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On Aug 26, 2009, Jazznart New York City, NY (Zone 7b) wrote:
Ordering was easy. Delivery was slow. Communication was TERRIBLE. I have not yet received my order but was today advised via e-mail that my seed order had just now been placed in the mails (after three weeks). You would think that the hectic spring business had ended by today - the end of August - and they would be keen to take care of business. In the meanwhile I had (1) e-mailed them about my order, (2 )e-mailed further with some questions concerning those seeds and (3) left them an irate telephone message about their lack of response. I got no reply to any of those three communications.
Given the poor quality of the service I'm a bit concerned about the quality of the seeds. We'll see.
On Jul 12, 2009, lemurianne Ida Grove, IA (Zone 5a) wrote:
I placed a big seed order this Spring and had very mixed results. Some packets of seeds had VERY poor germination -- with Magestic Giant Pansies and Pin Up Rose Begonia for example I got only two plants out of the whole packet! But other seeds did very well, and my windowboxes are overflowing with Regatta Rose Lobelia, which could not be more beautiful! Other issues: I ordered some Black Velvet Rose Geranium seeds, which had 100% germination, but turned out to be another, non black seed geranium :( One of the packets of petunia seeds I ordered also had a fantastic germination rate but were not the petunias they were labeled to be. In general, my feeling is that this company is too hit or miss. For the price you might have better luck elsewhere. Also, the shipping was EXTREMELY slow. I may reorder the seeds that did well for me, but I'll be very cautious about trying new things, which is too bad because they have a fantastic selection!
On Jun 1, 2009, Centaurea Roanoke, VA (Zone 7a) wrote:
I purchased a fair number of seeds from this company. They came very well packaged and I liked that they used little baggies for the seeds inside the paper packs. That's exactly what I do when I open a regular paper pack is immediately put the seeds into a baggie. A fair number of the seeds did germinate and appear to be true to type - but a fair number did not.
On many (guesstimate 1/3-1/2) of the seeds I purchased and have planted from Swallowtail I have either 0% germination or very poor stands (with some I have others purchased from other companies growing right next to, same conditions, just fine with the appropriate percentage of germination and appropriate seedling vigor for my conditions). Although I am new to having my very own garden (hence my large order, to fill new beds!) I have been in horticulture for years so I am well aware what it takes to germinate and grow on seedlings, and aware that not all seeds have excellent germination naturally and some lines are less vigorous than others, and that my one-size-fits-all growing room results in some not doing as well as they would in their individual optimum conditions, but I expect better than what I got.
All that said, I might even be okay with - if the company would answer my emails and address my concerns, ideally with troubleshooting assistance and/or replacement packets if needed - I did pay for them after all and got no plants out of many of the packets I paid for! With the poor germination on many and almost total lack of communication (they did in fact reply ONCE when I sent a positive e-mail to them about one particular variety which came up well), I don't believe I got my money's worth this time.
On Dec 24, 2008, peonyflower Glen Ellyn, IL wrote:
I placed a small order by mail back in November.I have called them twice and each time they seemed they were sincere about what happened to my order. The first time they said they had mailed it the past week, the second time they said they would track the order since it shipped two weeks before. I gave them my e-mail and phone number.I never recieved either one as to what happened to the order. I was looking forward to these seeds.I'm giving them a nuetral rating in hopes they will deliver. If I recieve them,I will surely write another review.
On December 28th, 2008, peonyflower added the following:
I finally recieved my seeds. Apparently they were sent to a non-existing city in Illinois. It took a while, but they delivered.
I hope they look at the addresses more carefully before they ship seeds out.
On Feb 28, 2006, kqcrna Cincinnati, OH (Zone 6a) wrote:
I placed an order on 2/22. I really wanted to plant some of those seeds nowbefore spring. I contacted the company by phone yesterday (2/27) to see when I could expect to receive them. They couldn't tell me, only that it usually takes 2 weeks. My order has not shipped yet. I don't think that's very efficient service for a few seed packs at the charge of $2.95.
Karen, zone 6, Ohio
On March 1st, 2006, kqcrna added the following:
I guess I missed that message on the shopping cart; I would have ordered the aquilegia and poppy elsewhere. (I plan to wintersow those and want to get them outside ASAP). By comparison I ordered seeds several times from the Pumpkin Nook (seeds always half price) and received the order promptly; in one case they arrived the next day! The only other place I ordered from where delivery took this long was valueseed.com. For seeds at 49 to 89 cents/pk and 99 cents shipping, that's OK with me. But I think a company selling seeds for $2 to $3 a pk plus $2.95 shipping, I still think 2 weeks is a long turnaround for an order. Notice, I did not rate Swallowtail as neg, only neutral so far. If the seeds germinate and bloom beautifully I will be happy. Does it seem odd that a company who is so busy it is backlogged this far for shipping orders can manage to respond within hours to a neutral review on gardenwatchdog?
KarenOn Feb 28, 2006, Swallowtail Garden Seeds responded with:
"
On Feb 28, 2006 4:54 PM, Swallowtail Garden Seeds added:
We post the ship date for every customer on the first page of our shopping cart (and that date for this customer has not yet arrived as of 2/28) so it is our sincere regret that our attempted communication failed in this instance.
For others using the site, be sure to look for the ship date on the first page of the shopping cart, it is in red letters. This is the peak of the season and shipments are taking longer than than they have in previous years to ship (although virtually all orders arrive within two weeks of the order date, and usually somewhat sooner.) And as the season begins to slow, we will return to our regular 2-3 day shipping.
It is ironic that all the nice comments both here and in the convential press about our selection, quality and fast shipping have actually caused us to ship a few days slower during this peak time. We are currently growing at nearly a 40 percent rate; and as exciting as that is, as affirming as that is, it does present challenges when it comes to getting orders out fast.
Our selection and quality however has not changed and the fast shipping we have been known for will return-- and in the mean time we will always disclose to you on the shopping cart the the day your package will ship, so you can make the decision to wait or not.
We thank you all sincerely for your continued support and for sales that make this truly a year to remember. Thank you so much....
On Mar 1, 2006 8:06 AM, Swallowtail Garden Seeds added:
We respond to everyone who expresses disappointment with any aspect of our business, whether it is through Garden Watchdog or through our web site, and we do it promptly at all times."
I have ordered from this company over the past three years and their seeds have always germinated extremely well and have always been true to type. Customer service has been very courteous and always willing to help in providing further information beyond what their website supplies. They also select certain seeds and give them a highly recommended rating. I have found this to be very helpful in deciding what plants to grow. I hope they continue this practice and even expand it wherever possible. They use this practice on, for example, Benary's Giant Zinnias, where their prices are lower than any I have been able to find elsewhere. Add free shipping to reasonable prices on seeds and you have an outstanding bargain!
On January 3rd, 2006, marcop changed the rating from positive to negative and added the following:
There is now a $2.95 shipping charge!On April 15th, 2006, marcop changed the rating from negative to neutral and added the following:
I am changing my rating to neutral. My original complaint was that the company does not provide the extensive cultural information of ,for example, Johnny's Selected Seeds.
