In the prior two posts, I covered the breadth of varieties offered and the product information offered by each of the seed catalog companies. In this post, I'll address the entertainment value of the catalogs. This is the most subjective of the three criteria I'm using to evaluate the catalogs, so I'll keep it brief.
I define entertainment value as the quality, presence and size of photos, the cleverness or allure of the written descriptions, and finally the print quality of the catalog. Here's how I'm calling them on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best rating:
Baker Creek - 10
- Stunning photos and spreads. Giant photos. (The attached watermelon photo is typical of the catalog)
- Excellent print quality
- Larger sized catalog format (10" x 10")
- Chatty, engaging (though less informative) copy
Johnny's - 8
- Small, illustrative photos
- Excellent growing information, germination charts and comparison tables make for more than just good factual information. Very engaging.
- Good print quality
Burpee - 7
- Medium sized, illustrative photos
- Excellent print quality
- Factual descriptions
Territorial Seed - 7
- Small, illustrative photos
- Fair print quality
- Factual copy, but longer and more engaging
Seeds of Change - 7
- Small, illustrative photos
- Good print quality
- Factual product descriptions
In my next posting and last posting on the 2010 seed catalogs , I'm going to pull it all together (varieties, product information and entertainment value) and declare a 2010 Best Seed Catalog winner.
Drum roll please.....
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