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By Maiden
Posts:  1049
Joined:  Tue Sep 10, 2013 12:46 am
#219404
Thanks :) I have to admit that 50 seeds is a lot for that price ! Keep us posted with your future lil guys :-)
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By Matt
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Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#219438
I just wanted to weigh in on the subject of "expensive" FTS seeds.

Are our seeds priced higher than most other places? Yes.

But, like others have pointed out, our seeds are produced by Venus flytraps with unique and superior genetics. Additionally, all of the flowers are hand-pollinated to make interesting crosses and to ensure healthy, viable seeds. We take great care to harvest and store the seed appropriately so that germination rate is very high. Most customers report a near 100% germination rate. The same cannot be said for most other, less-expensive seed found elsewhere on the web.

Sure, our seeds might be relatively expensive, when comparing to other vendors, but realistically $9 USD isn't really a large sum of money (at least not in most developed countries). And the quality of our seeds is the best available, thus justifying (at least in our view) the relatively high cost.

Seed is NOT a big money maker for us. We produce and provide the seed as more of a service to the community than as a profitable endeavor. It requires huge time investment for us to hand-pollinate each and every flower, harvest and store the seed, package and ultimately ship the seed.

And the reason we decreased the number of seeds per packet this year (along with a small reduction in price) is that we've not yet been able to make it an entire season with seeds in stock. They always sell out. There is a lot of demand for Venus fly trap seeds and they're hard to produce. So we're hopeful that reducing the number of seeds per packet will allow us to keep Venus flytrap seeds in inventory all year. We're already almost out of Fused Tooth seeds (only 1 or 2 packets left). And we'll certainly run out of Red Seed Mix too. We're still selling a ton of the regular mix as well, so we might still run out of it too, but hopefully we'll make it until May or June so that we're only out of seed for a month or so instead of being out of stock for 6 months, as has been the case in years passed.
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By IHaveNoIdea
Posts:  536
Joined:  Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:28 pm
#219443
Ok. First of all I'm sorry that I as a citizen of underdeveloped country dared to criticize your prices. I just wanted to point out, that the seeds should be golden for that price. That is all I'm saying. I believe they have great genetics.
Anyway, congratulations for your success. I'm heading back to my master's Nike shoes factory.
By David F
Posts:  1649
Joined:  Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:41 pm
#219449
I think what Mufasa is getting at, is that he's not as concerned about the quality of the baby's parents, (which is of questionable importance), but rather the amount of seeds he'll be able to germinate and raise to adulthood.

Which is by far the most satisfying part anyways, not necessarily the chance that you'll get something *ammaaazzing*
By katya_dog1
Posts:  2412
Joined:  Sat Aug 09, 2014 1:45 pm
#219454
Personally, I care about whether my seeds are all from typicals that just are seeded and then thrown out, and seeds from Jaws, DC XL, FTS Maroon monster, and the like.

I understand how others would not care though, and definitely the great joy of growing from seed is just watching the seedlings develop to maturity.

Happy growing! :)
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By Matt
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Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#219468
IHaveNoIdea wrote:Ok. First of all I'm sorry that I as a citizen of underdeveloped country dared to criticize your prices. I just wanted to point out, that the seeds should be golden for that price. That is all I'm saying. I believe they have great genetics.
Anyway, congratulations for your success. I'm heading back to my master's Nike shoes factory.
I didn't mean to cause any offense. I apologize that I did so.

I should also state that I can say from others' perspectives I could see why they would not want to purchase our seeds due to the pricing. I wasn't being critical of those people, but rather just explaining the rationale for our pricing.
David F wrote:Which is by far the most satisfying part anyways, not necessarily the chance that you'll get something *ammaaazzing*
Well, that's a matter of personal opinion. There are quite a few growers, such as myself and many hard-core hobbyists, who are looking to try to get something amazing by growing from seed. But, like you say, for many people the satisfaction and motivation for growing from seed is in the process, not the resulting appearance and growth habits of the plants.
By Mufasa
Posts:  858
Joined:  Sun Feb 23, 2014 4:45 am
#219482
Hi matt, thanks for chiming in

ah, permanent seed number cut, i thought it must have been a seasonal thing which is really understandable

You cut the price too? i recall the packs being the same price last time i looked at them? not sure.

i can really respect that it takes time & effort to hand pollinate, prepare, etc, and on top of that, you guys have to make a living/profit out of it, totally reasonable, sure i am interested in the parentage that goes into your VFT seeds, and now that i know the price/quantity change is permenant, i will probably buy a pack or two ontop of the ones i'm buying from sander

anyway, i think there is alot of enjoyment in just growing typical VFT seeds, without special breeding & parentage, every seed is unique and has potential, despite parentage, and even if it's a typical VFT, it's still an amazing plant, and it's fun to watch it grow

just a thought, do you guys get many self/insect pollinated plants that aren't isolated in the same way the breeding program must be?, Could sell a non-premium seed pack for a cheaper price (although that depends on your own taste & marketing sense)

but yeah, FTS seeds are a "premium" product, therefore they cost alot more than for example, typical VFT's that were self/insect pollinated by hobbyists, which also provide alot of enjoyment, i'm happy to give FTS's premium seeds a go as a luxury item, but at $10/10 seeds (atleast for the fused, and $12/15 for the reds), it quickly becomes too expensive to plant out more than say, one container, or a few small pots with them

edit 2: Matt, just looking at the store page, i find myself wanting for a seed mix pack of all the premium varieties you offer (perhaps 10 loose pack, mixed of all 3 varieties, or perhaps like a 10-10-10 pack at a slightly reduced bulk price), would be a cool option to for example, pay $10-$15 for 5 or so of each seed type, for those who want to try all of the, but not willing to invest $35 for one pack of each seed, perhaps it's something you could do next season so you don't have to repackage all your current seeds lol

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