I love saving, labeling and trading seeds. Or giving them away!
Often the cost of buying a BIG commercial packet is only slightly greater than the price of a small packet. Then I can split it up into 5-20 smaller packets, give some away and trade some.
That way, for a small up-charge, I get 5-10 times as much variety, and up to 20 people get to try the same seed I bought.
>> That will keep the post office in business.
Yup. Unless I find multiple things I want to buy at the same time, I pay as much for postage or 'shipping and handling" as I paid for the seeds themselves. And when trading in bubble mailers, $2.07 for the first three ounces is 5-10 times the cost of the seeds if I only send 1-2 varieties.
($2.07 on Jan 27, 2013)
($2.32 on June 11, 2014)
And yet that is STILL cheaper than buying a single commercial packet. And perhaps 1/3rd the cost of one commercial pkt + S&H.
I love trading, but I keep losing packages and falling into procrastination. I warn people not to send TO me until after they receive FROM me.
USPS Price List Notice 123 Effective January 26, 2014
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300...
First Class Domestic:
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300...
First Class Dimensions:
http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300...
I usually have bubble mailers charged as "First Class Package" since they are thicker than 1/4" or not uniformly thick (or the clerk claims they are). A "Large Envelope / Flat" would be half the price.
This is what I think the postal regulations about dimensions mean:
