Which is the best mailorder company for ordering vegetable
seeds ?

Paul Fosbury wrote:
Which is the best mailorder company for ordering vegetable
seeds ?


As asked I don't think a sensible answer is possible.

What do you mean by best? What outcome are you after? How would mail
order seeds be restricted by quarantine regulations where you live?

D

Paul Fosbury wrote:


Which is the best mailorder company for ordering vegetable
seeds ?

The one that has the variety you want and viable seed?

I ended up buying tomatoes seed from one outfit, beans from another,
peppers from a 3d, a squash from ebay, and a few seeds from the local
garden center.

In the past I've done fine with what the garden center offered.

Your UK mileage might vary.

Jim

In article ,
Paul Fosbury wrote:

Which is the best mailorder company for ordering vegetable
seeds ?

The questions posed in the other responses are good.

I will add that I have enjoyed the results from seeds I've purchased
from:

http://www.seedsofchange.com/
http://www.territorialseed.com/
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/
http://www.southernexposure.com/
http://www.prairiemoon.com/ (not sure if they have veggie seeds, but
excellent wildflower seed source)

Let me also introduce you to:

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/

It's a fabulous resource for people who do mail order.

Have fun!

Priscilla

Derald wrote:
....
As long as we're naming favorites, I've been pleased for many years with
"Thompson & Morgan", a U.K. breeder/seller with an efficient North American
distribution center. T&M has two separate web sites for U.K.-Europe and North
America, respectively. T&M is my _only_ source for "Delinel" filet beans because
they are really real "French" beans -- seeds grown in France and packed in U.K.
In U.S.A. many small-time operators on the web are reselling T&M seeds but one
must ask the direct question in order to find out. My current "favorite" for a
wide selection of "heirloom" and organic veggie varieties that interest me is
"Sustainable Seed Co.", suggested to me by another newsgroupie, and on the web
at http://sustainableseedco.com/home.php.

My present "never-again" or "cold day in hell" list consists only of "Baker
Creek Heirloom Seeds", on the web at http://rareseeds.com/. I can't fault the
products but their customer service and certain of their business practices are
not my cup of tea; YMMV.

aside from the customer service from any
on-line company being a likely suspect...

what business practices are those?


songbird

"Derald" wrote in message
...

Paul Fosbury wrote:


Which is the best mailorder company for ordering vegetable
seeds ?
It's the one that sells what you want at prices you're willing to pay with
service you find pleasing.
As long as we're naming favorites, I've been pleased for many years with
"Thompson & Morgan", a U.K. breeder/seller with an efficient North
American
distribution center. T&M has two separate web sites for U.K.-Europe and
North
America, respectively. T&M is my _only_ source for "Delinel" filet beans
because
they are really real "French" beans -- seeds grown in France and packed in
U.K.
In U.S.A. many small-time operators on the web are reselling T&M seeds but
one
must ask the direct question in order to find out. My current "favorite"
for a
wide selection of "heirloom" and organic veggie varieties that interest me
is
"Sustainable Seed Co.", suggested to me by another newsgroupie, and on the
web
at http://sustainableseedco.com/home.php.
My present "never-again" or "cold day in hell" list consists only of
"Baker
Creek Heirloom Seeds", on the web at http://rareseeds.com/. I can't
fault the
products but their customer service and certain of their business
practices are
not my cup of tea; YMMV.
--
Derald
FL USDA zone 9a

I don't understand, Baker Creek and Johnny's are my favorite sources.
Steve

Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

what business practices are those?

Nah, not going to get into it here. Perhaps "business practices" was not
the correct term. More a customer relations issue that left a bad taste in my
mouth but certainly nothing in the least dishonest or deceptive. I did not
intend to imply otherwise!

i'm not associated with them in any manner,
but i find it disheartening when people make
negative comments about a company in public
but then won't talk about why.

my e-mail address works if you want to say
something. i am always curious about what
experiences people have with on-line sites.


songbird

Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

i'm not associated with them in any manner,
but i find it disheartening when people make
negative comments about a company in public
but then won't talk about why.

Good Lord;

thank you for saying it all.


it's trivial but annoying and a pet peeve: Baker Creek punishes
first-time buyers with unbidden and unwanted mailings while providing no means
of opting out. Getting off their mailing list is a challenge which, so far, has
included telephone and email requests along with enduring a Gene Autry record --
subjecting callers to a Gene Autry record simply is abusive ;-) As it was
explained to me, their software harvests customers' names automagically and
cannot be overridden. I've even promised not to buy from them again, if they'll
just refrain from sending me their landfill. Email correspondence as recently as
11 May from the self-described "keeper of the list" informs that she has
"physically removed" my name from their "existing lists" (which I really
believed already to have been accomplished a year ago) and has "made a note in
our system to not mail you a catalog" but can make no guarantee. No mention of
"future lists". Yes, I know that very many people consider mail-order catalogs
to be entertaining reading and a valuable resource but I'm not among those. No,
I don't believe for a moment B.C. will specifically miss my piddling
contributions to their revenue.

i'm pretty much in the same boat you are.
we hate starting any new relationship with
any seller because they all assume we want
their junk mail. even when we tell them
that we don't want to get any, that we don't
want to be on their list it seems they'll
ignore the request and then sell it to
everyone they can.

every time i use the credit card with a
new company i shudder at what i might be
setting in motion.

95% of the junkmail we recieve never
makes it out of the post office. they've
set up a recycling bin there and in it
goes. the rest i bring home and shred
for the bins.


songbird

"Derald" wrote in message
m...

songbird wrote:

...they all assume we want
their junk mail. even when we tell them
that we don't want to get any, that we don't
want to be on their list it seems they'll
ignore the request and then sell it to
everyone they can.
Exactly so. I don't like the presumption that just because I've placed a
small order, I want to be their friend.

every time i use the credit card with a
new company i shudder at what i might be
setting in motion.
I know what you mean but DW&I don't do that. Each of us has a small
checking account in a completely separate bank from savings and primary
checking
accounts. We use the debit cards that are linked to those respective
accounts
exclusively for online purchases, automatic subscription renewals, and the
like
and transfer funds into it only when they're needed. Contrary to popular
myth
"brand name" debit/check cards carry precisely the same guarantees (and
some
offer the same cash-back deals) as their brand-name credit counterparts. I
know
from experience that, in case of a disputed transaction, the funds are
replaced
until it's resolved. At any rate, if someone wants to steal the card
number and
get access to that account, he ain't gonna get much cash or screw up my
credit.
It seems that it would be simple enough to establish a credit card account
with
a sufficiently low limit to protect oneself from disaster and reserve it
for
special purposes such as online purchases.
Ah, well. Now you know my pet peeve. Let's get back to gardening and let
this branch die, if you will.
--
Derald
FL USDA zone 9a
http://www.onlineconversion.com/

I agree, let it die. As a former adjuster I must say that you are only
liable for the first $500 in fraudulent charges on your credit card and your
homeowners should cover that.

"Derald" wrote in message
songbird wrote:

i'm not associated with them in any manner,
but i find it disheartening when people make
negative comments about a company in public
but then won't talk about why.

I can understand why someone might not want to say anything specific in a
public forum. Litigation is all too easy.

Good Lord; it's trivial but annoying and a pet peeve: Baker Creek punishes
first-time buyers with unbidden and unwanted mailings while providing no
means
of opting out. Getting off their mailing list is a challenge which, so
far, has
included telephone and email requests along with enduring a Gene Autry
record --
subjecting callers to a Gene Autry record simply is abusive ;-) As it was
explained to me, their software harvests customers' names automagically
and
cannot be overridden.

I'd call that crappy software. It should be corrected ASAP.

I've even promised not to buy from them again, if they'll
just refrain from sending me their landfill. Email correspondence as
recently as
11 May from the self-described "keeper of the list" informs that she has
"physically removed" my name from their "existing lists" (which I really
believed already to have been accomplished a year ago) and has "made a
note in
our system to not mail you a catalog" but can make no guarantee. No
mention of
"future lists". Yes, I know that very many people consider mail-order
catalogs
to be entertaining reading and a valuable resource but I'm not among
those. No,
I don't believe for a moment B.C. will specifically miss my piddling
contributions to their revenue.

They may not, but that's not why you were complaining. :-)))

I wouldn't buy seeds online, unless there was no other way of buying the seeds I wanted, because I object to the hefty postage charges. Here in the UK seeds are sold in Spring by many supermarkets and discount stores besides the usual outlets such as garden centres and nurseries.

Likewise, I prefer to pick out new plants myself when possible. I have used mail order for plants. Crocus is good Buy plants online - Online Garden Centre for a wide variety of plants, garden tools, furniture and equipment.

If a newspaper/magazine reader offer catches your eye, I strongly suggest using the Internet to check out the supplier's own website and to compare prices on reader offer websites of other magazines/newspapers.

Same plant, size of pot supplied by same company will very often cost more when ordered via a quality newspaper's offer than those offerec via a red top tabloid reader offer. I'd rather order the Mirror offer than the Daily Telegraph offer and save money when both would come from the same supplier