It seems like everyone and their mother is growing and selling CBD online nowadays. And why not? CBD is easy to grow, but exceedingly hard to grow well. Finding quality CBD to buy online is the real challenge.
Luckily, there is a lot of information out there; you just have to know where and what to look for when you buy CBD online. In the rest of this post, we’ll share a few tips on how to parse out more reputable CBD online retailers from the rest of the pack.
1. Buy CBD online…. (From that website? I don’t think so.)
You’ve found a CBD vendor or farm that you’re interested in. Great! Let’s take a look at their website and make sure everything is on the up and up.
The first question you should ask yourself is: Would I buy CBD in a store that hasn’t been cleaned up since the late ’90s? If not, then it’s not a good idea to buy CBD online from one either.
You know what vibe we’re talking about here: excessive popups, slow-loading images, and an unresponsive user interface.
Trust your gut on this one. A website is like a salesperson: if you get a weird feeling then walk away. There are plenty of other places to buy CBD online.
2. Social or Anti-Social?
Once you think you’ve found a farm you want to buy CBD online from, do yourself a favor and look up their social media channels. The main indicators you’ll want to keep an eye out for are:
Do they have social media channels?
If not, that’s a problem. Most farms and retailers worth their salt will maintain active social media channels, if not to keep open lines of communication, then to at least advertise their products.
Are they active? Do they post regularly (in the last two weeks)?
Have they gone dark all of a sudden? Do they respond to your messages in a timely manner? That may be an indication that the farm isn’t doing well or is no longer open.
Does the vendor or farm engage with their community?
The above indicator is more of a vibe check than anything. Does the CBD online retailer maintain a healthy ecosystem and answer questions thoughtfully?
A yes on all counts is a good sign that you’re dealing with a reputable retailer.
3. The Reviews
There are two types of reviews to consider when you buy CBD online. Internal reviews hosted on the retailer’s site and external reviews hosted on pages like google and others.
Internal reviews
-
Does the website feature any customer reviews? Are they quality reviews?
-
Larger retailer websites that carry/host different brands should feature a good number of reviews on their respective product pages. For smaller vendors or vertically integrated farms like Sunset Lake CBD’s, there may be fewer total reviews.
-
Do the vendors respond to the positive and not-so-positive reviews? It’s a good sign if a farm or online store takes time to respond to all feedback.
External reviews
After you’ve checked out your vendor’s social media pages and internal reviews, hop on google and search the name of the vendor and “product reviews.” You’ll want to look out for a few things:
-
Find out what online CBD communities are saying about your prospective vendor.
-
What is their Google rating?
-
Do the reviews on the vendor’s website match the tone and ratings of reviews found on third-party sites?
If it feels like your vendor isn’t being transparent about their products and are suppressing bad reviews on their website, or if the community has nothing but bad things to say, it may be wise to find another place to buy CBD online.
4. Don’t Buy Any CBD Online Before You See A Certificate of Analysis
Are third-party certificates of analysis prominently featured or on their website? If not, that might be a red flag. Certificates of analysis are documents that tell you:
-
What cannabinoids are present in a product;
-
When the CBD product was tested;
-
If the tests were conducted by a reputable third-party
For more information about reading your certificate of analysis check out: How to read a Certificate of Analysis (COA)
5. Drop A Line
Does the company or farm prominently display their contact information? Can you email or call in? If you’re still on the fence about a vendor it may be worth sending a quick email with a product question to see how long it takes the company to respond.
Getting back to you in a timely fashion with a detailed answer is a good sign. Ignoring your question or a dead phone line is not. Time to look for another vendor to buy CBD online from.
While you’re here, follow Sunset Lake CBD on Instagram!
