Frustration in the plant and seed exchange

I don't understand why anyone would list plants and seeds that they are out of or won't have til next year, or just got, "to early to trade". I'ts very time consuming to go through their haves when a lot of them they don't have. Is this an issue that has been brought up before. Maybe they don't know how to edit or delete their haves?

kobwebz,
This is a topic that has been discussed many times before. Some of it does have to do with the fact that some don't know how to "disable" on their lists. I was one of those people until I learned of this the last time this topic came up. I now have some 80+ items "disabled" in my haves list.
I do see and understand the frustration of going through someones list of 200+ items only to see one or two or none available. Some of the other reasons people do this are to enable people to "plan" ahead. For example: If you are looking for seeds/starts of something but it's not the ideal time of year for that item you can make note of where to get it later OR go ahead and set up a planned trade with that person when the time is right for that item. I already have a couple of spring trades set up this way :) There are several reasons why people do it their way and I have found most of them make sense. It may not always seem convenient to some but for others it makes sense :)

Here is a link to the last thread on this topic :
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1043504/

Maybe this will answer some more for you :)
Steph

I HAD to list plants in my trade list that were not yet ready to trade. People kept wanting to send me plants I already had.

Yes bubba1, I also try to send people extras/gift plants that are not on their haves list :)

Thanks katzgalore, that link was very helpful. Annette

You are very welcome :)

Those who insist on using plant trade as their inventory lose out .. I have lots of rare, hard to find and unusual plants .. when I have trades available I look to see who wants them before offering them up in the forums .. the first "not available" I see on a "has" list closes the list for me and the persons name gets put on another list of "don't even bother to look".

X

Xeramtheum
I'm glad to see you keep an open mind when it comes to the subject at hand :(

Xeramtheum
I'm glad to see you keep an open mind when it comes to the subject at hand :( As I said prior : It may not always seem CONVENIENT to some, but for others it makes sense. I'm sure you can add me to your "list".

Xeramtheum, I have been doing the same, closing the list. just is a waste of time for me. Good idea to search for people who are looking for what you have, Wow I have ben so lucky, have done a lot of trades without looking at the feedback of other members, and now I think that is important. Learning constantly from all of you. Thanks.

I'm with kob .. it's a waste of time .. if you want an inventory then use the journal or as mentioned above, disable ones not available .. when you open your list to work on it you see everything there disabled or not. Only what is available is on the public list.

It has nothing to do with an open mind .. in plant files it clearly says "x members have or want this plant for trade". If it's not available for trade it shouldn't be listed.

X

In adding a plant you certainly don't see an option to "list this plant as unavailable", only have and want.

X

Perhaps a solution to this could be to request a sticky with some "etiquette" instructions on this. Has that been done in the past already?

That is a great idea. don't know how to request it.

Use the "contact us " link. I am guilty too of having things listed that may be unavailable. One cannot forsee "plant disasters" like the basset hound deciding that he really needed to dig up my "yellow" plants for a bed. My time here is limited and quite frankly-- I don't often have time to update my tradelists--they are available when listed but-- things happen. I actually consider deleting them since everyone seems to get so angry. Has no one ever ordered a plant and found it "out of stock"? I have in my posession several seed catalogs that have items listed followed by "crop failure, not available in 2010" Happens to everyone. I just move on and look for it elsewhere. I personally don't mind if something is listed as "unavailable" on a trade list. Many times a d-mail of inquiry will allow you to be put on a waiting list for when it is. A solution might be if the trade lists could be revamped into inventory lists-alowing a "for trade box" to be checked if an item is available for trade. I am rambling I suppose-- but don't really understand what the fuss is about.

I think a lot of people are missing the point here. The whole idea of the "available" link in plant files is for people to be able to find what they are looking for and make a request or trade. There already is a feature on Dave's for listing an inventory. It's the Journal. Click on My Tools tab at the top then Your Garden Journal and follow the instructions.

As the saying goes, When in Rome ... do as the Romans do.

If someone has over 50 plants in their have list, it is VERY frustrating to see page after page of "not available". There is one person who shall remain nameless that has over 180 plants on their "available" list and all but 6 are "unavailable".

Use the journal for plant inventory! The system in place already works .. learn to use it.

X

In all honesty I don't search the "have" trade lists much. I rely more on listings in the plant swap forum than the tradelists. If I am looking for something I post-- and more often or not if I am wanting to get rid of something I post and move it out rather than list it on my tradelist. If I see a trade posted that I am interested in I will check the want lists to see if I have anything. I personally have not missed the point, but I can understand how that many unavailable items would be frustrating. My own list is small--(and I actually had a moment and just updated it, I had 2 things that were unavailable and disabled those). For me I found the inventory part of the journal not entirely user friendly-- that said-- I have 1000+ plants and keep mine on excel. I probably should have just stayed out of this discussion ^_^

I believe that an "etiquette" sticky may help end all of this.

Tutorial is not necessary .. just follow the directions.

X

I have never tried to use the journal before and am not computer literate, i did however try to start a list of the seeds I've started, ( after reading the last entry in this thread) in a journal, only put 2 in of over 100 and very successfully did it. Just followed the directions.

I'm with Xeramtheum, kobwebz and many others who have found the tradelist feature very frustrating to use. Too many people use it for their own "selfish" purposes. It is inconvenient, and to more than some. And to justify it by saying "for others it makes sense" is like saying "it's okay to drive on the sidewalk if it serves your purpose!" The point is... follow the rules of this great feature in the way it was meant to be, or else it doesn't work like it was meant to work.

I'm sorry, this tadelist "abuse" has been my pet-pieve of DG. It was the main reason I became a subscriber. btw, I also have lot's of great seed and plant varieties which I do not list because of this.

Dave has said he was going to create an "Inventory" feature, but considering his present situation on DG, I wouldn't plan on it happining anytime soon.

I am sorry that this subject continues to repeatedly be brought up. I have attempted to help explain to the best of my knowledge. I am now sadly in the belief that everyone wants it to be their own way no matter what. This is a subject that is NEVER is solved and continues to cause friction. I apologize for ATTEMPTING to diffuse the fire before it began. Some people just HAVE to complain though. And others seem that they are the ONLY ones with the right answer.


Annette(kobwbz),
I thank you for being so kind about the subject. Sorry I could not be of any help.

This message was edited Jan 31, 2010 4:17 PM

This message was edited Jan 31, 2010 4:18 PM

catzgalore, you were a big help, i didn't mean to complain, just didn't understand why people would list things they don't have. Now I understand that everyone has their own way of doing things. Thanks.

I know you didn't Annette. You were very polite. Thank you

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's called a TRADE list--list what you have to trade or what you want in trade. The TRADE list is not an inventory of everything you already have. So if you don't have it to TRADE or if you're not seeking it, it shouldn't be on your TRADE list. I believe the title itself says it all, does it not?

I'm also one of those who will not look any further on a TRADE list when I see the first "Not Available".

This message was edited Jan 31, 2010 5:33 PM

Uttt ohhhh Here comes Kimmie's 2 cents... I think we both commented on this before. But let me REITERATE. It's a TRADE LIST not an inventory list. Some people say plan ahead...I say DISABLE plain and simple.

I recently went to a trade list and after 100 items of not available I decided I just can't look at anymore. I have a lot of items on my trade list . But I have some disabled because it's not available. And when it is...It's just a click of a button to make it available for others to see. It doesn't go away or need to be re-added. It just is so that other people can't see something that isn't available.

I had my"Un Availables" disabled but recently enabled a lot of them back so other gardeners can see what I hope to have available...barring any problems,come gardening weather. I still have somethings disable because they're too big to ship any more. I started several journels and these disabled plants will be moved soon...which is very easy to do because there's a "move to new catagory"link/button. Took me a while...and still learning but now I really like the journels.


P
with my two cents worth

I quit trading things because of trade list.
I would offer stuff then they would say go to trade list and as mentioned 3 pages later w/only 6 available on their list it blew me away.
I decided I had gone daffy and needed a long rest.

Lavina

I just came across a member who's so called tradelist had over 200 seed items supposely available for trade. Not only were the vast majority of these items "not available for trade", most were not available because they were individual seed varieties included as part of his/her purchased seed-mixes. Now that's dedication to keeping an inventory! Too bad the member is (mis)using the tradelist to do it.

This message was edited Feb 2, 2010 10:50 PM

You know ... I think my biggest issue is I have waaaay too many on my want list ... And haven't put anything up on my "HAVE" list so, I don't get offered trades. I do use my HAve list as an inventory database ... BUT ... I also disable things I don't have enough to trade with. I have just gotten to where I list what I do "HAVE" in the have forum http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1038709/
and have a short list (compared to my actual WANT list) in the "WANT" forum http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1037549/
These 2 forums have come in pretty handy for me ... I personally don't have the time anymore to list everything in my "Have" list ... another reason is that I'll get several d-mails for one type of seed and I'll only have one extra pack of them.

I don't put down the people who have things on their have list who put "out until ... " I know its a bit annoying for some. But some of these people who do this are new. Please look at all sides of why someone is doing this before judging too harshly :D

Happy plant & seed trading!!!

Brandy

A lot of the people who use their trade list for inventory are NOT new. And those who are new, perhaps posts like these will help them realize the real reason for the TRADE list.

I'll agree, the trade list format is, in my opinion, a pain. I personally would rather keep my list in Microsoft Word document and just copy and paste it, like I do on other sites. I can list 100 seeds in a couple of seconds that way. For a long time, I didn't even use the trade list here. I just copied my Word document into a post on the trading forum. I still do that when I don't have time to update my trade list.

When I'm trading, I like to look at a person's trade list to see what else they might have that I'd want or what else I might have that's on their wish list. But if they have 1000's of items on their wish list, I just skip it. Too time-consuming. I saw one person who wanted about 100 varieties of daylilies, 50 varieties of salvias, 20 varieties of mints, etc. It takes a long time to read all that. It's much easier if they just say Daylilies - cultivars I don't have, Salvias - varieties I don't have, etc.

It might be helpful for each trader to look at their own trade list and ask yourself, "Would I bother reading all this if I were wanting to trade with myself?"

:-)

I agree... :D I know my Want list is a lot like that. I also find I need to update my WANT list. Which needs to be cut down severely. I do have a bunch of cultivars of different daylilies, Plumies and Brugs .... a few pages worth... I'm working on cutting that back as we speak...
I honestly try not to frustrate people ... especially with trades ... I guess that;s one reason I come into the plant and seed trading forums to see what people have to offer and if its on my want list once I recieve it I disable it until I know whether they live / or the seeds germnate or not ...
I think my other issue is that I keep looking at peoples trade lists and seeing other things that I'd like to have... lol :D
I have my have list in Microsoft office document.

The listing system can be difficult. You know what'd be nice is a seperate personal data base that only the member can see of what they have ... seperate from the trade list. And to where it can be moved easily to the trade list... now the whole thing with putting them into the journals I find can be a real pain... It seems to be harder to do the journal than the trade list to add the plant. I think It'd make life a bit easier though .... .

HINT HINT HINT .... ADMIN ... HINT ... LOL :D

I followed this discussion. Since my motherlanguage is not english, I waited to give my opinion. But I do trade a lot with people of the USA.
I do agree with all the ones that say: Tradelists are for trading, not for inventory!
My have list is rather long (about 300), but everything on it is available. When someone wants to trade with me and has just a lot of 'available next spring/summer/autumn' I don't like that. I had some trades with people who had their seeds listed that way, sent my seeds and waited for their seeds. Well, most times they told me they were not able to save seeds.
I also d-mailed a lot of people because they asked for special seeds, but most times they don't even answer me.
It might be because I'm European and there are people in the USA who don't want trades outside the USA.
ButterflyChaser, I see your problem, but I like to grow Salvia's as well, so there are some in my want list. Can't just ask for any Salvia, because I already have plants or seeds for about a dozen varieties. And another problem is that I can't ask for any Salvia, because I can't grow them all because of my climate zone. I can only grow zone 6 hardy Salvia's or the ones that can be grown as an annual.

And just a question to you all: I have a lot of seeds on my have list (over 300). Do you think that's too much?
I don't think so, just because I have so many seeds, so I can trade with a lot of people. Some want regular seeds, some want special seeds.

Jonna, It's ok to list a few specific salvia cultivars, but some folks list 50 or more cultivars of every species they're interested in. I collect daylilies and have over 500 cultivars. My wish list is long, but on my trade list, I only list the top 3 or 4 cultivars I'm looking for, rather than listing the 1000's of cultivars I dream about. I also state that I'm interested in any daylily cultivars I don't have. People can offer me other cultivars and I can always decline. But someone might offer me some I've never even heard of and might really want. So this way, I don't limit myself or possible traders. Nor do I overwhelm them with pages of wants.

If you overwhelm people with a lot of wants and haves, they finally get tired of wading thru it all. You can always list a few of your best seeds/plants or most wanted seeds/plants in your post on the trading forum to get people's attention.

I agree with most of the post here, I will generally skip over a trade page that has "out" or Not available until later" When I'm trading it is for seeds I need now, not later.

I use the trade page here only because it's easy to show your photos, as far as the list I absolutely hate going through pages and pages of trades. I don't mind that people have a lot of seeds, I just want to be able to skim through and find something I like. Maybe we need a thread in the suggestion area for a new trade format!