Choosing the Right Enquiry Route for Your First Seed Order

A new reseller usually reaches this seed wholesaler through one of three routes: the catalogue basket, a species quick enquiry, or an unlisted variety request. They are not interchangeable. Each suits a different starting position — a known range, an exploratory search, or a variety you cannot find — and each leaves certain things to the quotation stage. This overview compares the three so you can choose the route that matches what you already know before spending time on a selection.

What all three routes have in common

None of the three routes places an order. Selecting items, sending a quick enquiry or asking about a missing variety all lead to a reviewed quotation; no payment is taken through the website. An automated acknowledgement only confirms that the enquiry was received for review. Prices, availability, pack sizes, applicable taxes, shipping charges and delivery arrangements are confirmed separately in the quotation. This holds whether you begin from a full basket or from a single question about one species.

Route one: the catalogue basket for a known range

Use the basket when you already know which varieties you want. You add varieties and quantities to the enquiry basket, can edit quantities or remove lines, and then send the selection with your business contact details. This route suits a reseller with a shelf plan or a repeat range in mind. It is the route that carries the most detail into the review, because each line can reference a specific cultivar and SKU. For wholesale enquiries, give the SKU, quantity and unit for each selection so the review can confirm what is actually available.

Route two: the species quick enquiry for exploratory searches

Use a species quick enquiry when you are working at the level of a group rather than a fixed list — for instance when gauging what a species page offers before committing to named lines. Species pages organise references by botanical grouping and note the entries currently included, which helps you see the shape of the range. A quick enquiry is a sensible first step if you want to test whether a supply relationship is worth pursuing. It does not reserve stock, and it does not tell you heat level, sweetness or other traits from the category alone; those must be checked against the named cultivar, colour and SKU.

Route three: the unlisted variety request for missing items

Use this route when the variety you need is not in the catalogue. Send the botanical name or variety name, the quantity and the destination. A catalogue listing is not a promise that a variety can be supplied everywhere, and a missing listing does not by itself mean a variety is unavailable — it means the question has to be asked directly. This route is narrow by design: it addresses one gap, not a whole range. If your selection mixes listed and unlisted items, treat the missing variety as a separate request rather than folding it into an assumption about the basket.

How to decide between the routes

Start from what you can already name. If you can list varieties and quantities, use the basket. If you know the group but not the lines, use the species quick enquiry to explore before building a selection. If you know exactly what is missing, send the unlisted variety request. A practical sequence for a first contact is to explore at species level, then move known items into the basket, and keep any genuinely absent variety as its own request. This avoids mixing exploratory questions with a committed selection that the quotation has to disentangle.

What none of the routes settles for you

No route confirms current stock, batch-specific test results or final prices. Descriptions and listed prices relate to catalogue entries and are not a stock confirmation. Weight-based and seed-count prices are different bases of comparison, and a seed-count price must keep its stated denominator when set against a kilogram price elsewhere in the catalogue. Import conditions, required documents, customs clearance, duties and taxes are clarified before a shipment is agreed, not by the route you chose. Include the destination country and postal code, plus any documents your business requires, with whichever route you use.

Keeping your selection and contact details in view

The basket selection is stored in your browser until you remove it, clear browser data or successfully submit it; contact details are not saved in the basket. If a form cannot send, the selection remains in place, and you should follow the displayed message and quote your enquiry reference before trying again. To correct an enquiry already sent, contact the wholesaler with its reference rather than starting a second, competing selection. Knowing this up front matters most on the basket route, where a long selection represents the most work to rebuild.

A short checklist before you send

Whichever route you pick, check that your business name and contact details are complete, the destination country and postal code are stated, and any requested delivery date is included with the understanding that a requested date is not a confirmed commitment. Confirm quantities and units line by line, since pack sizes are settled in the quotation. State the documents your business needs for the proposed shipment. If you are unsure whether an item belongs in the basket or in an unlisted variety request, ask directly rather than guessing — the answer shapes how the review is handled.

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