Topic: anyone used - seedfest

[GrowingChillis]

Everyone here seems to have bad experiences with seed companies.

I am in the process of getting a plant and seed business up and running.

We are going to speacialise in chilli and pepper seeds.

What kind of seeds are you having trouble getting hold of?

I will see if I can source some of these and put them up for sale.....

of course with a reliable service!

any ideas welcome.

thanks

 :)

[supersprout]

Well that is obviously where your seeds all went - they sent them to MT and Sunny ;D

Sprouty!
:P ;) ;D

[Merry Tiller]

 :-[

[manicscousers]

while we are all talking about being let down....although it isn't a seed company... we made a big mistake signing on with talk talk...took six months from ordering before we got the modem and install disk...more emails and phone calls than i can remember...then finaly they arrived and didn't down load properly....back to the phone & 20 minutes wait for each call after being told that " that will solve the problem" but it didn't.....then got to talk to the next leval up chappie seems we were one of the people who had been sent a corrupt install disk....so he would send a new disc out and everything would be great ;D  4 weeks later the disc came and guess what no differance..... whenever we want to use the internet we have to unplug the modem and re plug it in again  also thair f secure protection didn't install properly and keeps comming up with errors.....replaced it now......they ignor any complaints by email.....we even sent a letter to the main man......no reply either........we now know why they have an 18 month contract or pay £70 yes its cheeper but the worst isp we have been with

[Melbourne12]

I think the problems that some companies have aren’t with the availability of stock so much as sloppy order processing.  Few people would be really upset if they order something and then get a prompt and courteous refund and an apology that what they’ve ordered is out of stock.

What I suspect happens with people like Seedfest is that orders come in and are carelessly handled.  Whether they choose to print the orders and use a paper-based system, or rely mainly on computer files, it’s important to administer it scrupulously, and to plan for every eventuality – out of stock, cancellations and amendments, bounced payments, undeliverable, “not delivered”, returns, complaints, and so on and on and on.

On the plus side, many more companies get it right than get it wrong.  I guess the rogues quickly go out of business.  But I occasionally deal with people who are brilliant if everything goes well, but a nightmare if it goes wrong, simply because they don’t have the right processes even to deal with something straightforward like the delivery getting damaged in the post.

[tricia]

I ordered seeds worth £6.25 from Seedfest last June - I'm still waiting >:(. There have been umpteen emails sent to - and for a long time returned as undeliverable - many of the Seedfest affiliates. >:( >:( On 25 October I sent another one which didn't get returned, but no reply either. >:( >:( >:( I have used them before and had no problem but I shall never use them again. I've said a  :(  goodbye to my money and would warn anyone else tempted to try ANY of their websites, to avoid them like the plague  >:( >:( >:( >:(.

They moved their U.K. branch back to the States last year and I think it is since then that the problems have arisen. It is downright fraud to take money from someone without supplying the ordered items, be it a product or service. Maybe we should report them to the appropriate American authority - but which one is it?

There have been threads on other gardening forums too, so it isn't just us who have been defrauded of our money.

Tricia

[Tora]

I hate seedfest! I ordered 50 packets of veg seeds through ebay in February and of course nothing arrived. I had to file a complaint in the end, after several months because they kept ignoring my mails. I got to talk to other people who had the same experience and it seems seedfest had no intention of sending seeds out. They were kicked out of ebay at least twice, as there were so many people complaining to ebay. It's most frustrating because they list so many lovely varieties on their site (which, of course helps to attract people!).

[daisymay]

Everyone here seems to have bad experiences with seed companies.

I am in the process of getting a plant and seed business up and running.

We are going to speacialise in chilli and pepper seeds.

What kind of seeds are you having trouble getting hold of?

I will see if I can source some of these and put them up for sale.....

of course with a reliable service!

any ideas welcome.

thanks

 :)

Sounds intersting....... you have a captive audience on here...special discounts to A4A members?  ;)

[cambourne7]

I hate seedfest! I ordered 50 packets of veg seeds through ebay in February and of course nothing arrived. I had to file a complaint in the end, after several months because they kept ignoring my mails. I got to talk to other people who had the same experience and it seems seedfest had no intention of sending seeds out. They were kicked out of ebay at least twice, as there were so many people complaining to ebay. It's most frustrating because they list so many lovely varieties on their site (which, of course helps to attract people!).

Wow tora thats horible - claim it back from your credit card company!

[Tora]

I got money back by pay pal. ;)
The most annoying thing was I ended up sowing veg seeds quite late. I'm determined to start sowing early next year! ;D

[cornykev]

:o Can't believe so many problems with one seed company, I ordered  from alanromans.com everything I needed and arrived within a week, some people said they don't have a big selection but I found them all right, hope everyone gets their seeds or money back and don't forget to rubbish seedfest early next year to warn other people.

                     May the coprn be with you.

[growgirl]

On this topic, I've made a reccommendation to have a section dedicated to seed/nursery suppliers. I think it's a good resource for us.

[cambourne7]

there is a list of suppliers in the wiki? Is'it there?

paypal just gave me a full refund  ;D

[Tinkie_Bear]

I have filed a dispute through paypal and had a reply from the company that took my message ...

"Hello, this is Joseph Stanley with CCNow Customer Service.
I received your inquiry regarding CCNow order number *********,
and I am sorry to hear that this order has not been received.

I have forwarded your inquiry directly to the seller at
seedfest@aol.com , as a high-priority message.  I expect
that you will receive a response within a short time.

Please let me know if you still do not receive a satisfactory
response within 3 business days, and I will
be glad to investigate further.

Regards,

- Joseph Stanley
  CCNow Customer Service"

So now the slippery suckers have 3 days to get back to me.....

Next instalment in 3 days time !

Helen

[tricia]

I Paid through PayPal, but they refused to do anything for me as it was their policy only to mitigate or refund within a 45 day period. I had spent a good two months trying to get my seeds delivered by way of emailing seedfest, getting replies initially saying seeds would be sent, then no replies, then emails returned as undeliverable before complaining to PayPal..gggggrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Tricia

[growgirl]

there is a list of suppliers in the wiki? Is'it there?

paypal just gave me a full refund  ;D

Thanks, I never noticed the wiki....but I was thinking more along the lines of members rating/commenting on the seed companies rather than just links to the websites - basically an expansion of this thread.

Re: refund, great to hear  :)

[philcooper]

On this topic, I've made a reccommendation to have a section dedicated to seed/nursery suppliers. I think it's a good resource for us.

Until earlier this year I had a site which listed all mail order suppliers of plants and seeds in the UK. For various reasons this is no loner up and running but I have extracted the vegetable and general seed pages and reposted them at http://thewhitchurchweb.org/seeds

I have marked Seed Fest with a reference to this thread and will do likewise to others if there is the same level of discontent

If I've got anything wrong or missed any out please let me know

Phil

[cambourne7]

wow

this is ace

although if you put it in the wiki you would not have to maintain it :)

[cornykev]

:) Congrats on your money back Cambourne, also I missed wiki thanks for that, and tinkie you did say slippery suckers didn't you.

              May the corn be with you.

[GrowingChillis]

Hi Daisymay

Yes I would certainly give any memebers of A4A a discount.
I will talk to the owners of A4A and see what they say,
but anyone who is on this forum is welcome to a 10% discount.

I will put a post up when the site is up and running
and stock is ready for purchase.

Peter  :)