How much do you spend on herb and what you get for your money ?

[dannkk]

I've already got a nice scale and calibration weight. I know it works properly because every time i drop my 50g cal weight it reads 50.00. However, most of the time I'd have a buddy pick it up for me and bring it to my place, then I'd smoke him up for his trouble, eliminating any risk on my part. Unfortunately, I often end getting bud that came from somebody I've never me before. My friend will always tell me 'Dude weighed it out in front of me.' Yet it's consistently short. I'm convinced that those jokers don't even know how to use their damn scales properly.

Also, I was a college student until last Dec and barely had enough money to pay my rent each month, much less buy mass quantities of bud, although i realize it would have been much more economical in the long run. Problem is I didn't have enough to do that at the time. Now I'd rather not do that because I'm planning on moving as soon as I find a place to stay in Colorado (my lease where I'm currently at ends in 2 days)

How good of a friend? If "dude weighed it out right in front of" him, and it was good then...but not when you weigh it...who took it? My thought is..it's him pinching your sack. Dealers don't last to long if they're selling short bags or don't know how to use their scale. I guess your friend could just be clueless...but either way, go somewhere else....for 2 days.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

I usually buy by the ounce.
It can be anywhere from $260 to $350 depending on the quality (I'm guessing what I normally get [the $260-280 stuff] is what you guys would call mids?, the $350 stuff I'm guessing is equivalent to maybe bottom level top shelf bud? Or maybe top level mids? )
If I were to buy by the gram, it'd be $20.
it's pretty set around here for small quantities, $20 for a gram, $50 for 3-3.5grams
I also usually have a scale handy so buddies can get a gram if they want, which helps fund the next ounce

I go through about 1g a day (average) but thats because I'm between jobs ATM.
It'll go down once I get a job again as I cant (and wouldn't want to) vape at work...
I've also got an UD on the way, so that may help things too

EDIT:
Since my consumption levels don't really change based on how much bud I have (unless I'm dry ), I've never understood NOT buying in bulk...
I can buy a gram a day, and have paid $140 at the end of a week, or I can buy an oz up front, and only go through $70 with the exact same consumption...
Having said that, I've got a friend with 0 self control.
he can make a gram last 2 days if he needs to, but if he buys a quarter, its usually gone in 2 days

 

[t-dub]

you really do sound like the salesman t-dub I'll buy the top model. Gotta have accurate weed weights! Nah, my <10 0.1g electronic scale off ebay seems to work just great- never calibrated it and it still always weighs a 1p coin as 3.5 grams. If you leave the load on there though it will very slowly creep up 0.1 at a time.

Once a salesman always a salesman can't help it, its fun to help transfer enthusiasm to others about cool stuff. Wat, what is the point of even using a scale if the measurements it produces are not accurate? Coins lose weight while in circulation so they make a poor reference. Creep indicates low quality, inaccurate results. The reality: Someone pulls out a bag of hash and a poor quality portable scale that he "likes/trusts". Product reads 12 grams but bag looks heavy. I tender $$$ and he leaves. I go back into my lab and throw it on a quality/calibrated scale and PRESTO I have 18 grams of hash

 

[Frederick McGuire]

It's not really fair to say its a poor reference...
How much weight can it really lose in circulation?
I'm guessing less than 50%?
Inaccurate doesn't mean unusable, it depends how big an error bar you are comfortable with.
It may not be perfect, but we arent dealing with micro grams here...

I'm not saying a good scale isn't worth it, because as far as in concerned the more accurate the better, but the cheapies have their place too IMO

 

[t-dub]

Well, I'm not trying to count angels here, 0.1 gram resolution is enough with a known calibration weight for reference, no problem with proper technique . . . its not a big deal. This is what I use in my lab:

 

[goody8504]

How good of a friend? If "dude weighed it out right in front of" him, and it was good then...but not when you weigh it...who took it? My thought is..it's him pinching your sack. Dealers don't last to long if they're selling short bags or don't know how to use their scale. I guess your friend could just be clueless...

I'm not the kind of person that says he has a lot of 'friends' so when I say a friend, it's somebody I actually trust. No friend of mine would steal my weed, especially since it's my medicine. I'm almost certain it's people not understanding how picky a scale really is. I've had people try to weigh my weed in their parked car and couldn't figure out why their scale was acting up. But I digress...

...but either way, go somewhere else....for 2 days.

Hence, why I'm moving. It will be a great feeling to spend less than half of what I typically spend yet end up getting larger amount of better quality stuff, not to mention all of the different strains/concentrates to choose from. I fully expect my usage to go up after I move.

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

So guys do you feel generally satisfied with what you get for you $ or you feel ripped off ?
I personally feel ripped off having to spend with my not big consumption almost 1/3 of my income on herb..
I work as an accountant and have a studied 4 years at the university for it.. lol.. Nobody here would mind legalization .. cuz prices will go up.. I see we got almost same prices.. although it is illegal here.. So plz don't you ever say it would be better if it is illegal cuz it is the same pricewise but as a bonus you can go to prison..(and i bet quality is far behind here compared to any medical state or headshop shop )

 

[zymos]

About $200 in seeds, soil and nutrients = enough weed for my family and friends for well over a year.

 

[Vicki]

So guys do you feel generally satisfied with what you get for you $ or you feel ripped off ?

I used to constantly feel ripped off. What's mostly available here are mids and kind bud. Everytime I picked up a sack of kind bud, it was never dried and cured properly it seemed. I didn't know a lot of people, and they always tried to short me. Like one time, I got a 1/4, and the girl wanted $120.00 for it, and it only weighed 4 grams!!! This particular time, I brought scales because I had a feeling the sacks were short, and boy was I right. She didn't seem happy that I brought the scales, but I didn't care. I stopped talking to her not long after that too.

Now, things are different. I met a very compassionate bud tender who always gets me quality herbs, medical grade. And, they charge me a fair price too. I thank God everyday for them.

 

[max]

She didn't seem happy that I brought the scales

This isn't getting shorted. This is stealing your money. It's like a guy who owns a bar and waters down his booze and beer. No dealer mistakenly sells a quarter that's only half there. And it's stupid to rip people off. Sooner or later the word gets around and nobody will buy anymore.

Good scales are cheap these days. You can get a My Weigh scale (30 yr. warranty) for about $15. With mj prices like they are now, I wouldn't buy without weighing with my own scale.

Now, things are different.

Glad to hear it. And your low usage keeps it affordable.

 

[Vicki]

This isn't getting shorted. This is stealing your money. It's like a guy who owns a bar and waters down his booze and beer. No dealer mistakenly sells a quarter that's only half there. And it's stupid to rip people off. Sooner or later the word gets around and nobody will buy anymore.

Good scales are cheap these days. You can get a My Weigh scale (30 yr. warranty) for about $15. With mj prices like they are now, I wouldn't buy without weighing with my own scale.

Glad to hear it. And your low usage keeps it affordable.

It wasn't just her, but yeah, it was obvious she was stealing some. With other people, it would be short less, often times by as much as a gram. Not sure if they were pinching too, or just not weighing it at all. After buying herbs that were not properly dried and cured (which seems to happen a lot here), the weight would shrink after some time too.

I love my Jennings scales.

 

[turk]

....wow, just amazing some of the bull shit you folks are putting up with...even before the dispensaries when I bought from "dealers"....I nevver felt I was cheated...even in new york...(of course I used to deal a little myself)...but a regulated community (which is what we have here in s.f.) addresses these issues....

 

[sessnet]

.

I'm in the same boat as him. I am in NY also and don't deal... I didn't want to post this because it's god damn pathetic, but 95% of what goody8504 said applies to me too, shorted by friends, the feeling of being punched in the gut lol. I have been considering moving too.

 

[turk]

....I have a lot of ambivalence....on one hand we have a vibrant, entertaining, diverse community of dispensaries....yet on the other hand ...the standard of living here really sucks....rents are "through the roof", we've "lost" our "blue collar" working class manufacturing/industrial jobs...this city is really mimicking manhattan...a place where the rich can afford to live where they want....but the poor (who live in subsidized housing) can't afford to move (they could never afford "market rate")...just lovely...so...if you're established here...you in shang-gra-la...but just coming without some sort of "support network"...this is a rough town...

 

[vorrange]

So guys do you feel generally satisfied with what you get for you $ or you feel ripped off ?
I personally feel ripped off having to spend with my not big consumption almost 1/3 of my income on herb..
I work as an accountant and have a studied 4 years at the university for it.. lol.. Nobody here would mind legalization .. cuz prices will go up.. I see we got almost same prices.. although it is illegal here.. So plz don't you ever say it would be better if it is illegal cuz it is the same pricewise but as a bonus you can go to prison..(and i bet quality is far behind here compared to any medical state or headshop shop )

I personally feel ripped of as well, considering the low maintenance cost of the plant and the production costs. The only thing that explains the prices is that it is not legal. So, there must be an added incentive for growers and sellers (which is the price of course.).
As Abysmal said, it is strange how the price is about the same everywhere. And especially, between ilegal and legal practices.
Certainly we could argue that, every business has costs associated between licenses, rents and personel.. it would still be expected cheaper prices i believe.
I am not complaining though, i would love to have dispensaries where i live. It's just an observation.

As zymos said, $200 is what he spends in a year. That is less than $20 a month, for a years production. Personal grows is the way to go, but not everyone can do this. And you have to be extra carefull, people talk and sometimes a friend in need is more indiscrete than he should be.

....I have a lot of ambivalence....on one hand we have a vibrant, entertaining, diverse community of despensaries....yet on the other hand ...the standard of living here really sucks....rents are "through the roof", we've "lost" our "blue collar" working class manufacturing/industrial jobs...this city is really mimicking manhattan...a place where the rich can afford to live where they want....but the poor (who live in subsidized housing) can't afford to move (they could never afford "market rate")...just lovely...so...if you're established here...you in shang-gra-la...but just coming without some sort of "support network"...this is a rough town...

It truly is funny since the liberal MJ scene is more of a left wing view of things, and the "you get what you work for" mentality is very right wing.

I think that in big cities this would become worse as time goes by and the work market continues to shift from blue collars to white collars. Yesterday i was watching a documentary about the East End in London, because of the Olympics, and they were precisely discussing the rise in housing prices and how the poorer classes where forced to leave to newer suburbs because of that.

 

[crawdad]

if i have to buy, its 3 dimes and a nickel...and its top shelf, otherwise i do without. having started my herb experience with only vapor and only top shelf i was ruined from the start, and also saved.

 

[weedemon]

I crunched the numbers for my weed use the year previous 2009-10 and it was like 6 and 9000 a year.

so far for 2012 it's 200 spent on herbs. im still vaping old stock though so that is why the number for his year is so low atm.

 

[dannkk]

The prices are similar, because the supply is coming from the same places. Wherever you are, most of what you smoke is coming from those medical states. The costs of transporting it are just similar to the costs of running a dispensary store front. If you're in Cali, though, and buy straight from someone growing...it'll only cost you like 2200 for a lb. From the dispensary, it'll be very similar to black market prices in non medical states.

Fuck dispensaries, imo. I see a lot of the owners of those places as hypocrites. Try to act like they're only out to help cancer patients...while pocketing millions.

And to that other question...I've definitely been ripped off. Happens a lot when you're young. You just need to learn from it. If you can trust someone...sure, send them off with your money. Chances are, though...you can't. No one does anything for free. Have to go straight to the source...and keep working your way up as you can. Right now, I'm paying more than some of these people, but I know what I have is just as good as what's in any dispensary, and for the area I'm in, the price isn't high at all.

 

[vorrange]

The prices are similar, because the supply is coming from the same places.

The thing is, apart from a few exceptions, the price is the same in US, EU or Australia. In some places it is even higher, but since the cost of living is higher, it evens out.
I think in the Netherlands, considering the weed quality and in relation to the average wage there, is still one of the best places, considering for example the minimum wage in Portugal is 450€~$590 and MJ retails at 8-10€/gram, $10-$13/gram.
Of course, if you buy in bulk you can negotiate better prices but this is not easy for obvious reasons.

 

[Vicki]

And to that other question...I've definitely been ripped off. Happens a lot when you're young.

It happens to older people too. I don't think it has anything to do with age. I think it happens because you don't know the right people, or you don't know many people that toke, which limits your options.

 

[OhTheAgony]

I'm curious, how did your Underdog's break?

Hey, you're the guy that bought that pretty purple piece, nice

I'm not sure what happened to Abysmal's, but they both suffered from loose core syndrome and died eventually.

Start reading from here and I'll tell you a little more about it

 

[dannkk]

It happens to older people too. I don't think it has anything to do with age. I think it happens because you don't know the right people, or you don't know many people that toke, which limits your options.

I dunno...from my experience it's younger people that think that no matter how many people they rip off, there will be another one to take their place.

My advice to anyone being shorted is to stand up for yourself and cut out the middle men. If you can be pushed, people will push. Every dealer out there will milk certain people, just because they can. Show them you know what you should be getting, and they'll give it to you or stop answering your calls. If someone is hooking you up...get them to introduce you to their source. I put up with shit for a LONG time. I know what it's like. Now I don't. If it's not good or the right price, I'll go somewhere else. Oh, and also, try and start buying ounces. Buying power helps, and most of the asshats can't even help you out with it, so they're eliminated right off the bat. Can also start looking again when you're down to a quarter...so you have a week or two(or 3 for some of you lol) to be picky.

 

[Vicki]

I dunno...from my experience it's younger people that think that no matter how many people they rip off, there will be another one to take their place.

My advice to anyone being shorted is to stand up for yourself and cut out the middle men. If you can be pushed, people will push. Every dealer out there will milk certain people, just because they can. Show them you know what you should be getting, and they'll give it to you or stop answering your calls. If someone is hooking you up...get them to introduce you to their source. I put up with shit for a LONG time. I know what it's like. Now I don't. If it's not good or the right price, I'll go somewhere else. Oh, and also, try and start buying ounces. Buying power helps, and most of the asshats can't even help you out with it, so they're eliminated right off the bat. Can also start looking again when you're down to a quarter...so you have a week or two(or 3 for some of you lol) to be picky.

I still say it can happen to anyone, regardless of age. Especially if they don't know many people that toke. It really does limit the options available. It's hard to cut out the middle man if he is the only guy you know that tokes. Also, some people need to be discreet, and that can limit options as well.

 

[dannkk]

Don't really want to argue, that's why I just gave advice. I was talking about younger dealers, though. Not buyers. People who are older just don't have time for it. Have bills to pay. If they're selling it's to pay those bills. Not going to pass up steady income to be everyone's last resort. I think, for the most part, the older people you're speaking of are dealing with people much younger than they are. I know that if I had to move away from where I live...that's probably where I'd start. Keep my eyes open for a 20-something smoking a blunt in his backyard or in the alley.

Like I said before though...any dealer will milk you if they can. Just the nature of buying/selling things. You sell them for as much as people are willing to pay. They try to trick you into thinking it's a sellers market, though. It's not at all. Just have to be stubborn enough to show them. They think they're the only shit in town and you'll come back no matter what. Don't go back. Just long enough that he knows you've either been going without or going somewhere else. Then, call them up and be like "Hey, I'm looking for X, but you've been shorting me. If I meet you it'll be good this time, right?" At this point, he'll know you won't come back(even if it's not true) unless he stops dicking you around.

RL example. Couple months ago, my normal guy wasn't answering calls, so I hit up someone I dealt with in the past. Dude always had decent stuff, but it was expensive. Told him the most I would pay was 375. We meet up and i get it. Get home and look at it, and it's nasty. Fill the vape and it's moldy. Call him back to ask what's up...tells me that's what I get for that price. We bitch back and forth a bit, but in the end, he ended up back on my doorstep with a zip of decent OG kush to switch out for it, although I had to give him another 10 bucks. He did this cuz he knew it'd be another year before I called him again if he didn't. It's a buyers market.

Again...not trying to tell anyone they're wrong or argue. Just my own experience(which i have a lot of. 30+ and started smoking when I was 15) and a bit of advice.

 

[lwien]

So guys do you feel generally satisfied with what you get for you $ or you feel ripped off ?

Totally satisfied.