Are $12,000 Melons Too Good To Be True? Amazon Reviewers Say Seeds Didn't Pan Out

The prospect of producing ten $12,000 melons off a $1.95 investment sounds enticing, but is it too good to be true?

Yubari king melons sold as high as $12,000 this year in Japan, according to kotaku.com, and Hirt's, a seller on Amazon.com is offering 10 RARE Yubari King Melon seeds for $1.95, hinting that the seeds can be parlayed into $12,000 worth of fruit for each seed.

Think $12,000 melons is a little excessive? Tough economic times actually lowered the price of the melons.

In 2008, two Yubari melons went for over $30,000 and $25,000 in 2007, according to kotaku.

The Yubari melons have an average price of $12,000.

But Amazon customers who bought the Yubari King Melon seeds from Hirt's say the $12,000 melons didn't pan out. The product was rated two stars out of five on Amazon.

Reviewer Jim Walker said the seeds did not grow into $12,000 melons.

Seeds have been in my germination station for 14 days and nothing produced. While next to them 20 pickling cucumbers, 16 sugar melons, and 6 Cheyenne, 6 Jalapenos, and 6 green bells have all sprouted and been planted. seeds are bad..., he wrote.

Amazon reviewer Fossil concurred.

Used optimum environmental setup to germinate these seeds. Achieved 5% germination, should be 90%+ for good quality seed. 1 out of 20 germinated, Fossil said. Hirts attitude, when presented with this background info on how I approached the project, was basically Tough luck. They refused to replace the seed or refund my money, and would not even offer an explanation. As seed ages its viability declines, particularly if it is not stored correctly. A good seed outlet will routinely test the viability of its seed by germinating a few of them and tossing out the old stuff. My conclusion is that they sold me bunk. Don't do business with these people.

However, reviewer I.Blackburn rated the seeds a five out of five despite half of his seeds dying. But he said that wasn't the company's fault; his soil was too rich.

These are very soft and sweet melons. They do take up a lot more of your garden than other melons. I will grow them for sure next year, they said.