Yes! I hate getting seeds in trade with no dates. There are some Round Robin seed exchanges on the Round Robin site with dates of the seeds needing to be fresh. The Garden Geeks one sounds awesome. Please join us!

I always ask before trading regarding the age of the seeds, and whether the person offering got them from a trade. I've traded for lots of seeds that weren't viable and many that, though viable, were NOT what they were supposed to be, which is maybe even more frustrating because I take the time to germinate and grow them only to discover that ther person who sent them was either dishonest or ignorant about what they sent. A few years ago I traded with three individuals for Hidcote lavender seeds, and in all three instances grew out hyssop--turns out all three traders had received mis-identified seeds from the same person and then passed them on to me. This is particularly prevalent now that the majority of GW traders don't harvest or purchase their seeds but instead build their trade lists with whatever they can get from others. Like bad pennies, these seeds go from person to person to person, and your chances of getting them just gets greater and greater.
. After years of being on GW, there are only a handful of people I even consider trading with because I am tired of wasting my time and postage in sending great seeds and getting crap in return. There ARE good traders here but you have to be vigilant and picky about whom you trade with in order to find them.

I wish you would please email me the good traders!

kms4me~Yes that is most infuriating as well...
If I receive a "pot luck" at least its stated in offering because there are a few that enjoy surprises but I'm not one! I'm to serious about color coding and placement.
I'm just going to keep working my list of FAB traders and shake it off...
Thinking about designating a spot in the back corner of my yard for the questionables until they prove correctly labeled.
Take Care! :-)
and Zackey... When I get one, I'll forward it on

Maybe a rating system like they have on Ebay would be helpful---that way new traders can learn when they make errors. I also get concerned...what if I get a veggie and it is actually something non-edible or worse poisonous. Seed traders could be rated on viability, labeling, etc...

Also, please provide feedback. I would like to know personally if I have sent seeds that weren't viable or labeled correctly. I would rather replace the trade with something satisfactory, have a good "credit line" and learn from my mistakes than have someone upset that they did not get what was expected.

A rating system could also serve as a learning tool. Experienced traders could find eachother more easily, and quality control could be better tracked---just a few ideas.

This thread belongs on the "conversations" side. I will ask Admin to move it.

seedsnaughtweeds & others: Traders can reference and post to the Rate & Review forum.

When you use the R&R forum to post feedback please read through some posts before submitting a new review if you have never done it before.
Search the forum first using the search box under the last thread on the page to find the review thread for the person you wish to review. A new thread should not be started unless the person has no existing reviews. If you do need to start a new thread for a new person, the thread title should be simply the person's screen name exactly as it is in GW-no embellishments, no comments, etc. in the title. Save all that for the actual review :)

Likewise, you can search the forum to find the person you want to read reviews about.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rate and Review