Comments regarding Seeds For the South (Vegetable Seed Warehouse)

I placed an order for 5 kinds of seeds on 12/17/04. I received my order today, 1/15/04. I e-mailed last week asking about my seeds and I was informed that they hadn't mailed it yet because they're still waiting for the seeds to come in, that they would mail it ASAP. While I appreciate the quick response to my e-mail, and I do realize that I ordered last year during a busy time of the year (holiday season), I would have appreciated an e-mail telling me my order hadn't been shipped, etc. Just keeping me informed would be a big plus. They did issue credit for one packet of seeds that they didn't have, and they did add one extra packet of seeds that I didn't order, so that makes up for the wait, I guess. Two other things that surprised me a bit were that the seeds didn't come in a pre-made padded envelope -- it came in a regular envelope with a sheet of cut-up bubble wrap on one side of the seeds -- and the seed packets came with what seems to be grease spots (not many, but enough to be noticeable). While I probably will order from them again if I can't find the seeds I'm looking for elsewhere (this time it was for seeds that were only available from Chiltern's and other UK businesses), they probably won't be my first choice. I realize that this is probably a family-owned business and I know that in itself would present several challenges, but a tad bit more professionalism (pre-made bubble envelopes, no grease spots on the seed packets) would certainly make a HUGE difference, at least as far as I'm concerned, after all I am paying full price for the seeds.