A question for seed sellers

[Tania]

Carol,

I am not a typical seed seller, I guess
I do not sell a lot of seeds, but I offer lots of varieties. Like Jeff mentioned, this is a labor of love for me, and not much profit (actually, it does not cover my seed production costs, but it still helps to spend less of my own money while doing so).

I save as many seed as I can and test germination right after the seeds are dried up. Some varieties I have few seeds, but I still offer them - if I run out, I just remove them from the list. Some varieties I have lots (for me ) of seeds - 2000+ seeds, and this is more than sufficient, as I do not sell much. I also prefer to re-grow for fresh seed stock every 2-3 years, and the amount of seeds I save and sell seems to be just about right to maintain the schedule.

I certainly cannot offer bulk seeds, and I do not think I will ever be able to do so. My goal is to offer some samples of more obscure varieties that may not be widely available outside of SSE at a low cost.

Not sure if this helps...

Tania

[dokutaaguriin]

If you have a Mac then look no further than iWeb to build a website.
This is the program I used to build my site as it is very simple and straight forward (just like a Mac, lol).Jeff

[Wi-sunflower]

Actually I wasn't talking so much about a "program" to build a site as a "place" that has things set-up for you where you can actually sell. While many of you have some sites, most aren't set-up to actually sell and accept money. Many of you have people mail-in a check or money order. If they find you on the web they want to buy it there too. I know I do.

Getting a "store" site isn't all that hard or expensive. My own site isn't a good example at all as it was built before the current class of store sites were available. I made mine originally with only the PayPal buttons. The layout was made in a program called NVU.

Most of them now days are pretty decent for about $10/mt +-. That includes the set-up for payments thru Google Checkout and/or PayPal. Many use cart programs that they help you set-up. They will look somewhat like what Glecklers new site does. They all have plenty of ways to customize things to "make it your own". Sites with carts like Zencart and Joomla are fairly easy especially if they have a board like this where users help each other.

For those that still don't want to deal with their own site, there are several eBay alternative sites that are free or very low cost compared to eBay and a lot less hassle too. eCrater is a basic site that gets good placement in Google Products. Bonanzle is another site that has worked well for me. They offer a bit more glitz than eCrater but do have a small final value fee when you make a sale.

Personally I'm probably going to change to a store type site by this summer as getting all my varieties updated is getting to be a PITB the way I have it now. For me it's just a mater of finding some time to do it.

Carol

[JereGettle]

Hi Carol,

If you want to try selling a seeds a online store is now rather easy, and google adwords are a good way to get some hits when you are ready, also small ads in countryside, local farm magazines, etc, can help.

You can get printed envelopes from 'Cambridge Pacific' in fairly small quantities, too!

It is fun to sell seed, and you meet so many nice folks!

We grew around 1/2 - 2 lbs each for of the varieties we grew here at the farm, we usually have our growers grow in the 1-4 lb range.

Thanks!
Jere

[Wi-sunflower]

Hi,

I'm actually surprised at some of the people who answered in this thread. I didn't expect to really get as much info as I did. People here are much more willing to share than many other places I've been at on-line. (non-tomato places)

Personally I've been trying to get at least 2 oz of each variety the last several years. Sometimes that lasts me 2-3 years sometimes not. I know if I improved the info on my site, it would sell better. Just to many things to do with not enough time or energy some days.

Like Tania, I'm at the point where I can't get new seed for all the varieties I grow every year. But if I can refresh varieties every 2-3 years I think that should work OK too.

Gere,

Yes I have met so many nice people thru selling my seeds. I have a friend in England I met several years ago because of my seeds.

Sometimes it's just interesting seeing where the seeds have gone. I've sent seeds to North Pole Alaska. Or sometimes a town will be in the news for some reason and not long after I will be sending seeds there. It makes you feel like you have a connection somehow.

Several years ago I invested in a nice color laser printer that I use largely for signs at the farmers markets. I print labels for the seeds on stickers that go on the small plastic seed bagie. Unfortunately right now the printer needs to go in for some work as it had a bad toner cart that has fouled up everything. I'm using an old B/W printer til I have the money to get the good printer fixed.

But thanks for the info about the seed packs. Maybe some day I'll want something more "professional" looking.

There is no way I have the money for a catalog either. But I should make up something on the computer that people could download. Another job for someday.

In the past (over 10 years ago), when I first started selling a bit of seed, it was just a way to get a bit of extra money so I could try more varieties. Eventually it grew to where it gave me extra money for stuff like the good printer and a nice digital camera.

But a bit over 2 years ago, Hubby lost his off farm job, when the company deleted his whole department ,that had always actually supported us. He was 64.5+ at the time and figured who was going to hire him. So he now works more on the farm and we added 1 farmers market / week that he does. He also is now on social security so that helps some but is only about 1/3 of what he used to make.

So last winter while the farm wasn't making money, the seeds made enough to pay the utilities for 3-4 months. That's not too bad for what used to be just an after-thought of the farm.

I want to thank everyone that has provided info in this thread. It's all valuable.

Thanks again,
Carol

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by JereGettle

Hi Carol,

If you want to try selling a seeds a online store is now rather easy, and google adwords are a good way to get some hits when you are ready, also small ads in countryside, local farm magazines, etc, can help.

You can get printed envelopes from 'Cambridge Pacific' in fairly small quantities, too!

It is fun to sell seed, and you meet so many nice folks!

We grew around 1/2 - 2 lbs each for of the varieties we grew here at the farm, we usually have our growers grow in the 1-4 lb range.

Thanks!
Jere

Jere, I'm trying very hard to visualize 4 # of tomato seed.

Sadly for me the diabetic, I just finished off a 2# box of dark chocolates that I bought for myself at the same time I was buying for others for Christmas presents. And when I look at that box, double it to 4# and know that tomato seed is nowhere's near as heavy as those chocolates, well, I just can't visualize 4# of tomato seed.

When storing bulk tomato seeds what are your storage conditions? That's something I've always been interested in, not just for commercial places such as Baker Creek and many others, but in terms of what I and others don't do and how long our saved seeds last with good germination percentages.

And perhaps others who are posting in this thread might also be interested.

I do know what the NSL lab in Fort Collins uses and have a vague idea of what SSE and Glenn and Linda at TGS use, but have never asked for specifics. When Glenn had a major electrical outage a while back and it was winter, I know he was more concerned about the birds than I think the seeds, but anyone who knows Glenn would have predicted that I think.

[Wi-sunflower]

Carolyn,

Yesterday I packed up some of the seeds I've been drying. I could just barely get all the seeds for 1 variety in a quart freezer zip-lock bagie. When I weighed it that was just a fraction over 1/2 lb of seeds.

I too am interested in how I should store my larger amounts. I know there was a thread last winter about that too, but don't know where any more.

I've been thinking about packing them in maybe 5 or 10 gm bagies and then those inside the heavier "boil-in" type packs you heat seal. I have an old non-vaccum type sealer. Then those in an old fridge or freezer in the basement. The problem is finding the time to do it. And making space in the freezer.

Carol

[mjc]

I'd probably put them in 2 quart, wide mouth canning jars and drop in a silica gel pack...

[Wi-sunflower]

mjc,

Probably OK for someone just saving a small number of varieties and small amounts.

I have over 300 bags of seeds right now and from 1/4 oz to several ounces in most of those bags. Even doing my idea of bagies, the organization and volume is going to probably take up 1/2 of my 20 cu ft freezer.

I do have several lbs of the indicator gel I need to find and dry out tho as that would be good to add to the packs.

Carol

[Fusion_power]

Desiccant packs and sealable containers are the way to go. I would use the stackable hard plastic freezer type square containers. It is very very important to be sure the desiccant packs are dried out before you put them in with the seed. 1/2 pound of seed would require at least 4 desiccant packs and more would be better.

Most types of desiccant packs can be dried in an oven set to 125 degrees for about 3 hours.

When they are dry, put them in ziplocs with the tomato seed and then leave them at room temp for at least 2 days. This gives time for the desiccant to absorb most of the moisture available before you freeze the seed.

Store the seed in hard plastic containers in the freezer for up to 3 years.

When you remove the seed from the freezer, let it sit for an hour or two so moisture condensation can form on the outside of the hard plastic container, not on the seed. Once they are stable, remove the seed and do a germination test to ensure it is viable and ready to ship.

DarJones

[mtbigfish]

I just put in Desiccant packs and store my packs in one of my watertight bear cannisters used to store food when backpacking

[brokenbar]

Not a seed seller but I store mine in 1 gallon vacuum seal bags with desiccant (My husband orders a lot of auto electronics on line and they always have bags of desiccant in them) and then I put the vacuum bag into a plastic container and freeze them. I tried some seeds that were ten years old last year and still got about 40% germination. Of course, I am not storing the large amounts talked about in this thread. I have four freezers and three refrigerators and I suspect I am at my "husband tolerance level" for plugging anything else in! I also got brand new 1 gallon clear plastic jugs on Ebay for 4 for 5.00 and 1.90 shipping for each batch of four. I plan on using them for pickled peppers which will be gifts but they would make dandy seed storage containers I think.

[DuckCreekFarms]

Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower

If you want I can stear you to some easy "site builder" type sites that won't cost you a fraction of what eBay charges in fees. But that's another long story.

If I can help in any way, just ask. My expertize isn't so much in the seeds as in market farming, even tho I have been dabbling with the seeds for about 10 years now.

Carol

Carol
what web builders do you think is the most user friendly for dummies like me? I have heard that Web Studio 5.0 might be good
http://www.webstudio.com/Default.asp

Thanks
Gary VS

[Wi-sunflower]

I answered your question up in post 18.

I've never tried Web studio, but the programs NVU and Komposer, the updated version are what I use. Both are FREE and fairly easy to use. I updated my site over the weekend with Komposer.

But for beginners, some place like Bonanzle or eCrater would be good starting points if you are looking to do some selling but don't know how and don't want to fork out a whole lot to host a site right off the bat.

Carol

[DuckCreekFarms]

Carol

thanks

For some reason I am not getting all the updated postings. I even usually get a email when new postings are submitted to a thread that I post to, but I am not getting those either....

Thanks again and sorry for reasking
gary