Maybe they had them in a bin to be dealt with in their computers for future markdown, but given how I've seen some of these places treat their garden centers they could be doing anything.

A friend of mine works for a plant supplier to a "big box" store. Her job is to travel to the stores to make sure the plants are actually in good shape because most of their employees treat a plant similar to a box of pens or a shirt.

Her job really shouldn't exist, but that's how it goes doing business with some of those stores.

I've seen some interesting storage/display of items in big box garden centers such as a nice display of Hostas on a sidewalk with no shade on a 90+ degree sunny day promoting their Hosta sale. Seen bundled packs of seed packets "on sale" wrapped so tightly in tape in the middle that there had to be some crushed seeds in there.

I've seen seed racks at the big box stores sitting out in the full hot sun. So much for storing them in a cool dry place.

Well, yes, caveat emptor. Then again, I got all kinds of seed packets on sale for a dime apiece earlier this year at a drug store that has a great nursery section. Was it Smokey Robinson who sang, "my mama told me, you gotta shop around".
p.s. Wal-mart sux imo.

Eh, Wal-Mart's good for some things. You still get what you pay for. Sometimes I just want something cheap that will last "long enough" and won't cost too much (kid's toys or clothes, seasonal stuff, etc.) Other times I want quality. When I want quality and I'm willing to pay for it, I shop somewhere else.

But there are still good deals out there every now and then. I got 40 packs of seeds for $.10 each at one of the best local nurseries when they had their two-day sidewalk sale in late July. I'd been watching for it and saw someone mention it on the MN Gardenweb site the morning it started. That afternoon, I was there!

Dollar stores are another good place to check out, because of the way they get their merchandise. It's always a trade off of how much time you want to spend hunting for a small bargain.

I found at Walgreens they were trying to get rid of their leftover seeds last week. I had to go through all of the packets for a while but at .05 a packet who could resist. The selection wasn't the best, but I did get a lot Herbs and spice seed. I ask the manager if they would sell the whole lot for about five bucks? He told me to come back next week, if they were still there he would sell them to me at that price. Not bad for about two hundred packs of seed.

A month or two ago two WalMarts and a Wallgreen that I pass occasionally were all sold out of seed.

Are people finding seed now just lucky or did these outlets get another shipment?

In Ga they put away the seeds from about july and bring back the seeds(and some plants!) in september (Really who wants to buy some hot peppers or cucumbers? [that look very old and so used!])

Walmart has been the source of some very good finds for my planting needs...Earlier this year, as summer was heating up....and since no one was watering anything!!! and like someone else posted, plants out on the sidewalk with 90 degree heat bearing down on them....WELL...I was able to take advantage of their lack of effort...they had a bunch of plants marked way down...I got 3 good sized (albeit) wilted up, mandevilla vines that were trellaced....for $2.50 each and a bunch of Chinese pistache trees for a few bucks each! AND in the clearance section of the store, I found these cute little yellow watering pots, thinking they would be cute for using as a pot...and inside where a hodpodge of green plastic bags, faintly marked....in each of these little watering pots where about 5 bags of bulbs...they were clearanced for $2.50 each...I got about 30 bulbs and the cute watering pot to boot...a mix of glads, and some lillies I had never heard of before.

For actual bulbs when they start selling at the other "box" Home stores, you cant beat Walmarts price...I got a bag of 6 stargazer lilly bulbs for $3 or $4!!! And 3 fern tubers in a bag for like $4

Walmarts ivy and air ferns and joseph's coat and some other perenial plants were $1.27 EACH...in 6 in pots...

so for one who is patient and can pick and choose what they know is good, the price is right....I actually have had fewer plants from Walmart die off than any that I've gotten at Home Depot!!! Lowe's garden shop here is MUCH better...

Kmart's garden shop had a clearance at the end of the season too, and I got 5 gallon container rose bushes for $3 each...4 tropical fruit trees (guava and papaya) for $4 each...they retailed at $39.99...

DEALS can be found.....

Thanks for all your replies. Good to hear that some of you were able to find good bargains. I found one the other day, in Wallmart, a thermometer, $4, with a twelve-inch prod, in the grilling section. I'm using it as a compost thermometer.