Good afternoon, my reader. Considering the variety of online seed and seedling shops today, buying seed by mail seems like a perfectly reasonable idea. Ultimately, this is very convenient as it eliminates the hassle of selecting and comparing multiple market offers, and guarantees delivery. But is everything as rosy as it seems, and are there any pitfalls?
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Of course, there are also difficulties. We will talk about them in this article, as well as give valuable recommendations that will help you save not only money, but also time.
Among the possible problems, there are three main areas:
- Dishonest vendor. Such sellers may not send anything at all, having already accepted an advance payment for the goods.
- Poor quality seedlings and seeds. A common problem that, alas, plagues many buyers.
- Spoilage of seed on the road. During transportation, seedlings may dry out or deform.
Actually, further we will consider in more detail all these options and give advice on avoiding possible problems.
How to avoid scammers
To begin with, you should carefully study the website of the online store and look for reviews about it on the Internet. The best place to do this is on forums or YouTube, where real people tend to leave comments. Often fraudulent are sites and sellers offering for sale rare varieties of seedlings and seeds that are not so easy to find even on the Internet. Moreover, the prices of such scammers are usually much lower than market prices.
The main form of fraud is the sale of promises to deliver goods. That is, such a scheme involves a partial or full prepayment for the goods on your part. It is worth noting that most of the honest and large online stores have courier delivery calculated after receiving the goods. That is, there is no question of any prepayment, and you pay only after the fact. This does not mean that any prepayment is 100% fraudulent, but you should think twice and check the supplier more carefully if it does come up.
Sapling quality
Always pay attention to the photos of the seedlings and the completeness of their description. Also read the section on seed origin, if available. It is much more profitable to buy seedlings from those who produce them than to overpay to dealers.
Unfortunately, it is possible to make a conclusion about the germination and quality of seeds and seedlings only after planting. However, numerous reviews, as well as YouTube videos from real customers, will help you form a more or less correct impression of a particular seller and the quality of his product.
Delivery
The largest stores offer several methods of delivering their goods, including pickup, which is the most preferred option. Remember that sending seeds, and even more so seedlings, by regular mail and other non-specialized shipments can lead to partial or complete damage to the entire consignment.
In general, these rules should be followed:
- Try to purchase seedlings in pots or at least with a securely packed root with a moist earthy clod.
- It is better to purchase seedlings from nurseries, where they are dug up just before sending to the client.
- Delivery times for seedlings should be as short as possible. Express and courier delivery is best suited.
- Hurry up with planting the resulting seedlings to ensure their survival.
Do you buy seedlings over the Internet?
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