Questions Regarding "Free" Materials from Boutique

[foomar]

The Skunk and the Durban cross had around 40% germination in 2005 last time i popped any.
Both Haze crosses are as viable as anything else on offer , had 5/5 this year with the haze and nothing from £200 of paid for seed.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=89506&page=1&pp=15

Not suitable for a new grower but definately not dead.

 

[green_grow]

nothing is free ... seed selling is a business, run for profit. the "free" seeds are an incentive to buy and the cost of distributing them is included in the price of the seeds that we pay for.
having said that, i will continue to buy from seedbay, regardless of the quality of the "free" seeds, because i like their selection, payment options, and quick shipping.

nothing is free.

 

[JITAMON]

But you've gotta put it into perspective on something "free". Gypsy and DG could easily NOT send anything free and still be a rock solid distributor with great pricing and excellent service.

Exactly what i was thinking, but they do send us something. That is cool. So what if the germ rates are low, they are FREE. You just might get lucky, and for that I salute you Gypsy.

 

[green_grow]

testing ............

 

[mrred]

i got some freebies from seedbay a few years ago, they germed fine

 

[killa-bud]

when i first got the freebie sk1 a couple of years ago 5 out of 5 popped,great healthy plants,first time even attempting growing,but i never got to flower them

then this year,i tryed to pop the rest(lost them for a couple of years) 3 germed but died (the tap root came out,but just stoped growing)

so,i imagine had i germed all of them right away i would have gotten a good germ rate


i would never in a millon years rather see seed go in the garbege when theres even a poor chance they'll grow..its just not logical,

try them out,big fucking deal

 

[chuckyoufarley]

ive grown out the freebies i got from the boutique they were gypsys mmm
golden skush 2 others i cant remember thier names but most of my stuff came from the bay

 

[trademanny]

I work in a restaurant that gives away leftovers to the banks, and we go through higher safety standards than we do for food on the line to ensure nothing reaches those people that could possibly be spoiled. Every night I gather these leftovers, seal them in individual packages, heat them to a proven safe temperature, then rapidly cool them & freeze them for transit. All that for food that is destined for a shelter or soup kitchen, and it's all done at 0 cost, we don't ask to be reimbursed for packaging materials or even transit when they can't pick it up on time and we have to drop things at their storage facility for them.

If I can do all that, every night, I think maybe Gypsy & Sam can get together & chuck out the bad seeds, don't you?.

Gypsy gives all the good freebies to homeless shelters. Have a heart!

 

[stasis]

I think that The Bay and The Boo genuinely try to send good freebies...

It would be foolish for them to bankrupt themselves and send HIGHLY marketable beans out as freebies... When people may buy them regardless.

I do not grow all that I get immediately, some never. Some I give away to the telephone repairman... lol.....

But, recently, I did get one extreme winner.. It was a great strain that I actually had my eye on anyways. I will thank SBAY for the 5 pack for a long time for a great LUI mom - one of three, and I chose to keep 2 but I think I will end up with just one. Not many keepers out there...! I am stoked..>!

My plan is to buy another pack of the same, because I think I really like the Ortega pheno, and another choice is always good. Thus, the sales strategy worked..>! Smart....

Thanks again, S Bay - et al.

 

[jim dankness]

a friend had amazing results from some sweet tooth #3 freebies i gave him, 4 out of 5 were girls, all were beautiful examples of the variety.

 

[petal]

taking it on the chin & smiling like a pro

taking it on the chin & smiling like a pro

I have never ordered from the Boo, but have received Durban Poison x Skunk as a freebie from the Bay,
can't remember what I ordered, but it wasn't Nirvana or Dutchmen, so that sort of negates your good seeds to the Bay, bad seeds to the Boo hypothesis as far as I'm concerned.

Fair enough, none of them germed.

What sort of germ rates do you get with your purchased seeds ?

 

[wygram]

My freebies have always been good to me. Thanks Gypsy, DG and all the cats at the bay.

Some recent Thai Haze x Skunks have been a great smoke, if I remember, 4/5 germinated... that is if I remember right... it is good smoke...

Mazar-I-Sharif... 5/5 popped, I killed 2 through poor attention... remaining look awesome...

Drizzle... so far only one of five is a gonner...

Um... guys... they are FREE, so why complain, would you do the same if they stopped giving them away? People have a tendency to want more even when they have more than enough... please don't bring this attitude to ganja...

 

[Bacchus]

I grew some of his Mexican Oxacan.....germed well....it was a fine example of a mexican sativa..

 

[Hammerhead]

Very few have germed for me over the years I have tried close to 50 free beans. I changed my seed bank and got better results with there free beans.

 

[Wunderkind]

Giving away seeds that don't germinate to someone is not going to encourage them to grow their own medicine, if anything such a huge initial failure (if my first seeds hadn't germed, or grown at all, I don't know if i'd be growing today) it's going to convince them growing is too hard, and not worth the time & effort of buying packs of 10 seeds at a time to get 1 female plant.

if a person is that easily deturred, that person never wanted to grow in the first place.

Here's an idea, on your next order write in, "no freebie wanted." Problem solved.

 

[DogBoy]

Allow me a moment to clarify a few points if i may.

1) The freebies are not given out to be kept by you. They are given so that someone you know can have a chance to grow something out before making an order. Even if that order is not with a Gypsy company, the point is simply to increase the number of people who have it available to them. If you are keeping them then maybe you should consider the real purpose they are given away. If they only get 1 to germ that's still a free plant. It's about getting new people involved, not about sweetening orders so people come back. You claim that you give away a load of free food every night, how would you feel if you put all that effort in and one night a tramp came by and complained that your tomatoe sauce was not the top of the range and he felt cheated? Would you feel that was a fair comment?

2) Germination is a tricky issue. Yes, not all the freebie seeds have 100% germination. Gypsy has never claimed that they do, coupled with the fact that everyone also gets different results you can see why people get from 0-100% germination on the freebies. as stated in the FAQ, seeds are a live product, you might not get 100% out of them. Why do you think there are variations in the germ rates for ALL strains? Can you honestly say that you have bought any pack of seeds from any plant and always got 100% germination. Even cress seeds which are reknowned for their easy germination wont germ at 100% all the time.

3) choices. There have, over the years, been over 10 types of freebies given away for free. The old staples are Sams strains but there have also been many other strains. Gypsy has spent thousands of his own money getting these in to give away. He takes the time and trouble to make these available at no charge but there is always someone at some stage who wants to complain about them. It's happened to every strain he has given away and when you look into their claim it always boils down to the same thing. You want to get something you can keep for themself and they only want it if it has 100% germination. this is totally contrary to the real purpose the seeds are given out. Does this make Gypsy a bad person?

4) Gypsy has always said that if you are not happy with the freebie you can request not to receive some. If you really do feel they are not up to scratch or there is some hidden motive behind them then mark your orders so you dont get them. It's that simple.

5) Sam's seeds. The staple freebie over the years have been sam the skunkman strains. these seem to be the seeds most complained about due to the length of time we have offered them. Gypsy has never said that they are 100% perfect germers and has always maintained that they are simply very good plants when grown out. do you really think that either of them would give away seeds if the germ rate was 0%? Have you ever taken the time to check the threads done on these strains. I myself grew them out about 5 years ago and documented the growth. Could i have done that with 0% viability seeds? There have been many people who have really benefitted from the Sam freebies. I know of hundreds who have used them to ensure their rooms are dialed in before risking seeds they have bought, there are people who have used them as simply a free way to make themselves some product to save money. Their uses are infinate but yet you choose to devalue them because they dont hit your high criteria for seeds?

On a personal note, i am always surprised when i read these threads. I have always been bought up to never look a gift horse in the mouth and i'm fascinated that a free gift can cause such a furore. Just because it does not fit one persons criteria fully does that make it a bad thing. What about all the people who have had good results. You can see from the people who have posted here that some of the people who have had them are really grateful and have managed to grasp the purpose for which they are given. I think it's really telling when people show their hands in these threads.

My final question to you is this. How would you feel if your complaint was the one that pushed Gypsy to the point where he withdrew the freebie? Do you really believe what you have written in the face of this post? . . . . .

 

[trademanny]

You claim that you give away a load of free food every night, how would you feel if you put all that effort in and one night a tramp came by and complained that your tomatoe sauce was not the top of the range and he felt cheated? Would you feel that was a fair comment?

EXACTLY.

 

[fjällhöga]

strange i have grown very much of the free stuff we share here with only some packs not germing , durban x sk1 was the one them , but yeah they might be over their shelf life or got warm ... whatever they were free ...

youre welcome to visit the seedbay forum for many reports on freebee's that were more than fine ... , considering they were [again] for free ....

have a nice day

Fj

 

[SuperZero]

I will agree that I don't like seeing Sam having poor germ rates associated with him because of the freebies, as it's not his fault, but I know not everyone who orders knows the whole soap opera seed business and may not order anything Sam Skunkman just because of the SADPxSK1 freebies.

 

[perpetuallylost]

every single pack of freebies i have ever gotten at least produced one keeper. whether i got them from a $20 order or a $300 order, every single pack has produced SOMETHING. maby you should check your method of germination. sometimes, older seeds are harder to germ and simply planting them in soil most likely isn't going to yield anything. there is another saying that i'm reminded of after reading your little homeless food rant and it's that "you should never look a gift horse in the mouth". they were FREE, you're not out ANYTHING, why would you then complain?

ps to gypsy and the SB cats...THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR THE COMMUNITY!!!!!!!!