Good one Lynda!

hmmmm...are my eyes deceiving me?

Jim, since you are going to take the U-haul and deliver seeds, why don't you drop by here in MN--not to far away from Lynda in OH--and pick up a few pounds of seeds from me? I've been looking for someone to take them off my hands.

Kate

Well Sue that only took about 4 hours from beginning to end. Someones been talking to the powers that be! Good job everyone!
Sue, I'm not sure what you ment by the statement you made about your eyes.
Lynda, if you want the 1200 packs of seed they are yours if you will find good homes for them.
jim_6b

Jim - I'll drop you an e-mail and toss around a couple of ideas.

Lynda

Well Sue that only took about 4 hours from beginning to end. Someones been talking to the powers that be! Good job everyone!
Huh?

Sue, I'm not sure what you meant by the statement you made about your eyes.
What I meant was I was not finding the post again that I had posted about just a little over an hour earlier. Instead of me thinking I was 'seeing' things, I was thinking I wasn't seeing something. Anywho...I guess it it disappeared pretty quickly.

Yep...someone's on top of it I'd say.

Sue

It took about 4 hours. The post appeared, several people responded, the post got yanked and the poster was emailed by GW. I'm just guessing about that last part.
This is what needs to happen when someone comes here begging for seed. I don't care if they do get mad. I don't care if I am accused of playing forum police. Yes we do have a moderator but I'm sure it takes a lot of time doing what she does. I've never heard her complain about us bringing things like this to her attention. I would think she would welcome a little help. Just my opinion.
jim_6b (who has never been known for keeping his opinions to himself)

(who has never been known for keeping his opinions to himself)
Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. A bunch of us are like that, myself included.

Hey Jim, not to change the subject, but I ran across a you tube video and immediately thought of you and also Fran's hubby, after hearing about his PO escapade.

Check it out. You really gotta feel sorry for the postal worker. In the end the police arrive.

"Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. A bunch of us are like that, myself included. "

Yep, Jim, you definitely shouldn't feel like the Lone Ranger. You had a posse riding behind you on this one. (-:

Hilarious video Sue!

Grrr now I see it's not just limited to newbies either. Begging post, made by someone who's been a member for 3 years!

And a search on that member's 3 years of posts show a large number of begging posts, and not a lot of actual gardening posts.

I liked your informative response in that thread, Yotetrapper. Very appropriate..

Lynda

yotetrapper, was that post pulled? I couldn't find it.

Found another one though, where a person who has been a member almost two years posted specific seeds to trade for a type of seed wanted; quickly found that seed, then posted looking for a couple more types of seed, but this time asked for them for postage instead of a trade (SASBE didn't appear in the title of the post). So this person obviously has seeds for trade but decided it's more fun to go the free route. Of course someone jumped right in and obliged her.

Kate

Sorry, don't know the gender of the person, shouldn't have used the pronoun 'her'.

Yeah, I'm wondering why that certain person is begging for seeds on GW right now too. I have to steer clear of that person as they've caused some drama recently. Is there anybody else out there that might post to their threads about asking to free seeds?????/

Yes the one I posted on got pulled shortly thereafter, but not before someone jumped in and offered her their daylily seeds.

I'm not sure if were talking about the same person but I see someone asking for seed but since they do have seed for trade on their seed list I would assume they are wanting to trade and failed to mention that in their post. If they didn't have their member page filled out with seeds for trade I would then say something.
jim_6b

The member I am speaking of still has the posts up. This person offered to trade several varieties of named hollyhocks, eucalyptus, and catalpa for lion's tail seeds, and also so generously offered to send postage instead. Within a short time, someone obliged, and the poster issued a "thanks, you guys are great!' comment. I am assuming because there was no respondent post, the member was offered the seeds for SASBE through a private email. Within a very short amount of time, another post went up, this time asking for calendula and nasturtiums for postage, no trade, and again, someone responded. The poster has been a member for almost two years, has nothing on their trade lists.

I sent a private email asking why they would offer to trade for one type of seed but then start asking for things for free when they obviously had seeds to exchange; pretty sure I won't get a response. I'd love to put the person's name here but don't want this thread pulled. You guys are good at ferreting things out, so I know you'll put two and two together.

Kate

My mistake--this person DOES have several seeds posted on his trade page (It is a he, I discovered, when I checked the R&R forum. He was trading this past year, now has decided it's easier to just be a taker). That's what makes the post looking for nasturtiums and calendula so infuriating to me. Here's the inner text--note that people are getting smart enough to not ask for SASBE in the title of the post.

"I was wondering if anybody has any of these for postage?? I'm really not picky about what they are, I just want a couple for planting in my garden next year. If anybody has these please LMK.
Thanks"

Kate

Kate - you and I are speaking of the same person. This is the person that I wish someone would call out on his threads. I can't because I was reported to GW by this person once before and warned. I won't risk getting booted because of them. I guess we could email GW asking that they start pulling any and every request for free seeds.

I usually don't post to these threads as I usually don't have anything insightful to add (because I haven't personally traded with the person(s) in question). But I have to throw my 2 cents in about the posting/person that kms4me mentions. I responded to the post via private email and arranged a trade with the person in question last night. It is indeed a trade--not a SASBE/BEAP, just to clarify. In my correspondence with said person I didn't get the impression that they were looking to get anything for free as in their response to my first email they sent a list of things that they could offer for trade that weren't on their trade list.

-Jill

Jill,

Thanks for the information. I am glad you and he set up a trade, and I apologize for my assumption that it probably wasn't. However, if in addition to what he had on his trade list he sent you a private email offering other things, it is clear that he still has seeds to trade and should not have asked for the calendula and nasturtiums for free.

He did respond to my private email, and I give him a lot of credit for that. However, he stated that he had traded all of his seeds to you, which was interesting since he then told me I could have anything on his list, a very odd contradiction. He also stated that he was sorry and would no longer ask for seeds for SASBE.

Kate

The person we are talking about also reported me. He wasn't to happy that I called him out on a swap thread. He dropped out because he said he didn't have any seeds to send in. Mind he dropped out after the mailing deadline. He sent me a private email telling me someone had deadheaded all his plants and threw the seed away. When it was mentioned he dropped out he denied it. So I posted the email, which set this person off and then he reported me. He was therefore exposed as a liar to the entire group. Our take on this is,he waited until the last minute to pull out thinking seeds were going to still be sent to him via the swap. He said he had no seeds to send in,but is trading as we speak. A little odd?

Ollierose, thanks for the email. Explains a LOT.

Angie (remember me?), you may be right in your assumptions about this person (nothing to send to the swap, now having seeds to trade), and I can understand your anger and frustration. I am wondering, was he issued a warning as well, or was it just you and Ollie?

His request re free calendula and nasturtium seeds seems to have been pulled. Earlier in the day, thinking I would not get a reply from him, I commented in his post that I wondered why he would not trade for these seeds when he had things available, and added that asking for seeds for free was against the rules. I admit I am totally in the dark as to whom pulls/decides to pull postings, and I am not sure my comments had anything to do with his posting being taken off the board.

Kate

Hey guys, can one of you shoot me an email and give me a heads up on who this is?

I might have had a close call.....

Yep, I had TWO close calls with this guy. I declined just cuz I was too bizzi!

Good thing!

I would also appreciate it if someone could email me and tell me who this person is, since his post has been yanked b4 i could go look for it to figure it out.

I know that postings often take on a life of their own. I know I posted about this individual, but I meant to make an example of his ASKING FOR FREE SEEDS(when he has things to trade), but did not want to make HIM an example.

I know that several of you have issues with him, and I understand completely. You have a right to be angry. But he does have more positive reviews than negative ones, and I am taken aback that this thread has become about outing him as a bad trader, when the subject was what we, as generous members, are doing to possibly encourage greedy behavior.

Kate

Kate- Not sure I can agree that this thread has become about 'outing'.

I actually never had any interest in 'outing' anyone on GW, and I still don't. IMHO 'outing' means to post significantly negative information about a GW member, in a public place.

Which is NOT what I wanted. All I wanted was to receive said information in a private place (my email inbox), for purposes of preventing possible trades going sour in the future. I did NOT plan to then go sharing that information with everybody nor to post it anywhere public.

IMHO it isn't at all the same thing to ask to be in the loop about a trader who has been involved in multiple 'interpersonal disagreements', than it is to want to 'out' said trader.

Im not sure I like the post deleting thing, you're making decisions without knowing all the history.

Unless of course somebody said something bad about ME, which of course its ok to delete -- ;).

some of that stuff may have been just "etiquette" questions or misunderstandings or whatever, but I like to make up my own mind.

Grovespirit, sorry you took exception with me trying to get my post back on the topic of SASBEs. I know you were looking for a private response concerning the trader's identity--maybe it would have been more direct to send a private email to me, Angie, or Ollierose. As it is, if more people keep asking for his identity in this forum, I am afraid someone WILL post his identity.

I apologize again for trying to get this thread back on topic. Didn't realize that would offend anyone.

Kate

Kate,

Thanks, but I'd really rather be allowed to speak on my own behalf and describe my own emotions, rather than have you try and do it for me. :)

It is my place to express my emotions (including whether or not I am offended), not the place of others to state how I feel. I was actually not offended so, I'd really prefer if next time you could ask me if I am offended.

I was truly just having a very bad week, and my emotions about those recent non-GW events seem to have carried over into my post. If you like I can send an e-mail to explain what all was going on in my bad week, because I don't think that content fits this forum.

You have a GREAT point that it would have been more direct and probably kinder if I had sent a private email to you, Angie, or Ollierose.
Point taken! In the future I definitely plan to keep such kinds of requests in email, and not in these public threads. Let's just say I slipped up under pressure (bad week). Sorry for the oops!

Guess what folks, I am human and cannot be expected to think of the best action 100% of the time. Even kind hearted folks like myself do still make errors (especially when under a lot of stress from a bad week).

I apologize for speaking up to clarify my actual intent. I hope that my doing so was not offensive to anyone. I didn't expect that standing up for my rights to clarify my behaviour and intent like that could offend folks.

Now that we've both apologised, let's please do get this thread back on topic. I'm guessing most GardenWebbers are not interested in this back-and-forth between you and me, which by the way, hasn't exactly been on topic either. If you wish to respectfully continue this side discussion with me, I am very open to doing so, but via email *only*.

Thanks for your understanding,
Grovespirit

I feel that because I have an ample supply of seeds to share that I'm more than happy to offer them to anyone who is willing to pay the postage (so long as they send me an adequate amount to cover mailing). I'm retired and have a huge garden (and garden business). I harvest large amounts of seeds. I feel very happy to share with those who wish to get started, but have to say that when people take my seeds and then turn around and offer them for trade it somewhat erks me.
Margyrose

i'm pretty sure i know who this person is!!! and he just rips my hyde!!! i think that ollierose and i have him in common which would mean that margyrose also has him in common with us!
i got a person asking for anything i could offer in the email. Hmmmm.... luckily i have some i'm not wintersowing and need to get rid of. so i'll send them off. to canada. canada. did you see that??? **grin** ~medo

Iris! you are very human! and very much allowed to be that way at times, and under stress. geeze, your body has just went thru h1n1 and God knows what else! so i'm sure everyone will understand! and not to mention that its the holidays and everyone goes thru even more stress! even the nicest of persons! Like YOU! even you arent immune!! God said so!! Hee hee!! (((HUGS))) ~medo

Just a note from a newbie (less than a month, I think):

Although I did not (and would never) ask for something for nothing, the SASBE offers I DID ask for allowed me to have seeds to enter the Santa swap.... and I think I did almost 50 envelopes! There wasn't much in some of them... but I wanted to send as much joy as _I_ had gotten to as many as I could.

Initially, I was trying to get seeds for a community garden that my church is still....debating over. Now, I'm offering the seeds to church and community members who would like them. I think I still have enough seeds (after the santa swap) for about 50 gardens!!! lol

And for the record.... I have YET to have someone ask for more stamps or whatever than I think the package is worth when I get it. ex: I sent 3 stamps, I think, to someone who sent me a BOX of seeds!! And I mean, it was about the size of a shoe box, and was packed FULL!!!!!!! of seeds!

Unfortunately for me, I'm having trouble keeping up with my thank you's! NOTE: IF YOU HAVE SENT ME SEEDS AND I HAVE NOT THANKED YOU, PLEASE KNOW THAT I AM _VERY_ GRATEFUL! And when my life gets back on at least a 30 degree incline (as opposed to TOTALLY upside down) I'll be able to keep up.

Margyrose,

Thanks for your input. Yes, many of us love to share our seeds. I too harvest far more than I can trade, especially since I have so many things and my want lists are kind of rare and obscure. I give away thousands of packets of seeds each year, maybe trade for a hundred packets. My worry is that by offering too many SASBEs, we encourage people to take advantage of that, more and more are asking for seeds outright, now some are asking for free seeds and wanting postage paid as well, and I fear that many of those people will never become traders but instead will continue to take advantage of the generosity on GW to the point where there are more people asking for free seeds than are looking to trade. I got an SASBE request from a person who has been a member of GW for three years and she told me its too much work to harvest seeds, she's never learned how to identify the seeds anyway, so she's hoping I'll send her seeds to help build her trade list. Also got a request from someone who searched the R&R forum to see who has been thanked for sending SASBES, my name came up, so she/he's sure I'll be happy to share my seeds with him/here as well. I've offered SASBEs of 20 packets of seeds, then been asked by that same person to send them 30 or 40. Sue/chemocurl offered an SASBE to one member, a second member replied and said they were thinking of sending TWO SASBEs because Sue had so many seeds they were interested in... Wow, the presumptiousness of that reply left me almost speechless! In other words, SASBEs are being taken for granted. The people who send them are being taken for granted. Instead of encouraging people to offer something and become full-fledged traders, we are encouraging them to watch and wait for the next free offer, and if it doesn't come, send private emails to see what they can get for free. I've had people ask for my rarest seeds and say they've looked them up and found they are really expensive, so they hope I will send them for free. On one hand, they acknowledge that my seeds are valuable, then they de-value them by offering me nothing in return.

Cherone, you are an example of why we like to offer SASBEs. (1) You did not ask for free seeds; (2) You responded to offers of SASBEs, sent your stamps and envelope and were rewarded and appreciative of the generosity; (3) you offered the bounty to others. The only thing I ask is that you DO take the time to email and thank everyone personally and not just post a thank you here. Trust me, it means a lot to anyone who offers SASBEs to get acknowledgement that the seeds arrived and that you are grateful to them. That is something about 75% of the people I send SASBEs to never bother to do, and I know I am not alone.
------------------

On a separate vein, I ask that everyone please stop posting here about the individual in question. Naturegirl236 sent me an email that he came through on his end of the trade, and overall he has several positive reviews and one negative ones. If you have comments/questions regarding him, please handle them by private email. I am very close to posting his name myself so this thread gets pulled and ends the negative comments about him, especially by those who didn't actually trade with him. Yes, he's engaged in questionable behavior, but I think he is proving himself to be a fair trader, and he deserves a chance to do so.

Kate

Just found this thread and I have to say it has shed some light for me on where many of you seasoned GW'ers are coming from.

I have been hanging around GW for several years now, and only just felt brave enough to try the seed exchange forum recently. I do not have any seeds yet for trade, and to be quite honest, I'm extremely grateful to those who have offered seeds for postage and allowed me to take them up on that offer. For as many years as I've been here I've been really afraid of making a mistake and upsetting or offending anyone, so I'm happy to be able to do a SASBE to get a feel for what you experienced traders expect and already do. Allowing me to give a few stamps for seeds helps me to feel like at least I'm giving something in return, and at the same time I'm able to experience a few trades to get a feel for what I will want to do when next fall comes around and I have seeds ready to be collected and share. I can understand your frustration with wanting to keep the real trading alive here, but I hope that you will not underestimate the value of the generosity that is expressed among these forums. I think part of setting an example is showing kindness even when it's not fully reciprocated. I think most of you easily recognize when someone is attempting to take advantage of you, and I can tell by your comments you politely decline or ignore their posts. But I hope that you will continue to keep this discussion alive so that other newbies to trading like myself can get a taste of your viewpoint, so that we can be more understanding of why you feel the way you do. I hope that you also know that while maybe not everyone is appreciative, there are SO many MORE people who are! I will definitely be paying it forward and offering SASBE seeds when I am able, and will also be sure to do my part to keep real trading alive as soon as I have something worthwhile to trade. Please be patient with us newbies! Eventually many of us will be "oldies" too, and hopefully we can return the favor!

I would like to weigh in on the newbie side as well. I too appreciate all of the generous offers here to help those of us who are growing our own addictions to this wonderful hobby. I have responded to several offers and received many terrific seeds as a result. I try to send at least one extra stamp, a "thank you" email when the seeds arrive and post a positive review in the R&R. I have not generally included a lot of chit chat in the emails because the replies are usually a terse "Send x number of stamps and bubblie to..." That is fine. I assume, based on this, that people do not want to get to know me or have too much on their own plates to respond to numerous emails from some lady in Georgia. If I have ever seemed ungrateful or greedy because of this, I do apologize profusely. Certainly no harm was intended.

This might be a bit OT but it has to do with a seed offer. I've been an active trader for quite a while and am active on several forums but post mainly on the brug forum. There's a bunch of us who are especially close on that forum and have been posting together for quite some time. I've cut way back on the number of offers I post on the seed and plant exchanges but do love to share so I will often post things I have to share with the folks on the brug forum. It annoys me to no end when someone that never posts on that forum all of a sudden pops up when they see a seed/plant offer but I'll usually just reply and tell them to send a sasbe. I finally got fed up with something that happened this week. I'm in So FL now and there's all kinds of interesting seeds to collect so I posted a thread in the brug forum telling the regulars what was available and to let me know if they wanted me to collect seeds for them. Of couse someone that I'd never heard of replies and says they want all of them and to let them know where to send their envelope. Out of curiosity I looked up their posts on GW. What do you know, they had all of 3 posts and 2 were asking for plants and seeds. GMAFB! I responded that this offer was for the folks that post on the brug forum and if I had extras I'd post on the seed exchange. This wasn't even a case where I had seed in hand. I was going to collect it for GW friends. OK rant over. Sorry if this should have gone in a separate thread.

karyn1 - I sympathize with your frustration and I think you are just in feeling the way you do. If it were me in your shoes, I think I would be equally as perturbed. I wouldn't want you to ever stop offering to share with your friends in the brugmansia forum, but sadly in this day and age people seem to be quite impersonal and often downright selfish. Not that it should be accepted but sadly, I think it must be acknowledged. You did I think what I would have done - been honest in who the offer was for, and you were still generous enough to consider sending something her way.

It is a doubled edged blade isn't it? On one hand you want to share, but you don't want to be taken advantage of either. I don't know what the solution is, but I can say from my own experience, there are many of us who feel sincere gratitude and appreciation to those who have shared their seeds with us...and I think it has been a valuable experience for me personally, to learn the ropes of trading.

I hope that those few offenders will not overshadow the enjoyment you receive from offering seeds to your friends. :)

Just felt like giving this a bump up. The seed exchange has changed so much. There does not seem to be a whole lot of real trading going on. I recently offered a lot of seeds for BEAP and the response was huge. Even more recently I posted for a trade and did not get one response. I used to get so many responses for trades it was hard to keep up.
I just want to stomp my feet and cry like a baby. :(

Fascinating. Thought I'd bump this as well.

Are we offering too many SASBEs? No - I don't think that's it. I think it's more likely just the economy which has affected just about everything and it's affecting the trade forums as well. There's a LOT more people that are needy and a LOT more people asking for veggie seeds if you haven't noticed. Some people are trying to save money by growing their own food and others want flowers but don't have much to spend. I also think there are a lot of people who have seeds/plants to trade but don't want to spend money on postage to do a trade. They're feeling the pinch.

Scottrell - You posted back in April so I don't know if you'll see this. I think you'll receive a lot more seeds if you make a list of what you want on your exchange page. Be specific. Don't forget that you're trading with people in other states that don't know what does well in Florida.

Definitely think the economy is a factor and even tho this is only my first year trading I try not to be anything but fair and honest in my trades and correspondences

I actually was cheated on my FIRST trade so I'm definitely keeping an eye out for suspicious goings-on that being said my main reason to be here IS to trade seeds I'm not a fan of the basic layout of this site compared to outhers that show recent posts or even a persons trade reputation in plain sight (feel you need to hunt for it here) so those only help to KEEP me in the exchange

I have had fun trading my personal seed stash(that I trade from) is in a medium flat rate box my from trades (which I have only given the option of sending from about 3 times in proubly 50 trades I'd guess and only ones I had TONS from even then I made it clear they were from a trade) is in a small square flat rate box

I will say I am a sucker for the big trades and I like international trading as well I feel they work best as options to save on postage

Back to economy lol burpee seeds are about 2-3 bucks a pack that's UNDER an ounce of seeds if you're clever like me you can occasionally find seeds for 5 cents a pack (rare typically at end of year or there old seeds) BUT in most cases 44 cents can potentially get you 5-8 types of seeds from a gardener that you can ask about the seeds where those same seeds may be unheard of to burpee or may cost you 10-12 plus bucks AND they don't give you too much in way of information you need to hunt online there

To me trading is logically the smarter ideal but what do I know?

Oh Quilt mommy- I wish to say ditto!!!!!!!!!
You said everything perfectly.

Hi Folks!

I sincerely appreciate the folks that offer SASBE's. I have responded to a couple of offers and to newbie adoptions.
I admit, I bumbled in my eagerness to become active in this site again. I asked for seed for a newbie. I apologize to all who were offended. I really appreciate the ones who helped me.
I had been lurking for a while enjoying the friendly atmosphere this site emits and remembering days gone past when I was an active member.
Unfortunately I did not harvest many seeds last year. I plan to harvest a large amount this year from what I already grow and from what I'm going to add. I look forward to trading and sharing often at the end of the summer.
I was overly eager to get some seeds so I could become involved with the swaps that were so much fun in my earlier years.
I look forward to future trades with you!
Have a great day!
Mavis
Mavis07 (formerly hummer07)

I do a SASBE offer on the Seed Exchange about once a year and recently posted one. There are pretty strict guidelines on my exchange page because I will provide free seeds and labor to fill the baggies, but the recipient must provide postage and materials. I got 13 replies and received the envelopes from 11 people within a week. Each and every one was completed correctly; and about half sent a little something extra - such as an extra stamp or baggies. One person sent me the most beautiful notecards today!

I do a little trading, and have gotten some wonderful seeds from GWers, but noticed there is a higher proportion of seeds that are mis-labeled or don't sprout from trades than from commercial sources. Mostly I have specific interests in seeds and like to buy them. I love browsing through seed websites and putting together an order. And in relation to other expenses in life and even other hobbies, seeds are cheap!! Doing a SASBE offer gives me the chance to pore over my seed collection and do a little purging.

I know there must be people who take advantage of the generosity of the members here. It occurred to me that someone could compile a bunch of seeds from SASBEs, and sell them on eBay! But I think those people are over-shadowed by the sincere members.

I have just read through this post... (Lots of chapters, thought I'd add one more, ;o)

I have been a member on GW for many years now. I took a break from it due to Military moves, (fun-fun). I now have my own place, (4 acres lots of room to garden!)
I too have noticed a difference in the GW of today and that of yester-year.
While, I too want the few seeds I ask for for the price of a couple stamps, (doesn't everyone). I mostly end up buying them.
Although there are more vultures, (as so affectionately called in prior threads), today then before...
WHO CARES!!!
I gain happiness in just knowing the seeds will get to live somewhere, and hope it brings someone else as much pleasure planting them as it did me. And if they need to sell them, then so be that too. (In this economy, I would understand.)

For alot of people, (Me included), after they plant what they want. It's either the "trading/sharing post" or the garbage can. I personally feel better about sharing and giving, than letting them go to waste. So do the people I've befriended due to this site.

***A note for thought!***
A few years ago I was trading some veggy seeds. One of the people I shared with emailed me back. She said she was using her friends account, and needed the seeds to help feed her family. I promptly sent her all I had. About a week later I received another email from the woman saying my generosity brought her to tears...

I would rather be "duped" by a hundred so called "vultures", on the chance I could be helping just one person, then not to share at all.

This forum reminds me of playing the old game "Telephone", where you whisper something to the person behind you, they repeat it to the person behind them, etc., until you get to the last person who relates the message and you discover that low and behold! It bears no resemblence to what it started out to be.

Gardenweb is supposed to be a seed trading site. TRADING. What will happen when the people who want things for free are more numerous than those who are looking to trade? I know a lot of people who have left GW, pulled their lists, because they don't see it as a viable trading source anymore. People join and post for SASBE the very first day, and you can pretty much bet that many of them will never come back, never offer seeds they have collected (though they may 'generously' give away extras they got from others), unless they are looking for another item they don't want to buy. It's easy to be generous when you have not spent a dime, put in a minute's work, for what you have gotten.

And I think that because there are so many SASBE offers, people take the value of the seeds for granted. I could use some minor repairs on my car, some shingles redone on my roof, a bit of legal advice for my son, but I don't expect others to give it to me for free. But when it comes to seeds and plants, it's all fair game--ask for and grab as much as you can.

This has nothing to do with generosity. I have sent out easily 60 SASBEs this season compared with only about 12 trades, including to a woman who sent me her SASBE stamped with the name of her law firm (she is senior partner). My husband has been unemployed for the past 6 weeks.

People don't need seeds of rare ornamental plants to live, or feed their family, yet I get asked for them all the time because they are costly. Some of these seeds I have collected from plants that were expensive for me to buy, that I have taken the time and care to grow, that I have monitored the pods for days if not weeks to collect them at the exact time they are ripe, that I have cold stratified to keep them viable--in other words, they are a lot of work. Yet they are devalued by people who don't realize or care how much I have put into them.

Back in the 'old days' of GW, people joined with the few seeds they had, traded, built up their lists, collected from the plants they grew from seed or purchased things to offer, and continued to build up their lists over the years. They realized that to get really rare or cool things they had to offer the same. There was a sense of accomplishment in that and a realization that what others posted for trade had value. Now there are people who have nothing to trade, but they want the best of the best seeds right away--no effort, no thought, and no sense of responsibility to other traders or to this site.

As I said, I never meant this to be a thread against generosity.

As a newbie seed trader I asked for seeds for SASBE at least once (not here though) because I had nothing to trade. These days when I'm looking for a specific seed I'll offer up a few seeds I know I have and make a point of going through their trade list.

When I take up an offer for SASBE I try to go through their seed list and see if I have something they are looking for. I'm also learning to pay attention to their requests, include my user name and a list of what I want. I made the mistake of not sending a list with mine once and the girl ended up giving me some of all the seeds. I felt so bad!

This reminds me that I need to figure out how to make a trade list here. I've been going through my seeds.

Oh my goodness... I cringe at my last post. I was a hungry starving dieter at the time, not that that is an excuse, maybe an explanation.

Tikipod, you are an example of what someone who offers SASBE loves to see, someone who actually takes the time to look at their want list and offer something. Even if they don't need it, they appreciate the effort and thought you took into checking their needs out. That is really cool. Some of the folks I've sent SASBEs to have done just that, and it gives me great hope that they are going to be great contributers to this site. I think you are going to be a great contributer as well.

Sorry to everyone for my venting and ill temper. I'm going to go eat a donut.

Kate