UPDATE 12/23/13: TurtleTime has contacted me and we have come to a mutual resolution regarding my order to the satisfaction of both parties. He seems to be an upstanding victim and may have been the victim of circumstance. Only time will tell but coming back from an extended absence is a rare sign of trustworthiness in my eyes, despite any previous shortcomings TT may have as a vendor. I will definitely be following up this review in the future.
UPDATE 12/21/13: Please see the comments below. It is claimed that TurtleTime was in a car accident and is in the hospital, and his reddit account confirms. I will be updating this post as soon as my transaction is completed to my satisfaction with TurtleTime.
You guys may remember vendor / minor reddit figure TrevorWormsley aka TurtleTime aka turtletime@riseup.net. I've had two orders with TurtleTime so far, and with the number of his reviews that have turned out to be either eerily self promoting (many have accused him of using shills) or unabashedly negative, I'd like to step in with a definitive review of this former BMR/Sheep vendor, current private sales vendor, and future ThreeHaresBazaar vendor TurtleTime (@ /u/badwolfhosting - I would love to talk to you about TT via PM if you'd like to hear my concerns).
First Order
I first heard of TurtleTime when Budster was announced, through Reddit. Since the beginning of SR I've preferred private sales to going through a marketplace, simply for security purposes. In general I like to build a lasting relationship with good rapport with my vendors, and I prefer to be able to trust them over using escrow, even if from time to time I get ripped off with no recourse. If this happens I simply accept it and try a new vendor. TurtleTime caught my eye as a knowledgeable guy in my past discussions with him (see post history), both in terms of stealth in packaging and chemicals used in growing his product. My first order was on 11/01/13, for 1oz Organic Sour Diesel. It was definitely budget bud, $220 for the oz.
TurtleTime's communication in this order was impeccable, answering every concern I had within three hours and even providing the exact day my order would arrive. Happy camping so far, and the order came as expected. The packaging was impeccable. Visual barrier, MBB, multiple vacuum seals, and a visual barrier. The packaging was also very well done, some of the most secure I've seen in two years. This really won me over for TurtleTime.
Now for the product. The ~30g of Sour Diesel that arrived was some pretty good bud. Not top shelf by any means, but a steal at $220/30g. The main issue with the product was cosmetic. There were many stems in the bag, I'd estimate around 4-5g total. I went through all of the product and removed the stems. The bud that was left was pretty good: great effects, and the cure was phenomenal (one of the things I look for). The bud was crispy and vaped a treat. I'd say TurtleTime's product was exactly what I wanted out of a vendor: organic, well-cured, and cheap. While it lacked the visual appeal of a truly professional trim job, I could fix that in about twenty minutes with a scissor and some tweezers. I'd rate the overall experience in my first purchase as a 9/10, one of the best I've had from 20+ vendors I've tried in this department. The stealth especially won me over, and when I ran out it was time to be on that TurtleTime.
Pictures of my first /u/TrevorWormsley order: Before DIY trim / After
Second Order
After about a month, on 11/28, I inquired about purchasing some of TurtleTime's more expensive product: 1oz of Blue Dream. In the meantime, some things had happened that disturbed me. For one, TurtleTime was becoming increasingly involved with public fights of the mods of some subreddits here. There were also accusations of his use of shill accounts for self promotion, and he had just closed off his previously heralded and public subreddit, r/turtletime, to all customers. Along with the slow but steady demise of Sheep, the climate was uncertain and I was worried to say the least. I decided this would be a good test of the true quality of TT as a vendor, and I placed another private order with him for .245 BTC (around $250 at the rate of 1100-1200 of the time).
Here is proof I made this purchase from TurtleTime in the form of two valid signed and encrypted messages he sent me confirming my order, the relevant Bitcoin transaction, and the session keys needed to decrypt these messages. I additionally have this kind of proof for the first order, but won't post it unless someone really wants to see it for some reason (I had no troubles with that order).
Unfortunately, a week came and went with no package. I made multiple attempts to contact TurtleTime, starting on Saturday 7 December, eight days after TurtleTime was due to ship the package. I asked him whether he had shipped at all, and that I would like a DCN for my package if possible. I also indicated to him that I had ordered a reship from a new vendor, and that I understand if the demise of Sheep/Reloaded caused monetary losses and delays in processing packages, but I needed to know the status of my order to take further action. I also indicated that I was concerned about the fact that, had a package been sent, the fact that I have not received it may indicate that it was returned to sender or not deliverable as addressed. I told TurtleTime this was a serious concern of mine and that any reply on the status of my order to help resolve this matter would be appreciated. I lastly told him that if I did not receive any form of reply by the morning of Tuesday (today) EST, I would post a comprehensive review on reddit under the assumption that I was scammed.
As for /u/badwolfhosting, I know you have been in contact with TurtleTime... have you noticed anything strange as well?
Draw your own conclusions from this, but until this is resolved I would caution people against dealing with this vendor on any platform. If /u/TrevorWormsley would like to reply to this post, I would love to make any and every effort to resolve this amicably and give my full endorsement to them. I really was very satisfied with the first purchase and I'm disappointed that it won't be the first of many.
Unfortunately we have not heard from TT in some time, and he has not been active on his store or forums.
If you do not receive some form of contact within 72 hours we will treat this as a scamming attempt on his behalf.