Topic: discount on seeds for a4a members

[5rod]

 HI 5 ROD HERE
I KNOW THAT ALOT OF SEED COMPANYS
GIVE UP TO 60%  OFF SEEDS TO ALLOTMENT CLUB ECT
T &M,KINGS, AND LOTS MORE
. JUST THROGH MAYBE  A4A COULD
DO SUMETHING FOR US.(IE MAYBE WE COULD
PUT A PREFIX ON OUR ORDERS)???
DAN WHAT DO YOU THINK
IF ANYBODY WOULD BE INTRESED NOW THE
TIME TO SAY.   ;) ;) ;)

[windygale]

i would be, it could be better than buying from bad sellers on ebay >:( ::) give it a try dan ;D

[Barnowl]

I think one reason for the discount is that the orders are consolidated and sent as one bulk lot to the society, who then distribute them. Not sure how we could achieve the same.

[djbrenton]

I was just about to post the same. The only way this would work is if someone consolidated orders for a particular date then added P & P and shipped them out. By the same token, major savings could be made by purchasing quantities of common seeds from Moles and splitting the packs. The equivalent amount of a normal seed pack of peas costs 40p when purchased in bulk from moles.

I would add that as I'm local to Codnor Horticultural, if I want Fothergills or Johnsons I simply pop there and buy at a 50% discount. In season I'd be quite happy to fetch and post orders to A4A members at no markup.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Almost all my seeds come from small specialists; I wonder whether one of them might be interested in a deal.

[star]

What a great idea, specially the more expensive heritage varieties. It would be great to get discount on those :D

[OllieC]

It would be very kind of someone to do this - although it's a potential major headache, time eater & thankless task!

[PurpleHeather]

All these discounts prove just how overpriced seeds are in the retail market.

I find that the cheap seeds from wilkies, aldi, liddl and netto are fine and give me far more plants than I need. I also sow things like corriander seeds from the packs used for cooking. A tip from Alan Titchmarsh years ago!  Other plants like peppers I grow from the seeds inside the vegetables.

I swap the excess plants with people who have bought more expensive seed varieties of plants which are not in the price range I use.

I reckon that I save more than enough to pay for the allotment for the every year.

Sadly this year the cheap vegetable seeds sold out very quickly as more people are trying the grow your own vegies.

Some times it is correct to say 'you only get what you pay for' and there are some people who believe that 'branded' goods must be better. This is not always true.

Usually it is their advertising telling you how good they are that you are paying for.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Certainly the seeds from the big companies are overpriced; I'm not so sure about the small ones, with a small turnover and more specialised seed, which, hopefully, has been looked after better. The more we can save ourselves, the better.

[Jeannine]

I find it is often just the same cost to get larger quantities of seeds from some companies if you are prepared to pass on the fancy pretty packets. It costs the same to pack 100 seeds as it does 10 so most of the cost of some seeds is in the packing.

I always buy the bigger sizes if I can, I find it does me for more than one or two years without losing out on germination(in most things) and I also then am able to share with others at no cost to myself which I enjoy doing.

Therefore buying the bigger plain packets might be a good way for a few of you sharing.

XX Jeannine

[Susiebelle]

The Lotti shop is good for bog standard stuff! but as you all say the more specialised the seed the more expensive, I often find I am sending off for 1 or 2 pkts from lots of different suppliers and its that d**n postage that ups the anti! >:(

[Susiebelle]

Sorry DAN it isn't even a word I would normally use I just don't know what came over me :-[

[valmarg]

I usually get most of my veg seeds from Moles.  They are a wholesale company, but do sell to amateurs, minimum order £5.00 and no P&P.  They do work out a lot cheaper than most seed companies, and for people on allotment sites it would be a reason to club together to buy from them.

The following are examples against Mr Fothergills seed company.

Broad Beans

Imperial Green Longpod - MrF 50 seeds £1.85 - Moles 500g £2.55

Climbing French Bean

Cobra - MrF 75 seeds £2.75 - Moles 100g £2.55
Sultana - Mr F 75 seeds £2.75 - Moles 100g £2.55

Runner Beans

Lady Di - MrF 45 seeds £2.99 - Moles 500g £5.80
Red Rum - MrF 50 seeds £2.95 - Moles 500g £8.25
Polestar - MrF 50 seeds £2.99 - Moles 500g £5.80

That is just the differences in bean varieties.

I agree with Jeannine that the seeds last for several years.  There are some that you have to buy fresh each year (I believe parsnips are a good example).

Tomatoes are virtually indestructable, so you can keep seed for several years.

Another comparison is Gardeners Delight tomatoes

MrF - enough seed for 50 plants £1.50

Moles 1g (800 seeds per gram) £3.25

It really pays to shop around.

Oh, and another thing about Moles - their catalogue comes out at the end of September, and if you order before the end of November you get a 6% discount for cash with orders (or paying by credit card) after that you get 3% discount.

You also get a free Year Planner, and in invitation to their 'Open Days' at their trials fields.

No, I'm not on commission from Moles, but I'm beginning to think I should be ;D

valmarg

[caroline7758]

Seeds sold in grammes doesn't mean anything to me! ???

[Mushy Pea]

I work mine out in chocolate bars.  100 g is around 4 oz.  ;D

[valmarg]

Oops sorry caroline, even an old ducker like what I am has vaguely (well very nearly) mastered a bit of that metric rubbish (I think, but perhaps not really  ::) 
I'm sorry I missed out the translation of seeds per gram.

I think I shall have to go back to the drawing board to convert the weights, but believe me the Moles quantities are much better value for money.

valmarg
 

[5rod]

I also buy lots of my seeds from moles
when i started this thread  it was to see
if there was an  interest. if dan
as the owner might be able to get discount
for us all at A4A.with one or more of the seed company
BUT
B Y THE NUMBER OF  POST ITS NOT REALY WANTED
           PITY :( :( :(
                all the best 5rod

[caroline7758]

It's not so much the metric system, it's converting it to numbers of seeds to compare with the usual packets!

[valmarg]

Been back to the catalogue, in the cold light of dawn caroline, so I hope this helps.

Broad Beans - c. 650 seeds per kilo (so for my 500g pack c. 325)

Climbing French Beans - 3,000 seeds per kilo.  Cobra and Sultana 100g - 300 seeds.

Runner Beans - Lady Di, Red Rum and Polestar 650-1,000 seeds per kilo, so for my calculations I worked on 400 seeds per 500g.

I've worked our that:

Broad Beans - MrF 3.7p per seed Moles .75p per seed

Climbing French - MrF 3.6p per seed Moles .85p per seed

Runner Beans::

Lady Di - MrF 6.6p per seed Moles 0.14p per seed
Red Rum - Mr F 5.9 per seed Moles 2p per seed
Polestar - MrF 5.9p per seed Moles 0.14p per seed

If you look at my first posting of yesterday, you are paying pretty much the same price per packet for a lot less seed (in MrFs case).

If you want more information go to molesseeds.co.uk, and compare.

Oooooh that's made my head ache.  The maths that is.  My best maths report was 'Valerie has no inclination to work grade E' ;D ;D

[caroline7758]

Aw, valmarg, you didn't have to do all that, but it certainly helps- and not just me, hopefully!Thanks!