Saved seeds are best!!

[esbo]

From a fly-by-night company maybe, but not if they are DEFRA approved - which applies to all the well known brand companies.

yes well that is what I mean, if you are paying top dollar you should be OK but if you go for the cheapest as I do you can't be too sure, however all the cheap tom seeds I bought germinated, but as has been said they can last a few years anyway.
If I see seeds going cheap I tend to buy them.
I could afford to buy the best but I'd rather buy lots of cheap ones then I won't feel like I have 'been done' if they do not germinate
I always end up with more than I have space for anyway!!
I have about 30 tomatoes seeds germinated which is way too much really!!

I didn't note some packs didn't seem to have a year marked on them which made me think they
could easily sell unsold stock the next year.

[Kristen]

I buy seeds cheap too, but I tend to buy them when on discount/sale, rather than from unknown sources - with the exceptions of "mates" that I share / swap seeds with where the provenance is known & trusatble.