What a wholesale seed catalogue can and cannot promise a reseller

A wholesale seed catalogue is a working document, not a promise. It records what a supplier has chosen to list — seed groups, species, varieties, reference numbers and listed prices — and it states the process by which a retailer can ask for an offer. Anything that depends on stock, destination, documents or timing is not settled on a catalogue page. This overview separates the two, so a reseller can judge a supplier on checkable content instead of on presentation.

What the catalogue documents as fact

The catalogue content is limited and specific. It records the seed groups the supplier works with: vegetables, flowers, herbs, and microgreens and sprouts. It records an alphabetical species index and an overall count of catalogue entries. At variety level it shows descriptions, reference numbers and listed prices, with quantity tiers appearing on variety pages, species lists and quick enquiry pages. These are documented entries: they can be read, compared and quoted back in an enquiry.

What the catalogue deliberately leaves open

A catalogue listing is not a confirmation that a variety can be supplied to every destination. Descriptions and listed prices relate to catalogue entries and do not confirm current stock or batch-specific test results. Availability, pack sizes, final prices, applicable taxes, shipping charges, payment terms and delivery arrangements are specified separately. That separation is not an omission; it is the stated design of the offer, and it tells a retailer where to place their attention.

Why an enquiry is not an order

Selecting items and sending the enquiry form does not conclude a purchase contract. Adding items to the basket or submitting the form starts a review, not a sale. No payment is taken through the website, and an automated acknowledgement only confirms that the enquiry has been received for review. A retailer who understands this will not treat a sent basket as a reserved stock position or as a commitment on either side.

The role of the quotation

The quotation is where the open points become concrete. The supplier reviews requested items, quantities and destination, then issues an offer covering availability, pack sizes, prices, applicable taxes, shipping charges and delivery arrangements. Final prices and shipping charges are confirmed there, not on the catalogue page. The quotation is therefore the document a buyer should read line by line against what was sent, rather than the catalogue.

Destination and documents as a separate layer

The destination country and postal code belong in the enquiry, and so does the question of which documents the business requires. Before a shipment is agreed, the applicable import conditions and the responsibilities for documents, customs clearance, duties and taxes must be clarified. This is a distinct layer from the catalogue: a variety can be listed and still be subject to conditions that only the destination determines. Neither the catalogue nor the quotation replaces official import guidance.

Reference numbers and what they support

Reference numbers give a retailer a stable way to name an item in correspondence. They support accurate repetition of a selection across an enquiry, a correction and a later reorder. They do not by themselves certify stock, batch status or shipment eligibility; those questions have to be asked and answered in writing. Used properly, a reference number shortens the distance between a catalogue entry and a clear question about it.

Requested dates are not commitments

A requested delivery date can be supplied with the enquiry, but it is not a confirmed delivery commitment. The agreed arrangements are set out separately. A retailer planning shelf space or a seasonal window should therefore treat the requested date as an input to negotiation, not as an outcome, and should keep the confirmed arrangement in writing before building a retail calendar around it.

Where the basket sits in this picture

The selection is stored in the browser until it is removed, browser data is cleared or the enquiry is successfully submitted. Contact details are not saved in the basket. If the form cannot send, the selection remains in place and the displayed message should be followed; where delivery could not be confirmed, contact should be made with the enquiry reference before sending again. This makes the basket a draft tool, not a record of an agreement.

Unlisted varieties and the limits of the list

A retailer is not confined to listed entries. An enquiry can name a variety that is not in the catalogue by providing the botanical or variety name, the quantity and the destination. This shows that the catalogue is a selection, not a complete inventory of what may be obtainable, and that the absence of an entry is a question to raise rather than a conclusion to draw. The answer still arrives through review and quotation.

Judging a supplier on the documented parts

Because the catalogue and the enquiry terms are precise about what they do and do not state, they can be assessed on their own terms. A retailer can check whether the crop groups and species index match a planned range, whether variety pages carry descriptions and reference numbers, and whether the enquiry terms clearly separate listing from supply. A supplier who states these boundaries plainly is easier to hold to them later than one whose catalogue blurs them.

Keeping the two layers apart in practice

The practical discipline is simple. Read the catalogue for what is listed and how it is identified. Send an enquiry containing business details, items, quantities, destination and any document requirements. Read the returned quotation for everything conditional. Read the separately agreed supply terms for the purchase itself. A retailer who keeps these four steps distinct will rarely mistake a catalogue entry for a confirmed supply — and will know exactly which document to consult when a question arises.

Seeds, knowledge and growing possibilities.

Seed trade journal