Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
aquawise

Frustrating!!!

aquawise
13 years ago

OK! I know this will Hit a nerve on a lot of you older traders but it needs to be said so the newbies will know what is a good way to trade and what is "NOT". Lets list the things that are Not Good. I will start off!

1~Sending Seed heads, And not making that fact known when setting up a trade.

2~Sending seeds that your not sure what they are. Like saying you are sending me white carnations and the seeds I get are Marigold seeds.

3~Little folded up little packets that one cannot open without spilling the seeds all over.

4~Poorly written ID on packets. Some are unreadable

OK now its someone else's turn to add to this list. I have more but will hold off.

Comments (33)

  • karyn1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Substituting a different variety then was agreed upon without letting the recipient know beforehand. We all know that things happen. Maybe the seeds spilled into the carpet (has happened to me) or your dog ate them. Just let the person know. Most times I don't want what was substituted and I'll still likely send what was wanted in trade anyway.

  • poisondartfrog
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I grimace every time I get a packet labeled with what may be one of many common names that may apply to many different plants and not even the correct genus to aid in an accurate identification.
    That makes me crazy...crazier.
    Alana

  • christinmk z5b eastern WA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sure wish we could post this on the discussion side so more people can see it. Before I started trading I came over here to read up on the basics and these kinds of threads were so helpful in learning what NOT to do!
    Sometimes I am not sure what is just nit-picking on my part and what is valid to be upset about. Will be interested to hear others opinions.

    What frustrates me the most is when your doing a trade, send your bubble envelope full of seeds and the other person waits to get it and then sends their seeds back in your envelope. It is like a cross between a trade and sasbe!! Not sure if they are out of bubblies or are waiting to see if your stamps were canceled out or not? Either way it is a bit annoying since it takes double the time for their end to get here (though I rarely need any seeds right away, so maybe I shouldn't be so upset?). Guess it bothers me since in that situation I would be okay with it if they just let me know before hand and didn't leave me sitting there wondering what happened to their package. Or why not ask to postpone the trade a little while until you can get what you've run out of? A few weeks ago I ran out of stamps and couldn't get out right away since it had just dumped a load of snow. I asked the people I was trading with to hold off on sending their end until that weekend when I would get mine out. They were all wonderfully understanding about it.

    Another is when people are not upfront with you from the beginning about seeds. Awhile ago I was trading with someone and all was well and we agreed on the seeds. Then when I got the seed they made a note that they thought one package was likely all chaff and the other might have been mislabeled. Never said it while we were negotiating. If it is something I really want I'll likely take my chances and trade for it anyhow, but it is nice to know before hand not AFTER you have completed the trade (or worse yet after you have sown and raised the plant to blooming stage). On my trade list I always state if I am not sure what I have is chaff or seed, or if there is a more than average chance that it won't come true or might have crossed with something nearby. It is the polite thing to do!
    CMK

  • bigred
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    mislabeled seeds...intentionally or not. I traded year before last for what I thought was germander(geremander) and raised 3/15 ct trays of what turned out to be a low growing blue salvia(like East Friesland,sp?). I took them to market labeled germander as green packs/non-bloomed plants. Luckily none sold so I've quit taking plants I've grown from traded seed until I'm absolutely sure they are what they were originally labeled.

    So if your not absolutely sure...don't trade them mislabeled.

    P

  • aquawise
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OK! my turn again, I have only been trading for 3 years but it seems to me that common sense would be more common. I got some seeds marked Bleeding Hearts. YES! I said and planted them waited all winter for them to sprout, well they did!!!! But something was very wrong. So watched them grow and finally decided that those Bleeding Hearts were in fact Jacobs Ladder. Well lesson learned. If you are not sure of what the seeds are be sure to let the trader know you suspect they could be miss labeled.

  • jim_6b
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I use to trade a lot and had many SASBE offers here. Been to busy the last few years.

    I feel trading should be kept at a minimum especially if you are not a very organized person.

    Don't collect seed until they are ripe and ready to be collected. If you are not sure then get on the internet and use the search engines and learn more about what you are growing.

    I never cared for "mystery packs". I want what I traded for and don't want anything extra.

    All seed packs should be clearly marked. If your handwriting is sloppy get a typewriter or use your computer and print labels.

    Don't offer seed for trade that are not ripe and ready to trade.

    Well that's enough for now. I'm sure I'll think of many more after I log off.

    jim_6b

  • kms4me
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Please indicate if the seeds are from a trade. I think a great deal of the issues with mislabeled seeds arise when seeds are recieved in trade, not grown out, passed on to others who unknowingly trade them under the wrong name, where the extras end up on numerous other's trade lsts. I have received agastache instead of lavender on multiple occasions, sweet peas instead of sugar snap peas, and years ago traded five times for stachys monieri and received lemon balm each time--you guessed it--because one person had erroneously traded the latter for the former with multiple traders who put the mislabeled seeds on their trade list and whom I was unlucky enough to request that seed from.

    Also, please pay attention to species names. If someone is requesting a specific species, say digitalis ferruginea for example, sending the more common digitalis purpurea is not going to make them happy. And of course, please don't change the species name on the label thinking it will go unnoticed.. it will NOT.

    If you have really small quantities of a type of seed, please be up front about it.

    Kate

  • aquawise
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I received some seeds marked Cleome Rose Queen!!! Well I could tell right odd they were NOT Cleome seeds. They were the spitin image of Hollyhock seeds! So now what to do with them?????????? I was not about to pass them off to someone else! So I opted to plant them ie WS. Now I will know for sure and no one else will have to deal with the wrong plants.
    I have a seeds ID page I go to and compare what I have With what they really look like. I try hard NOT to pass on Iffie IDed seeds. If you are in doubt Please do not pass them on. All good trades would very much appreciate it.

  • littleonefb
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Now on 8th year on the forum and trading, the list that frustrates keeps growing and growing.

    No date on when a trade list was updated, yet a post is made for trading, then finding out that more seeds on the list are not available for the trade.

    trade lists that don't say how many seeds are in the trade

    trade lists without any indication of the source of the seeds or when they where collected.
    It's such a waste of time to have to email a member back and forth to find out this information.
    So much so that I just don't bother to ask.

    seed lists that keep the unavailable seeds on the list and mark them "out". So much easier to read if the seeds are just removed from the list.
    Many times when I see a list full of "out" beside the seeds, I just don't bother to look and go on to another members trade list.

    It's so much better to set up a trade list by category, start with a heading of "2010 fresh seeds I collected" then list the seeds with number of seeds in the trade packet and number of trades.
    Then "2009 left over seeds I collected."

    Keep going with categories such as "2010 left over commercial seeds"

    "2010 Leftover seeds from generous traders" and add can't verify that they are what is labeled or will come true to seed."
    If you have grown these seeds and they are what is labeled and bloomed, then indicate that.

    Otherwise, all seeds from traders need to be labeled as that "received in trade" and it becomes a "member beware" on the trade for those seeds.

    One should always assume that unless they are commercial seeds, that there is always a risk that the seeds will not come true to the parent plant.
    That is exactly what "open pollinated" means.
    Some seeds are far more likely to not come true to seed, such as columbine that love to cross with each other.

    So if a member does trade for seeds that are labeled correctly and then they do not bloom as expected, that is the risk that is taken with open pollinated and trading for seeds.

    That can and does happen even with commercial seeds as well.

    Poorly labeled seed packets and the handwriting is impossible to read.

    Genuss names missing from the labels is a common problem and I'm guilty of it much of the time.
    Reasons are many for that though.

    In my case, much of what I have in perennial plants have been divisions from other people's yards from plants that where at least 30 years old or more, and no one knows anything more than a common name of the plant.

    Other plants where purchased in the past with just a common name and no genus on them and therefore no way to add it to the labeling.

    And of course, lots of seeds obtained in trades where collected from a hybrid and/or cross pollinated and don't come true to seed.
    BUT, they do bloom beautiful flowers still.

    Other frustrating things.

    Those tiny plastic ziploc baggies. I really, really don't like those.
    Seeds get stuck in them and it's all but impossible to get small and tiny seeds out of them,
    If the seeds are not really, really dry, they get moldy in them and at least 10 times I have received seeds in them, even in the dead of winter, that have already started to germinate.
    That doesn't help me out in New England in the dead of winter.

    Members that give arguments about using bubble envelopes to mail seeds in and send them in regular envelopes with some padding. It never fails that those seeds come crushed to dust, regardless of the size of the seeds.

    Those tiny home made envelopes, don't bother me. Far better than the plastic zippy ones. I just cut the top of the packet open and pour them onto a paper plate before I sow them.

    Members that respond to my BEAP/SASBE offers, set up for the seeds and never send the bubble envelope to me. I hold the seeds for 2 weeks from the date of confirmation of the offer, make sure that info is clear and pull the seeds from my boxes and hold them aside.
    Sometimes the bubble envelope comes 2-3 months later and then I have an angry member because the seeds are no longer available.

    Flower heads, I won't trade for them in any way, shape or form. Too many times I collected seed heads that "are ripe" and should be full of seeds and find that they have none or barely any in the pod.
    The only way to be sure there are seeds in the "flower head" is to take the seeds out.

    A couple of times I have gotten seed heads in a trade and it wasn't stated in the trade that was what I was getting.
    They all ended up with either 2-3 seeds or none at all.
    Contacting the trader about the problem didn't produce good results and I wouldn't hesitate to post that on the rate and review forum. ( when that happened we didn't have the rate and review forum).

    I never trade for mystery packets and I don't want them either. I trade for specific seeds that I want only.

    These are just off the top of my head right now. I'm sure I'll think of more.

    Fran

  • remy_gw
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kate,
    Lol, I remember the Stachys monieri saga. I ended up sending you my seeds. I do hope you did get them to germinate. I know at the time I had wanted to ask, but forgot.

    Karen,
    I've had both the spilled seeds and the dog eating the seed packets! It is embarrassing to tell the trader, but better in the long run.

    CMK,
    I always have found the waiting until they got the seeds thing baffling. Maybe they are waiting so they can use the bubble. Though I often feel like either they want to make sure they got their seeds. I understand if someone is brand new, but I think you'll get your seeds from me, lol. Or they are waiting to see how much you send to make sure they send the appropriate amount back?
    The most annoying thing for me is trading for a specific variety and then they send another kind.
    Remy

  • karyn1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The waiting until they get their seeds from me to send their end is annoying, especially if they didn't state that at the onset of the trade. I could understand if you are trading with a newbie but I've been here for a long time and have good feedback. This struck a chord because it recently happened to me. I wouldn't have had any issues if they'd said that they needed my bubble envie to send seeds. Heck I probably would have sent them extras!

  • poisondartfrog
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is a serious issue for me because it caused me to send misidentified seeds (probably) to people last year and maybe even this summer, but it starts with a seed company.
    Last winter I purchased seeds from Hazzards labeled Hibiscus cannabinus, Amethyst. I ordered a large number and shared them liberally. This summer I grew them out and they prospered and again I sent a few packages of seeds from these out into seed trade world. I wish I could remember where.
    One packet went to our flower bud kizzyseeds who sent me a note saying that those seeds did not look like H. cannabinus-rather trionum. Having never grown H. cannabinus before I did not have a basis for comparison. I have grown trionum but had not even thought of these plants as being trionum. The foliage is different than the trionum I have grown before and the flowers, although almost identical in appearance and color, were much larger. The seeds look exactly alike.
    I did an online search for H. cannabinus Amethyst and found 3 sellers, one of them Hazzards, with photos of the plant I grew out identifying it as H. cannabinus and offering it for sale as such.
    Recently, I got some H. cannabinus seeds from another source. They look nothing like the seeds I was sold last year.
    The upshot is, as much as I hate mislabeled seeds that perpetuate incorrect plant identification as they spread around the country, Hazzards put me in the position of being the culprit. That makes me very angry!!

  • christinmk z5b eastern WA
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    -remy, never thought of that. It very well could be that they want to see if or how much I send. A lot of times I recognize the package as the one I just sent- kind of hard to miss if it has a distinct sticker on it or they forget to cover up my writing, lol ;-D

    Like Karyn said, it wouldn't be much of an issue with me if only they let me know before hand.
    CMK

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Though it might always appear that I am waiting to receive before I send, that is just not the case. I am just slow in getting them together (I don't have them all prebagged in little baggies) and I somehow manage to stay in a constant state of 'behind'.

    My goal for 2011 is to try and get on top of things.

    I cringe when I see members who post they will send such and such seed pod, or flower head, or rose hip. I'm real tempted to just be a busy body and tell them that imho it is probably best to harvest the seeds from the pod, flower head, or hip, and to dry them thoroughly before trading them. There is no real guarantee that pods, heads, or hips actually even contain seeds, or seeds that have matured. I know that all of the pods on my irises had no seeds this year.

    Sue...rbb

  • remy_gw
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sue,
    Flowerheads can be bad, I once got a trade of all chaff that way. But rose seed should stay in the hips until ready to plant. They are like fruit seed and should stay moist until planted. The trader of course could remove the seeds place them moist in a little paper towel in a baggie right before mailing.
    I don't think anyone thinks of you as a wait to get a trade person. You are up front about being behind as I am if I get behind. It is the people who act as if they will send right away and never say a word once they don't send.

    Alana,
    That really is terrible about the mix-up. I'm interested to see what your plants from the new seeds look like later this year.
    Remy

  • chrizty
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Haha Sue, Im in the constant state of 'behind' also..
    got my life on track, now gotta get it in order LOL.
    Im hoping before spring to have my trade pg updated.
    I try not to let the frustrating things get to me. but the messy handwriting ugh!
    [quote] by Fran:
    Many times when I see a list full of "out" beside the seeds, I just don't bother to look and go on to another members trade list.[unquote]
    I do the same, often they have more outs than have's and the list is to long. With one click frustrations gone lol.

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    But rose seed should stay in the hips until ready to plant.
    My goodness. I just did a search on 'roses from seed' and found this, "Take the red rose hips off the rose when they are fully red and ripe. Or you can wait until they start to wrinkle and dry out just a bit. The point is that we don't want to let the seeds dry out on the rose (and die) if we let the rose hip wrinkle and dry right up. "
    YIKES! I had been letting them fully dry and wrinkle and was even harvesting them in mid winter...I'll bet that none of those I shared then ever germinated. I'll be watching my Hansa Rugosa Rose hips for harvesting (and sharing) at the right time next year.

    I'm in the constant state of 'behind' also..
    It's so good to know that I am not alone.

    got my life on track, now gotta get it in order LOL.
    I'm so happy for you. You have come a long way Baby, and we'll be enjoying those daffodil blooms before you know it.

    Sue...who really should be cleaning house for company that is expected late evening.

  • kms4me
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Remy--the stachys monieri germinated and I got both lavender and pink-flowered plants--I really love them!

    Particularly in the winter, I am one of those 'behind' traders. I live in the country and my mailbox regularly gets taken out by the snowplow, snowmobiles, cars, and once, a cow. I have put trades out for pick-up only to have to dig them out of the snowbank after my mailbox is knocked down, or to not find them at all and have to resend them later (last year I found three mushy envelopes in the snow melt once spring rolled around). I also send a lot of seeds that have been stored moist to maintain viability (peony, hellebores, aconitums, etc.) and putting them out for pick-up in below freezing temps would be sure death to the seeds. Because of my husband's work schedule (12-hour days), many times I do not have transportation into town to mail them from the PO, so sometimes it takes me several days to get my end of the trade out. Though I have this listed on my trade page, I still do my best to let traders know if I will be delayed. If someone still thinks I am waiting for their end first, there is nothing I can do about that.

    Rarely do both traders get their seeds the same day--in other words, someone has to be first. As long as the seeds that were promised arrive in a reasonable amount of time, which to me is two weeks or less, personally I don't think it is something to get upset about. And if you've traded for long, you know that weird things can happen in transit.

    Kate

  • bustani_mama
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    what frustrates me is often feeling like i cant trust some members what ESPECIALLY frustrates me is that after 9 months one member is STILL lying and cheating people and it seems like no admins ANYWHERE have the balls to DO anything about it

    it ALSO bugs me when im honest and someone instead of RESPONDING to an email they foreward it then let it find its way back to me--if you want more information regarding who im talkiong about PLEASE email me

  • aquawise
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have one I have yet to hear from.
    When I offer seeds for postage most folks ask for some of each of the seeds they want to grow. I have one that asked for ALL the Trades of each kind. ALL 4 trades of XXXXXXX how do ya deal with that? Or you have seeds that are marked "Not for Postage or SABE" and they want it anyway. SHEeeeeeesh can they not read? These people make me nervous to even trade with, I hate to be rude but I am kind lost as to how to deal with this one.

  • bustani_mama
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    if was marked ask them to re-read? ill occasionally copy-paste stuff and the numbers of trades are in it if im asked ill say that im only asking one trade of each

  • karyn1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I wonder about the people that respond to a trade who say they want all the seeds I have available. What are you going to do with possibly thousands of a specific plant in a home garden? When trading I usually tell someone that I'm only looking for a small amount of seed, enough to guarantee that I end up with a few plants for my yard. We have a small farm a few miles away and do grow anywhere from 1/8 to a full acre of certain varieties but we buy those. I remember a GW member that was evidently on multiple trading sites asking for MG seeds, as many as you could provide. They must have ended up with who knows how many before people caught on. I wonder what they were doing with those?

    I occasionally send entire flower heads of seed that's a PITA to separate but let the recipient know beforehand or if it's in a big sasbe offer of mixed packets I might slip in one or two varieties that haven't been separated but I always make sure that the seed heads contain seed. When sending out MG's I ofen send entire pods but they are simple to pop open and remove the seeds. It's also immediately evident if they are full or not.

    As for trades I agree that it's rare for each trader to receive their end at the same time but when someone emails to say that they got the seeds that you sent and would now send theirs out or you get your envelope back.......

    I learned something new. I had no idea that rose hips needed to be moist for the seeds to be viable either.

  • bustani_mama
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yup the morning glory person is still cheating --if it's who I think it is flip to the r&r and cheak the username he'll lol do a GOOGLE on the name --9 months of cheating 9 months of lies 9 months of nothing from a trade harassment that lead me to switch to this name and allmost pure stress sence --can SOMEONE stop her? It's past time tor legalities I'm past sick of this

  • remy_gw
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Kate,
    Oh good! I'm glad to hear you got both colors too : )
    I think you and a few others have been blessed with not running into the people waiting to get their end of the trade first. They are not running behind. They are DEFINITELY waiting to send until they get their seeds. They are not people who send a note saying I'll send out at a later time or they are running late. They are the people who email you once the seeds come and say they will now send out the seeds. The 3 reasons I've figured they do it are to:
    - reuse your bubble envelope.
    - get your seeds to arrive first because they are afraid of getting scammed.
    - see what you sent to send back an appropriate amount.

    Remy

  • NancyPlants
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    gosh I feel bad now. I'm new to seed trading. I have some health challenges and dont get to the post office often. My mind is ready to go but my body refuses...haha. Last May I was in bed for 3 weeks. Hopefully this spring will be more productive.
    After reading this thread I realize how this could look to someone who is able to quickly respond to seed requests. From now on I will make sure to let people know it may be a few days or even a couple of weeks before I am able to send out their seeds. But I have learned from all my reading and I will Not send seeds wrapped in paper towels, I Will carefully note what I am sending, I Will only send seeds that I am Certain I can identify, I Will only send newly collected seeds....hehe
    Since I'm here...I rarely need 25 seeds. I'm happy with a few... 5-10 of peppers or tomatoes,etc.
    open to suggestions,
    Nancy

  • chrizty
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    welcome Nancy!!
    lol dont let all this get to ya, we should have more patience for our newbies. were all new at somepoint :)
    when I was new no one got angry with me with my goofs. they gave me good advice n helped me to become a better trader.:) there are some really good people in GW!
    Its good ya came to this side n read up on some topic's:)
    Yep,if your gonna be late just let the person know, so far every ones been understanding here. least for me.
    kms4me
    My mailbox is slanting over too. why do they have to be right on the road? lol
    Good grief,is the MG person back again?

  • aquawise
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Welcome Nancy! You are great to be up front. Please Keep on trading I do try to help as many newbie I can. I had one slip after getting stiffed on a trade! It will never happen again. I to was new here a few years ago. So many wonderful people so much help. I have learned the Do's and Do not's. I still goof now and then. This post was to help newbie as much as for the rest of us to do a little venting. If it has helped just one newbie then it was a good post. Please have fun and I hope to trade with you some time.

  • kms4me
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Chrizty, seems like every day my mailbox is leaning at a different angle, except when it is lying in the ditch, or half-way to my neighbor's property...

    NancyPlants (I like your name by the way), while some of the peeves listed here are pretty universal, others are simply opinions. Personally, I really like sending and receiving seeds in plastic envelopes as they are cheap, tidy, neat, weigh very little, can easily be taped together to even out a package so an not to incur an extra charge from having a too-fat envelope, and can be reused over and over. I have never once received moldy or rotten seeds in them. I find very often paper envelopes leak tiny seeds, cannot be resealed without taping them, and sometimes they have been reused so often that it's a guessing game to figure out what the most recent and accurate name scrawled on them is. Other people here detest plastic envelopes. I don't think any one of us, however, would be upset with a trader just because they sent wonderful seeds in an envelope that displeased us!

    I guess I am lucky that I have never had anyone tell me they were waiting for me to send my end of the trade because they were unsure of how many seeds to send in return, or wanted to use my bubble envelope. I have wondered about the latter however, because I have seen several members state on their trade pages that "If you don't have a bubble envelope, wait until you receive the seeds from me and use the envelope to send your end of the trade back." Maybe that is where some of this is coming from.

    Kate

  • littleonefb
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Nancy and welcome to the crazy world of seed trading.

    Don't be afraid to do any trades because "life gets in the way" sometimes. We've all been there and there isn't a heck of a whole lot any of us can do about "good old life and how it gets in the way sometimes."

    All you need to do is let any traders know about any problems you are having and you will find that we are a very understanding group and will patiently wait for our seeds.

    Problems and questions arise when people are ignored, when emails are ignored and nothing is received.

    It's unfortunate that there are some people, and I do mean some, that will join a garden site, GW among them, and their only purpose is to rip off members and get seeds for nothing.

    There isn't a lot we can do about it but post the info when we are absolutely sure that is what this member is doing.

    That's what makes the rate and review forum so important. Posting the results of trades, good, bad or indifferent helps all of us out and warns about any problems with a member.

    On occasion, there will be a member that just keeps on returning and reinventing him/herself with new names after being banned by GW.

    those of us that have been here a long time, like myself, Remy, Chemocurl, Karyn1, are always on the look out for that, and one in particular, well we find her every time.

    I hate to be the "barer of bad tidings" Remy, Karyn, but you've no doubt already guessed what I'm going to say.

    SHE'S BACK, OUR INFAMOUS MG LADY and i caught her today.

    Her new name will be added to the already long exiting list, but if anyone wants her new name on GW or wants more detailed info, just send me an email through GW. will be glad to provide all the info.

    Now, back to the business of seed trading.

    Bustami mama, i have to say that in the now on 8 years I have been a member of GW and the seed exchange forum, I have found that the vast majority of the members are honest and are wonderful traders.
    I've only been stiffed 3 times in all these years and the infamous MG lady didn't get me, but she did get a lot of others.

    You have to remember that we are all really just strangers on GW, on the web and we all take a risk when we set up and do a trade.

    If you aren't comfortable with a trade offer or request for free seeds, don't follow through with it.

    If someone wants all your seeds or something to that affect, that sets up red flags to me and I would email back and say that you are more than happy to send some of the seeds, but sending all of them to 1 person is not how you do seed offers and that they need to choose some of the seeds they want as you won't send all of them to one person.

    By saying something like that the person is either going to respond with a much shorter list or just not respond at all.

    That kind of request sounds more like someone wanting to obtain mass amount of seeds to then in turn sell them off as their own for profit. If they are wanting all of a certain type of seeds, that says they are looking for something to profit from as well and in some cases the seeds can be used as an illegal drug. MG seeds are one of those that can be used this way.

    But in the end, it really is blind trust that we are using when we set up seed trades and checking that rate and review forum for what is said really does help.
    We will get some "bad apples" as members. It just the nature of things and not much we can do about it.

    They are out there in the "real world" and they will find their way to various sites including garden sites such as GW.

    Fran

  • ricjo22
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hi i'm ric .a newbie of 3 months to gw and to computers too.thank you it is hard to find great lessons on the gw like i've learned here in this thread.people must have thought i was rude not providing a link to my list on my posts but i just couldnt figure out how.i need a glosary of all the abreviated terms used.i still havnt worked out posting pics.us newbies need a site that teaches us.but you know that.thanks again in 3 months i have learned so much and had lots of fun.i've even made a few trades.

  • Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi ricjo,

    A belated 'Welcome' to you!

    people must have thought i was rude not providing a link to my list on my posts
    Oh, I don't think so. It really is hard (in my opinion anyway) to get all set up for trading here....email link, zone (and location is helpful), and trade list if tradeable items aren't listed in a post.

    i need a glosary of all the abreviated terms used.
    I agree. Acronyms/abbreviations will be covered in the new Seed Exchange FAQ, which I will be working on, with everyone's help/input.

    i still havnt worked out posting pics.us newbies need a site that teaches us.
    I agree, and it will be covered in the new FAQ...I just added it to the outline.

    In a nutshell, you will first need to upload your picture (pic) to an online storage site. I use Photobucket (Free)...Link to Photobucket. Once pics are uploaded there, write your message in the message box here, and open Photobucket in another tab or window and find the pic you want to post here. Hover your cursor over the pic you want to post and you will see some codes below the pic. Choose HTML code and do a LEFT click on it. It will very briefly flash copied. Come back to the tab (or window) where you are writing your message, and then paste the code into the message box. Hit Preview. You should then see your pic as it will appear in your message. Lastly, hit Submit. If you want to play with it and test it out, just stop by the GW Test Forum and there are 'regulars' there who will assist you, if you need any help.

    (I hope I got that all right)

    Here is the link to the existing Seed Exchange FAQ. There is some info that is either obsolete (postage costs) and things that could be explained a lot better.

    Below is a link to an outline for NEW FAQ here...and I'm looking for input about things that need covered.

    I just added posting pics to the outline.

    Sue

    {{gwi:27158}}

    If anyone is not familiar or comfortable with having numerous tabs or windows open, just stop by the Test Forum, and they can help. I know I once tried to help a member to post pics, and she was having an awful time of it. Come to find out, she had never had multiple tabs or windows open before. Once she mastered tabs and windows, posting pics was a lot easier for her.

    Here is a link that might be useful: New Seed Exchange FAQ Outline

  • NancyPlants
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    great info...lots to learn from reading this :)

  • medontdo
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i agree with alot of the things said here, my main thing is that when i get stuff in the mail, i'd like them sent in a bubbly if they are too big (could be squished), would like them to be in little baggies or something and not to where i can't get to them, LOL i would like the seeds that we agree'd upon! and if your going to be late or something, KEEP IN TOUCH!!! i'm easy going! most people think that if you avoid that its easier to deal with, but its not! and me, i'm good with only 5-10 seeds. i don't need a whole crap load of seed!! LOL i'm with everyone else, i don't want everyone else's trade, i want what you actually grew, for the simple fact that you probably know what it is. but ask me first if i would like the "trade" . its only polite. and i don't want old seeds, last year i traded with someone and the seeds were really old, you could tell. at least i'm really sure they were. i wouldn't of really minded if the person had said, hey medo, these seeds are a few years old, do you mind that? i'da said ohh that's ok, but let me know first. don't send them to me. and let me find out like that. its just rude! if you do everything up front in the email. i leave great reviews. but otherwise, psht!!! conversation AND keeping up on the both parts of the trade is the most important thing in trades, everything up front!! i don't know if i said that right! LOL but i think you know what i mean! LOL **grin** ~medo

Sponsored
HEMAX Construction Services & Landscaping, LLC
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars34 Reviews
Innovative & Creative Landscape Contractors Servicing VA