Why Ohh Why Do some people around here of call it trading??? This is Not a Trade. To trade (maybe in my mind) is each person gets something of value or what they want.
If I take the time to pack up plants or seeds... to send for the cost of Postage. I am sharing something with you and getting nothing in return. You will be paying for the cost of your seeds/plants being shipped to you. And I don't receive anything in return...so it's not a trade.
POSTAGE FOR TRADE???
Wow...what brought that on? Just curious. ^_^
Sorry....did it sound like I was venting? LOL.
Well it's that I am happy to send plants and seeds when I can share. I get many of request and I don't mind... but it's just that Everyone refers to me sending plants for postage as a trade. Sending plants especially take time and effort. Then you receive exact postage...where is the trade in this? It's not a trade. So I guess the term just seems to irk me. I get responses like..."Thanks for the Trade" Ummmm but I don't get plants or seeds in return.
Kim, I agree 100%!
I agree100% Kim. Then there are those who conveniently forget to send the postage money and I had to hound one guy for months until he finally sent it.
I cross people off my list if I send a package and it's $7.50 and they send $7.50. My gas, packaging, tape, labels, and time are worth something.
Yup!
Another annoying thing is seeing the plants you sent being traded! They get something for the plants while we get postage. Not nice.
Ohhhhh I haven't noticed that yet! ha
I agree Kim. Your plants, no matter how plentiful, are not free if the recipient had to buy them. Digging, cleaning, trimming, packing, packaging materials, mailing supplies, time and sweat are all gifts to the recipient. Nothing at all wrong with that and it can be very satisfying, but it provides no material benefit to the sender and is in no way a trade.
Edited to add that when I offer plants for postage I am not interested in more postage than it takes to mail or I would not make the offer.
This message was edited Jun 14, 2013 5:21 AM
Kim--I agree with you as well.....
I never really connected the time and effort to property package, wrap, drive to the PO, etc
as something that should be worth a little bonus $$ when the recipient sends you postage.
Such a good thought!
I have never asked for any more than postage--and i have sent a zillion plants and seeds over the years.
I usually suggest that the recipient sends me stamps instead of a check or cash.
One can always use stamps.... I have never been "stiffed" either..
Wonder how one would, diplomatically, suggest this?????
Same as i just had this "AHA" moment--perhaps most people just don't think of it.
It had never occurred to me.....:-o I suppose the old adage holds true--"Ask--and you shall receive".
Still--asking seems a bit tacky...
Gita
I can only speak for myself ,but I am Extremely Grateful for any plants ,bulbs,etc that I have ever received for postage .And you all are very right it is NOT a Trade it is a Very Generous Gift from a fellow gardener ! I know how Expensive they are to buy and how much work it goes into digging them up ,packing, getting to the post office and hoping they get to there new home in one piece. But it stinks to when you do pay for postage and then Never receive anything ,not even an explanation.Not mentioning any names ,but June 9 ,2012, I sent VIA Paypal $16.00 for some Red Hot Pokers and have never gotten them and have not heard from the person who OFFERED to give them for postage since July 1 ,2012 even after sending 4 or 5 nice Dmails asking if everything was ok.
synda-
Did you leave a negative comment in that person's feedback? People DO check!
I never ask for postage up front, as i do not know myself until I go to the PO and mail it.
I also do not have Pay Pal--so payment has to be sent in person to me.
I also, often, include care instructions, how-to, and ask that the person let me know how it is doing.
I tell the person I am sending something to that, when he/she gets the package,
she will know how much the postage was, and then send it to me.
I have always received it afterwards. Sometimes late--but we all lead busy lives and forget stuff like this.
Gita
Wow! Gita that is very trusting and nice :-) I just couldn't operate like that...but whatever works for a person is great!
Ummmm the $16.00 and no plants in return was wrong. I would definitely leave negative feedback on that one!
and I would wait a bit more...life does happen and sometimes the weather interferes when you are sharing your garden...patience before pressure...?
Gita ,
No I never left feedback or anything .Just chalked it up to ya win some ya lose some........ But I know of at least one other person sent this lady money also and never got the plants.
I don't mind waiting I just wish they would keep in touch.
Synda - you are amazingly patient to wait over a year since you paid and not left negative feedback! I'd have done it by now.
Well I just left NEG Feedback and also sent an Email........ We will see !!!!!
Great! I wish you the best of luck but after a year I wouldn't hold out too much hope. Maybe the feedback will wake her up and she'll apologize and come through with the plants.
Thank You , Arlene.
Just joining the thread. No time for much DG these days. Synda, you need to leave feedback for good and bad so others will know. If I were to do a trade with this person I would first look at their trade list. If there were negatives I would wait to get my end of the trade from them before sending my side. If all feedback is good or there is none I could get taken just like you did.
It's so important to protect our other members. Even if they give you $16 back that would be fine and I would not leave feedback. Is the person still on DG and are they trading?
We all probably recall the person who came on here saying they had a rare peony and took lots of money only to send nothing or as with me stent a rotten tree root - duh. They were banned from DG.
Kathy - and hello everyone. Miss being on here.
Speak about that Peony....remember I was the only to actually get a piece. It finally bloomed this year (been 3 years) and this is the Rare Red Fern Leaf Peony...ha ha
It's been a year for that $16.00...ohhh come on...
I guess we've all been taken a time or two but I have met so many wonderful generous friends here on DG both with plants and my quilting buddies. I don't think there is another social forum as wonderful as this one.
Mittsy
LOL!!! I just had to post when I saw that pic of your peony Kim ::)) Pityful!!! Does it even have the fern leaves Kim? Shoot, as soon as I figured out (which didn't take long) she was on here once again, I remember contacting several of you. I still have my guard up and constantly watch for it to happen again. I actually do have that "rare peony" and have offered to a few at a time (I think Kathy didn't have room or time??) 'cause I felt so bad for y'all on that thread about the peony.
I do have to agree with Mittsy...even had a great trade with her (big grin). You will have a few bad where ever you are but the good members more than make up for them. Mittsy...somebody stole my blue eyed grass last year!!! Unbelievable :( I can say it was growing and blooming so nicely.
Connie
Connie--Hi!
My Home Depot had Blue-Eyed grass earlier this spring. It was, maybe, $5? as it was on the
perennial table.
I even took a picture of it.....Gita
Nice looking grass Gita :)
Connie
I have been stuck sending for postage but don't send first now. I will offer a small flat rate or even a medium and know the cost ahead of time. I don't mind offering for postage if I have the time but you are right it is a lot of work to dig, rinse, wrap, label, tape and address and go to post office. I usually do this if I can't afford at the time to spend money for a trade but can afford to send if the other person (Now) pays first.
I love it when some will send postage and stick in some seeds even if they may not grow here. I know I would be POed if I saw someone trading what I just sent for (counting my time and gas sending) them for cheaper than free.
My blue eyed grass is pretty prolific so I can usually split a clump to share. I just love it as it is so cheerful! I was just thinking of you, Connie, as it is time to move the blackberries to their permanent home. They did very well in the party tub over the winter, but the tub is a total loss, eight years for $8, I can't complain, got more than my money's worth.
YAY Mittsy! So glad they did well for you :) Ours are in full bloom so if yours aren't they should be shortly. They are so good and sweet!!
Connie
aspenjocop and Kim - what a time that was with the fern peony. Those were the days at DG. I miss our coops. I had so many and everyone was happy. Such fun.
Kathy
Kim, I agree with you entirely. And between digging up plants, packaging them properly, taking them to the post office, waiting in line.... I figure I'd be donating a couple hours of my time as well as the plants. I haven't been on DG in a long time, but I remember the same people asking for free plants over and over again. You'd think that after a couple of years, these people would have something to offer in exchange, but they never did. Unless it was just seeds I could stick in an envelope, I've never felt any desire to help these people out, and it's not because I'm not generous. I've given away hundreds of plants to neighbors and friends, and sent plants unrequested to people I considered friends on DG. I just think it's kind of nervy to ask time and again for free plants from strangers, much less call it a trade.
I know I have been guilty of asking for cuttings from brugs but only made a thread and no one had to answer. I want so bad to have brugs (any color) but don't seem to do something right and figure they don't like the full sun here so I gave up on any but maybe get at a RU or sway or can buy from a local garden center. I love Houston Garden Centers 1/2 off right now and then 70% later but boy have the prices climbed the last yr. 20 dollars for a brug but found a variegated one for 1/2 price there last week.
I have however sent alot of plants for postage by offering them or someone asking. I don't offer many anymore as I am not as young and strong as I use to be. It is alot of work to send plants out and very time consuming. I do send seeds out for an SASE and will trade for something I am looking for or know a friend is looking for. I do miss the co-ops there use to be. Now I can only find ones they want to make a profit on. Chef Mike who use to be here has some good ones now and then but postage has gotten so high. I sent something back to Amazon 2 weeks ago and it was a box 6"across X 4" across X 4" deep and my DF was told it had to go Priority as they don't do first class on boxes anymore ???? It was 9 dollars and 50 cents to send back for a 18 dollar credit. I would have kept it if I had taken it. Would sell it on Ebay and charge them what it cost for the shipping to mail it. Since when can we not send any size box first class?
Last year the postmaster here told my son it was a federal offense to mail seeds to another country so I had to go back. I didn't tell her it was her but she said she didn't know who said that. She is a very nice black lady and didn't want to say he couldn't mistake her for someone else. Just mailed it and let it go. Isn't worth it so I will now go myself. I did recently send seeds to Malaysia and it was 6.50 to send 20 seeds and did a trade for seeds only cost them 1.25 USD to send me seeds. From now on I will only do for postage out of the country unless I have no chance to get the other seeds anywhere else. First they said 48 dollars and I said is that first class....no it wasn't.
I know the feeling for everyone that has commented. I really Love to share when I can. But sometimes I offer plants grown from seed... and they are very well cared for and tended to plants. And for that..sometimes I just let them go on eBay. I recently posted tomatillos here on DG..no one wanted them. Well they all sold on eBay and some for $15.00 (bids). So from now on I'll just list the extras on eBay.
Just a few seedlings still needing a home :-) Carmencita Castor Bean...I Have New Zealand purple too! hint hint...LOL
Why not list the extras on ebay? I think that's a great idea.
What I do now is pot up most everything that I have to divide in my garden and then hold a "cheap perennial sale" in the spring when my street is having its streetwide yard sale, and often one later in the summer or fall. I advertise on craigslist and have an email list now of about 90 people that I notify, and they're very happy to come and snatch up my plants for $2 to $5 each, a fraction of what they'd pay elsewhere. I don't have to pack and ship, and it's amazing how it adds up. Then I use some of the proceeds to buy whatever plants I want either locally or by mail. If I have leftover plants, I give them to neighbors or friends or the community garden or donate them elsewhere. It's a lot of work, but it's fun, it's appreciated by folks, and it supports my plant habit.
Very Very good idea...hmmmm
perenniallyme - Remember these you sent a few years back? Hoping for blooms this year :-)
Is that the gentiana tibetica? I think I started them from seed just 2 years ago. I don't think that mine flowered last year either. I expect they will this year, though - hmmm - I would have thought they'd flower last year.
Let me know if it doesn't.
In case you decide to have a craigslist perennial sale, tell folks that you recycle plastic plant pots, and ask them to bring some if they have them. My 1st year I had to go through recycle bins and put holes in the bottoms of plastic containers... but I haven't had to since then. People have brought bagfuls of them, so it's one less thing to have to deal with. And I cut up plastic gallon milk jugs as I use them, to make plant labels. I do have to buy many many bags of soil though, but that can be had at Home Depot for around $1.50 for 40 lbs.
Yup! It's the gentiana tibetica. Yeah it's been 2 years...because they were seedlings when you sent them.
I have zone envy for that plant gentiana tibetica :( I would take you up on some Carmencita Castor Bean but will be your way for a little while and no one to get the package :( I have the New Zealand and it is beautiful.
Chimming in as a newbie and a "needer" of many things - plants, cuttings, seeds... Very thankful to have found this thread though. When I ask for something (an yes 'trade' is used incorrectly if you aren't receiving...) - I will make sure to be a very gracious recepeint and keep track so that when I do begin to have seeds, cuttings, and plants of my own - I can let the generous who gave, perhaps get in return!
I'm also glad to see that 'just postage' doesn't really take care of the extras that go into sending plants and will make sure to cover with a few extra $$ the time :) Makes perfect sense!
In the meantime - very glad to be here at DG!
Debra
Hi Debra...Welcome! Overall this is a great place to be. I have received half my gardens from here :-)