IJsbrandtGA said:I've been holding back but I decided I am going to risk looking bad and ask: is it frowned upon to buy as many seeds as you have tickets for? And is it bad etiquette to buy more than you sell or offer?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking more seed packs than you offer. Generally, most people come back with more seeds the next swap and it all balances out. Even if you don't, it's okay. General etiquette would say that if you repeatedly bring small quantities to the swap and repeatedly use all of your tickets, others will likely frown on that. I think I speak for just about everyone in here when I say we love helping the new swap members build up their stashes and we don't mind if you don't have much to bring to the table eventually. We'll help you get there and would love for you to bring plenty of seeds to the swap when you become a seasoned swap veteran.
IJsbrandtGA said:I can't figure out the answer since the seeds are offered freely and the tickets have a controlled release. Do most seeds "expire" after 2 years, i.e. they have to be used or traded pretty quickly?
Not necessarily. Different seeds have different expiration dates, but expiration dates tend to reflect a date when large percentages of the seeds are expected to go bad, they don't just suddenly all go bad once they hit that mark. Many times people will offer older seeds in this swap and simply label them as older (or include the year they were packaged for) so that others know. Generally, when people do this, they include larger quantities of that seed so that, despite, say, a 30% germination rate, there will still be a good number of seeds that should germinate and produce a plant. [/quote]
IJsbrandtGA said:
Please answer kindly - I just don't want to leave a bad impression as a swap newbie and I'm not stupid - but can be a little slow 
You're not slow at all and it's a great question! It's always a concern for newbies and it just shows a general kindness and concern for others, not any sort of ineptitude on your part.
