This is the time of year all the lovely seed catalogs arrive in my
mailbox and I scour the online companies to comfort me in the cold
month of January. I order all over the place, but often find the
shipping charges daunting.

Granted, the things I order are not likely to be available locally, as
I tend to crave the unusual, but I just placed an order with
www.heirloomseeds.com and was charged only $3 on a $50 order. That is
by far the cheapest shipping I have gotten among the other seed
houses.

I cannot vouch for their products yet as this is my first order, but
this shipping cost was a very nice surprise at checkout.

Boron

This is my order:

Description: Item:1 - Qty:1, (O209) BABY BUSH LIMA BEAN- CERTIFIED
ORGANIC, Price:2.50
Item:2 - Qty:1, (238) CHRISTMAS LARGE SPECKLED POLE LIMA, Price:1.50
Item:3 - Qty:2, (204) BLACK VALENTINE BEAN, Price:1.50
Item:4 - Qty:2, (241) FIN de BAGNOL (Shoestring Bean), Price:2.50
Item:5 - Qty:1, (6041) MARVEILLE de 4 SEASONS LETTUCE, Price:1.15
Item:6 - Qty:2, (67) TOM THUMB LETTUCE, Price:1.15
Item:7 - Qty:1, (6059) BLENDS - PREMIUM LETTUCE BLEND, Price:1.85
Item:8 - Qty:1, (6018) BLENDS - MESCLUN MIX BLEND, Price:1.15
Item:9 - Qty:3, (JF25) JIFFY 7 SEED STARTING PELLETS - 25 pack,
Price:3.69
Item:10 - Qty:2, (WF-1) STICKY APHID & WHITEFLY TRAP, Price:3.50
Item:11 - Qty:1, (WFM11) BIRD LOVERS MIX, Price:5.99
Item:12 - Qty:1, (WFM3) HUMMINGBIRD/BUTTERFLY MIX, Price:5.99

SubTotal: 48.50

Freight: 3.00

Tax: 0.00

Amount: 51.50

Hi Boron,

Your shipping costs are attractively low. You should do a follow-up on
how well
these seeds germinate and what are the yields.

I looked at their website and although the descriptions are adequate, I
miss the
pictures of the items, especially on varieties I have never seen or grown.

It is true that many of the seed and plant outlets have raised their
prices for shipping,
of which only a small portion can be justified by the rise in fuel costs.
It seems like a
way for them to make hidden profits and force people into buying at least
a large minimum amount. I have been avoiding ordering from these
sources. If I see an
item or two of interest, I am not going to pay almost an equal amount to
have them
shipped to me.

For rock bottom shipping prices, I would recommend Pinetree Garden
Seeds who
charged a measily $1.95 in 2005 for any seed order. I have had fairly
good results
with their seeds. I find even the best suppliers are not consistent
across varieties and
years, but show advantages, on the average.

Sherwin D.

Boron Elgar wrote:

This is the time of year all the lovely seed catalogs arrive in my
mailbox and I scour the online companies to comfort me in the cold
month of January. I order all over the place, but often find the
shipping charges daunting.

Granted, the things I order are not likely to be available locally, as
I tend to crave the unusual, but I just placed an order with
www.heirloomseeds.com and was charged only $3 on a $50 order. That is
by far the cheapest shipping I have gotten among the other seed
houses.

I cannot vouch for their products yet as this is my first order, but
this shipping cost was a very nice surprise at checkout.

Boron

This is my order:

Description: Item:1 - Qty:1, (O209) BABY BUSH LIMA BEAN- CERTIFIED
ORGANIC, Price:2.50
Item:2 - Qty:1, (238) CHRISTMAS LARGE SPECKLED POLE LIMA, Price:1.50
Item:3 - Qty:2, (204) BLACK VALENTINE BEAN, Price:1.50
Item:4 - Qty:2, (241) FIN de BAGNOL (Shoestring Bean), Price:2.50
Item:5 - Qty:1, (6041) MARVEILLE de 4 SEASONS LETTUCE, Price:1.15
Item:6 - Qty:2, (67) TOM THUMB LETTUCE, Price:1.15
Item:7 - Qty:1, (6059) BLENDS - PREMIUM LETTUCE BLEND, Price:1.85
Item:8 - Qty:1, (6018) BLENDS - MESCLUN MIX BLEND, Price:1.15
Item:9 - Qty:3, (JF25) JIFFY 7 SEED STARTING PELLETS - 25 pack,
Price:3.69
Item:10 - Qty:2, (WF-1) STICKY APHID & WHITEFLY TRAP, Price:3.50
Item:11 - Qty:1, (WFM11) BIRD LOVERS MIX, Price:5.99
Item:12 - Qty:1, (WFM3) HUMMINGBIRD/BUTTERFLY MIX, Price:5.99

SubTotal: 48.50

Freight: 3.00

Tax: 0.00

Amount: 51.50

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 23:54:04 -0600, sherwindu
wrote:

Hi Boron,

Your shipping costs are attractively low. You should do a follow-up on
how well
these seeds germinate and what are the yields.

Excellent idea.

snip

For rock bottom shipping prices, I would recommend Pinetree Garden
Seeds who
charged a measily $1.95 in 2005 for any seed order. I have had fairly
good results
with their seeds. I find even the best suppliers are not consistent
across varieties and
years, but show advantages, on the average.

Sherwin D.

I will give Pinetree a try.

Boron

I have had excellent luck with Heirloom Seeds. Their service is fast, and
the seed packets are very generous and first rate in quality.

Regards,
Bill
"Boron Elgar" wrote in message
...
This is the time of year all the lovely seed catalogs arrive in my
mailbox and I scour the online companies to comfort me in the cold
month of January. I order all over the place, but often find the
shipping charges daunting.

Granted, the things I order are not likely to be available locally, as
I tend to crave the unusual, but I just placed an order with
www.heirloomseeds.com and was charged only $3 on a $50 order. That is
by far the cheapest shipping I have gotten among the other seed
houses.

I cannot vouch for their products yet as this is my first order, but
this shipping cost was a very nice surprise at checkout.

Boron

This is my order:

Description: Item:1 - Qty:1, (O209) BABY BUSH LIMA BEAN- CERTIFIED
ORGANIC, Price:2.50
Item:2 - Qty:1, (238) CHRISTMAS LARGE SPECKLED POLE LIMA, Price:1.50
Item:3 - Qty:2, (204) BLACK VALENTINE BEAN, Price:1.50
Item:4 - Qty:2, (241) FIN de BAGNOL (Shoestring Bean), Price:2.50
Item:5 - Qty:1, (6041) MARVEILLE de 4 SEASONS LETTUCE, Price:1.15
Item:6 - Qty:2, (67) TOM THUMB LETTUCE, Price:1.15
Item:7 - Qty:1, (6059) BLENDS - PREMIUM LETTUCE BLEND, Price:1.85
Item:8 - Qty:1, (6018) BLENDS - MESCLUN MIX BLEND, Price:1.15
Item:9 - Qty:3, (JF25) JIFFY 7 SEED STARTING PELLETS - 25 pack,
Price:3.69
Item:10 - Qty:2, (WF-1) STICKY APHID & WHITEFLY TRAP, Price:3.50
Item:11 - Qty:1, (WFM11) BIRD LOVERS MIX, Price:5.99
Item:12 - Qty:1, (WFM3) HUMMINGBIRD/BUTTERFLY MIX, Price:5.99

SubTotal: 48.50

Freight: 3.00

Tax: 0.00

Amount: 51.50

I too have been pleased with Pine Tree seeds for an Idaho garden. I've
had great results on everything they send. Their packets are a bit
small, though. I have to check the seeds-per-packet and occasionally
order two packets of some things even for my small garden. Even so I
find the overall price considerably lower than Gurneys and Henry
Fields, and much less than the gourmet seed catalogs and hardware-store
seed racks. The selection is good too.

Kathy

In article ,
Boron Elgar wrote:

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 23:54:04 -0600, sherwindu
wrote:

Hi Boron,

Your shipping costs are attractively low. You should do a follow-up on
how well
these seeds germinate and what are the yields.

Excellent idea.

snip

For rock bottom shipping prices, I would recommend Pinetree Garden
Seeds who
charged a measily $1.95 in 2005 for any seed order. I have had fairly
good results
with their seeds. I find even the best suppliers are not consistent
across varieties and
years, but show advantages, on the average.

Sherwin D.

I will give Pinetree a try.

Boron

I placed an order with Pinetree (not just seeds, but some books
and other stuff, too) last week and the order got to Alaska in
5 days. (!!) Heck, it usually takes 3 days for a letter to go from
my house to Anchorage -- some 250 miles total.

Jan

--
The way to a man's heart is between the fourth and the fifth rib.

My vote goes for zinnias, celosias, and cosmos - my favorite annual cut
flowers.

Kathy