Warning - Ripoff grow shop - Australia/New Zealand - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums

Featherfoot · 02-17-2014, 02:28 AM

Ok, this happened a few years ago, a friend went to buy a 1000W MH from a growshop in an industrial complex in Wetheril Park in nsw.
Don't know the exact address.

He said he wanted brand new, but the guy kept trying to sell him secondhand, but he wanted brand new.

Then the guy handed him a box and said this is brand new.

He got home and unpacked it and it was second hand, not brand new like the guy at the growshop said, and he said it didn't even look like a commercially make one, more like a homemade job.

He said he plugged it in and it made a hell of a racket, enough to wake up the neighbours, but it didn't light up the bulb.

So watch out, they seem quite shonky.

b00m · 02-17-2014, 02:38 AM

Yep you have to check stuff like bulbs before you walk out of the shop unfortunately because these days the amount of ripoffs and wankers with no knowledge of grow equipment running/working in grow shops is way too many
And they will sell you absolute crap if they can get away with it, always open the box or whatever and always make sure the brand on the piece of equipment is the same on the box or is the one you wanted to buy, cause once you walk out the door and you discover you've been given junk it becomes a real headache to try and get it fixed/replaced, especially if the place is shonky

Featherfoot · 02-17-2014, 02:53 AM

I personally check bulbs carefully for signs of blackening indicating they have been used.

I don't know if he took it back and asked for it to be replaced or not so I don't know what happened. He lived a long way away so I think it was hard for him to get there, and he just went there for security reasons, didn't want to shop locally.

Which is understandable, in a small town everyone knows everyone else and the grow shop owners are going to know everyone who is growing, and I suspect most of them grow themselves and if they get busted they may turn over everyone else in town who has been buying grow equipment to get themselves off.

Featherfoot · 02-17-2014, 05:14 AM

It wasn't a bulb it was a ballast. To the person who commented in the rep.
Don't remember how much he said he paid for it but it was at least $200, maybe more.

02-17-2014, 06:04 AM

i buy off ebay from well known biz and send to a safe address and use prepaid cards through paypal

Rumblefish · 02-22-2014, 08:27 PM

Firstly I don't have a dog in this fight but in all fairness there are a couple of places in Wetheril Park ! 1 off them has been in biz longer than most people have been growing and I know were freely giving advice to new grower's back in the day before we all had internet, they were the guys giving advice on how to grow "Hempy Buckets" 10 years before Dali Hempy coined the name for them,I ve actually found this place to be the cheapest by far ,I Know they use to do second hand stuff but stopped because they can sell new gear so cheap. last year I got a pair of 1000 wt digital ballast and bulb's for $300 each(ballast and bulb) try beating that! so what I'm saying is that its a bit unfair to slam someone a couple of years after the event with an account of it given to you by a mate (hearsay) ,why didn't he take it back? puff puff pass

Featherfoot · 02-24-2014, 01:12 AM

Well anyway, the moral of the story is don't trust any of them, and as boom says above, check everything before you leave the store.

The Stu · 03-11-2014, 05:37 AM

Yeh I have to jump in on this too, know the shop, know the people and cant see this being the case. Ive had 1 faulty product from there over the years, and to be fair, could've been production issue, transporting couldve damaged it or whatever, took it back and it was replaced no questions asked. Cant really ask for more than that? What i can say is great shop, great folks there, know thier shit and willing to help people who are stuck. Lol after seeing 1st hand how good of a shop they are, makes me wonder if the thread op has recently opened a rival company in the same area?...just a thought...

paladin420 · 03-11-2014, 05:47 AM

Naw the OP is a troll. Been banned 6-8 times. Starts troll threads. Thinks snitching is cool. Gives dangerous n dumb geurilla adivce. Thinks the ceiling people care enough to fuck with him.
If he ever was even in the store in question they probaly tossed him out for wankin on a light he really liked.

Oh and he really Reallly misses the "unhelpful" button!!!

02-17-2014, 02:28 AM	#1
Featherfoot Banned Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 162	Warning - Ripoff grow shop Ok, this happened a few years ago, a friend went to buy a 1000W MH from a growshop in an industrial complex in Wetheril Park in nsw. Don't know the exact address. He said he wanted brand new, but the guy kept trying to sell him secondhand, but he wanted brand new. Then the guy handed him a box and said this is brand new. He got home and unpacked it and it was second hand, not brand new like the guy at the growshop said, and he said it didn't even look like a commercially make one, more like a homemade job. He said he plugged it in and it made a hell of a racket, enough to wake up the neighbours, but it didn't light up the bulb. So watch out, they seem quite shonky.
	Quote 1 members found this post helpful.

02-17-2014, 02:38 AM	#2
b00m ~No Guts~ ~No Glory~ Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: ~On the Bright Side Of the Dark Side~ Posts: 11,837	Yep you have to check stuff like bulbs before you walk out of the shop unfortunately because these days the amount of ripoffs and wankers with no knowledge of grow equipment running/working in grow shops is way too many And they will sell you absolute crap if they can get away with it, always open the box or whatever and always make sure the brand on the piece of equipment is the same on the box or is the one you wanted to buy, cause once you walk out the door and you discover you've been given junk it becomes a real headache to try and get it fixed/replaced, especially if the place is shonky
	Quote

02-17-2014, 02:53 AM	#3
Featherfoot Banned Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 162	I personally check bulbs carefully for signs of blackening indicating they have been used. I don't know if he took it back and asked for it to be replaced or not so I don't know what happened. He lived a long way away so I think it was hard for him to get there, and he just went there for security reasons, didn't want to shop locally. Which is understandable, in a small town everyone knows everyone else and the grow shop owners are going to know everyone who is growing, and I suspect most of them grow themselves and if they get busted they may turn over everyone else in town who has been buying grow equipment to get themselves off.
	Quote

02-17-2014, 05:14 AM	#4
Featherfoot Banned Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 162	It wasn't a bulb it was a ballast. To the person who commented in the rep. Don't remember how much he said he paid for it but it was at least $200, maybe more.
	Quote

02-17-2014, 06:04 AM	#5
TheBatCave Guest Posts: n/a	i buy off ebay from well known biz and send to a safe address and use prepaid cards through paypal
	Quote

02-22-2014, 08:27 PM	#6
Rumblefish Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 235	Firstly I don't have a dog in this fight but in all fairness there are a couple of places in Wetheril Park ! 1 off them has been in biz longer than most people have been growing and I know were freely giving advice to new grower's back in the day before we all had internet, they were the guys giving advice on how to grow "Hempy Buckets" 10 years before Dali Hempy coined the name for them,I ve actually found this place to be the cheapest by far ,I Know they use to do second hand stuff but stopped because they can sell new gear so cheap. last year I got a pair of 1000 wt digital ballast and bulb's for $300 each(ballast and bulb) try beating that! so what I'm saying is that its a bit unfair to slam someone a couple of years after the event with an account of it given to you by a mate (hearsay) ,why didn't he take it back? puff puff pass __________________ All people are equal and all have a story to tell Shout it down ,bad things happen when good people say nothing Dont settle for second best and never take shit from anyone ever Friendship is a two way street There is no god but if I'm wrong she is a black lesbian named Frankie As you think, so shall you become,so think of the good things in life and the people you love Just try your best Music soothes the Soul This is who I am Rf
	Quote 3 members found this post helpful.

02-24-2014, 01:12 AM	#7
Featherfoot Banned Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 162	Well anyway, the moral of the story is don't trust any of them, and as boom says above, check everything before you leave the store.
	Quote

03-11-2014, 05:37 AM	#8
The Stu Newbie Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 5	Yeh I have to jump in on this too, know the shop, know the people and cant see this being the case. Ive had 1 faulty product from there over the years, and to be fair, could've been production issue, transporting couldve damaged it or whatever, took it back and it was replaced no questions asked. Cant really ask for more than that? What i can say is great shop, great folks there, know thier shit and willing to help people who are stuck. Lol after seeing 1st hand how good of a shop they are, makes me wonder if the thread op has recently opened a rival company in the same area?...just a thought...
	Quote

03-11-2014, 05:47 AM	#9
paladin420 FACILITATOR Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Northern Michigan in the toulies!! Posts: 4,401	Naw the OP is a troll. Been banned 6-8 times. Starts troll threads. Thinks snitching is cool. Gives dangerous n dumb geurilla adivce. Thinks the ceiling people care enough to fuck with him. If he ever was even in the store in question they probaly tossed him out for wankin on a light he really liked. Oh and he really Reallly misses the "unhelpful" button!!!
	Quote