While I have been happy to send seeds to people on this forum who are setting up projects I have also sent seeds to people who have asked for seeds and never been heard of again.
Charity apart,I would not send out seeds to anyone who had not been a regular poster for some time.
I have even heard stories of people who sell them on. :(
Your thoughts?
I agree betula. It's one thing coming here, making yourself known, joining in, offering and receiving seeds and getting involved in swaps. But it's quite a different matter if the only reason for being here is to blag seeds and I wouldn't send seeds under those circumstances either. Seed swap parcels are particularly vulnerable as we've seen recently.
Last year I sent someone quite a few seeds for *Start Up*. I didn't get a thank-you or see that person online again. I was taken in with the sob story.
Not for a second time will this happen.
In general most gardeners are very generous with sharing, but this has burnt my fingers. It's a shame, it's spoilt it for a genuine case :(
Lauren
Quote from: Lauren S on January 07, 2009, 12:30:41
Last year I sent someone quite a few seeds for *Start Up*. I didn't get a thank-you or see that person online again. I was taken in with the sob story.
Not for a second time will this happen.
In general most gardeners are very generous with sharing, but this has burnt my fingers. It's a shame, it's spoilt it for a genuine case :(
Lauren
Same here, I've sent seeds a few times, and most times never found out if they arrived; a pm to say they've arrived and thank you would have been nice, especially since I didn't ask for anything in return. >:( >:(
I have found that the vast majority of people who ask for seeds on this forum are genuine. I've had some lovely 'thank yous', not to mention stamps back to cover the postage (unasked for) or surprise seeds in return. That said, there is always going to be the odd 'bad apple' who spoils our natural inclination as gardeners to share which results, as Lauren says, in us becoming less inclined to respond to such requests.
I hope that despite these isolated bad experiences we can continue to pass on our spares to those who need them, swap seeds and have pass the parcels. If I have spare seeds to offer I have learnt not to mention it if the pack is unopened (I assume that these are easier to sell on if that is the intention) and I must admit that, like Betula, I am wary about responding to requests for seeds from brand new posters, particularly if they post a long list of things they want including varieties! But if someone asks for 'a few bean seeds' for instance and I had some spare, I'd probably send them on. All I'd expect in return would be a PM to let me know that they had arrived safely.
G x
I've posted and recieved seeds, folk always p.m. to say thanks, or have I just been lucky??
Hi all
I saw this thread and felt a bit of a cringe come over me! I posted such a request the other day and so I now feel absolutely guilt-ridden as I can understand where you are coming from if you have had a bad experience! I even included a line which might well be interpreted as a 'sob story'- ggrrrr! However we as a family had had a very very hard last 2 years and saw the allotment as an escpae and something to give us a reason to get outside and do something worthwhile and so good for the soul. Now I feel doubly awful.
All I can say is that the request was genuine and that the response has been exactly the same with a few really kind offers. I have offered to send a stamped, addressed envelope to a few posters to at least cover costs though most have been so kind as to say not to worry. For everyone who offered to help I intended to note their ID and later send something nice as I get up and running and build a stock of seeds. I know talk is cheap for some but I was sincere.
Anyway, I am really sorry if anyone is offended by my request and totally understand the slightly negative viewpoint of some as a bad experience would harden anyone's attitude. I may not be a big Christian but I do have a rather over-sized sense of civic duty and I will endeavour to repay anyone who has been so kind and my heart has been so warmed by all the kind responses.
Hoping I have not upset anyone or gone against the etiquette.
Simon
x
I do hope I've acknowledged any seeds, cuttings, etc I've been sent. ???.
I agree, most people who ask for seeds are genuine, I would hate to get to where I wouldn't send seeds out for fear of them being sold..
psi, you've been much too active on this site to be a fraud.. :)
Hello Psi
I must admit I was not sure about you as you have only made about seven posts since July.I have found in the past that people who do not post very much ,have taken the seeds and gone.On the other hand people who are active,I have never had a prob with.You live and learn.
From your last post you seem to be genuine and I wish you and your family good luck on the lottie :)
Betula,
I don't post often, but click on this site most days, I had some Stuffa tomato seed sent to me by a member which was appreciated, and brought them packets of seeds back from Thailand for which I was thanked, all done by PM, so could you put me on your files as a thank-er who gives more than he gets, thank's. ;)
Can only speak about my own experience :)
I have always found people on this site to be extremely generous as i have asked for quite a few different things, however i only ever ask for what i can use (only got a small garden) i have also found people very appreciative of what i have sent them too, i think its swings and roundabouts on the whole but i do know what you mean betula, i even remember someone asking for seeds and when they were told it was not a full packet told the sender not to bother as they were of no use to them at all :o :o.
PSI i am happy to offer you my seeds, i do not need them so im happy to offer them
it is sad that the few make it bad for the rest but on the whole i think this site polices itself very well and long may it continue ;D
Yep I'm with you Debster, although I understand your frustration Betula. I've sent seeds to a few people and received some from others (as far as I know I've always pm'd and said thanks - if I haven't then my sincerest apologies!), so far I've always had thanks in return and in some instances a few seeds. Not to mention the invaluable advice and support from all the fab people on here - best allotment site on the web in my humble opinion :)
I was speaking to one of the older guys on the plots last weekend and told him I'd had a wheelbarrow and a few other things stolen and he said something that I totally agreed with - where there are people there will be some evil. He went on to say that like the news we only ever mention the bad things not the good. He's right. We've had a hell of a 2 years so I have something of a better perspective on life these days and I intend to see the good and ignore the bad and just let people live the way they see fit. Trust and hope are beautiful things!
Psi
I think that anyone not genuine soon gets found out and hopefully they are few and far between.
I suppose that initially we have to trust our instincts when it's someone new.
I'm glad to say that so far I've received and sent seeds without problems and look forward to carrying on doing so.
This is a good topic Betula, with plenty of thoughtful comments.
Psi I also hope that you've not upset anyone as I think that your request is perfectly reasonable.
Quote from: Flighty on January 07, 2009, 15:31:56
I think that anyone not genuine soon gets found out and hopefully they are few and far between.
I suppose that initially we have to trust our instincts when it's someone new.
I'm glad to say that so far I've received and sent seeds without problems and look forward to carrying on doing so.
This is a good topic Betula, with plenty of thoughtful comments.
Psi I also hope that you've not upset anyone as I think that your request is perfectly reasonable.
Well put Flighty :)
The first thing I do when someone, whose name I don't recognise, askd for seeds is check their profile. If it is a complete newbie (I've had several requests from the States!) I reply, politely, that the seeds have all gone.
For the most part, though, I love the give and take of seeds on this forum.
Tricia
Anyone got 3 pound of Kestrels spare, thxs in advance. ;D ;D ;D
I don't post on here very often (I lurk more often than I post!), but I have asked a couple of times for something. I hopefully have thanked those who have sent me seeds, but have a feeling one might have slipped through the net (just pm'd to correct the situation!). Apologies if I've missed anyone else. :-[
I'll hijack the allotment seed potato delivery on Saturday, if you are that desperate, Corneykev ;D
I must say that I have sent seeds and plants to folks and have had seeds from a couple of others on here. I have yet to find anyone that didn't at least thank me. When I have sent plants I have also had the postage returned to me. Perhaps I have been fortunate so far.
If your going to put yourself out Tin do us a couple of pound of Rocket as well. ;D ;D ;D
I thought I always thanked people who sent me seeds but please accept my apologies if I have missed anyone out. What happens to the seed swap parcels, do they go missing or what?
Always had a "thank you" too from everyone here, if i don't hear within a few days I send a pm to ask if they've got there, which usually results in an apologetic "Ooops, sorry yes got them" mostly.
Linda
Quote from: Tin Shed on January 08, 2009, 16:45:34
I'll hijack the allotment seed potato delivery on Saturday, if you are that desperate, Corneykev ;D
Thats not fair...!! I want some too.................................pretty please ;D ;D
Lindsay......If I remember rightly it was you who sent me some Pyracantha seedlings? They are doing very well, only lost 2, so 5 good sturdy plants growing away ;D
The reason I don't join in the seed parcels is we have a lot of post going missing in our area. I'd be mortified if the parcel went missing. I've had more rows at our sorting office about plants not delivered, left over the weekend in the hot sorting office. Parcels and post tampered with. We're for ever getting other peoples post. There's no excuse as my oh works nights and is always home in the day. Same with out going post. If its really important I always post it regersted.
But I do look in most days to see the great advice given and the veriuse posts.
Some of the funnier ones have been very timely and given me something to smile at. So thank you all for making my life a brighter one.
last year I sent out 9 lots of 6 strawberry runners and, I think, I was thanked for them all ;D
Quote from: debster on January 07, 2009, 14:47:51
i even remember someone asking for seeds and when they were told it was not a full packet told the sender not to bother as they were of no use to them at all :o :o.
Debster, would it be wrong to name and shame them, or report them to the moderator?? What's the correct etiquette? Perhaps a BLACKLIST!! Haha.
I hope to become on of the trusted ones :)
Nathan
I don't think it's anything to get het up about. Either you get thanked or the receiver forgets or doesn't bother to acknowledge. If you're worried a quick pm to say "did it arrive?" will usually confirm.
This thread will serve as a reminder to those who forget!!!
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
If I understood betula correctly, the thread wasn't about people not saying thanks when they receive seeds (although as asbean says, a reminder doesn't go amiss!). It was about people whose only purpose in joining appears to be to 'beg' for seeds, they don't post anything else other than requests, kind souls respond, and you never see them again.
The seed sharing on here is so successful, I think, because of the feeling of 'community' there is on the forum and the trust it creates.
Besides, if someone is setting up an allotment, seeds are the least thing you would be worrying about from a cost point of view. I know most people on here are addicts with no self-control ;) but if money's tight, for a fiver from Netto, you could get all the basics you need and still have change.
I agreee there, the thread did drift somewhat, but of the people I sent seeds to the ones who didn't acknowledge them were the newbies who haven't been seen since. Perhaps it goes with the territory. Now I only send them to people who have been posting regularly and are well established.
I wouldn't like a seed swap to disappear because an opportunist has made off with the package.
Quote from: asbean on January 11, 2009, 14:14:54
I agreee there, the thread did drift somewhat, but of the people I sent seeds to the ones who didn't acknowledge them were the newbies who haven't been seen since. Perhaps it goes with the territory. Now I only send them to people who have been posting regularly and are well established.
Asbean,
Do you know how to move up the ranks from a Newbie? I assume it has something to do with number of posts...posted and time spent on the forum. Thanks for any help and advice.
Nathan (a Newbie in progress)
Hi Brown 97, welcome to A4A!!
The people we are referring to are those who join the forum with the sole intent of blagging free seeds, which they sometimes sell on. They don't enter into any discussions about plants or anything else, they just post on the swap board and then when they've got what they want they don't post or visit again. Enthuiastic newbies who discuss their plans in their first posts and ask questions (like you :) :) ) are not in the same category!
You move up the ranks (so to speak) by the number of posts, from newbie, not so new, quarter acre, half acre, acre, hectare. (There are so many hectares on this forum it shows how addictive it can become lol and some people have spent WEEKS on here). But some people post more than others, some people just visit and read the posts.
But you've probably twigged by now - seed collecting is VERY addictive, and you can end up spending a fortune - wait till T&M sell them at half price, or if you have a Wyevale near you they sell them at the end of the summer at 50p a packet - bargain!!! And there's Wilkinsons, Lidl and loads of other shops that have them cheap. Then you can buy twice as many for the same price!
:) :) :) :) :) :)
Quote from: asbean on January 11, 2009, 17:54:24
The people we are referring to are those who join the forum with the sole intent of blagging free seeds, which they sometimes sell on. They don't enter into any discussions about plants or anything else, they just post on the swap board and then when they've got what they want they don't post or visit again. Enthuiastic newbies who discuss their plans in their first posts and ask questions (like you :) :) ) are not in the same category!
...
But you've probably twigged by now - seed collecting is VERY addictive, and you can end up spending a fortune - wait till T&M sell them at half price, or if you have a Wyevale near you they sell them at the end of the summer at 50p a packet - bargain!!! And there's Wilkinsons, Lidl and loads of other shops that have them cheap. Then you can buy twice as many for the same price!
Whew!! Thanks for clearing that all up!! ;D ;D
I do really enjoy this site and hope that I can contribute as much as I learn. I've found www.youtube.com and www.gardenersworld.com to be a great source of knowledge and would count A4A to be right there among them!!
Now all I need to do is get that ever elusive plot near where I live!!
Thanks again Asbean, hope to make a successful swap with you in the future (Full of gratitude and thankfulness too!! ;D).
Nathan
I must admit that i joined so that i could send a pm to Jeanine when she was offering her seeds (about 5 pages full) because of moving. I did say to her that i was new and once everyone had their pick of their favourites and if she had a few left over, would i be able to have some. She sent me about 40 different seeds :o and would not except anything for them or postage.
Hopefully i've made up for the reason for joining and will continue to post.
When i was an administrator for a forum, i had it set that you had to post at least 25 full posts ( not single words like ok) before you could enter the for sale/wanted section as we had problems with people joining only to advertise stuff for sale.
Maybe it could be set up here for the swapshop?
Neil
Looks like I'm going to be a newbie for about 5 years as I just love to read just about all the posts 2 or 3 times a week.I am resisting the seed buying at the moment( I only have 15 different varieties ) and I haven't counted them all yet!!!
Welcome to the site Bobitybob... it's very contagious that seed collecting you know! :)
Brown 97 i dont need to name and shame them they said it in an open thread that not to bother cos it wasnt a full packet :o
hiya, bobitybob, nice to meet you ;D
Quote from: debster on January 12, 2009, 21:38:08
Brown 97 i dont need to name and shame them they said it in an open thread that not to bother cos it wasnt a full packet :o
It's very humble of you :) :)
OH NO its contageous and I thought it was just a habit. or is that what monks wear?