My folder called "important" has 412 links and 400 are just Wikipedia pages about extinct dog breeds.

You ever watch two guys argue over a stamp for twenty minutes straight? My buddy Lenny bought a "real" NOS cap off a vendor at that same Springfield meet, numbers looked perfect, guy swore it was the real deal. Two weeks later Lenny put it on a tester and it let go at 9 pounds, gasket was rock hard and the spring was shot. Meanwhile the repro he tossed in a drawer held 14 all day long. So yeah, Dale can check numbers all he wants, but a stamp doesn't hold pressure, the spring and seal do.

Did you ever think the nursery starts might be fine and your setup was just better than you expected? Starts sit on the shelf for a while and yes they can get root bound, but that's a timing thing at the store, not proof that seeds win every time. Plenty of people have the opposite luck where their seedlings stall out and the $6 start saves the season, so it mostly comes down to your light and how quick you pot them up.