Victory Seeds^®

Rare, Open-pollinated & Heirloom Garden Seeds

 "Preserving the future,
one seed at a time." ™

Victory Seed Company
"An Address from Mike Dunton for 2009"

[ Click here for the address for 2010 ]
[ Click here for the address for 2011 ]

Hello Friends!

Writing a greeting on the web site is a bit new for me.  I usually get to address you every year in the introduction page of our newest seed catalogue.  However, as our society has headed into financially scary and uncertain times, printing and mass mailing a catalogue was carefully evaluated and ultimately one of the costs we had to trim.

My annual greetings are typically positive.  In them, I try and give a summary of how our organization did the previous year and describe some of the exciting things that we are hoping to accomplish in the next.  There is always uncertainty in the world and even though times may be getting tougher, there is still a lot to be thankful for.

Newspapers and newscasts are bombarding all of us daily with the details of the latest losses on Wall Street, the increasing unemployment figures, the latest foreclosure rates, the big corporate "bailout" packages, and the businesses, large and small, that have filed for bankruptcy.  The predicament our world's economies have gotten into is staggering.

I want to assure you that in good times and bad, the Victory Seed Company plans for the worst and hopes for the best.  As a family and a company, we have always chosen to live within our means.  If we can't pay for something, we don't buy it.  This puts us in a fairly strong position to survive and weather this current economic storm.  Our goal is to be here for you for many, many years to come.

As costs of labor, energy, fuel, raw materials, supplies, shipping, fees, licenses and just about everything else associated with providing little packets of garden seeds has increased, we are continually evaluating our position and taking measures to make sure that we remain financially viable.  Some of the steps we have taken for this year are:

• A new packet design is being phased in that is not only more attractive, it takes less labor to produce.

• No printed catalogue for 2009.  Discussed ad nauseam at this link - click here.

• Although we continue to grow, we have worked hard to keep overhead low and pass these savings along to you. We have been evaluating our workflow to identify inefficiencies and are working to correct them while improving our accuracy and customer service.

• We operate from our farm that has been in the family for six generations now with a bare-bones staff made up of family members. Our overhead is about as low as anyone can get. To maintain this low overhead, my wife and I are currently working 15 to 18 hours days nearly every day without a salary. Although it is necessary right now, we do not want to continue at this pace too long. If the economy turns around this year, we hope to add additional staff.

• Since our primary focus is to get your orders in your hands as quickly as possible with minimal staff, we have had to limit all activities that take away from these duties. We simply cannot talk to you in person, on the phone or answer mailed letters. Email works well as I can try and catch up in the wee hours of the morning. But please . . . please be patient. It may take me a few days to answer. Our work backlog can easily reach 10 to 15 days from receipt to shipping. Check the main page for current information.

With these cost savings measures in place, we are passing them along in the following ways:

• We have chosen to not increase prices.  Times are tough.  Everyone's bills are increasing.  This is our effort at trying to do our part to help.  We are hoping to maintain this policy through the spring sales season.

• We have discussed but not implemented a minimum order amount.  However, we have increased the shipping and handling fee for small orders.  It really does cost us as much to fill an order for one packet as it does for twenty.  This was a necessary measure to take.  You can read more details by clicking here.

• We will work at actively maintaining the product availability on our web site.  The site will additionally be used to communicate news alerts that you may be interested in.  I hope to implement a blog to further keep lines of communication open.

In looking forward to the year ahead, we believe that although times may get worse before they get better, we can all get through it with planning, belt tightening, and hard work.

~ Gardening (and personal) Success to You and Yours in 2009! ~

Mike Dunton

January 18, 2009

THIS PAGE IS FOR HISTORICAL PURPOSES ONLY

[ Click here for the current address. ]