Of course the idea of breeder packs is the belief that if the breeder/their business packs the seeds into breeder packs there is less room for error than having loose beans at a seedbank that would then package orders. There is also the perception that breeders are or would tend to be more honest and put the correct type of beans into their packs and a seedbank might slip in a curveball now and then to increase profits or even just to rid themselves of old stock that is not selling. It just gives the grower more confidence in the buying process.
About the only benefit I might see for picking beans that are not in breeder packs is if some seedbank's best stealth shipping needed the beans to be removed from a breeder pack. While crushed beans can happen the breeder packs are much tougher than older methods of shipping loose beans so unless someone had super stealth and increased toughness/protection for beans I would prefer my beans in a breeder pack.
If purchasing individual beans that means no breeder packs but some seedbanks will include some small bit cut from the breeder pack that your individual bean supposedly came from, to try to prove it is what you ordered and what they claim it to be.
Breeders of course end up paying for their breeder packs to be made, and if different ones are used with for different seedbanks with eac seedbank’s name on them they need different styles for each strain, and then of course they have to pay for the packaging. It is only a guess but possibly some seedbanks are able to purchase bulk beans from some or all breeders and keep their prices lower that way since they were not paying for the breeder packaging, and then the seedbank has a little better chance of being close price-wise to the larger seedbanks that purchase in such bulk that even with breeder packs they can sell the beans for a similar or even lower price.
Counterfeit breeder packs, with beans that were not what the packs claimed them to be, have turned up in seedbanks and growers gardens so it is difficult to be totally sure about what you receive but the idea behind the breeder pack mostly is increased perception of legitimacy and honesty and quality and professionalism. After that there other reasons, like tougher packaging than loose beans and seedbanks like to shift some costs to breeders, like labor costs for people to pick and package orders end up a breeder's expense rather than a seedbank's expense. Lot numbers or dates can be on breeder packs so seedbanks can better manage their inventory, know what is new stock and what is older stock, which is hard to do if you are dealing with loose/bulk beans. So there are a number of reasons but some do at least to some degree effect or apply to the buyer.
If you see the same strain (from the same breeder at the same seedbank) for a rather different price if in breeder packs or loose you have to decide if the perception given by breeder packs is worth the difference in price to you or not.
