Are these new seeds? Or are they last year's seeds (or older). If they are old seeds, there is the chance they may be dead depending on how they were stored.

Assuming the seeds are viable, all you need is bottom heat and patience ;-)

How long since you started them? Eggplant can take a while.

I've been having eggplant germination woes too.

I did some research and they do need a lot of heat and it does take a long time. Some people recommend soaking the seeds prior to planting as well. The heat in my greenhouse has been inconsistent and I did not soak. I ended up covering the flats loosely with some plastic wrap to help trap some warmth in there and placed them closer to the heater.

Mine have started to germinate, I'm still (impatiently) waiting on my Rosa Bianca eggplants to show themselves though.

Good luck!

I have had great luck with eggplant seeds this year. Last year, I had big problems. Here's what I did.

I put my light stand into a small bathroom here in the house. I sowed my seed (two years old, stored in plastic bag in refrigerator) into cell packs (two seeds per cell) and lightly dusted it over with fine potting mix. I pressed the soil in firmly and I watered them well. I let the cells drain for an hour or so, then I put them inside plastic storage boxes. (Clear, so light can get in). I put the whole box under flourescent lights.

I put a small space heater into the bathroom and closed the door. I keep a thermometer in there and have regulated the temp on the heater so that the room stays at a constant 85 degrees. I have had at least one seed germinate in each cell. I did the same thing with peppers.
It's important to uncover the plants as soon as the first leaves appear. Otherwise, you run the risk of damping off. I have not noticed an increase in my heating bill either.

I am so proud! :)

My suggestions are the same as above. I have found bottom heat does speed things up. Also, in my experience they take longer than a lot of other seeds to germinate. Have patience.

Well, for what it's worth here's the process I've developed over the years.

First, I've read that they don't like their roots disturbed, so I start in 4" pots and don't pot up. I fill the bottom 75% with potting soil and the top 25% with seed starting mix.

Water well, but then place the pots on a towel and allow them to drain for a couple of hours. The towel does a great job of sucking out excess water. Make a small furrow and put two seeds in each pot. Top with vermiculite.

Cover with clear plastic and place on a heat mat under a light that's on 15 hours per day. I know they can germinate without light, but I seem to do better under lights. Probably the additional heat since in 4" pots, they may not get enough heat from the bottom. Check at least once a day, removing the cover to allow some air. Take off cover permanently as soon as you see them start to break the surface.

IMPORTANT - All of the above MUST be done while singing the Beetles song "Octopus's Garden" and gently swaying back and forth.
I just started my eggplants for this year. Nadia, Black Beauty and Ping-Tung from seed ranging from two to four years old. Had excellent germination within 6 days, at least one in each pot. The room temperature was around 60. With heat pad and light probably 75-80 in the pots during the day, lower at night since the light was off. Good Luck!

Begginer's luck I have! Here is a recount of the simple method:

Day 1: Baggie with coffe filter on top of TV cable box
Day 2: Bury into individual Jiffy pot, move to light stand
Day 15: Transplant into cell pack

As shown in the photo, at week 5, they look happy and will go to final spot in a few weeks.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:33206}}

I didn't have any problem with germination (about %80) but as soon as I transferred these into bigger cups, they all stop growing. My tomato plants way outgrew these but eggplants are still tiny. It has been 6+ weeks and I can barely see 3-4 additional tiny leaves to the first leaves. Barely 2inch plants. Any suggestion?

Eggplant and hot pepper seeds need heat and moisture. You can use a heat mat, but I have always used the air vent on my kitchen floor. I plant my seeds 5 mm deep in very moist seed starter mix, cover with saran wrap or plastic top to keep the moist in, set the whole thing on top of the floor vent. They will usually germinate in about a week to ten days.

As far as seed viability goes, in my experience eggplant seeds are good for three years stored in your average home and much longer in the refrigerator.

i start my seeds the same as pepper seeds. several seeds in cell packs, barely cover with seed mix. keep soil moist but not overly so. cover with plastic wrap or place the cell packs in a recycled plastic container that had greens, cover with a lid, and place on a couple books one on each end suspended over a heat vent. they come up pretty well. they do tend to take longer to sprout then peppers or tomatoes. seeds planted march 1st, are still just now starting to sprout. if you don't see signs of life within 3 weeks, you probably won't.
you just have to be patient with them.
i haven't had any issues separating the seedlings and transplanting into individual pots. use a little care when transplanting, and they will be ok.
the problem i run into is later when they are in the garden. they are a flea beetle and colorado potato beetle magnet.

keith