Which seed banks guarantee the germination of their seeds is a topic I’m very excited about. Guaranteed delivery is one great piece of customer service, but guaranteed germination is some next-level stuff and the places that offer it are scarce.
4 seed banks, 3 countries
At these online seed
To top off the already high level of awesomeness (no pun intended) the following seed banks are quite diverse. They’re all located in different countries, which adds some welcome variety to the shipping options.
No germination? No worries.
Growing cannabis should be easy, right?! It’s a herb, a plant, and it will grow through a crack in the concrete if it has to. At the same time, growing a nice, happy, thriving plant can take some effort. (Not to worry though: that effort is really more about commitment, sweat equity, attention and TLC than about simply having been born with a green thumb.)
For the same reason that some people have great looking house plants and others can’t even keep a cactus alive, there are many things that can go wrong when growing marijuana. It isn’t hard, but there are more than enough variables involved for seed banks to take their hands off what happens after the seeds land safely in your mailbox.
“The risk is on us.”
Can’t blame them – I mean, retailers of cannabis seeds really have no way to know for sure what happens before the customer declares
Which means offering a germination guarantee is even more admirable in that these seed banks not only stand by their strong products but choose to shoulder even potential errors we might make during the very first part of growing.
This guarantee is the very last leg of some top notch customer care. Once the actual growing starts, we’re on our own, which is more than a fair deal and definitely more than most online seed banks are willing to do.
Germination: guaranteed. (*)
(*) Terms and condition apply.
Yeah, about that. While the above is meant as a joke (and catchy title) more than anything else, poking fun at this kind of bloated corporate/commercial lingo, it is nonetheless true that every germination guarantee has some fine print. There usually are some and’s, if’s and but’s to the whole thing – understandably so. We’ll go over the details below.
Without further ado, check out these rock-stars among the online seed banks and say goodbye to any concern about the germination of your next grow.
1. Crop King Seeds
- One of the top Canadian seed banks, Crop King Seeds ships worldwide.
- Canadian customers can use regular mail for $10. Seeds come in their original packaging.
- Residents from other countries are to expect random items. (Didn’t order that flashlight, you say? Not so fast, tiger.)
- Shipping outside of Canada is $30 or $60 (by choice, the difference is in the delivery speed)
- Both the $30 and the $60 shipping include guaranteed delivery.
- Two countries are excluded from guaranteed delivery: Australia and New Zealand. As a consolation prize, shipping seeds over there is only $10.
- Crop King Seeds accepts Visa, MasterCard, cash, Bitcoin, and the Canadian Interact e-Transfer.
Guaranteed germination at Crop King Seeds
Before starting to sprout your seeds, check out their germination page. The guarantee is based on you following this method, and while I’m not entirely sure how they would know if you don’t, it’s probably a good place to start.
Each strain is tested regularly and Crop King Seeds work closely with growers and breeders. They guarantee the sprouting of their seeds at a rate of 80%, which seems very fair for a few different reasons.
- Seeds are still a living, natural products after all, which means they technically have a will of their own and owe us nothing, no matter how hard we stamp our feet. (Or Crop King Seeds Stamps theirs.)
- Per comparison with others, it is great customer service on behalf of any seed bank to even offer a germination guarantee.
- As mentioned earlier, they have no control over how anyone chooses to start their seedlings, and as far as following a certain recommended approach goes, they’ll have to take our word for it.
Should you run into any issues, Crop King Seeds has a 24-hour germination hotline. It doesn’t get much cooler than that.
2. I love growing marijuana
- I love growing marijuana is an awesome online seed bank based in the Netherlands.
- Shipping to the USA and Europe is completely free. Shipping to Australia and New Zealand is $25, unless the order value is above $150, in which case the shipping fee is waived as well.
- Europe, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand are the only countries they ship to.
- Super solid guaranteed delivery policy, the details of which can be found here.
- Payment options include bank deposit, bank transfer, cash, credit card, and Bitcoin.
Germination guarantee at ‘I love growing marijuana’
Be sure to follow the germination instructions – I know, every seed bank seems to have a page with their own ways of starting off seeds. Guess it makes sense to stick with the instructions of the place you’ve ordered from, right?
Seeds are products from nature and can never be 100% reliable, but if things don’t work out just contact the sales support team to discuss a replacement. You may be asked to return the non-germinated seeds for investigation.
Go to: I love growing marijuana
After germination
Obviously, the germination guarantee does not extend to plants dying after they’ve grown a little. There are too many factors involved here. But they love making sure their customers are happy, so should this happens to you, just reach out to request a discount code for your next order.
For advice from an expert grower, check out the Free Grow Bible by Robert Bergman, founder of ‘I love growing marijuana’. Free Grow Bible with everything you need to know about growing marijuana.
3. Growers Choice Seeds
- Growers Choice Seeds is based in Spain with marketing offices in the USA and Canada.
- Cannabis seeds can be ordered online or by phone if you prefer talking to a real person.
- Visa, MasterCard, and Bitcoin are the only ways to pay.
- No extra charge for special stealth packaging.
- Worldwide shipping! No exclusions. It’s $9.95 for USA residents, $14.95 to Canada, $30 to Australia, Europe, and other countries. They make it your responsibility to act in accordance with your local regulations.
- This and more is covered on the extensive FAQ page.
Growers Choice Seeds’ germination guarantee
Growers Choice Seeds guarantees a 90% germination rate. Seeds that do not sprout will be replaced free of charge. This is the fine print:
- Single seeds are excluded from the offer.
- While the seeds are free, shipping costs are billed to the customer.
- Also, you’ll need to act within 60 days of purchase to claim the guarantee.
Delivery
Good to know about Growers Choice Seeds is that while the germination of their seeds is guaranteed, the delivery is not. The maximum delivery time for urban areas is 21 days and for rural areas 28 days. After that, we are told to contact the local postal service with the tracking number. While Growers Choice will help if things go awry and (quote) “attempt to find your package for you” if it goes missing, it appears they aren’t giving any guarantees on actual reception of the merchandise.
4. The Ministry of Cannabis
The Ministry of Cannabis is an awesome online seed bank based in Spain (like Growers Choice Seeds) and offers worldwide shipping, which is great! At first sight, this place has a germination guarantee. The badge seems quite straight-forward.
However, when reading the fine print, you’ll stumble upon this:
Although we carefully select and test our seeds on germination rate, we do not give any guarantee, due to their living nature.
The statement can be found on the terms and conditions page and unambiguously contradicts the badge on the front page, as seen here in the top right corner.
I’ve reached out to the Ministry of Cannabis
in case of problems with germination, we ask a few questions to the customer, to understand what happened. If he/she followed our germination advice there probably won’t be any problem, or we will resend the seeds.
Of course, the guarantee is not unlimited, if you germinate the seeds in paper napkins it will be your choice (and your loss).
We also always invite our beloved customers to discuss the main things about growing before receiving the seeds. We want you here every 3 months, and we know that our success can only be based on your success.
Bottom line
To wrap things up, I’d like to acknowledge that there are probably others out there. The world wide web is a large universe and even with thorough research it’s impossible to cover every bit and byte out there.
So if you own, work for, or come across another seed bank to offer any kind of guarantee on the sprouting of cannabis seeds, please feel free to give us a shout.
