Yep the real cost of importing seeds

[happypalms]

Ok so I import seeds. Some germinate and some dont I can live with that, but the real cost of each seed is going to be factored into that when I sell a palm, some will say it’s overpriced or just to expensive, if you’re paying up to $3 to $5 dollars for some rare seeds and you buy them in lots of 20, 40, or 100 and 500 sometimes. It can get rather expensive for seeds. I don’t mind that it’s part of collecting plants, but what gets me going is the bill for throwing them in the bin by the government, yes this post could go on but………..

[Hu Palmeras]

Hey, Richard, these are large quantities of seeds, and they're also reasonably priced in Australian dollars. Imagine, I can't do that here in Chile. Customs is very strict. I remember once buying seeds from another German store. It turned out the package was too big, and they confiscated all the seeds. They destroyed them. That's why I have to buy seeds in 10s when they're large. If they're small, I can buy more. I'm smuggling. I have to be like this to have these exotic palm trees for myself.

[happypalms]

14 minutes ago, Hu Palmeras said:

Hey, Richard, these are large quantities of seeds, and they're also reasonably priced in Australian dollars. Imagine, I can't do that here in Chile. Customs is very strict. I remember once buying seeds from another German store. It turned out the package was too big, and they confiscated all the seeds. They destroyed them. That's why I have to buy seeds in 10s when they're large. If they're small, I can buy more. I'm smuggling. I have to be like this to have these exotic palm trees for myself.

And I thought our government was strict on importing, Chile is rather harsh in comparison. The price of seed can get expensive if you buy them by the hundreds. 

[Hu Palmeras]

Yes, Richard, listen to me, my friend. For example, I have to buy 11 Bismarckia Nobilis silver seeds. After they arrive and I germinate them, I have to buy 10 or 11 more seeds and germinate them again. And so on, even when the seeds are larger. I've just completed 20 Kerriodoxas, but from a different supplier. 10 from one and 10 from the other. And yesterday I just won an auction for 40 Chambeyronia Macrocarpa seeds. I have to divide the shipment and send them separately. That way, they won't confiscate them. Chilean Customs doesn't let anything in. It's the strictest in Latin America. Imagine, one time I bought 1.5 kilos of Medjool dates from Israel. They came in a well-packaged box, and Chilean Customs confiscated them and destroyed them. And just as I lose, I've also gained.

[gyuseppe]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

Ok so I import seeds. Some germinate and some dont I can live with that, but the real cost of each seed is going to be factored into that when I sell a palm, some will say it’s overpriced or just to expensive, if you’re paying up to $3 to $5 dollars for some rare seeds and you buy them in lots of 20, 40, or 100 and 500 sometimes. It can get rather expensive for seeds. I don’t mind that it’s part of collecting plants, but what gets me going is the bill for throwing them in the bin by the government, yes this post could go on but………..

 Richard Laws and taxes are slowing down the distribution of seeds in the world, it's not fair, we need to grow palm trees, to have seeds for future generations

[David B]

I hope you got your seeds. Tough if they send you the invoice for confiscated seeds

[peachy]

I stopped buying seeds from Overseas dealers many years ago.  Mainly due to the very low or none at all, germination rates.  Now since Quarantine is even worse, so friends overseas can't send them either.  Now I just wait and see what is for sale within this country,  not that I bother much as I no longer have much patience for seeds etc.

Peachy

[tim_brissy_13]

I got a bill that, once they confiscated some of the seeds, cost about 3 times more than the seeds themselves. When coupled with shipping and phytosanitary certificate costs, for every $1 I spent on seed for that batch, I spent another $4-5 on other costs. 
 

Makes it really hard. But if you want a certain species there’s not really any other option (other than just waiting for Richard to buy the seed and sell them 🤣). 

[happypalms]

6 hours ago, Hu Palmeras said:

Yes, Richard, listen to me, my friend. For example, I have to buy 11 Bismarckia Nobilis silver seeds. After they arrive and I germinate them, I have to buy 10 or 11 more seeds and germinate them again. And so on, even when the seeds are larger. I've just completed 20 Kerriodoxas, but from a different supplier. 10 from one and 10 from the other. And yesterday I just won an auction for 40 Chambeyronia Macrocarpa seeds. I have to divide the shipment and send them separately. That way, they won't confiscate them. Chilean Customs doesn't let anything in. It's the strictest in Latin America. Imagine, one time I bought 1.5 kilos of Medjool dates from Israel. They came in a well-packaged box, and Chilean Customs confiscated them and destroyed them. And just as I lose, I've also gained.

Customs had all the dates they could eat more like it! There an agency customs and they need to make money to keep themselves in a job. So every now and then they slap you with a bill to l keep there  job. I respect our bio security gor good reasons but it’s just a joke there rules they change as they go. I would have thought Chile would have been open to imports but from what you say it’s very difficult to import for you. Keep on persisting with your imports and dont let them get the better of your dream to collect palms. 

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

 Richard Laws and taxes are slowing down the distribution of seeds in the world, it's not fair, we need to grow palm trees, to have seeds for future generations

You can’t tell them there completely extinct in the wild or how rare they are. It’s the government with no common sense, it’s all about how cheap they can do things and get online and do your form lodging! 

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, David B said:

I hope you got your seeds. Tough if they send you the invoice for confiscated seeds

No that was the bill for throwing them in the bin, after many phone calls which they don’t answer half the time, and numerous emails which takes at least 2 to 3 days to get a response. And that’s all lost time for a living seed that’s dying from the day it’s harvested. 

[happypalms]

3 hours ago, peachy said:

I stopped buying seeds from Overseas dealers many years ago.  Mainly due to the very low or none at all, germination rates.  Now since Quarantine is even worse, so friends overseas can't send them either.  Now I just wait and see what is for sale within this country,  not that I bother much as I no longer have much patience for seeds etc.

Peachy

Iam not going to let them beat me, I will continue to import and tick all there box’s and paperwork they need. Yes and I don’t blame you to buy with what’s available, someone such as myself will import them, supply and demand as they say! 
Richard 

[Hu Palmeras]

Yes, I must import more seeds, no matter what the cost. But I'm a winner. I've imported more seeds than I've lost. I must import them little by little. And declare them as an item, a collection. It's not bad at all to give more life to life and see a beautiful palm tree grow, friends.

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I got a bill that, once they confiscated some of the seeds, cost about 3 times more than the seeds themselves. When coupled with shipping and phytosanitary certificate costs, for every $1 I spent on seed for that batch, I spent another $4-5 on other costs. 
 

Makes it really hard. But if you want a certain species there’s not really any other option (other than just waiting for Richard to buy the seed and sell them 🤣). 

I know the feeling no wonder the price of rare palms has gone up. And I for one will be putting my price up! 
I just need more of the @tim_brissy_13 to get there orders ready for them 🤣

[happypalms]

48 minutes ago, Hu Palmeras said:

Yes, I must import more seeds, no matter what the cost. But I'm a winner. I've imported more seeds than I've lost. I must import them little by little. And declare them as an item, a collection. It's not bad at all to give more life to life and see a beautiful palm tree grow, friends.

Dont let them get the better of your passion. A little amount is great way to go. Most small orders go unnoticed. 

[Hu Palmeras]

That's right, Richard. And thank you so much for your support. Having a seed makes my heart happy, and seeing it germinate makes me even happier. And what can I say when it's already a fully grown palm tree?

[happypalms]

Just now, Hu Palmeras said:

That's right, Richard. And thank you so much for your support. Having a seed makes my heart happy, and seeing it germinate makes me even happier. And what can I say when it's already a fully grown palm tree?

That’s the one it all begins with a seed. Small or large once you sow thay seed it all begins. 

[Mazat]

12 hours ago, happypalms said:

Ok so I import seeds. Some germinate and some dont I can live with that, but the real cost of each seed is going to be factored into that when I sell a palm, some will say it’s overpriced or just to expensive, if you’re paying up to $3 to $5 dollars for some rare seeds and you buy them in lots of 20, 40, or 100 and 500 sometimes. It can get rather expensive for seeds. I don’t mind that it’s part of collecting plants, but what gets me going is the bill for throwing them in the bin by the government, yes this post could go on but………..

I find the law of cause and effect very dangerous. In this case, state institutions enrich themselves at the expense of the population with laws that are clearly designed to benefit them.
I had an acquaintance who worked for many years in such an institution. He told me that he went along with all the decisions even though he personally disagreed with them many times, but he didn't speak up for fear of losing his well-paid job.
Later, he was fired for treating a woman favorably. The person who fired him later became seriously ill...
In any case, it would have been terrible if it had happened to someone who was not directly affected, say, the daughter of the man who fired my acquaintance. 
My acquaintance told me many more true stories like this.
But it does make you think. It's sad, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but sometimes things happen for a reason when you take advantage of or mistreat people, and the same goes for plants and animals.
 

[Harry’s Palms]

I brought seeds in years ago from Hawaii. I just put them in with other stuff and forgot about it. We had to switch planes in Honolulu so I had my back pack and was waiting to board . My wife wanted a cup of coffee so I told her to just leave me with the carry ons and our daughter and go get coffee. The DEA was making the rounds with a dog and the dog smelled something in my back pack ( no , I don’t do drugs) . All the people waiting to board looked at me with my pony tail , unshaven for ten days and looking like a good target for doing something illegal . One of the officers told me to step away from the bag NOW! My daughter cried and the looks I got , like how could you do this with your little girl , highly judgmental . They took everything out of my back pack and found an apple I forgot that I stashed for the trip back to Los Angeles. The officers were very upset “ you can’t bring any fruit or organics “ without certification “ . I thought ….oh s### THE SEEDS! They never found them! I had a good story to tell my wife after she returned with coffee. It is serious I guess but in those days I didn’t pay attention to stuff like that. Harry

[Hu Palmeras]

Good story, Harry. The good thing is that we all had a hard time collecting seeds. We're better off now than before. And we've learned a lot from it. We learn from experience and lessons. Even if my seeds are destroyed, I'll buy them again.

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Mazat said:

I find the law of cause and effect very dangerous. In this case, state institutions enrich themselves at the expense of the population with laws that are clearly designed to benefit them.
I had an acquaintance who worked for many years in such an institution. He told me that he went along with all the decisions even though he personally disagreed with them many times, but he didn't speak up for fear of losing his well-paid job.
Later, he was fired for treating a woman favorably. The person who fired him later became seriously ill...
In any case, it would have been terrible if it had happened to someone who was not directly affected, say, the daughter of the man who fired my acquaintance. 
My acquaintance told me many more true stories like this.
But it does make you think. It's sad, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but sometimes things happen for a reason when you take advantage of or mistreat people, and the same goes for plants and animals.
 

Some may call it Khama or just fait with what you said. What gets me is who really made up these laws of society and a government that runs the country to be overpaid and just basically argue with each other. I guess the king needs his peseants to pay taxes so he can live in luxury,it has been going on for hundreds of years. I understand we need laws so we feel safe in society, the government system is outdated.

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Mazat said:

I find the law of cause and effect very dangerous. In this case, state institutions enrich themselves at the expense of the population with laws that are clearly designed to benefit them.
I had an acquaintance who worked for many years in such an institution. He told me that he went along with all the decisions even though he personally disagreed with them many times, but he didn't speak up for fear of losing his well-paid job.
Later, he was fired for treating a woman favorably. The person who fired him later became seriously ill...
In any case, it would have been terrible if it had happened to someone who was not directly affected, say, the daughter of the man who fired my acquaintance. 
My acquaintance told me many more true stories like this.
But it does make you think. It's sad, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but sometimes things happen for a reason when you take advantage of or mistreat people, and the same goes for plants and animals.
 

Some may call it Khama or just fait with what you said. What gets me is who really made up these laws of society and a government that runs the country to be overpaid and just basically argue with each other. I guess the king needs his peseants to pay taxes so he can live in luxury,it has been going on for hundreds of years. I understand we need laws so we feel safe in society, the government system is outdated.

[happypalms]

31 minutes ago, Harry’s Palms said:

I brought seeds in years ago from Hawaii. I just put them in with other stuff and forgot about it. We had to switch planes in Honolulu so I had my back pack and was waiting to board . My wife wanted a cup of coffee so I told her to just leave me with the carry ons and our daughter and go get coffee. The DEA was making the rounds with a dog and the dog smelled something in my back pack ( no , I don’t do drugs) . All the people waiting to board looked at me with my pony tail , unshaven for ten days and looking like a good target for doing something illegal . One of the officers told me to step away from the bag NOW! My daughter cried and the looks I got , like how could you do this with your little girl , highly judgmental . They took everything out of my back pack and found an apple I forgot that I stashed for the trip back to Los Angeles. The officers were very upset “ you can’t bring any fruit or organics “ without certification “ . I thought ….oh s### THE SEEDS! They never found them! I had a good story to tell my wife after she returned with coffee. It is serious I guess but in those days I didn’t pay attention to stuff like that. Harry

I had a mate who did the hippie trail back in the day and yes he got to London to return home, well he ended spending 2 years in jail for an organic product that was definitely not palm seeds or an apple. It could have been worse Harry a real Midnight express experience (the movie), or even worse for you the wife didn’t get her coffee now we know where that ends up no coffee. But seriously your daughter did not deserve to see such treatment for an apple, this year the police helicopter flew over my house and the noise and dust for ten minutes (due to all the greenhouses) was incredible they invaded my privacy and had no respect for my wife and my pets. A total guilty verdict and we have the right to invade your privacy, on the you are guilty and we need to see proof that you are not guilty, total disrespect for a person they have no right to bully a person either at the airport or in your own home. 
Richard 

[Hu Palmeras]

Friends, listen to me all of you. I just know they'll come for us. They'll come, whether it's an ordinary person or a police officer. What we do is something that's alive, but it can confuse many. Imagine, the only thing missing is the CIA or NASA coming to your house.

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, Hu Palmeras said:

Friends, listen to me all of you. I just know they'll come for us. They'll come, whether it's an ordinary person or a police officer. What we do is something that's alive, but it can confuse many. Imagine, the only thing missing is the CIA or NASA coming to your house.

Big brother is watching you they say! 

[Harry’s Palms]

The dog did a good job of sniffing out my apple but not palm seeds! I had cleaned the fruit off really well. Harry

[gyuseppe]

Here the parcels and envelopes that arrive outside the European Union are stopped by customs for inspection, but they don't open the package (so they don't check anything at all), usually they open the parcels or envelopes that come from China, for me it's just a way to make people pay money, I remember that when I received letters from the USA I had to pay 15 euros, strangely now that I received envelopes from Australia I only had to pay 4 euros

[Hu Palmeras]

RPS of Germany doesn't ship to Chile. They've had bad experiences with Chilean customs. Chileans who ordered their seeds from RPS had all their seeds confiscated. RPS had to make an exception for me as a customer. They can send me my seeds tightly compressed and declare them as a collector's item. This is the new seed smuggling, my friends.

[Hu Palmeras]

Hace 4 horas, gyuseppe dijo:

Aquí los paquetes y sobres que llegan fuera de la Unión Europea los paran en la aduana para inspeccionarlos, pero no abren el paquete (por lo que no revisan nada de nada), normalmente abren los paquetes o sobres que vienen de China, para mí es solo una forma de hacer pagar a la gente, recuerdo que cuando recibía cartas de USA tenía que pagar 15 euros, curiosamente ahora que recibía sobres de Australia solo tenía que pagar 4 euros.

When I receive the seeds in Chile, I don't pay anything. But if it exceeds $40 usd, I have to pay the tax.

[happypalms]

9 hours ago, Harry’s Palms said:

The dog did a good job of sniffing out my apple but not palm seeds! I had cleaned the fruit off really well. Harry

The dog was onto you from the start, you didn’t stand a chance. I had the same treatment at a airport once turned around to see the dog sitting next to me and the usual let’s see what’s in your bag, the same thing long hair and a young hippie treatment, I just shrugged it off it’s easy to do just a g man doing his job.

Ricahrd 

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Hu Palmeras said:

RPS of Germany doesn't ship to Chile. They've had bad experiences with Chilean customs. Chileans who ordered their seeds from RPS had all their seeds confiscated. RPS had to make an exception for me as a customer. They can send me my seeds tightly compressed and declare them as a collector's item. This is the new seed smuggling, my friends.

As sargent Schultz’s would say I know nothing!

29 minutes ago, Hu Palmeras said:

When I receive the seeds in Chile, I don't pay anything. But if it exceeds $40 usd, I have to pay the tax.

They have to keep themselves in job somehow.

[happypalms]

5 hours ago, gyuseppe said:

Here the parcels and envelopes that arrive outside the European Union are stopped by customs for inspection, but they don't open the package (so they don't check anything at all), usually they open the parcels or envelopes that come from China, for me it's just a way to make people pay money, I remember that when I received letters from the USA I had to pay 15 euros, strangely now that I received envelopes from Australia I only had to pay 4 euros

They must certainly X-ray the package for sure. You pay more from the US most likely due to Trump 🤣

[Hu Palmeras]

4 minutes ago, happypalms said:

Como diría el sargento Schultz: ¡No sé nada!

Tienen que mantenerse en el trabajo de alguna manera.

I almost dated a girl named Shulz. Long live seed smuggling, folks!

[happypalms]

19 hours ago, Hu Palmeras said:

I almost dated a girl named Shulz. Long live seed smuggling, folks!

Almost, close but no cigar! 

[Hu Palmeras]

On 24/9/2025 at 12:16, Mazat said:

Considero muy peligrosa la ley de causa y efecto. En este caso, las instituciones estatales se enriquecen a costa de la población con leyes claramente diseñadas para beneficiarlas.
Tuve un conocido que trabajó muchos años en una institución similar. Me contó que aceptaba todas las decisiones, aunque personalmente discrepaba con ellas muchas veces, pero no decía nada por miedo a perder su trabajo bien pagado. Más
tarde, lo despidieron por tratar de forma favorable a una mujer. La persona que lo despidió enfermó gravemente...
En cualquier caso, habría sido terrible si le hubiera ocurrido a alguien que no se viera directamente afectado, por ejemplo, la hija del hombre que despidió a mi conocido. 
Mi conocido me contó muchas más historias reales como esta.
Pero sí que te hace reflexionar. Es triste, y no se lo deseo a nadie, pero a veces las cosas pasan por algo cuando te aprovechas o maltratas a la gente, y lo mismo ocurre con las plantas y los animales.
 

Very cool my Friend Mazat