Four or five years ago I collected several seeds from an interesting ornamental crab apple (called a 'Royalty Crab' in the local garden centres - deep purple leaves and flowers and really small fruit) in the neighborhood and had great success in getting them to germinate by simply planting them in a pot and leaving them outside over the winter. I did have some problems the first summer with some of the seedlings wilting but seemed to be doing fine with keeping the others going strong. I left them outside with my other hardy trees that winter but sadly come the spring none of them had survived, I guess the seedlings were still too tender to be left out that way...
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I tried again the next fall by planting some more collected seeds but had no luck the following spring and haven't bothered trying again since. From your experience I suppose its a good thing I saved myself the agrivation, eh?
I wonder if my neighbor would mind if I took cuttings from his tree? He didn't mind letting me have the fruit, it just falls off and rots on his lawn anyway if the birds don't eat it, but cuttings might be a different subject. Guess I'll just have to ask and see.