I know. I hated to sound rude, and I hope I didn't come across that way, but I wanted to let people know that it's very disappointing to someone who's excited to receive their seeds only to find that they're smashed. And if they're first-time traders and they receive smashed seeds, they may never trade again! Yikes. We certainly don't want that. :) This is a fantastic way to connect with other gardeners and get some things you may not find anywhere else or that costs too much in the catalogs.

Hopefully this post will help a little so that everyone is happy when they get their trades in the future. Gardening is supposed to relieve stress, not create it. LOL

When I first started trading, I read someone's post that suggested using a bubble mailer. Otherwise I wouldn't have had a clue. I think it's good that we mention it from time to time.

When mailing seeds, I think we should use two guidelines: common sense and common courtesy.

Common sense: "Are these seeds too fragile to go through machinery at high speed?" Protect 'em. Put in some bubble wrap or corrigated cardboard, or better still, use a bubble mailer. And whatever you do, mark them "Please Hand Cancel". Clearly. On both sides.

Common courtesy: Does the recipient expect a bubble mailer? It's better to just use one, or at least to ask them. Many traders have that preference. Besides, the one they sent you cost money. (Not much, but it adds up.) They're reusable. If both traders use one, both traders GET one. No one's out anything but seeds and postage.

Very well said. I reuse my bubble mailers over and over as long as they're not torn and in good shape suited for mailing. Common sense would apply here. ;-)

By the way, the person wrote "hand cancel" on it and "non-machinable," highlighted both, and the beans just didn't make it. But the 4 smaller packs of seeds did, so I was happy for that.

Honestly, I don't think the postal people even look at the "hand cancel" writing any more. I get a lot of my seeds from low-cost bidding sites like listia, and because of that, I -unfortunately- receive many of my seeds in standard envelopes rather than bubblies. I can tell you that ALL of those envelopes were machined REGARDLESS of wether or not they were marked "hand canceled" AND had the proper postage as such. (FYI, for an envelope to be hand canceled, it is an additional 21 cents.) Unless you fill up that envelope so much with bubble wrap that they can't physically machine it IT WILL BE MACHINED. And even then sometimes they will try to machine it and completely tear apart the package :(

However, I have also received bubblies that were handled so poorly by the postal service that many seeds were destroyed. I mean, how negligent do you have to be for BEANS to be crushed inside a bubble mailer? What a joke!

In the end, I think it all comes down to courtesy and communication. We really can't trust the postal system, but we need to be able to trust fellow gardeners. I'll probably be putting a note in my trade list concerning using only bubblies for trading, just so it's upfront.

Of course, I always try to do a big enough trade that I can get the flat rate priority shipping. That way, if the post messes up, I cash in on that insurance!

I trust fellow gardeners on here more than eBay purchases. Just had an eBay purchase that was also shihpped in a regular white legal-sized envy (I'm feeling jinxed lately-lol), no bubble wrap even, handwritten to hand cancel, and the seeds were smashed. I couldn't believe an eBayer had done that. I was shocked. I mean, I've bought seeds before on eBay and have never had them ship seeds like that. Of course they're replacing the seeds, but I still am amazed at the person's shipping material.

You're right, though. It's best to communicate up front. I have it on my trade list page, but I'll have to reiterate it again in case they miss it. :)

Lady Alicia,

contact the ebay sell them and tell them what happened. most solid ebay sellers will replace the items like seeds and be happy you gave them the chance to make things right rather than incur negative feedback. They should be aware of how you received the items so maybe they can correct this in the future also.

Right, every which way. Question: How th' heck do I edit my trade list? Nothing seems obvious, as it once did. --I'm lost-- :(

Hi, Vala. Yes, I did contact her and she's shipping me five seeds. I was trying to be nice and say that obviously the post office didn't pay attention to her "hand cancel/non-machinable" notation....in hopes that she takes that as a hint to not ship like that in the future. She did say in her ad that she doesn't have fancy packaging and instructions like the companies since she's a private seller, but I didn't think it would come in a white legal-sized envy with no bubble wrap! Geesh. I was thinking just plain little seed envelopes like we all do. She should probably write in her "no bubble wrap when shipping seeds and plain envelope." "Plain packaging" can obviously be interpreted different ways. Heck, most people on GW don't even ship like that. LOL Oh, well. Lesson learned.

Cryptid, it took me a while to figure that out too. Go under "Edit Profile," click on "Advanced Settings" in the list on the left-hand column, and then scroll down to where you see the box that says "GardenWeb Trading List" and edit it there. Then make sure you scroll down and click "Update" so it updates your new list! :) Message me or e-mail me at AfinalWord@aol.com if you need more help. I'm slowly learning things.