Comments regarding Stokes Seeds

I bought from Stokes for years. Good products and good service. I had lots of success with their seeds. When they went online, I discovered that this Canadian company was charging Canadians more than Americans for the same product. That is, if you calculated the currency exchange, a Canadian was paying substantially more in U.S. dollars, than an American. I contacted Stokes and asked why they did not use normal currency exchange rates and was told that it costs more to do business in Canada. I replied to Stokes that U.S. consumers are not in the habit of subsidizing Canadians and that I am certainly in no position to boost Stokes' American market base. I know of no other company that has a similar policy.

I ordered from Stokes despite some pretty large misgivings. I refuse to give them a negative rating though I was unhappy with the way things went, because I did order during their free shipping event, which I acknowledge must have been hectic (more on that in a bit). It did however take a very long time, with the status of my order changing many times of the several weeks it took to even ship.

Long dull story short, customer service was slow and a bit dishonest- their version of events did not line-up with the dates actually on the packing slips and the "ordered on" date didn't even match the date I ordered online, telling me they must have gotten pretty far behind. So I'm guessing my three week wait for this order is probably not the norm.

However, it does raise my issue with them. Hey Stokes, you know WHY you got so backlogged that day? Because everyone was waiting for free shipping day because your shipping prices are outrageous!

I really feel like not only do they mostly cater to commercial sellers, they actively don't want the money of someone like me, a home gardener, with their totally cost prohibitive shipping fees. With the other seed sites I visit becoming MORE competitive with shipping costs they seem firmly decided to stick with charges that are 200% more than the average. I just can't justify that, even if they do have some unusual seeds.

So again, it's just clear they don't want people like me as a customer. They want big bulk buyers who can justify that kind of cost. That's fine. Just like I understand the shipping snafu, I don't think this is enough for a negative review. It's just enough to say I don't think I'll be a returning customer.

Posted on November 12, 2012, updated November 29, 2013
I think it’s probably just human nature that we tend to post comments about vendors when we have a problem with them. I certainly have done so here in the past. But when I put together my list of recommended seed suppliers for a Senior Gardening posting this year, I realized that I should make a positive comment here about each of our suppliers that have performed so well over the years.

We’ve used Stokes Seeds as one of our two or three main garden seed suppliers for over twenty years. They provide good to exceptional quality seed (in terms of germination) in a time when other suppliers appear to be cutting corners on seed quality.

An example of Stokes good customer service for us was when we ordered and received a GardenWatchCamera from them several years ago with the essential base plate missing. When I called to report the problem, I was a bit pushy in insisting they open the box before shipping a replacement to ensure the base plate was there. When the replacement arrived, sure enough, they’d opened the box and checked...leaving me a note they’d done so.

//www.senior-gardening.com/features/suppliers.html

1.) I filled out a long list of items for my cart, on-line. When I got to the end (even tho it provided an order #) my cart was EMPTY. I just wasted about 2 hours.
2.) I called, and spoke to a very nice person (in their Canadian office) who helped me RE-ORDER everything on my list. Wasted another hour.
3.) The seeds arrived a few days later......didn't realize that most were treated with pesticide, and the directions called for using more pesticide during the growth stage.
4.) Also, they are set up more for professional growers, then the home gardener. It makes the directions a bit annoying when all I want to know is how to start seeds in a growth flat I bought at WalMart.

Stokes catalog is very informative with a wide selection & quality seed. Their service was good. My neutral rating is caused by the fact that most of the seed is treated. While some folks prefer this, I do not. This fact does not seem to be mentioned in the catalog in a manner for the customer to make a decision. The treated seed issue is the ONLY reason for not posting a positive rating.

Stokes has a great selection and great seeds. The only problem I have had in the past is slow service. Shipping costs don't necessarily bother me since I buy a lot seeds. Also I have had problems ordering on line, so I usually have to call in my order.

I haven't grown out my seeds yet, so my comments are just about the service and ordering process.

Frankly, I'm unhappy. I ordered five packs of seeds and the shipping was $6.95. The only way I could justify it is that they had seeds I wanted that I couldn't get elsewhere. The shipping was slow as well - simultaneous orders from Pinetree and Baker arrived a full week before Stokes' did.

The packaging is good - foil lined packets - and has good growing info on the back, and does cite country of origin.

My only complaint is the shipping costs. I'm satisfied enough with the rest of the process that should their shipping prices drop, I would probably order again.

Suggestion: pack small/dust size seeds in double packets. In my order minute seeds of Clarkia, Chamomile, Xeranthemum, Silene all stuck in corners and eges of large packet, difficult to extract. Only Gypsophila was in double packet. Ordered some extra packets as gifts, but their appearance is dreadful -- might discourage the recipient. Could packages be of the same quality as the visually excellent catalogue?

YES Weezingreens!
Stokes web site is poorly designed and their servers run painfully slow. Bad representation for an overall good company.

We have ordered from them for years. Always slow because they must wait for check to clear. Must send it to tim-buck-too as long as it takes. Anyway thought we would order off their web site, (do this with other companies & seeds come in record time)have been sitting here for nearly an hour waiting for order to go through. Finally page came up claiming heavy traffic, at midnite? I think they need to hire Dave to set up a decent web site or buy a new computer that can handle things for them! I will keep trying because they have things that we probably can't get elsewhere.

I've received a Stokes catalog for the last 2 years but never ordered from them. Their cultivars seemed more appropriate for commercial growers than for a kitchen gardener interested more in taste than in shipping and storage.