Why are seed prices so high for super hots? I only grew three Carolina Reaper plants this season. I gave away many pods and I did not save seeds from all of the pods that I kept and I still ended up with about 1,000 seeds. This makes me wonder why seed prices are so high. I'm confident that I could grow many thousands of viable seeds and I'm just a small back yard hobby grower. The places that I have shopped online seem to average around $7 to $10 for ten seeds. Some more generous companies will give you twenty seeds for the $7 to $10 range but even that seems a bit too high in my opinion. I feel that a pack of twenty seeds should sell for $5 or under. What do y'all think about this?
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Seed Prices
- Thread starter President Trump
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I think that, in part, you are paying for seeds from isolated pods, that are good examples of the type. In the backyard, it`s extremely difficult to isolate and guarantee that the seeds that are going to grow true to type.
Of course, that now opens up a whole can of worms as to whether the seeds you buy are isolated and will grow true. When I say this I mean from stable varieties, not F4 crosses or similar. Sometimes, you are paying for hard to find varieties or seeds from crosses that show highly desirable traits. Just as an example, Ajijoe sells 10 seeds for $1. He does not claim that they are isolated.
Ok, let the fun begin...........
Of course, that now opens up a whole can of worms as to whether the seeds you buy are isolated and will grow true. When I say this I mean from stable varieties, not F4 crosses or similar. Sometimes, you are paying for hard to find varieties or seeds from crosses that show highly desirable traits. Just as an example, Ajijoe sells 10 seeds for $1. He does not claim that they are isolated.
Ok, let the fun begin...........
Mostly Greed IMO,, They know they can get it so they do. I only ordered a few seeds but PL with the free seeds even with a price of $7-$10 they really cost me maybe $2. per 10 if that. Some times you get much more then you pay for, if you order from the right place and others you don't get what you ordered even if you payed to much. I can say Ebay is a hit or miss when it comes to any veggie seed.
Also the other thing is Most Supper hot growers really put in there time to grow the best supper hots they can, and to me the ones that do $20 per ten you still get your money worth as you know you are getting the real thing and not wasting a year of growing something that isn't what you thought it was.
This year was pretty much a wast of my time and money by going cheap ( Ebay ) and the "real" supper hot Growers I got seeds from, I know next year wont be a wast of money or time mostly to the Kind THP members!!!
Also the other thing is Most Supper hot growers really put in there time to grow the best supper hots they can, and to me the ones that do $20 per ten you still get your money worth as you know you are getting the real thing and not wasting a year of growing something that isn't what you thought it was.
This year was pretty much a wast of my time and money by going cheap ( Ebay ) and the "real" supper hot Growers I got seeds from, I know next year wont be a wast of money or time mostly to the Kind THP members!!!
Of all I've seen, it seems as though the higher the SHU, the higher the price - if you look exclusively at the SHU levels. And Annuum's seem to tend to be cheaper than Chinense - which also seems to coincide with the SHU levels.
Of course, then you add in rarity, isolated (as Nigel mentioned), etc.
Of course, then you add in rarity, isolated (as Nigel mentioned), etc.
Personally I thinknpart of it is to cover shipping as shipping is not free and if you shipp all over the US you still need to make a profit. It peoples businesses and there life line. Btw I am just a backyard grower as well and not a comnercial grower.
for those who don't have the seeds in their hands or able to get their hands on the true seeds of what you are after in other ways such as a solid legit trade from someone here who sends what you ask for.. this is where the buyer/trader gets the short end of the stick.
what I mean is, lets say you trade away some of your beautiful Trinidad plant seeds for something you think will be a reaper that ends up being something entirely different but looks alot like it..or you take a chance & buy seeds from what you think is a reputable source and end up with bell peppers..
some things don't make sense.. but if I said I wanted to sell you a dvd player off some site and I'm only asking $5 wouldn't you get suspicious?
I say forget about the risky seeds and just get the fresh pods threw some reputable source.. at-least you know what your getting if your going to spend anything it may as well be the real deal..
prices mean nothing to me on seeds because I have been burnt too many times by someone trying to sell / trade me *suprise* Jack and the Beanstalk seeds.
what I mean is, lets say you trade away some of your beautiful Trinidad plant seeds for something you think will be a reaper that ends up being something entirely different but looks alot like it..or you take a chance & buy seeds from what you think is a reputable source and end up with bell peppers..
some things don't make sense.. but if I said I wanted to sell you a dvd player off some site and I'm only asking $5 wouldn't you get suspicious?
I say forget about the risky seeds and just get the fresh pods threw some reputable source.. at-least you know what your getting if your going to spend anything it may as well be the real deal..
prices mean nothing to me on seeds because I have been burnt too many times by someone trying to sell / trade me *suprise* Jack and the Beanstalk seeds.
Like everything you need to shop around. Whats important to you? Quality?, Quantity?, Availability? Customer Service?. One thing I can say for sure is outside these walls as Mr. Hill states anything goes and your chances of getting the real deal are lessened exponentially.
Keep it here and do your homework by picking the brains of those who have already done their homework and your chances of getting some good deals are pretty good. But for me its quality followed by customer service. If I pay a couple bucks more for that, then so be it.
It's not only the seed I pay for.
Keep it here and do your homework by picking the brains of those who have already done their homework and your chances of getting some good deals are pretty good. But for me its quality followed by customer service. If I pay a couple bucks more for that, then so be it.
It's not only the seed I pay for.
All of the above. If I had a business that required investing money and time (more money), then I would need to recoup that money from seed prices. Superhot pods contain fewer seeds, hence higher prices. If I had to isolate to gaurantee my product, you would pay even more. If I was greedy and preying upon the current hype, I would also charge more for superhot seeds. Bottom line, find reputable, honest folks who can vouch for the quality of their seeds without raping your pocket - folks like the ones on this site.
Mr. Hill said:
FIFY!
Look at the battle between Judy and Dale. Competition drives down cost. If you are the only producer of a proprietary product or offer isolated seeds, you can charge what the market determines is fair. If someone sells them for less, they will likely get more customers and/or you will be forced to lower your prices.
After a few seasons of growing peppers, most of us know what we like and have saved enough seeds that we don't need to buy anything but new and interesting varieties to try. Those command higher prices.
Jeff H,, I didn't say Mostly Capitalism and free markets IMO,, I said Mostly Greed IMO.. Capitalism and free markets is one thing but when people charge outrageous prices just to make money it's pure GREED IMO. You can have Capitalism and free markets with out greed.
Lets put it this way.
#1 You make the World Hottest pepper and Charge $600 for 10 seeds.
#2 You make the World Hottest pepper and Charge $5. for 10 seeds.
What one would be Greed and what one is Capitalism and free market?
Lets put it this way.
#1 You make the World Hottest pepper and Charge $600 for 10 seeds.
#2 You make the World Hottest pepper and Charge $5. for 10 seeds.
What one would be Greed and what one is Capitalism and free market?
Supply and demand people. That's why most annuum's are cheap. You can get common ones from Lowe's or Walmart, so a vendor can't charge more than Walmart or the buyer would just go to Walmart
Anyways, I say if you dont like the price, then don't pay it. That simple really. Or, if you dont like the price, then find it somewhere else. Not being an ass or anything, I justp don't understand people that complain about pricing (and no I'm not saying anyone here is complaining, just saying in general)I just don't really get it.)) lf enough people don't buy something then eventually the price goes down.
Anyways, I say if you dont like the price, then don't pay it. That simple really. Or, if you dont like the price, then find it somewhere else. Not being an ass or anything, I justp don't understand people that complain about pricing (and no I'm not saying anyone here is complaining, just saying in general)I just don't really get it.)) lf enough people don't buy something then eventually the price goes down.
I paid $15 for a few C. Lanceolatum seeds in '08 from The Chili Pepper Institute...yep supply and demand.
Please allow a humble newbie grower (2nd year) have an input: Whatever price quoted for seeds it is eventually our choice if we want to buy. I can see lots of cost+time will go into growing/harvesting/ posting seeds off but remember how much joy and therapy we all get from these little seeds. It is a win-win situation.
To judge them as greedy is kind of also reflect on ourselves as greedy....does this make sense?? (we want something for say little?)
To judge them as greedy is kind of also reflect on ourselves as greedy....does this make sense?? (we want something for say little?)
If your only growing a few plants of each every year it is better to buy seed from reputable dealers that have
what your looking for that have isolation methods that limit the amount of cross's. If you want different ones
every year the dealers are the only way to go. With over 5,000 different ones (and climbing!) you would never
be able to grow and isolate all of them. Price is dependent upon demand and in the current state of affairs
in the pepper hobby of having the latest, greatest, & hottest!
what your looking for that have isolation methods that limit the amount of cross's. If you want different ones
every year the dealers are the only way to go. With over 5,000 different ones (and climbing!) you would never
be able to grow and isolate all of them. Price is dependent upon demand and in the current state of affairs
in the pepper hobby of having the latest, greatest, & hottest!
One way to look at it is that when you pay a high price for a few seeds, if you are able to grow them, you'll end up with over a thousand seeds from just one of those plants, so in a sense the overall price per seed ends up being very low for you.