Why Buy Jung's Seeds?

[Suze]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I usually order from $50 to $100 worth of seeds when I get seeds so the cost of shipping is of no concern to me.

That’s just the way I feel about it if I want something and I can afford it then I get it.

Honestly, I don't really care that much either. I was just doing the math to do it. 8) I don't order seeds that often anyway, and when I do, it's usually a large order of 'basics' that I might not bother to save seeds for. For example, one of the orders I made recently included several packs of seeds for Dragon Tongue beans and some peppers.

I think what some were questioning is why the high shipping, when it obviously doesn't cost nearly as much as is being charged to mail the things. I think it is a valid point -- it just seems more upfront for companies to include some of that in the cost of the seeds and not call it "shipping". In the case of small orders, just come right out and state something to the effect of "you're being surcharged for making a small order" instead of calling it all shipping, which it obviously is not.

[amideutch]

I just made orders from;

Victory Seed, 8 packs Tom seeds, shipping $4.17

Southern Exposure, 4 packs Tom seeds, shipping $4.50

Mariseeds, 7 packs Tom seeds, shipping $4.95

Thats to Germany folks. Now for me to mail 1 standard sized envelope to the USA with 1 pack or 5 packs of seeds cost euro 1.70 or approximately $2.00. The same envelope mailed to me from the states is $0.90.

[amideutch]

Worth, please tell me your not paying $7-$8 for a six pack of Budweiser. I wouldn't drink that stuff if it was free.

[dcarch]

Wait until China finds out you can charge so much for seeds --------------!
China, already the largest producer of tomatoes.

dcarch

[amideutch]

dcarch, last year I bought a pack of Better Boy Hybrid seeds from Burpee. On the back it read "Origin China". Blew me away. Ami

[cdntomato]

It's not the Chinese growing tomatoes, garlic, etc. in China, it's the multinationals using (read: exploiting) CHEAP and HIGHLY SKILLED Chinese labour. These companies know exactly what's going on re pricing and shipping internationally.

Jennifer, who will always pay whatever $$ to support independent growers/family farms like Victory Seeds and Sand Hill Preservation

and whose brother lives near 'Seed City' in Beijing

[Rena]

I will not complain about the price of shipping nor the cost of seed. Think about paying 15.00 for a dag gum dvd that you watch for an hour? Going to the movies will set you back big time....
Seed are priceless and most (OP) will bring a lifetime of goodness!!

[Ruth_10]

Everyone has made good points--shipping and handling for small orders is harsh; it doesn't cost that much to send a pack of seeds through the mail; Bud (a local beer where I live) is pathetic; in the larger scheme of things seeds are cheap cheap cheap.

But--it would be interesting to see a breakdown of shipping and handling. Whereas shipping is pretty minimal (postage, in most cases), I wonder how much handling actually adds up to. It does cost something to process the order--someone gets paid for fetching the seed packs and putting together the order. You're paying a cut of their overhead as well--lights, electricity, insurance, depreciation of the building and equipment, capital improvements, etc. This argument holds for most anything you order, not just seeds.

When we send around seeds we only tally up the cost of postage and the mailer. We don't factor in an hourly wage for ourselves, insurance, taxes, the new swimming pool, etc.
Myself, I'd rather see more of the costs of doing business covered in the price of the item, but certainly seed companies are not the only mail order companies that use the handling charge to cover a lot of expenses.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by amideutch

Worth, please tell me your not paying $7-$8 for a six pack of Budweiser. I wouldn't drink that stuff if it was free.

Ami I wouldnt drink Bud if they paid me $100 a drink.

[shelleybean]

Yes, people have made many valid points. There just seems to be such a wide range of S&H charges between companies. For instance, Heirloom Seeds is $3 no matter what you order, but they have a very simple printed catalog and web site. No photos to raise their costs, so things like that must factor in, as well.

[Fusion_power]

I'm going to post a reply to this based on the supplier side of doing business. I sympathize very much with what the seed suppliers charge for filling an order. As most of you know, I run a business selling and shipping live tomato plants.

My cost to pack up to 24 tomato plants is $1.00 for the box, $1.50 for the divider on the inside, $.50 for the tape and $.15 for other miscellaneous supplies. Thats $3.15 tied up in a box folks. Now I have to pick the plants. Most orders are for a single plant of a variety. I print out the labels and go pick out one Marianna's Peace and label it, pick one Brandywine and label it, pick one Cherokee Purple and label it, ..... do you start to see a pattern? I have to know exactly where each variety is located in the greenhouse and I have to go straight there and get the plant required for the order. An average order is 12 plants. Filling that order takes me 10 minutes to print the labels, pull the plants, and prepare to pack them. Now I sit down with those plants and I tape them into the trays, fit the trays into the divider, put the divider in the box, tape the box up, and label it for shipping. At this point, I am pushing close to 20 minutes tied up in a single order. Now I could include the packing and shipping time in the per plant price. But that would distort the cost to the buyer. Consider the person who ordered 12 Green Zebra plants last year. I walked to the seed tray, picked up 12 plants, taped and boxed them and had them ready to ship in about 5 minutes. I can afford to discount the shipping for this person since my actual cost of box and packing is about $5.50. Then consider the person who ordered 12 individual varieties. My time is about 20 minutes and my cost for the time and box would be closer to $9.

Do you start to see a pattern? I have to charge something for the packing. That is the only way I can make my business financially sound.

Darjones

[amideutch]

Worth, thanks. Now I will be able to sleep better. Ami

[Tomatovator]

I have let growing tomatoes become a hobby for me. I enjoy it. I only put in a small number of plants but they produce well and I enjoy "playing" with them from late winter to fall. The cost of shipping may be a real factor for a commercial grower but for a small home gardener like me it is no big deal. It is part of the cost of the hobby. Growing tomatoes is still the least expensive hobby I ever enjoyed (I get hours of fun just reading all of the catalogs). Look at what happened to the cost of a round of golf, gas for your hot rod or motorcycle, fishing gear, etc. The mail order seed and plant companies have to stay in business if we want to buy unusual varieties and have such a wide selection available to us. If not we will be at the mercy of the big box stores for the varieties we grow. If you were to spend $10 total on 2 packs of seed think of how many pounds of "good" tomatoes you end up with. Still seems cheap to me.

[rxkeith]

if i only want 2 or 3 packs of seeds from a company, then i generally will try to find them some place else where i can place a larger order or i will try to make the size of the order justify (to myself) the shipping cost. can't find the seeds any place else? well then it comes down to a matter of choice. there are always other options, other varieties to grow. i usually order from 2 or 3 places each year. shipping is a small percent of the cost of the orders. i'm getting what i want, and i'm happy. if shipping cost is 10 to 20% of the order, that is acceptable. any higher than that, then i'm not buying.

keith in calumet

[dcarch]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

--------. My time is about 20 minutes and my cost for the time and box would be closer to $9.
Do you start to see a pattern? I have to charge something for the packing. That is the only way I can make my business financially sound.
Darjones

Then you factor in rent, tax, return orders, -------------
Not easy to make it work selling seeds.

Sometimes I have to laugh at myself spending 3 to 4 hours time shopping for seeds that's $1.00 cheaper in shipping charge

dcarch