I picked some of the berries on 9/23/11. I popped the berries out of the flesh and they are a light color. I cannot find a photo of ripe Purple Beautyberry seeds. It seems like they should be a darker color.

As with almost everything else, wait to harvest seeds until the berries at least start to shrivel and turn brown to insure viable seeds.
You can pick the berries as they begin to shrivel and let them dry on a plate until they are ready.
The seeds are a pale tan color and are shaped similarly to very small tomato seeds although smoother in texture.
They can be successfully wintersown.
Alana

They dry to a black wrinkled seed and they will grow without much effort most any where. I do not bother taking them out of their covers just plant them as they are. Each plant puts on enough seeds to start your own Beauty Berry nursery :>)