Are you comparing the price for the same varieties?

Southern States sells bulk seeds to the small farmer who doesn't have connections like the big ones do. The .25 ounce of tomato seeds you saw contains between 2,000 and 3,500 seeds [each .01]. Most packets of hyped sterile hybrid tomato seeds contain 15 seeds, weigh .003 of an ounce and cost $3.50 [each .23].

Some of the cost of seeds is flashy packaging and marketing cost, plus wastage (how many packets unsold having been sitting in how many stores in full sun and rained on?), but most of it is "what the market will bear". If a consumer wants to grow only two tomato plants they'll spend $3.50, and throw away the other 13 seeds. They would not be willing to spend $1.00 on two seeds [each .50] in case the two died before they were plants (so instead they spend for [each $1.75] since they throw the other 13 away when they do grow). Crazy logic.

And, most of all, since there are only 6 companies who sell 98% of the seeds worldwide, they can charge whatever they like. That is the real reason they cost so much.

For these reasons and for very many years, I have traded vegetable seeds with other members on the GW and with garden friends. I always save seeds from my own harvest of OP and heirloom vegetables, and since I do not grow hybrids there are tons of seeds to be saved and traded every year. I do buy odd seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and Baker's Creek that I know are not grown by Monsanto's seed factories.

Nancy the nancedar

Here is a link that might be useful: Where do your seeds come from?

Thankyou Nancy.
I have a question.
When intending to save some seeds, is it best to let the fruit/veg rot on the plant before collecting seed? Is this not nature's way of re-seeding?
When flowers go to seed, is it best to let the seed stay on the plant and collect after a frost or before?

For vegetables, I choose the ripest one - overly for fresh eating but not rotten, although I have used those too on occasion. For tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers that may cross pollinate, I put sheer cotton bags over the flowers just before they open, mark the stems with a colored ribbon, and so know that they are "pure". It does take some time but so well worth it. I only do four for each variety which gives me more than I can use the next year, but insurance in case my germination rate is low. Once the fruiting begins I remove the bags. When the fruits are ready, I harvest them and scoop out the seeds. Other posts here tell how to prepare tomato seeds for storage. For peppers, squash, eggplant, lettuce, etc., I just lay out the seeds on paper towels and let air dry for several days (if the humidity in your house is too high they will take forever to dry out). Make sure you write on the paper towel what variety you are saving - once dried they all look alike.

The best time to collect flower seeds is when they have almost dried on the plant and before the rain or wind blows them away. I have used the little bags fastened on columbine flower heads when they first start to dry. When the seeds fall into the bags they can be collected. I don't know of any that I have waited to harvest after frost, but I have not saved a lot of flower seeds in the past couple of years since my landscape garden is full.

In case you wonder where I get my sheer cotton bags - I sew my own. It takes 45 minutes to make 70 of them. I use a piece of yarn to tie them on the plant. 4" x 4" is generous size for just about anything.

Nancy the nancedar

Thanks Nancy. I think I'll start saving my own seeds.