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On Aug 20, 2009, smartparts000 Santa Rosa, CA wrote:
Lack of Information ! Lack of Help
I would consider my self an amateur Gardner with experience in citrus, herbs, & bonsai with some formal education from college level course in botany & horticulture.
I herd of this new seed bank a deiced to give them a call. I live an hour away and my time to me is just as valuable as your time to you.
First off it was impossible for me to find the number to the Petaluma Location. Google Maps couldn't even retrieve an address let alone a phone number. Yellow pages was also unable to locate a phone number let alone the business. I had to do research on Baker Seed Heirloom to acquire a phone number for a Missouri location so that i could find the number for the California location.
Finally as i call in i am poorly greeted by an older lady. I begin to share my experience recommending they update their contact info as this may be interfering with business. She mentioned quickly she just got a cash register, but was short on time for me. I replied with "i am a customer and am interested in some herbs & spices, including citrus & more specifically oranges, seeds versus grafting." She invited me to come down and take a look, i commented by taking her up on her offer but would like to know quickly about the oranges so as not to waste a trip. Her final comment before she disconnected my call "Im busy come down and take a look" CLICK !
I'm afraid i wont be taking them on their offer to visit their location and would much rather visit a nursery or make my purchase online. They say it takes 10 perfect transactions to take 1 customer from Brand Assassin (sharing dislike of the company) to Brand Loyal ( praise for the company). However for every 1 brand assassin, he will more than likely recruit another 10 by sharing his experiences with his family & friends.
Not to be cliche... All it takes is 1 bad apple...
On Aug 20, 2009, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:
So sorry for your poor experience with our new store, sorry about the service, I am sad to hear you were treated poorly and we are working to fix any prolems like this. But we no nothing about citrus trees, grafting and bonsai, we are a heirloom seed company, not a orchard or tree specialist, so I suggest contacting some one in the line of work.
We only do seeds, like vegetables, flowers and herbs.
I work with a woman in New York who opened a gardening boutique this past year. We would love to carry a really amazing seed company in the shop so we did some research and bought from a few companies with outstanding reputations. Baker Creek was one of these "outstanding" companies. I've been gardening from a very young age and although I don't consider myself to be an expert, I feel that I've had enough experience growing vegetables from seed to be able to tell a good seed from a bad seed. I ordered about 15 different varieties of herbs and vegetables and the only seed that even germinated was a green pepper that grew to about one inch and never got any larger. I was pretty upset with the results and certainly won't be ordering from them again. Needless to say, we will not be ordering the seeds for our new shop either.
On Aug 14, 2009, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:
So sorry to hear about the poor results, please note these are not normal, but a lot of things can happen to little seeds from the time they leave our place until they are planted, and some times they are damaged in shipping.
So sorry! all our seeds meet federal standards when they leave are place, so it is sad to hear when they dont work out. I know that is so disappointing!
On May 16, 2009, wolfmanJack2009 Manchester, TN wrote:
I am very disappointed at the quality of their seed. EVERYTHING I ordered from them either did not sprout, or just plain dampened off and died. I've been gardening for a long time, and this is the first time I've ever had this much difficulty. I had no problem with the seed purchased elsewhere.
On May 16, 2009, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:
I enjoyed the catalog, they have a great selection of seeds that I haven't found anywhere else. Prices and cost of shipping is very reasonable.
I ordered my seeds, after reading such great things from this company, via mail, knowing that it may take a little longer, but I had no problem with that. I had checked online to make sure that nothing I ordered was out of stock. A week after I mailed my order, the check I had sent along with my order was cashed.
Two weeks later, I had still not received my order, so I called BC to confirm if my order had been sent or not. The person I spoke to said that she "couldn't find" my order and that it must be "lost" somewhere. My order had been lost, despite my check being cashed two weeks ago. I offered to mail back a copy of my order form and a copy of the cashed check and explain the situation. She said that would be fine, and we hung up. No apology was offered.
I mailed all the information they needed the next day, along with my address and phone number. A few days later, I received a phone call from BC that told me they received my order again and that they would be sending it soon. I asked, out of curiosity, if anything had gone out of stock since I first sent my order. The man listed about 5 items that I would not be receiving. I was slightly disappointed, but these were items I could live without. No apology was offered.
I did receive my order a few days later (a MONTH after I initially mailed my order form and check, three weeks after my check was cashed), along with a check. Both my first name and last name were misspelled on this check, despite the fact that I had clearly written my name in all capital letters on both my order form and the letter I sent to them. (Please note: This merely an annoyance on top of everything else. Had everything gone right, I would have shrugged it off.) I went through my order to make sure nothing was missing. On the receipt, the items that the man had listed were crossed out, but as I was going through the order I noticed additional things missing (these were items I REALLY DID want). The refund check was written for the full amount of the missing items. Of the 30 or so items I ordered, I wound up not receiving 10 of them.
I checked their website to verify that all these items were out of stock, but they were all listed as available for purchase on their website. I called to verify that these things were actually out of stock and not just a mistake. The person I talked to did verify that these were things that have been out of stock and claimed that there were only 1 or 2 people who could update their website, but she assured me the website was updated regularly. Again, no apology was offered.
While others claim to have received notes of apology for a slight lateness of their order, I have received no apology the four times I've been in contact with them regarding my "lost" order. They lost my order, which caused it to arrive WEEKS late, and now the items that I am missing are out of stock nearly everywhere else. Even now, over a month later, these "missing" items are still listed as available on their website.
Germination rates are good, but many of their seed packets do not have any planting instructions on them, and the ones that do are not variety specific. It appears that the same description is used for all varieties of "tomatoes" or "squash", etc. You must seek out the planting instructions elsewhere.
I am hoping this is an isolated incident and I am willing to give them another shot next year. (I thought I ordered pretty early this year, but will try to order even earlier next year, I guess.) But as of now, I have to say that this has not been a positive experience.
On Apr 11, 2009, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:
So sorry so much went wrong with your order, we were very understaffed much of this last Winter due to a huge volume of orders, (Double normal volumes) and our regular staff was really streched thin, we had to add on lots of last minute help.
We are working very hard this summer, so hopefully this won't happen again!
I want to tell you how sorry we all feel and offer you a full refund, call us a 866-OLDSEED
I also did not find out they were out of 2 products I wanted until I opened my mail, found a five dollar bill stapled to my invoice and had to sort through the other packets to find out what was missing. There was no email, no note on the invoice, nothing. I wish they would have told me, so I could have immediately ordered these two varieties from somewhere else.
On Feb 7, 2009, heirloompumpkin San Francisco, CA wrote:
As much as I bought from them they always give me the same free seed packet - it's either Lemon Cucumber or St Valery's Carrot. What's up with that?????
I rather they did'nt give me any because every time I get that packet of stupid free seed it just makes me mad. I heard other people get great free seed packet.
I won't buy from them anymore.
On February 9th, 2009, heirloompumpkin added the following:
I am entitled to have an opinion and that is exactly how I have been treated!
Their descriptions are over blown. The tasty melons were horrible. But more important they sent my seed to my deep freeze unused mailbox, instead of my PO Box, even after I specifically asked them not to.
Customer service tried to convince me frozen squash seed is a good thing and it was my fault.....
On Feb 17, 2007, lazysfarm Bruner, MO (Zone 6b) wrote:
I have known Jeremia since before he even had a seed catalog and he was selling seeds at a local swap meet. As his company has grown I feel he has grown away from what he started as.
He seems to focus more on music and entertainment and charging fees to attend his events.
He does not provide enough info on when ,how ,where to grow most of his seeds,and I have had several different seeds that either did not grow or was the wrong type all together.
Jeremia please remember why you started selling seeds and sell good seeds for a fair price. Also do away with the addmision price to your spring and fall festivals and I for one would come back and give you another chance to earn my business back..
On Feb 17, 2007, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:
"
On Feb 20, 2007 12:36 PM, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. added:
Hey,
Good to hear from you, I am sorry you feel we have changed directions... But let me point out, we are now preserving over 10 times as many seeds as when we started. Which is the goal of our company.
Sorry you don't like the $2-$3 gate fee's at our Festivals, but let me point out, customers are welcome to shop at the store the rest the year with out a fee...
Also, yes we use the gate fee's to pay speaker's, portapotties and yes, entertainment, etc.
Also let me point out, what other garden event of our size lets you in for a couple bucks?
On Feb 7, 2007, stellaps Boise, ID (Zone 6a) wrote:
My order arrived on January 31 minus 2 seed pkgs which a note stated were out of stock until February. Stapled to the note were 4 one dollar bills - my refund. Since Baker Creek must be ordered via postal service and charges $2.50 shipping per order I will not re-order these seeds. Why could they not have simply marked them "back-ordered" and sent them when they arrived?
On Feb 7, 2007, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:
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On Feb 7, 2007 2:32 PM, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. added:
So sorry,
Since most customers prefer a refund to back orders that is why we refund you when we are out of stock on an item. Also we try to keep our shipping costs about half of other companies in order to make it easier to reorder, also if any one wants back orders they can say so on the order form."
2006 Feb,I ordered some disease resist American Melons seeds.
But they sent me very very OLD melon seeds.Shell of these seeds are very dark color. Of course No seed was germinated ,except only one Edist 47, but soonly after rotted.Seeds are too old to germinate.
As to disease resist melons ,Baker Creek Seeds has very dark personality.
In my experience, this company does not support the products they sell.
A variety of tomato that I purchased for the 2005 growing season grew out to be (obviously) wrong. I contacted them 3 times (with photos) over the span of 3 months advising them of the situation and soliciting feedback, and never got any response.
I understand that mix-ups, cross pollinations, etc. happen, and are part of the gardening business. What I find unforgivable is a complete lack of customer support. Perhaps this was a unique case, but I believe a seed company, like any other company, is accountable for the product sell. This one has lost my buisness.
On Oct 4, 2005, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:
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On Oct 24, 2005 11:11 PM, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. added:
Hello Meg,
So Sorry!
We answer email in 2-3 days, generally.
I believe we never received it, our spam gard blocks messages with photos most of the time,
If you like call our 1-866-OLDSEED toll-free number and we would love to find out where we messed up!
We would love to have you back, but if not please support other heirloom companies, as they all need help to keep preserving rare seeds.
Thanks for letting us know, but please let us know by phone,
Jere Gettle
"
Hello:
Well regading are seed order to Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. we are very very un-happy in Dec 2003 we did place are first order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. and then in the spring of 2004 we did place three more seed orders and it did go from bad to very bad.
We are a small commerical growers of Heirloom vegies and have been doing it for years!
Well in the seeds that was shipped to us in Dec 2003 they where old seeds and did not sprout.
The three shippments in the spring of 2004 where not packed right for shippment in the US mail and the seeds where crushed. When we did contact Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. we where told at that time the seeds that we had ordered and where interested in planting as are cash crop 2004 where all sold out!
Of the un crushed seeds that we planted none of them did sprout!
There was one rare mellon that we where the mosted interested and did spend lots of time and money and they did not sprout at all.
It does look to us that Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. spends more time and effort in Publishing than they do in the seed production and seed handling!
All four seed orders where not packed right for shippment!
We will never order seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. again!
Regards
On Sep 5, 2004, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. responded with:
"Hello!
I wish this dear person would return the seeds for a refund if this info is correct.
Your postmaster must be popping all the bubbles in are mailers, and for that we are sorry.
Why would you keep getting "ripped off" four (4!) times, I would not repeat order 4 times if I kept getting crushed seeds?
We offer refunds on all seeds that fail to sprout for up to 1 year.
Baker Creek's Henderson's Ponderosa Pink was everything but Ponderosa Pink. I also received mediocre Brandywine seeds from them in the past. Sorry, never again.
Please know that I would not have taken the time to write this negitive comment had I not already tried to work out my complaint with baker rare seed company. A lenghthy e-mail was sent explaining the proplems we exsperenced apon recieving our order as well as some positive points . But their response was curt and only addressed one of our concerns bacause they new they were looking at heavy fines concerns First may I say they Have a lot of desireable seeds in their catalog both hard copy and on the web . unfortunately the ones that draw you to their sight are sold out eight of the sixteen seeds I logged on to purchase were sold out on the web site. one of the ones I ordered that was not sold out turned out to be sold out when I recieved my order . In its place I recieved a credit slip which is Illegle and subject to heavy fines from the credit card company used. They are required to refund back to the card this shows a certain underhanded way of doing bissiness requiring me to requist that it be applied back to my credit card. secoundly the seeds arrived in a ' thin ' manilla envelope with a fragile sticker that was stronger then the envelope it was of course riped halfway open and crumpled by the post office I nicely suggested they change to reinforced envelope and up the shipping cost five cents to this they made no reply. the seed packets themselves were sealed with a small strip of tape some "two" of them had come open and I dont how much seed I lost but some were floating around loose in manilla envelope which as I said was torn nearly in half. when I recieved my confirmation order e-mail It didnt show my order inventory I recieved seeds I didn't order in place of seeds that I had ordered. they then produced for me a "copy" of my odor. which did not match my handwritten one that I had made from their hard catalog Their may be some confusion here on my part because I continualy had to make alternate selection as they were seemingly always sold out. The old crocery store trick " big sign in window steak 50 cents apound then when you pull in their lot and find a parking place and walk through the rain to get some of this cheap steak they are always sold out even though the sign went up as you were driving by" also the seed catalog nomenclature doesnt correspond between catalogs or even the seed packets themselves some seed packets had machine printed sticky labels and were legible others were wriitten in scrathy pen and nearly illegible all in all Ive spent about nighty dollars on seed this season and of that I was only screwed out of Fourteen of them all by BAKER RARE SEED I hope they read this and realize that their are people that will take the time to warn their fellow gardeners of companies that are shoddely ran. thankyou for your time! Loren Rogers, Mossy Bottom Truck farm
