diseases are a very big deal, just ask folks who cannot grow decent onions or garlic in their gardens anymore. I know of a few myself, and the numbers are growing nationwide.

Five years. Infect your soil with GBN and it will take a minimum of five years of not planting any alliums whatsoever in order to break the life cycle of the disease. And this is just the worst current garlic disease issue, there are many other pests and pathogens that do harm that can be passed on in infected stock.

I would return it, plant it in isolation off-site, or just burn it or chuck it in a dumpster. No way would that stuff go anywhere near my gardens. Those bulbs are a testament to the garlic-growing ignorance and ineptitude of the seller.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garlic Bloat Nematode

I have to agree with Megan and SG. Be wary of planting them in your garden. If you do decide to plant them, do it in containers and keep the containers well away from your normal vegetable garden.

Rodney

Impressive looking bulbs with nice large cloves. Best planted in a container and isolated but many of us simply do not have the space available. To me it doesn't look diseased just dirty from being dug way too late. I would plant, if I had them in hand. I wouldn't have purchased on EBay, however, in the first place.