Hi this subject came up in another thread but I thought maybe I could post it in here as well.
I have been in different stores in my area and none of them are carrying seeds, probably because of the holidays but when I asked about the seed stock from 2009 whether they were going to place it on sale at a discount like they have done in the past, they told me that they don't do that anymore and that all the seeds that are not purchased will be sent back to the manufacturers, my question is what in the world are they doing with the old seed, they oviously can't sell them so why not take a little profit and just place it at a discount like they have done in the past. They are doing the same thing in my local Lowes with vegetable plants as well, before Christmas I found a really beat up almost dead spearmint plant from the manufacturer called Bonnies and when I asked if I could go and purchase the plant at a discount the lady told me that Bonnie's does not allow that and that all their plants have to be sent back if they are not purchased.
I was wondering if any of you might know why all of a sudden they are changing their policies on seeds, plants etc... and what happens to their old seed stock.
Retail stores taking their seed's back to the manufacturer's
Probably because the stores aren't buying the seeds & plants, but they are being put in the stores on consignment. I know Wal Mart does that with plants. They were having to much trouble getting help that new anything about plants & keeping them alive. Now the company putting the plants in the Wal Marts are having their people in the store to care for & sell the plants.
You said about the same thing when you mentioned Bonnie's plants.
Yes that might explain the plants but what about the seeds, even if they are placed in consigment what happens to all these seeds do they just get thrown out if people don't buy them.
Vendors usually offer a higher credit on seeds returned than the store can make selling them at a discount. Then, the vendor will most likely donate the old seeds to various gardening projects.
The lovely world of retail has so many hidden things that most consumers don't see and don't understand.
Thank you Stephanie I guess that would explain it, I was just wondering why all of a sudden they changed their methods, I am happy they donate the seeds to different organizations like you mention.
I don't know that they donate them, but that's one possibility.
I work in retail, and I know that we can return an item and get full credit for it in most cases. If we sell it at a markdown price, we'll only get 25%-90% of the price of the item, depending on how long we've had it.
I've worked for WalMart for 15 years and the only seeds that have ever been put on clearance are some of the 10 for $1.00 packs and some box mixes that are part seeds and part fluff to help distribute the seeds more evenly. All other merchandise goes back to the supplier at the end of the season. Many vendors have "guaranteed sales" contracts in place where they buy back their product plus shipping charges at the end of whatever season or promo is going on.
O.K maybe the packages of seeds that I used to buy were the cheap ones, I just remember getting a pack of hales best cataloupe last year for 25 cents I think the brand was american seed company, they also had tomatoes and lots of flower packets for sale as well, but you are right I don't think I've ever seen burpee or any other companies seeds on sale.
Those American Seed Company ones (tan or lt blue pack w/ old fashioned graphics) are the only ones we'd typically keep and clearance out. Even the WalMart brand seeds are put together for us by a major seed supplier w/o the mark up for their logo/license fee. Those get sent back as well. Not sure what they do with them. The small locally owned nurseries tend to just buy smaller qty's and let them just dwindle down until they sell out.
Thank you dmac, by the way do you have any idea on when Walmart will be carrying seeds again?
I know in our area of the country the "Christmas Shop" will be transitioning back into the Garden Center in about 2 weeks. Since almost all of the garden stuff had been shut off for the winter, we should start seeing the garden stuff roll in over the next few weeks. Seeds usually come in one big lump shipment for the first set up...I'll post when I see something come in:) I'm actually the Sporting Goods mgr but everyone at work knows I'm the garden person:lol:
hey, it's nice to hve an "inside guy" at walmarts to keep us abreast of whats going on there. now all we need is someone who works at one of those dollar stores who also sells seeds at a discount LOL
Yes thank you dmac, like herbie sais, it is nice to have an insider. I like to buy seeds from walmart expecially some of the lettuce ones, and since I am brand new, I have not tried a lot of the different varieties yet. I do buy seeds from small companies as well but sometimes the shiping and handling is what really kills me an unless you order tons of seeds it is worth just to wait and buy them from the stores unless you are looking for a rare seed that the stores don't carry.
Herbie I did not know that the dollar stores sell their seeds at a discout, I'll have to give them a try as well.
Most of the "cheap" seeds are not very good varieties.
Best to go with a good seed company.
I usually buy either burpee, or ferry morse, I know burpee has been there for a long time and I did have a good germination with their seeds this year, but I only bought lettuces, peas, and herbs. My onions are from ferry morse and I only had about 50% sprout which is not very good but I have heard onion seeds don't last very long. The american seed company I supose it is probably not that good, I only bought a cheap 10 cent package last year of cantaloupe that I still have not grown yet.
This message was edited Jan 4, 2010 10:02 AM
The local Ace Hardware stores do discount their seeds at the end of the season.
country gardens - i buy 90 percent of my seeds from www.rareseeds.com but i orde so little and then there is the shipping and handling which is usually more thanthe price of the seeds but i order anyway because then i can always swap them for other varities with people here at DG. i hve tried the discount stores several times and i have never had problems with them.
Herbie, I feel just like you, I love to order from rareseeds and also heirloomseeds.com but when you are only ordering one or 2 packs max and they charge you the big shipping and handling charges then sometimes you have to wait until you can order a few more seeds to make the purchase worth it. Also sometimes I have purchased a certain seed from a company, paid the shipping and handling to later find out that Lowes was selling the same type of seed minus the shipping charges, that always gets me mad. I do like rareseeds because at least they do throw a freebie seed so at least you are getting an extra package plus their seeds are fairly good price as well.
I feel the same way. The shipping can kill ya.
C - try www.botanicalinterests.com if you are wanting just a few packets. Their shipping is cheap and their seeds are awesome.
i have a local florist/nursury that sells mostly burpee seeds but then there are no shippng and handling charges.
The only time I will even consider buying seeds from a retail display is when I'm desperate and out of a certain cultivar in my gardens. The seeds in the store are often old seed to begin with and they are frequently displayed next to a large window where the Sun beats down on them all day. Humidity can be rather high in the store as well. I buy 98% of my seed through the catalog companies.
Yes I suppose you are taking a risk, so far all the Burpee ones that I have purchased have had a good germination rate. I don't purchase seeds that are outside in the garden area they have to be inside an air condition room for me to even look at them.
Well I just went ahead an ordered some seeds 2 packs from rareseeds that I've been wanting for a long time, their shipping was not too bad only $3 and considering the seeds should last at least a couple of years I don't think it is a bad investment at all.
I've bought several seeds from cherrygal.com. Her prices are decent as is her shipping and you don't get a boatload of seeds in a packet, which I don't need since I'm not planting an acre garden. I grew some of the lettuce seeds last fall and I think every single seed germinated.
Thank you so much Stephanie, she's got a great selection of seeds and a very reasonable price. You are right I only need a small amount of seeds and most of the packs that I order have too many, althought I always either offer them for trade or Sabse.
Lemme know c if you have any extra peppers. I'm always looking to try new varieties.
You're welcome Carminator. I have plenty of lettuce seeds from my fall planting to probably plant both this spring and the coming fall. I only planted like 10 of each. I also like that she tells you how many seeds you'll get (25 seems to be the common number). Since many of her seeds are OP and/or heirloom you can save your own seeds for the future.
I've gotten good seeds from valueseeds.com which sells overruns of T&M seeds for 99 cents or less a pack, shipping is $1.99 no matter how many packs you order. They aren't in the fancy outer seed packet w/ photo and info, but they are in foil lined, sealed envelopes. They do have flowers, herbs and veggies. It changes from time to time depending on what they have extra of. Fedco had good seeds too.
All of the big retail chains get their seasonal goods based on the temps in whatever retail "zone" they're in. The garden center mgr in our area is expecting to do his reset in a couple of weeks, seeds ususally come in about 2-3 weeks after that. In colder areas headed north of NC, the spring garden center resets will run later based on the weather/average temps in your areas. Oh, heads up if any of you are swimming pool caretakers--usually all that chemical stuff is part of the toy dept in the spring/summer--this year they transferred all of that to the garden center so that's where you'll find it once it starts rolling in:)
I keep forgetting most people don't need the quantity of seeds I do. 30 of a variety is the smallest I go. That is mostly for Hot Peppers where 30 plants will be plenty. One variety of bell pepper, I order 500. We use 500 tomato seeds that cost nearly 10¢ each. 500 watermelons & bean seed 5 or 10 lbs of each variety. Shipping don't mean much to us.
Around here there are a lot of seed racks with Burpee seeds. One garden center offers about 5 different companies. I suppose if I were just gardening for my own use I would buy off those racks. Some of the bigger garden centers offer bulk seed. Usually peas, beans, & sweet corn. That makes a good buy for the person who wants more than what is in a seed pack.
Bernie
Thank you Dmac I just checked their website, very nice I already saw some herbs I might be interested in growing.
Bernie, yes I wish I had the capacity to grow as much as you or even Farmerdill, by the way do you also grow for yourself, I mean try the produce.
This is an old picture, but yes we use our own produce. Also have 2 big freezers.
We hardly ever buy a potato or onion. f you haven't seen some of my other posts, we raise our own eggs, too.
Wow Bernie that looks great! How much land do you have, just wondering?
I was lucky that my DH loves to hunt so we bought a big freezer for when he gets a buck, and now I'll have space if I am lucky enough to get a good harvest this year.
We only have 5 acres now plus the 5 greenhouses that will be used as high tunnels for vegetables this year. At one time we had 18 acres.
To answer the question about what they do with the seeds: The seeds are sent back to the seed company where they're tested for germination, recertified, repackaged with a "packed for" year on them and sold again. My friend's buddy owns a seed company and that's what he said they do with them.
Bernie that is wonderful, 5 acres, I bet it is a lot more manageable than 18 acres. As soon as my DH and I stop moving so much because of work we will be looking for some acreage as well, for now I just have to manage with what I have.
Calalily, that is what I thought, but was not sure completely, some seeds if kept under optimal conditions can last for a long time, the only problem is a lot of people believe that they are getting seed from that year and not an old batch of seeds. Maybe that is the reason my onion seeds did not do as well, never thought that they could be an old batch of seeds.
I just came from lowes and they are finnally carrying seeds, the only company of seeds that I saw was ferry morse though, not sure whether Walmart has seeds or not yet.