I love these threads because they show us what silliness it is sometimes to pay for a name.

With seeds, you are paying for:
-Quality of breeding stock
-Quality [expected] of offspring
-Branding of product
-Branding of breeder

The most expensive seeds will be whatever has a lot of hype, maybe won the Cup a few times, sells for big bucks on the street, got mentioned in a widely-known pop culture venue, and comes from a breeder with a good reputation for producing stable quality genetics.
Often all those things don't come in the same package, though!

Think of it as that ubiquitous Coach logo handbag that your girlfriend, neighbor, aunt, sisters, and the merry widow down the street all covet. It's got hype to it, and when you say 'hey Susie I got a Coach bag!!!' Susie says, 'Ooooooh!!! Ahhhh!!!'. But it doesn't last any longer than one of similar quality with a smaller price tag.
So, as best you can, try to ignore the labels and hype, and focus on what you want out of any product you buy.

Personally, I like to work with PROVEN lines. These have been around long enough that everyone carries some version of them and there is widespread agreement that the strain has a lot of merit. My picks are Power Plant, Hindu Kush, classic Skunk strains (Skunk#1, Super Skunk, Sweet Skunk, etc), Cinderella99, Northern Lights #5, and others that you actually see being used in breeding hybrids as well, because they are all known to add quality and vigor. They have also been around long enough that the 'generic' breeders [Nirvana] have gotten a good knock-off line going. For example, their 'Papaya' is a knockoff, but an OUTSTANDING one for vigor and production. And it is CHEAP. I highly recommend picking up a couple of their more classic strains, even if you go with some more fancy expensive stuff from elsewhere.

If you want something fresh and new, that has buzz to it, then you have to go out on a limb. In these cases, it's important to find a breeder who you trust to sell you a product that is as good as the [often steep] price tag on a new release. A breeder's reputation is his most important asset; arguably more so than his stock, since all breeders back up their stock very carefully against disaster. Breeders who have been in the business for a long time are there because they haven't made the fatal error of releasing something crappy with a high price tag. Fellas like Soma, DJShort, KCBrains, and others did not get where they are from tossing pollen around, and I definitely would choose a breeder who has a long history of happy customers. Greenhouse Seeds just took a big reputation hit with a release that ended up herming. Very embarrassing for them, and frustrating for the buyers who had high expectations.

I don't believe in paying for a strain name. I'll pay for a strain that is new IF I think the cross made sense and the parents were both proven to be quality plants. Sometimes I will acquire a strain for one specific reason, such as it has a medical quality that I need to add to my library and don't mind that the strain is not a great yielder or all that tough in crappy grow conditions.

Anyway, it's all stuff to think about, and do your research on the specific strain, from the specific breeder, before you send any money, because sometimes even reputable breeders release something in a big hurry and it ends up sucking in some way.
stinkyattic Reviewed by stinkyattic on . seed prices? So i've been looking around 3 major seed banks and seem to find a large range of prices and sometimes on the same strains of bud. I'm new at getting my babies from outside sources but it seems to pay off. But my question is, are the lower priced seeds a choice of the breeder or does it make a difference in the end? I know nyc diesel is well worth its price tag but then again i don't see the difference between a g13 haze and a skunkman's original haze or nirvana's master kush and white Rating: 5