Prices at Burpee

gardengalrn · December 27, 2006

HOLY COW!! Most of their selections are at least $4.90 something. For one pack of seeds. You would think that they have struck gold and are trying to sell it. Ive ordered a little something each year (Brandy Boy, which I love) but with those prices I may decline to do so this year on principle alone. I dont think that is a very good marketing strategy considering all the more reasonable places. They offered the "rainbow carrot" for $3.95. The same thing elsewhere has been $1-2. I couldnt believe the prices, practically $5 for anything new. Grrrrrr.

username5 · December 27, 2006

I just did a quick price check on them and agree with you that they must be high to be charging such high prices.

A pack of Genovese Basil they want $2.50 for. Yikes, that stuff is easy to find on the 10 cent racks, Burpee packing too.

I have been finding a few seed vendors to be doing googy things during the northern hemisphere's winter.

A couple vendors had seed sales up to 50% off, but then they were charging $6+ for shipping even if it was only one packet. A phone call resulted in lower shipping and they said their shipping charges reflected the fact that most of their orders this time of year were for supplies and bulbs which are bulkier and heavier.

Evidently their online shopping carts can't distinguish between a pack of seeds and a greenhouse.

I suspect (but surely don't know) that Burpee figures anyone ordering seed right now is an addict who can't wait and therefore is willing to pay a premium to get stuff right now.

We may be addicts who can't wait, but we can find other vendors.

username5 · December 27, 2006

I just did a quick price check on them and agree with you that they must be high to be charging such high prices.

A pack of Genovese Basil they want $2.50 for. Yikes, that stuff is easy to find on the 10 cent racks, Burpee packing too.

I have been finding a few seed vendors to be doing googy things during the northern hemisphere's winter.

A couple vendors had seed sales up to 50% off, but then they were charging $6+ for shipping even if it was only one packet. A phone call resulted in lower shipping and they said their shipping charges reflected the fact that most of their orders this time of year were for supplies and bulbs which are bulkier and heavier.

Evidently their online shopping carts can't distinguish between a pack of seeds and a greenhouse.

I suspect (but surely don't know) that Burpee figures anyone ordering seed right now is an addict who can't wait and therefore is willing to pay a premium to get stuff right now.

We may be addicts who can't wait, but we can find other vendors. At the same time I wouldn't be surprised if you could get better prices by phoning in the order and talking to a person. It's generally what I do and most of the time the vendors are ready to offer some promotion or free shipping or something to those who request lower prices.

shelleybean · December 27, 2006

Burpee doesn't have anything I want anyway, at least not anything that can't be found somewhere else. The only thing I grow for which I totally credit Burpee is the zinnia, Burpeeana Giants. And those are truly beautiful flowers. I can get the seed for them at my local hardware store for half price by the end of April though.

:wink:

LoreD · December 27, 2006

If the prices are a problem I found an interesting site. They sell from a company called Botanical Interests. I believe that they only sell heirlooms. They sell vegetable. herb, and flower seeds. Some of their seed is organic.

There isn't a tremendous variety but most of the packs are about $1.50 - $2. They are having a 20% off sale. They also have a flat $3.95 s/h fee.

They have a 100% rating at gardenwatch and they said that the packages were "works of art."

www.tinyseeds.com

LoreD

oldgaredneck · December 27, 2006

We also found Baker Creek to be a little pricey, but then again - most seed vendors are "pricey" when one is on a VERY fixed income! Of course, this is only my opinion, and opinions are like birthdays....

gardengalrn · December 28, 2006

I'm all for making a buck if you are in business but felt Burpee's prices were just outrageous. I won't be ordering from them this year. I was interested in the "Porterhouse Steak" tomato and the white zinnias. I have seeds left for Brandy Boy, one of my favorites. I wouldn't jump off a cliff if I didn't have them. Too many others to enjoy.

bcday · December 28, 2006

Quote:

We also found Baker Creek to be outrageously high

What did you see in the Baker Creek catalog that you thought was too high? I've only looked at tomato prices so far, but I didn't see much there that I thought was too far out of line pricewise, unless you're maybe comparing them to Pinetree?

I thought Johnny's had high prices, but even they aren't in the same outrageous league as Burpee. The only way I get Burpee seeds these days is locally from a seed rack, on sale at that, and if they discontinue the sale prices I'll probably discontinue buying their seeds!

**Mischka** · December 28, 2006

George Ball, are you reading this??? :wink:

LoreD · December 28, 2006

Ijust got the Fedco catalog and most of the seed packs were about $1-$1.50 and they are just a little bit lower than most of the other companies.

I don't understand this business philosophy, your product is not selling so you increase the price.

I don't think anyone has prices of almost $5 pack

at least any company that is still in business.

They don't have anything that I can't live without, and I certainly couldn't live with paying that price.

Burpee prices

Monsanto

LoreD

feldon30 · December 28, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoreD

I don't understand this business philosophy, your product is not selling so you increase the price.

That's what the U.S. post office is trying.

They're pricing themselves out of the market they created.

As for cheap Burpee seeds, that's what Wal-Mart is for.

oldgaredneck · December 29, 2006

I was referring to the amount of seeds per price.
Have actually found most of their inventory elsewhere at less price for more seeds....

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcday

Quote:

We also found Baker Creek to be outrageously high

What did you see in the Baker Creek catalog that you thought was too high? I've only looked at tomato prices so far, but I didn't see much there that I thought was too far out of line pricewise, unless you're maybe comparing them to Pinetree?

I thought Johnny's had high prices, but even they aren't in the same outrageous league as Burpee. The only way I get Burpee seeds these days is locally from a seed rack, on sale at that, and if they discontinue the sale prices I'll probably discontinue buying their seeds!

travis · December 29, 2006

My Baker Creek catalog arrived yesterday. After reading this thread, I closely examined their tomato seed prices ...

Under the banner header "TOMATOES" they clearly state that all envelopes contain 25 - 75 seeds. That's very generous compared to other "heirloom" tomato vendors ... and Baker Creek is 100% open pollinated with most varieties qualifying under recognized "heirloom" definitions.

The majority of their 140 or so varieties of tomato seeds are 2.00 per pack ... a very modest price and directly comparable to other vendors like Seed Savers Exchange, Victory Seed and Tomato Growers Supply. There are no varieties advertised as "10 seeds per pack" as you sometimes find at many other companies.

A few of Baker Creek's tomato seed offerings are between 2.00 and 3.00 apparently because they are in shorter supply. Some of the over-2.00 tomatoes appear to be "exclussive" offerings, although Baker Creek does not immodestly claim so as many other seed vendors would. And a few of the varieties that appear to be exclussive offerings actually are less than 2.00, so again, I think their prices look like they are based on availability and not price gouging.

There are many more tomato varieties offered for less than 2.00 than those offered at more than 2.00, but again, the majority are priced at 2.00 with many priced between 1.25 - 1.75 per packet.

There appears to be a handful of varieties offered by Baker Seed Company that are not available at any other seed vendor ... but then again, I've not scoured every other vendor's list in great detail ... but I've looked closely at the "top ten" and can say that Baker Creek has a handful of very scarse, if not totally exclusive, tomatoes.

The entire operation was started 10 years ago by a young man, 17-years old at the time, operating out of his home and now Baker Creek operates a seed store, a veggie stand in Branson, an online heritage gardening forum with over 2000 members and publishes a high quality, 82 page, full color paper catalog chock full of great open pollinated, heritage fruits and vegetables.

The owners and operators of Baker Creek also travel to Latin America and Southeast Asia to obtain more seeds to offer American gardeners. Their stock includes some great melons, edible and decorative gourds, greens, peas, beans, corn, potatoes, squash, cukes, all kinds of eggplants, cabbages, a few exotic fruits, berries, okra, onions, peppers, lettuces, spinach, sorghum, pumpkins, etc. ALL in generous seed counts and at modest prices.

Their shipping and handling charge is a FLAT $2.50 ... far less than many other vendors about whom I've seen numerous complaints regarding s/h charges this year.

In addition, Baker Creek, along with their patrons, helps provide educational and humanitarian projects every year and sends seed packets to schools, orphanages, prisons, and lately to Afghanistan.

In short, their seed offerings are wonderful, diverse, and priced very competitively, and the packets each contain an ample and generous number of seed ... and they have earned support rather than unfounded criticism.

PV

garnetmoth · December 29, 2006

nicely said Papa Vic- you educated me on some things- Baker Creek also host several swaps/ heritage days that i would LOVE to get to.

Bountiful Gardens (small independant nonprofit research), Seeds of Change (purchased by big business, started small) and Baker are the only companies i KNOW of that offer seed farm tours or gatherings. I really need to get to one of them some day, sounds like a neat experience!

There is such a thing as economy of scale- a few (what IS the #?) dedicated folks picking by hand and sorting seeds VS. large companies that have machines and a large distribution (ie every Sprawl-Mart in the US!)

I try to buy from at least 1 small company a year, but ive done so much seed hoarding I really dont need seeds this year!

LoreD · December 29, 2006

Baker Creek has very generous packets In previous years the packets were marked that they contained "more than 25 seeds." Since I do a lot of seedlings I found that they actually contained between 100 to 150 seeds for some varieties.

With some companies if it says "20 seeds" you will get a max of 23 or 24 seeds.

This year I found that they were not quite as generous as previous years, but still having a lot more than than they printed on the packages.

Their prices are in line with most of the other companies.

LoreD

December 27, 2006	#1
gardengalrn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kansas, zone 5 Posts: 524	Prices at Burpee HOLY COW!! Most of their selections are at least $4.90 something. For one pack of seeds. You would think that they have struck gold and are trying to sell it. Ive ordered a little something each year (Brandy Boy, which I love) but with those prices I may decline to do so this year on principle alone. I dont think that is a very good marketing strategy considering all the more reasonable places. They offered the "rainbow carrot" for $3.95. The same thing elsewhere has been $1-2. I couldnt believe the prices, practically $5 for anything new. Grrrrrr. __________________ ~Lori "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." -Abraham Lincoln

December 27, 2006	#2
username5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Zone 5 Wisconsin Posts: 117	I just did a quick price check on them and agree with you that they must be high to be charging such high prices. A pack of Genovese Basil they want $2.50 for. Yikes, that stuff is easy to find on the 10 cent racks, Burpee packing too. I have been finding a few seed vendors to be doing googy things during the northern hemisphere's winter. A couple vendors had seed sales up to 50% off, but then they were charging $6+ for shipping even if it was only one packet. A phone call resulted in lower shipping and they said their shipping charges reflected the fact that most of their orders this time of year were for supplies and bulbs which are bulkier and heavier. Evidently their online shopping carts can't distinguish between a pack of seeds and a greenhouse. I suspect (but surely don't know) that Burpee figures anyone ordering seed right now is an addict who can't wait and therefore is willing to pay a premium to get stuff right now. We may be addicts who can't wait, but we can find other vendors. __________________ We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

December 27, 2006	#3
username5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Zone 5 Wisconsin Posts: 117	I just did a quick price check on them and agree with you that they must be high to be charging such high prices. A pack of Genovese Basil they want $2.50 for. Yikes, that stuff is easy to find on the 10 cent racks, Burpee packing too. I have been finding a few seed vendors to be doing googy things during the northern hemisphere's winter. A couple vendors had seed sales up to 50% off, but then they were charging $6+ for shipping even if it was only one packet. A phone call resulted in lower shipping and they said their shipping charges reflected the fact that most of their orders this time of year were for supplies and bulbs which are bulkier and heavier. Evidently their online shopping carts can't distinguish between a pack of seeds and a greenhouse. I suspect (but surely don't know) that Burpee figures anyone ordering seed right now is an addict who can't wait and therefore is willing to pay a premium to get stuff right now. We may be addicts who can't wait, but we can find other vendors. At the same time I wouldn't be surprised if you could get better prices by phoning in the order and talking to a person. It's generally what I do and most of the time the vendors are ready to offer some promotion or free shipping or something to those who request lower prices. __________________ We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

December 27, 2006	#4
shelleybean Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 2,648	Burpee doesn't have anything I want anyway, at least not anything that can't be found somewhere else. The only thing I grow for which I totally credit Burpee is the zinnia, Burpeeana Giants. And those are truly beautiful flowers. I can get the seed for them at my local hardware store for half price by the end of April though. :wink: __________________ Michele

December 27, 2006	#5
LoreD Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Chicago Suburbs Posts: 306	If the prices are a problem I found an interesting site. They sell from a company called Botanical Interests. I believe that they only sell heirlooms. They sell vegetable. herb, and flower seeds. Some of their seed is organic. There isn't a tremendous variety but most of the packs are about $1.50 - $2. They are having a 20% off sale. They also have a flat $3.95 s/h fee. They have a 100% rating at gardenwatch and they said that the packages were "works of art." www.tinyseeds.com LoreD __________________ Its not what you get to keep in life, its what you get to give away.

December 27, 2006	#6
oldgaredneck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Crawford County Georgia Posts: 163	We also found Baker Creek to be a little pricey, but then again - most seed vendors are "pricey" when one is on a VERY fixed income! Of course, this is only my opinion, and opinions are like birthdays.... __________________ "So many tomato varieties, so little time...."

December 28, 2006	#7
gardengalrn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kansas, zone 5 Posts: 524	I'm all for making a buck if you are in business but felt Burpee's prices were just outrageous. I won't be ordering from them this year. I was interested in the "Porterhouse Steak" tomato and the white zinnias. I have seeds left for Brandy Boy, one of my favorites. I wouldn't jump off a cliff if I didn't have them. Too many others to enjoy. __________________ ~Lori "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." -Abraham Lincoln

December 28, 2006	#9
Mischka Tomatoville® Administrator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Bay State Posts: 3,207	George Ball, are you reading this??? :wink: __________________ Mischka One last word of farewell, Dear Master and Mistress. Whenever you visit my grave, say to yourselves with regret but also with happiness in your hearts at the remembrance of my long happy life with you: "Here lies one who loved us and whom we loved." No matter how deep my sleep I shall hear you, and not all the power of death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.

December 29, 2006	#13
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	My Baker Creek catalog arrived yesterday. After reading this thread, I closely examined their tomato seed prices ... Under the banner header "TOMATOES" they clearly state that all envelopes contain 25 - 75 seeds. That's very generous compared to other "heirloom" tomato vendors ... and Baker Creek is 100% open pollinated with most varieties qualifying under recognized "heirloom" definitions. The majority of their 140 or so varieties of tomato seeds are 2.00 per pack ... a very modest price and directly comparable to other vendors like Seed Savers Exchange, Victory Seed and Tomato Growers Supply. There are no varieties advertised as "10 seeds per pack" as you sometimes find at many other companies. A few of Baker Creek's tomato seed offerings are between 2.00 and 3.00 apparently because they are in shorter supply. Some of the over-2.00 tomatoes appear to be "exclussive" offerings, although Baker Creek does not immodestly claim so as many other seed vendors would. And a few of the varieties that appear to be exclussive offerings actually are less than 2.00, so again, I think their prices look like they are based on availability and not price gouging. There are many more tomato varieties offered for less than 2.00 than those offered at more than 2.00, but again, the majority are priced at 2.00 with many priced between 1.25 - 1.75 per packet. There appears to be a handful of varieties offered by Baker Seed Company that are not available at any other seed vendor ... but then again, I've not scoured every other vendor's list in great detail ... but I've looked closely at the "top ten" and can say that Baker Creek has a handful of very scarse, if not totally exclusive, tomatoes. The entire operation was started 10 years ago by a young man, 17-years old at the time, operating out of his home and now Baker Creek operates a seed store, a veggie stand in Branson, an online heritage gardening forum with over 2000 members and publishes a high quality, 82 page, full color paper catalog chock full of great open pollinated, heritage fruits and vegetables. The owners and operators of Baker Creek also travel to Latin America and Southeast Asia to obtain more seeds to offer American gardeners. Their stock includes some great melons, edible and decorative gourds, greens, peas, beans, corn, potatoes, squash, cukes, all kinds of eggplants, cabbages, a few exotic fruits, berries, okra, onions, peppers, lettuces, spinach, sorghum, pumpkins, etc. ALL in generous seed counts and at modest prices. Their shipping and handling charge is a FLAT $2.50 ... far less than many other vendors about whom I've seen numerous complaints regarding s/h charges this year. In addition, Baker Creek, along with their patrons, helps provide educational and humanitarian projects every year and sends seed packets to schools, orphanages, prisons, and lately to Afghanistan. In short, their seed offerings are wonderful, diverse, and priced very competitively, and the packets each contain an ample and generous number of seed ... and they have earned support rather than unfounded criticism. PV

December 29, 2006	#14
garnetmoth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: cincinnati, oh Posts: 492	nicely said Papa Vic- you educated me on some things- Baker Creek also host several swaps/ heritage days that i would LOVE to get to. Bountiful Gardens (small independant nonprofit research), Seeds of Change (purchased by big business, started small) and Baker are the only companies i KNOW of that offer seed farm tours or gatherings. I really need to get to one of them some day, sounds like a neat experience! There is such a thing as economy of scale- a few (what IS the #?) dedicated folks picking by hand and sorting seeds VS. large companies that have machines and a large distribution (ie every Sprawl-Mart in the US!) I try to buy from at least 1 small company a year, but ive done so much seed hoarding I really dont need seeds this year!