The OP tomato seed market has a lot of similarities to the present music industry. The product can be obtained free and replicated at will without any payment to the creator. The up side is that people who really appreciate the product but don't have money at the time can enjoy it, and also raise the profile of the product because of their enthusiasm. Although there isn't a material return from those users, it builds reputation which is valuable to the professional breeder in the long haul. Obviously though, the overall returns are not at all equal to those for hybrid seeds, and never will be.
I like your model, Steve. When I look at your site and see that a percentage is returned to the breeder, it makes me want to buy the seed from you, if I can't from the originator.
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