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Some New Tips for Listing Your Seeds in the Seed Exchange

When you register as a Grower Member in the seed exchange, and offer seeds to other members, you'll see a form like this. There are a lot more choices than last year!

Payment by E-transfer and Paypal

By popular demand, we've added options for digital payment for seeds. There has always been a way for you to add your own "other" payment methods, and since so many members have added these on their own, we just made them official. If you check these payment methods they will be shown in your grower information, and members will be prompted to choose these ways of paying for seeds that they request from you.

Requests and Payment by Mail or Email Only

Normally, members have requested seeds and sent payment by regular mail, but digital payment makes it possible to skip mail entirely. Some members have expressed privacy concerns with everyone seeing their address, so we've introduced an option that will let you accept requests and payments by email only, and hide your address. On the other hand, some members are most comfortable receiving requests and payment in the normal mail, and don't want e-payments.

If you accept seed requests by Email Only, your mailing address will be hidden in both the online and printed seed exchange. Members will be directed to make their requests to you by email and to pay by e-transfer, paypal, or any other digital payment methods that you specify. This ensures the privacy of your address, and your location will only be identifiable as the province where you live. e.g. your grower member code identifies your province, but that's all.

On the other hand, if you accept seed requests by By Mail Only, all requests made through the online seed exchange will prompt members to print their requests and send payment by mail only. You can choose whether or not to show your email address (see the Email Unlisted check box), because you might want members to contact you that way.

By default, requests and payments are made By Mail or Email, just like before.

Choosing When You Offer Seeds

Previously, there was a "Cut-off" option, to let you indicate how late in the season you accept seed requests. The standard cut-off is May 31, since by that time most gardeners have already planted their seeds. However, some of us like to finish up our seed requests earlier, and some appreciate requests at all times of year. Now, it's fully up to you.

If you choose to accept requests Between these Dates then the online seed exchange will only allow your seeds to be requested during that time. You can extend your personal seed exchange season as early or late as you wish. In the printed seed exchange, there's no way to enforce this of course, but your chosen dates will be clearly shown and we ask members to respect them. By default, seed requests can be made between January 1 and May 31, like always.

You can also choose to accept requests All Year Round. Then there is no cut-off, so members will always be able to select your seeds for requesting, until you remove them from your list.

Offering Seeds Only to Members Who Also Offer Seeds

Sometimes we save lots of seeds and we’re glad to share them with any gardeners who’d like to grow them too, but sometimes we save a limited quantity of a very rare seed and we’re looking for other seed savers to help grow them out. This is how you can make your intention clear.

This setting is on the form where you give the details of each seed variety, not on the grower form above. For each variety of seeds you can choose to make them available to All Members or Only Members who also list seeds. Everyone will see your listing either way, but if you choose to offer certain seeds only to other listed members, then only those members will be able to select them in the online seed exchange. In the printed seed exchange, your choice will be highlighted and we ask members to respect that.

Setting Your Own Prices

Prices for seed requests are sometimes simple, and sometimes very complicated. The standard price for seeds is $3.50 and if you're offering seeds you get a $1 discount. That seems to make sense for packets of small seeds, but it's impossible to set standard prices for large items like potatoes, bulbs, and live plants.

Most larger items have to ship by parcel post, which not only costs a lot but it costs a very different amount depending on weight and the distance involved. That means we can't predict your shipping cost, you can't either unless you already know where you're sending the parcel. We've tried setting the price high enough to be fair to the sender, but it is inevitably unfair to the requester. Also, you can ship two samples of potatoes for just slightly more than one, so doubling the shipping price seems unwarranted.

After doing this for nearly 35 years, here is the best we can do: the default prices are $3.50 for seeds and $18.00 for large items (e.g. potatoes, bulbs, live plants) that ship by parcel post. Members who offer seeds in the seed exchange get a $1 discount on every item, as a way of thanking them and encouraging participation. But if you think your prices should be higher or lower, you can set them yourself.

If you put a number (like 3.00, 3.25, or 7) in the Price field, the online seed exchange will use that price and total it up. But you can also put your own words in the Price, for instance "Contact me before requesting", or "$20 for one, $30 for two", or whatever you want. Obviously the online request system can't calculate that, but your intentions will be obvious to the member requesting your seeds. 

Do You Have Suggestions?

We try to improve the seed exchange every year, so we're eager to hear any suggestions to make it better. Send your ideas and comments to mail@seeds.ca!

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