CA/Bay Area Vendors Union: What to grow, where to sell and how to sell

Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
Hate to say this, but vending isn't even going to be a real job for much longer. Dispensaries everywhere are all growing their own at this point. More and more vendors are getting squeezed out. If you're a vendor be warned, your job is not going to be there much longer. I'd advise you all to build relationships at a few of your favorite clubs and try to become an employee. If not you've got about a year or two left before your job doesn't exist anymore.
 
GanjaGreenGables

GanjaGreenGables

Active Member
Im not a farmer, but I have heard the term "Farming" from several old school growers.

Most clubs now days do grow there own. "Its all in house" is what i hear allot. Clones and crossing there own is catching on too. Some clubs want to offer a signature strain that is theirs. This hasnt been accomplished but the idea is there. People have options now and they want to shop. They want variety and wow factor. Others want the cheapest gram they can get because its all the same to them.
 
GanjaGreenGables

GanjaGreenGables

Active Member
Has anyone noticed "cloneries"?
These guys grow strains(or so they say) and they deliver trays of strains to people. "Less security risk" No drama from L.E. worries“ i keep hearing."If someone wants to rob me of clones, ill make more". $250.00 for tray or 10.00 a clone is a close comparison to the going rate of an oz and gram. Some are growing mothers and selling those as well.
 
Juicy Juice

Juicy Juice

Member
Dan Kone said:
Hate to say this, but vending isn't even going to be a real job for much longer. Dispensaries everywhere are all growing their own at this point. More and more vendors are getting squeezed out. If you're a vendor be warned, your job is not going to be there much longer. I'd advise you all to build relationships at a few of your favorite clubs and try to become an employee. If not you've got about a year or two left before your job doesn't exist anymore.
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That is definitely one way of seeing things. And I don't disagree but I for sure not fully agreeing. The way I see it is that the competition is only growing tighter. That is not to say that there will not be those with the upper hand in continuing to expand with their services. Sure, the collectives and dispensaries run the show but if your good at what you do and know how to execute your business, I belief there will always be room in this business for both local operations and large-scale types. How would one explain the small time family wineries that operate. questions is, are you in it for the money or for the passion of it?
 
Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
Juicy Juice said:
That is definitely one way of seeing things. And I don't disagree but I for sure not fully agreeing. The way I see it is that the competition is only growing tighter. That is not to say that there will not be those with the upper hand in continuing to expand with their services. Sure, the collectives and dispensaries run the show but if your good at what you do and know how to execute your business, I belief there will always be room in this business for both local operations and large-scale types. How would one explain the small time family wineries that operate. questions is, are you in it for the money or for the passion of it?
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Make no mistake about it, vending will no longer be a real thing soon. It doesn't matter how good of a grower you are, if clubs can make 100% of the profit instead of 50% of the profit, they will do it every time.

You can operate a small family winery because the wine makers don't own the only stores allowed to sell wine.

And it's about more than "being in it for the money or the passion". Many growers are in it for the passion but have made a full time job out of it. They don't want to work at Walmart 40 hours a week and then go home and run a mid-sized grow. Don't mistake greed for making a living. Most vendors aren't rich nor are they trying to get rich. They just want to grow weed all day and live a decent life. I don't mind dispensaries wanting to make money either. I'm not trying to state right and wrong. Just the fact that selling bud to dispensaries is no longer going to be a career option within the next couple years.
 
Juicy Juice

Juicy Juice

Member
Many good points, thanks for the response! How about so called pot clubs in Oakland,CA due to Measure Z? And probably similar ordinances in the future? From what I understand, being a provider for such institutions is a whole different ballgame since its for recreational and not medicinal (so no testing, standard, etc.). Thanks for any input in advance :)
 
Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
Juicy Juice said:
Many good points, thanks for the response! How about so called pot clubs in Oakland,CA due to Measure Z? And probably similar ordinances in the future? From what I understand, being a provider for such institutions is a whole different ballgame since its for recreational and not medicinal (so no testing, standard, etc.). Thanks for any input in advance :)
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I love measure Z clubs. Been to a few of them in Oakland. It takes guts to pull that off. Respect for that.

TBH I have no idea how that will be effected. However I fully expect that sort of thing to become more common soon.
 
Juicy Juice

Juicy Juice

Member
Dan Kone said:
I love measure Z clubs. Been to a few of them in Oakland. It takes guts to pull that off. Respect for that.

TBH I have no idea how that will be effected. However I fully expect that sort of thing to become more common soon.
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Okay, thanks! Going down that path seems to offer a whole lot more opportunity, yet even more grey than the med industry. :)
 
U

ULEN

Well-Known Member
Has the market really dropped that much? I see plenty of clubs that don't have a very good selection of meds. Are they really trying to nickle and dime vendors that bad that vendors will just walk?
 
Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
ULEN said:
Has the market really dropped that much? I see plenty of clubs that don't have a very good selection of meds. Are they really trying to nickle and dime vendors that bad that vendors will just walk?
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Yes. The clubs you see that have a bad selection are generally growing it all themselves. The mistake they are making their IMO is doing a large warehouse grow they don't have the experience to run. But yes, when you see a club with all bullshit on their shelves it comes from one of two things. Either it's all in house or they are lowballing vendors. Clubs get so caught up in profit margins that they don't really understand that it's sales volume, not profit margins that make a dispensary profitable.

It don't matter if you're getting pounds at 2k if they are all terrible. The dispensary paying 3k per pack is still going to make more money because they will have higher quality which leads to a higher volume of sales. Look at the clubs who pay the most to their vendors. Those are all the most profitable clubs. Yet still 95% of clubs are all about pushing for higher profit margins rather than getting high quality buds. It's because of the nature of how these clubs got open. The system we have in place generally rewards the people willing to take the biggest risk rather than the people who are the best at what they do. It's a biproduct of the grey market. Basically, 95% of dispensary owners are completely incompetent and everyone else suffers because of this.
 
bigbudmicro

bigbudmicro

Active Member
Dan Kone said:
Yes. The clubs you see that have a bad selection are generally growing it all themselves. The mistake they are making their IMO is doing a large warehouse grow they don't have the experience to run. But yes, when you see a club with all bullshit on their shelves it comes from one of two things. Either it's all in house or they are lowballing vendors. Clubs get so caught up in profit margins that they don't really understand that it's sales volume, not profit margins that make a dispensary profitable.

It don't matter if you're getting pounds at 2k if they are all terrible. The dispensary paying 3k per pack is still going to make more money because they will have higher quality which leads to a higher volume of sales. Look at the clubs who pay the most to their vendors. Those are all the most profitable clubs. Yet still 95% of clubs are all about pushing for higher profit margins rather than getting high quality buds. It's because of the nature of how these clubs got open. The system we have in place generally rewards the people willing to take the biggest risk rather than the people who are the best at what they do. It's a biproduct of the grey market. Basically, 95% of dispensary owners are completely incompetent and everyone else suffers because of this.
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Yep, I had the pleasure of dealing with Safe Capital Compassion Coop in Sacramento and that place is anything but a coop. They will low ball you on everything because they just care about profit margins. The owner is always one of the most arrogant dicks I've ever had to deal with in this industry
 
Impman

Impman

Well-Known Member
Vendors get kicked in the balls in Bakersfield. I have been to or called every club in Bakersfield. The best you can get for A+ is 700-750 a qp. I only got 2400 for a pound.
 
Dan Kone

Dan Kone

Well-Known Member
Impman said:
Vendors get kicked in the balls in Bakersfield. I have been to or called every club in Bakersfield. The best you can get for A+ is 700-750 a qp. I only got 2400 for a pound.
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I might be ok with dispensaries doing this if they were passing on the lower prices to their customers. But they are not. They are just keeping more and more for themselves. Retail prices haven't moved at all in the last several years. That's why I object so much to what they are doing.
 
G

GrowersWarehouse

Member
Many indoor Gardeners live hand to mouth and they have lots of bills. A 1000 dollar electric bill is a small gardener. So they generally need money quickly and the vendors realize that they have the upper hand so they have been able to strong arm the farmers...
 
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