I wonder if anyone has noticed that not a single match has been made on this thread between a person with extra dirt and a person who needs it who are both close to each other. Not surprising. I suggest using your local Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc. or the matching sites linked in this thread.

I've received seeds from trades in all the methods & styles mentioned above. They all appear to be successful and allow seedaholics to choose the method that works best for them. Plastic baggies - I've found what works best for me are the smaller 2" x 3" zip-envelopes, also available at Walmart if you hit it when they're in stock, 100 @ $1.00. If I see them late in the season, I buy multiple packages. I use sticky labels, also available from Walmart, that can be printed from my computer. I include botanical name, common name, cultivar name, USDA hardiness zone, height, light & moisture requirements, bloom time & color along with any extra pertinent plant or growing information. If there's room, I'll include year harvested in brackets. Before mailing, I Google the seed name and do a little research so the information on the label is current, however I sometimes wonder if that information changes as time goes by. Mailing seeds - I use bubble mailers of different sizes but usually the smaller 5" x 7" size. Bubble mailers I receive get torn apart/cut up or reused as is if they're not too travel-damaged. For single trades I'll tape the seed envelope to a piece of recycled bubble envelope and tuck it inside a standard envelope with "PLEASE DO NOT MACHINE - SEEDS" on the front in the lower left-hand corner. After 2 years of sending seeds via mail in this way, I've not heard of anyone receiving crushed seeds. When harvesting seeds over the course of the season, I set them in paper bowls or spread them on paper platters that are placed on shelf units inside the garage to dry. This also allows any crawlies that may have taken up residence inside the seedpods to depart the premises of their own free will. Once thoroughly dry, seeds are stored in small plastic salad dressing cups with clear, snap-on lids I'm able to buy from the cafeteria where I work. They last from year to year and are re-used. Generally I try to not have seeds leftover from year to year despite evidence that they remain viable for many years. This thread is a good idea and hopefully we'll hear from plenty of folks with other ideas/methods for seed preservation and sharing.

What a great thread and since I've come out of my lurkdom here and have a fair amount of experience in packing seeds to trade/share, and have received seeds in, in a multitude of ways, I'll just add my 2 cents. I see there are certainly multiple ways and some consider one way to be the best, while others consider it to have cons. I don't think any one way is considerably better than another. As far as economical, the ones using pages from catalogs, or printer paper (new or used) are probably by far the most economical to make. What works well for one, might not work for another. What is economical (or considered to be) for one, might not be economical to another. Getting the seeds out of its packaging is yet another part of the equation. Resealing, if need be, is another part of the equation. There is patience (which I have little of) and time as well as convenience to be considered. I have and use the small zip lock baggies. They are found to be what works best for me. They are a little more than 2/3 cent each when I ordered 3000 of the the discounted Blue Line ones Here. Maybe Trudi has an even cheaper source, of ordering in bulk without having to order a million. This winter, I've pondered the problem of static electricity with certain seeds or with particularly tiny seeds like sedums and butterfly bushes. What I opted to do on those two are to wrap the seeds in a 4" square of tissue, folded and labeled, and then inserted in the zip baggie. Nice instructions and pics pitimpinai and monte. Thanks for sharing! I'm sure that many will benefit from them both. Now...you know my preferred way to pack the seeds that I send out and the cost, we'll move on to how I like to receive seeds packed. Like quilt said above, " I promise you if you send me a pack of seeds in a straw, an envelope, a zip lock baggie, a coin envelope, a bubble mailer, or a tin can I will throw them in dirt and water them just the same. " Whatever one chooses to send them in is fine by me. I do kind of like the zip baggies for bigger seeds, and either reuse or recycle them along with other plastic bags...yes I am OCD (or is it CDO?) when it comes to recycling. The brightly colored ones made from recycled catalogs always brighten my day when I see them. If the seeds are properly dried, I think that any kind of packaging is fine and not detrimental. #What is most economical for one person might not be to another person, variables being the purchase of zippies, coin envelopes, straws, printer paper, printer ink, stick on labeling of some sort. #What one prefers to pack in is indubitably not preferred by all, also for numerous reasons. As important as seed packaging is, I think that the labeling is of just as much or more importance, but that is maybe food for thought for another time and thread. Below is a pic of several of the packs of wonderful seeds I received in the 2009 WLOMWL swap. Lots of different packaging, and labeling. Something I had not seen before were glassine baggies and what looked like folded glassine. Both suited me fine/great because of what they contained. Happy gardening, collecting, sharing/trading, and dreaming of your 2010 gardens! Sue...rbb as Terenne said, "This thread is a great example of different strokes for different folks. I so agree. Oh...if you're still with me, my vote for the most economical ones would have to be those made from recycled paper. EEK...have I had too much coffee again? Sue...rbb and loquacious as usual. (kcqrna and monte, it was aliska12000 above that spoke of the rosary pliers in her post showing her potential seed sowing tools.)

When you agree on a trade and receive the other person's address, write it immediately on a mailing label. Write what you are to send on the back of the label to avoid confusion. Some have suggested keeping track of trades in a notebook, in case either trader would have computer problems. Plan to ship on Monday or Tuesday so the package doesn't get stuck in the Post Office on the weekend. Priority mail takes three days, and costs around $3 (subject to change, of course!) for a two-lb package. Either dig the plant the day before you ship it and soak the roots in water overnight,or leave it in the soil until you are ready to pack it, but thoroughly soak the soil around it the day before. Try to include plenty of roots on the plants that you send. (very important!) Gently rinse most of the soil from the roots.Wrap the roots in a moist paper towel, wet but not dripping. Put the roots and the damp paper towel (but not the leaves) into a plastic bag and wrap the bag snugly around the stems with a bag tie, to seal the water in. Be careful not to crush the stems! This is a step that not everyone does but it seems to help: Lay the plant (with the roots in the baggie) diagonally on a sheet of news paper and roll the paper around the whole plant gently so the foliage is protected by a cone of newspaper. Label the plants with water proof marker. Box the plants in a priority mail box. (The Post Office supplies these boxes and nice labels free upon request.) Pad the plants with lightly crumpled newspaper so they don't knock around in the box. Write "LIVE PLANTS" on the label. Keep the package cool until you mail it. Don't let it sit in the sun in your car! It's a good idea to notify the recipient once you've mailed the package, and ask them to let you know if it arrived safely, and the condition of the plants.