Stingy Suttons, bit of a rant.

[toomanytommytoes]

I buy my seeds off eBay these days. Most packs are 99p with free postage. They can usually be relied on to give decent crops.

It's probably the same seed as Suttons et al. just in different packaging. Apparently Kings Seeds are the only big UK wholesaler producing (a fraction of) their own seed. Most just buy in bulk from the giant seed producers and stick their own name on it. An eBay seller like Premier Seeds Direct likely does the same, but they charge you half the price for double the seed. Another eBay merchant, Nutsncones, sells Kings Seeds but in plain white packaging.

[mrbadexample]

I buy my seeds off eBay these days. Most packs are 99p with free postage. They can usually be relied on to give decent crops.

This.

I have no affiliation to Premier Seeds but wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Generosity and price are both strong points - if it's not F1 you usually get far more than you need.

[Thelma Sanders]

Another eBay merchant, Nutsncones, sells Kings Seeds but in plain white packaging.

4 out of the 5 packets I've bought from them this year were in original kings envelopes, the one that was plain envelope was a bigger than normal size pack … I like them because seeds and postage are much cheaper than buying direct from Kings

[Bonjour]

Thanks all for the interesting and informative replies. I didn't realise that these seed companies don't produce all their own seed.

Whilst disagreeing, I respect the opinion of those who think 8 out of 10 ain't bad. I guess it depends on how many plants is enough for the individual. I'd rather have ten, or even more in case of losses and a few spares to chance outside if we get a good summer.

I suspect the move to minimal number seeds is less to do with production costs (excepting F1 varieties) and more to do with preventing people buying a pack to do for two years. Whatever the motive, it's unhelpful to some of us.

[veggiechicken]

Jalapeno chilli seeds are only £1 for 15 from T&M - not that I'm recommending them. £1.99 for 15 from Marshalls with free p&p. The ebay shops with sell you more for less.

It pays to shop around.

[Bonjour]

Jalapeno chilli seeds are only £1 for 15 from T&M - not that I'm recommending them. £1.99 for 15 from Marshalls with free p&p. The ebay shops with sell you more for less.

It pays to shop around.

Thanks for the non-recommendations VC

[veggiechicken]

T&M and I have history - it wasn't pleasant.
However, they do have free P&P weekends - usually around bank holidays which can be worth waiting for if you only want one packet of seeds.

[toomanytommytoes]

4 out of the 5 packets I've bought from them this year were in original kings envelopes, the one that was plain envelope was a bigger than normal size pack … I like them because seeds and postage are much cheaper than buying direct from Kings

Guess as well as selling Kings branded packets they also buy wholesale quantities from Kings and put them in the white packaging. I like them too and prefer the paper packaging over the plastic foil packets that Premier Seeds sell in.

[greenishfing]

If you do complain please let us know what their customer service is like for future reference.
One of the ways I rate a company is how they react when things go wrong which is why there is one company I avoid like the plague.

[Voglen]

This.

I have no affiliation to Premier Seeds but wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Generosity and price are both strong points - if it's not F1 you usually get far more than you need.

I looked at Premier seeds and prices are so much lower than other brands.How does it compare to quality?

[Small pumpkin]

I looked at Premier seeds and prices are so much lower than other brands.How does it compare to quality?

I’ve never noticed any difference between them and the bigger more expensive companies. I use them regularly.

[SarrissUK]

I can recommend Premier seeds too - I've often used them and never noticed any problems with them.

[rary]

I bought some seed from Suttons £2.99 for 150 seeds plus £1.99 postage, I lost the seeds so sent for the same variety from Premier seeds £1.00 for 1000 plus 99p for postage. Guess where I will be purchasing my seed from in future

[burnie]

The only thing I would say is that some seeds seem to germinate more successfully than others, even from the same supplier, an example is I get better germination from Suttons Carrots than some others. I tried cheap seeds from Lidl a few years back and the results were disappointing.

[rary]

No burnie I lost the seeds, in otherwords I put them somewhere safe and they are still there, wherever there is