I would never knowingly buy old seed. Some species might still germinate after 10 years but many species loose viability after a relative short amount of time. The problem for the seed buyer is that one cannot be sure how old the seed really is. If a seed company says the seed is fresh we have to believe it on its words. In an ideal world a seed company would throw away all the seeds that have a short time viability after an x amount of time. But for many of them this is like throwing away money ... An additional problem for a seed company is that it is dependant upon others for collecting seeds. Often this is in far away places without the possibility of close inspection. Trade has to be done on the basis of trust and goodwill. Only when (professional) customers complain about germination results they might undertake some action.

I have bought metasequoia seeds from the guys below and had good luck.

They impressed me because unlike the ebay seeds I have bought, or the ones off my own Ogon their seeds germinated at darn near the percentage they claim. The ebay seeds I tried previously were maybe 5 of 100 and the ones off my own tree were 0 percent.

Here is a link that might be useful: https://www.treeshrubseeds.com/

I've had good overall results with both Sheffield's and Schumacher.

Some tree seeds keep a long time. Others, like oaks, are good a year or two only in the best of circumstances.

I've had bad seed from both places - some bad Pseudotsuga sinensis seed from Schumacher that had 0% germination, and some Quercus fusiformis from Sheffields with dried already sprouted radicles. Sheffields did send me extra seed for free and I think between the two packets I have about seven good seeds. Which for my needs is fine.

The couple dozen other species from both places have been good.

I don't want to badmouth any company, but... If you order from Schumachers, make damn sure they have your order moving along. I ordered from them, and waited about 3 weeks, then emailed them, inquiring about my seed order, and they never put in for it. I have previously gotten my order promptly from them a year or so ago. It may be one employee that isn't too motivated or an isolated incident, but, I would kinda "ride their ass" if you feel you are waiting too long. I don't think they are usually like that. You do get charged for "small order fees" which is a load of crap if you ask me. I think smaller orders would take less effort excedera. But, I never had problems til this year. Just make sure they are sending it, even if you have to check in with them after your original order.

I had a similar experience with Schumachers as Poaky with regards to timing on the one order I placed with them. I also wasn't advised of the "small order fee" when I ordered over the phone, so that came as an unwelcome surprise.

I never put my order in again with Schumachers. I really am preturbed with that small order fee crapola. If I wasn't able to order my preferred tree seed cheaply, I may have had to pay the fee, though. P:oaky1

Well I would avoid Amazon because I found out some seeds actually come from china despite being advertise by a storefront that specifically says NOT from china. Lots of hokey pokey. I wanted to buy Empress tree seeds and they are hard to find, I guess. (In my climate the Empress would NOT be invasive or a pest; I understand it is on some areas but not my zone/ area.

That seeds come from China isn't necessarily a bad thing unless you are worried about American customs. A lot of seeds that are sold by American professional companies are harvested in China and shipped to the USA. One problem related to buying seeds from China is getting the correct seeds.

You have to be alert when buying seeds on Ebay et. al. If you buy for instance Magnolia seeds that are not properly stored (cold and moist) or are old the chances of getting decent germination are greatly reduced. Some species must be sown fresh so only buy them 'in season' (usually late autumn/early winter).

Empress tree seeds are not hard to find (look at Ebay and you find lots of sellers). I believe Empress tree seeds should be surface sown because they need light to germinate. Don't know if it is sufficiently hardy where you live. Here in the Netherlands (solid zone 7) it suffers from dieback in winter but maybe that's because the wood doesn't ripen very well in our climate.