Please excuse any errors. Trying a bit of a new format. Also... fucking exhausted. I'll fix anything I messed up in 10-12 hours.
Summary (TLDR) - http://anony.ws/image/Jure
Poor communication holds SeattlesBest up from earning their name. Very happy with the bud for the price, but a bit disappointed I didn't get both strains I wanted (details below). I would use this vendor again, but they have some work to do before they become a go-to option.
Transaction Grade: C-
Product Grade: B
Vendor Grade: C+
Quick Details:
Listing | |
Market: | [Direct ] |
Vendor: | [SeattlesBest ] |
Weight: | [28g ] |
Price: | [$235.00 ] |
$/g" | [$8.39 ] |
Vendor Grade: | [Top Shelf ] |
Strain: | [Strawberry Haze* ] |
Shipping | |
Shipped From/To: | [USA/USA ] |
Processing: | [5-6 ] |
In Transit: | [2-3 ] |
Stealth: | [Standard ] |
Transaction - http://anony.ws/image/JurI
Scorecard:
Stats | |
Click-to-door: | [8 business days ] |
Received Weight: | [28.8g ] |
Actual $/g: | [$8.16 ] |
Scores | |
Communication: | [5 ] |
Stealth: | [9 ] |
Shipping/Processing: | [5 ] |
Product Quality: | [7 ] |
Value: | [9 ] |
TOTAL: | [35 ] |
GRADE: | [C- (70%) ] |
Comments:
While there's been a little bit of momentum around multi-sig lately, right now I still don't have much trust in the markets and generally avoid them when possible. Direct deals shouldn't be terribly complicated for the customer, and SeattlesBest's way isn't too much different than anyone else's.
If you follow the instructions given by the vendor and do your homework most of your anxiety can be avoided. Usually.
I say this because, had I not been reading other reviews and feedback about SeattlesBest, I may have started getting a little itchy about this one. At no point during this order did I receive any communication directly from SeattlesBest. After 3 business days (with a weekend in the middle) with no word, I messaged SB's support, as many others have had to do. He was able to get a confirmation for me that day, telling me to expect my pack ~5-6 business days later.
If we add that up, we're talking about 5-6 days of confirmation/processing time, with a typical 2-3 day transit. If you read around, you'll see that 7-10 days seems to be normal for SB, so this was all to be expected. That said, the only vendor I've had take longer to get me a pack is HumboldtFarms - all others have been able to keep it under 5 business days. Usually closer to 3.
As mentioned above, I'm a bit upset that I only received the Strawberry Haze - my order was for a 50/50 split with Maui Waui, a tough one to find that SB supposedly had "for a little while". I took that to mean they wouldn't sell out any time soon. Apparently they did. This happens from time to time, but if you follow SB's menu updates it certainly seems that the strains cycle in and out a lot. It's not a huge deal - after all, if you know that you simply make sure you jump on your order right away when you see what you like.
The problem, of course, is still the lack of communication. I get asking for alternate strains if you're a shop that turns around orders same day. Even then I've typically gotten at least a courtesy email. But if you're taking a full business week to process, pack, and drop orders, you should be able to a little better with inventory management. To wrap it up - until they smooth some things out with their operation, it seems your average order is going to take a week, maybe two to land, and you may have to do a little nagging to support to get some information. None of this is the end of the world, but it means SB is more of a 2nd tier option and a 1st for me. There's a lot of potential here, though.
Product - http://anony.ws/image/Jurl
Scorecard (Scale 1-10):
Aesthetics: | [8 ] |
Scent: | [8 ] |
Taste: | [9 ] |
Potency: | [8 ] |
Experience: | [9 ] |
TOTAL: | [42 ] |
GRADE: | [B (84%) ] |
Comments:
The reason SeattlesBest gets business (including mine) is his strain selection and pricing. "Top Shelf" at $240 sounds like a steal, but still a more believeable one than those $190/oz "A+++++" buds you see around. Even so, I wasn't expecting weed on par with the stuff I've paid $300-350/oz for, and I was right. It's not as good. But for $240 I'm more than happy with it - and I haven't been getting any less picky as time's gone by.
The buds themselves are pretty much what I've grown to expect out of Haze strains. I've had a couple on the denser side, but most of them have had fairly airy, almost leafy buds. These buds are more on the loose side, so they do flake off a bit. The pictured buds Smell is strong but not overpowering... the hint of strawberry is there, but you have to know to look for it. Not obvious like some of the citrusy stuff - Tangie, SLH, etc. Trim is good considering the loose bud structure. Trich coverage appears somewhat modest to the naked eye, which is in alignment with the potency in this case.
After my first couple tastes, I decided this was a strain best suited for joints/one-hitters. That's a good thing in my book - it means I don't want water in the path of my smoke, sucking the flavor out of it. I have 3 "Haze" strains on hand right now, and all give a distinctive energetic buzz - the Super Silver is a bit stoney, the Super Lemon can be just a bit speedy (still my favorite), but the Strawberry lands right in the middle. I could imagine a bit better crop of this stuff would be simply amazing, but as is it's a solid daytime smoke, with the clear, uplifting sativa effects you'd expect. Biggest downside here is, again, potency - a couple extra puffs are needed to keep effects level as the day passes. (Ninja edit: Pic of SLH, Strawberry Haze, and SSH - http://anony.ws/image/Ju1D).
Expectations are an ongoing theme in posts, and the $240 price tag set mine. If we're talking only about the product, I'd say it exceeded my expectations. This is one of the better sub $250 ounces I've had. Take that with a grain of salt, because I usually spend $300 plus. Even so, being used to what I considered conisseur buds (at least in terms of what's available on the darknet), I'd say if you're not in a hurry you could give this guy a shot. Do make sure you list alternate strains - I'm glad I did as there wasn't anything other than the MW and SH that interested me when I ordered.
Final Thoughts
I hope SeattlesBest is able to improve on the communication and shipping fronts, because they have a solid product at a really good price.
Thanks for the review. Your camera takes really nice pics, plenty of depth of field.