At the local nursery where the woman who runs the greenhouse (with more delicate plants) has become interested in airplants, she had on display for sale some small ones with red tips like the one in your first picture. I fear the coloring looked fake to me. People will color anything, even fish, if they think it will sell the product better. She thought this might be the case, too. I did buy my first, regular looking tectorum from her though :)

The second plant looks genuine. Maybe some form of brachycaulus (see http://plantoddities.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=plant-oddities&item=1796 for the picture, though I've bought plants from that site in the past; nice, unusual plants but they are sold fast, so not much availability).

A large, mounted plant is understandably more expensive than a smaller, unmounted one, and if they don't sell a lot of Tillandsias and tillies are hard to find in your area, the seller may charge more due to rarity. If you buy on line, postage and waiting time (anxiety) as well as not seeing the plant until one opens the box has to be figured into the cost.

Neither had an ID. I also thought the red tip was possibly painted. IDK.

The second i came close to buying..but if that nice color fades after bloom? I have just another silver Till.

I have passed on things there only to find out later it was a great buy...gone by the time I made a return trip. Why I was there that day- to look for a Tillandsia..I picked up and put down last month. He sold all of them!

Stan, they're both real, the coloration of the first is unusual but not phony. The second plant is T. capitata.

Agh!!! I should have bought. Last month I passed on T.duartii. Then find out it has very fragrant and showy blooms. THAT'S what I went back for.

I did buy a great hardy Nepenthes with big red pitchers..and a keen Aloe. So,I came to buy.