Well, if the co-op needs a separate thread pinned or something or another thread they can start one or let me know if they need something pinned. I just noticed that the same questions keep coming up that have been worked out, so I figured the “Read First” thread should be back at the top for people if it wasn’t anymore.
Seeing everyone going in circles seems silly when these things have already been answered and addressed, especially when they made a READ FIRST thread. lol
well it is not entirely clear to anyone just seeing say a preservation run that it is the co-op that distributes ,could be wrong of course. a search of the breeder category with co-op yields 18 threads. I just prefer some structure lol ocd likely
also not so much a thread rather a category to sort things better …getting to be alot in that breeder
cat
Maybe they could put a link to the read first thread in their initial post with the standard preservation run sign-up sheet. So everyone ummm Reads first…before signing up?
The Seed Runs Co-op is already a subcategory of the Breeder’s Lab. So it already is OCD organized lol
I’m no breeder, and like many millions of other people around the country, I’m currently unemployed due to the pandemic. As such, with the seeds I’ve produced for the Overgrow coop, it’s important that I provide a lot of seeds for almost no cost. Here’s how I’ve done it:
I’ve packaged my seeds in 0.5ml centrifuge tubes and put those in 2" x 3" heat-sealed mylar bags (thanks to @SCJedi for the suggestions). Instead of wasting time counting, I make enough seeds so that each tube is filled full and holds between 20-26 seeds, depending on the variety. No reason to skimp on F2 since they’ll have such wide variation (I hate it when people skimp). Bigger seeds = fewer per tube, but size doesn’t mean shit.
Anyway, on that mylar bag is a 1" x 2-5/8" label printed on my laser printer. Nothing fancy because it’s what’s inside that counts - I’m not trying to impress anyone, just provide an accurate label.
Total cost of packaging for each is around $0.50. Despite being perpetually broke, I never want to receive any money in return for cannabis. I consider all of this a donation in service to the community that has given me so much. For the future, I’m researching biodegradable packaging, since all these little plastic things slowly poison our planet.
This is how things will be sent to Sebring. If I send any direct to people after the co-op seed run is over, I’ll use an alternative method in first class letter mail, rather than shipping each one as an expensive shipment. That method is pretty cheap as well, and very reliable, but less fancy.
I love that sort of thinking. Don’t feel too bad about the ones you are using now though, my guess is that most of the stoner recipients will reuse them for other seeds once they are empty. Little things to put seeds in or to share them always seem to come in handy. I personally never throw them out.
We are looking for a new volunteer for distribution in latin america.
I want to thank madscientist for all his volunteer work distributing the previous co-op projects.
After checking in with all of the distributors, madscientist let me know he was having too many problems with the mail service in his country.
If anybody would like to volunteer as a new distributor for latin america, please leave a note here.
if you you would like to suggest someone, please PM them and ask if they would like to volunteer.
We would love to hear from all of the latin american members, please post here if you have any suggestions, ideas, or questions.
Thanks everyone
I totally understand what you’re saying. I was more referring ‘reimbursement’ which is different then ‘profit’.
The breeders are ‘losing’ money, but the distributors are also doing a lot of work, I was just thinking about some ways to keep the distro happy.
In a ‘co-op’ the members usually split/share all the expenses and overhead.
I’m not trying to change anything. Just throwing out an idea/option - I wanted to make sure no one was getting overwhelmed by their projects or commitments. You guys were rocking along before I got here, so I’m not trying to interfere or derail anything. 
Great post. Thanks for doing all that. For me, the labeling and packing are the hard part.
I tend to overdo things- I spent $20+ mailing out 5 packs of seeds. But that was my choice. and I added a lot of extra stealth feature. But no way could I do that for 20 packages. I tried the drip line as a container, but it’s hard to fill it and then stuff it with cotton. I found a corrugated plastic sign that I will try for a few mailouts. I like the vials, but I’d probably need 2 or 3 per package but NBD.
My handwriting is in the ‘doctor-scribble’ variety, so I like printed labels, but then I need a templates and matching labels.
For the mailing labels, I went low tech and just copied the address into notepad and printed it out, cut it out with a pair of scissors and used packing tape to affix it to the envelope.
So my system obviously leaves a lot to be desired.
As they say “Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics”
Avery seems to be the dominant brand in labels. They offer standard templates to match their different size labels. But for me, it always takes a bit of tweaking and test printing to get it to work correctly.
Anyone have any other advice on mass producing the labels?
For a long time I used the half a4 packing list sleeves then it’s just print on the laser slide it in and you have mailing and return - but that’s huge for an envelope…
That’s why the label printers designed for printing makes sense. The avery packs are super expensive solutions.
Gotta figure out how to send the cut command - had it printing this week straight out of excel. But then it’s a continuous print. Not that scissors are hard to separate them 
I hate that corrugated plastic. You NEED to put in chopsticks or something on the sides so it doesn’t crush, and they’re just a big pita to take seeds out of without mixing or damaging any compared to other shipping containers.
Centrifuge vials are cheap on amazon or ebay. Can usually get at least a couple hundred vials for less than $10. The 0.5ml should do ~15-20 seeds. The 1ml vials will easily fit ~30-40. May or may not be compatible with rollers in an envelope.
If the vials are too small to deal with due to arthritis or other issues, Lacon Sample Containers are a bit more expensive but sooo much easier to work with. These are what i’ve seen Sebring use for a lot of the seeds he sends out. These should also easily fit in an envelope for the rollers.
They are right on the limit, you have to tape them between to piece’s of card so they don’t move and keep the tab and hinge to the side’s.
You can use excel or word to print labels. It lets you choose Avery sizes and numbers. It’s not complicated. If you have any experience with Microsoft office it’s fairly user friendly.
@ReikoX had a link for the coin holders and the rubber washer that works really well, but doesn’t allow for larger amounts. I need to contact him about those links to buy for my own needs. the seeds seem to survive a simple envelope and the rollers.
Yeah those would definitely work fine too. Should be able to get 11-15 seeds or so depending 
haven’t seen that particular washer first-hand but I’ve definitely seen similar packaging with similar seed count.
That’s 25x25x5mm (5mm thick seems to be the US/Canada lettermail rule)
Each box is 2.05g / 8 minutes. All walls are .4mm so single pass designed to be printed without supports or cleanup.
Added 50 duplicates - here’s what s3d says for petg (the environmentalist types may want pla since it’s biodegradable - Id prefer the flex and not shattering of petg (think soda/pop bottle plastic))
Technically in Canada seeds should be sent in an oversized letter or have an oversized letter stamp, which is what I use. The max height / thickness for an oversized letter is 20mm with a weight no more than 100grm so that gives you more room to play with. Bigger than 20mm thickness and your letter becomes a parcel and costs jump from $2.13 to $17 I think.
Yeah, I was just keeping the stealth factor in mind - >4mm inside is enough for a layer of most seeds, flat matchbox style means tape it to cardstock and toss it in something.
Running a test group this morning on a mothballed printer (with a .6mm nozzle installed too just to really push the worst case)
If they slide together half ass decently (though I’m pondering a latch feature of some sort) I’ll throw it up on thingiverse.
Since just about everyone knows someone with a 3d printer, between friends, schools, libraries. Half ass makes sense, maybe a bit more time intensive than buying the centrifuge vials, but also at least minimally easier to ship.
edit - if anyone wants to test drive/print/usps destructive test… https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4617310
Flat is definitely easier than a conical shape. Stealth is good as well, not so necessary in Canada but where its illegal it’s going to be better. Being able to fit in an envelope with a normal stamp cuts costs further so that’s a bonus.
hmm this match box is actually pretty neat. S3D won’t actually generate the outer box itself, I need to play with the settings on here. I’m on a 0.6mm nozzle on a cr-10s4 myself, but the matchbox portion actually came out really strong for just being PLA and looks like it’d easily hold 3 packs(11) of seeds. The matchbox itself with PLA takes me ~10 minutes to print. Can’t imagine it being more than 30min with both.
