Your local hydroponics store or do you buy it online?

When I first began growing I did all my shopping at my local hydroponics store. Always felt I was paying through the nose, but I enjoyed going there. Plus, they could give advice.

But as you gain experience, the advice becomes less important and it's more about price, variety and savings $$$.
Most of my local stores have long since packed it in, and one is hanging on by its toenails. The only thing they sell a lot of is soil.

In the very near future I can see myself buying only online, and relying on friends and places like this for advice.
Thoughts?

Other than soil, I get almost all my supplies on-line. Easy-peasy, tons of variety/choices.

I shop at my local grow store from time to time. I know I'm paying a premium but I feel like it's worth it all things considered. That they are a local business, really close to my house, very nice and knowledgable helps a lot.

Our local one shut sadly so i get it all online now but when we did have one i supported them might be a lil dearer but worth it for the convenience

I go to the grow shop. I am probably overpaying a little bit they are super helpful and a small biz

I love the one grow shop that we have, but its almost an hour away. I stop in there any time I'm in the area and have a little time or need something, to see if they have it. I'll spend what I can there and hope they stay open for last minute needs/wants. Plus the ladies that work there are super helpful. Sadly, they won't carry floraflex, so that all comes from the floraflex site.

I try to support the local grow shop where I can, but for some things but for things like bulk Jacks part A and B, and bulk rockwool, I don't really have a choice.

I will spend more to support a locally owned store, just to keep it around. Commercial culture is fucking cancer in Kansas city, and it's spreading. But that's a different arguement all together... we have one of the oldest hydro shops in the country, and it's going to be a huge loss if the doors close for good.

Beard-o said:

In the very near future I can see myself buying only online, and relying on friends and places like this for advice.
Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Yes, you're right. Today many people are skipping American vendors/websites all together and buying direct from manufactures through Ali Baba or other places.

Look at this one at Temu. I can't speak to the quality so do some DD but for $34.00 after every second grow toss the light.

500W LED Full Spectrum Plant Growing Light Professional
$34.47

Or go to Temu and search yourself.

I used to use a local shop but it moved right near my house so my neighbours would see me go in, then it got busted, then it went bust.

I buy almost everything on ebay now and it just shows as PayPal on my bank statement.

There was a great hydroponics store a mile from me, they carried full lines of everything. Then one day, they closed.
I'm noticing local box and hardware store franchises are beginning to carry soil and nutes. At better prices than my local hydro store.

Local is way cheaper for me excluding hardware such as lights.

Merchandise excluded, there is no replacement for the information and knowledge sharing that goes on in these local hydro stores. Priceless. Plus you get to preview what's new. The small local stores can't compete on price with the high volume discount warehouses but still have a lot to offer.

I buy locally whenever I can.

I go to a landscape and feed supply store locally. Bulk options and great prices, they will also order most anything I’ve asked for.

I buy my soil and nutes (heavy objects) at a local nursery to save shipping costs and support local business.. Everything else is online..

rmax said:

Yes, you're right. Today many people are skipping American vendors/websites all together and buying direct from manufactures through Ali Baba or other places.

Look at this one at Temu. I can't speak to the quality so do some DD but for $34.00 after every second grow toss the light.

500W LED Full Spectrum Plant Growing Light Professional
$34.47

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

shorturl.at

Or go to Temu and search yourself.

Click to expand...

No thanks lol. Id hack off one of my ears before i shopped on or downloaded temu, or advised anyone else to do so. The risks people will take with their personal info and risk things like a house fire to save a few bucks bewilders me. Ive seen what happens when those $35 lights malfunction and i couldnt imagine risking my home, my life or my families life to save money on growing weed....Im well aware that some of these generic companies use the same components as their more expensive counterparts, but how about the QC on wiring and soldering, etc? Customer service?

I still have the very first grow light i ever purchased, an HLG300. The driver burnt out in around '21, several years after my warranty expired and they sent me a new one, absolutely free of charge, with an APOLOGY note for part of their product failing after almost a decade.

Glad to see all the folks shopping local. Im a buildasoil fan but the shipping charges on their soil is pretty high so i make the trek to one of the few shops by me that carry it, and rarely walk out without a few other things.

madvillian420 said:

No thanks lol. Id hack off one of my ears before i shopped on or downloaded temu, or advised anyone else to do so. The risks people will take with their personal info and risk things like a house fire to save a few bucks bewilders me. Ive seen what happens when those $35 lights malfunction and i couldnt imagine risking my home, my life or my families life to save money on growing weed....Im well aware that some of these generic companies use the same components as their more expensive counterparts, but how about the QC on wiring and soldering, etc? Customer service?

I still have the very first grow light i ever purchased, an HLG300. The driver burnt out in around '21, several years after my warranty expired and they sent me a new one, absolutely free of charge, with an APOLOGY note for part of their product failing after almost a decade.

Glad to see all the folks shopping local. Im a buildasoil fan but the shipping charges on their soil is pretty high so i make the trek to one of the few shops by me that carry it, and rarely walk out without a few other things.

Click to expand...

The first time I heard of temu was on a SuperBowl commercial. Sounds like another Chinese site. No thanks. I just did a search for temu and this is what I found.

Is Temu a trustworthy site?


Temu is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has an average rating of two-and-a-half out of five stars. Many recent complaints about Temu on the BBB website say that items never arrived or, if they did, took weeks or even months to arrive.

Johnny15 said:

The first time I heard of temu was on a SuperBowl commercial. Sounds like another Chinese site. No thanks. I just did a search for temu and this is what I found.

Is Temu a trustworthy site?


Temu is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has an average rating of two-and-a-half out of five stars. Many recent complaints about Temu on the BBB website say that items never arrived or, if they did, took weeks or even months to arrive.

Click to expand...

items arriving late is the least of it. How about stolen credit card info being a regular complaint. Or giving up virtually all the info on your phone via the permissions/terms of service.

Its popular with fisherman because theyre a very frugal bunch and the reports of lures not running correctly right out of the box or being destroyed by a single fish are hilarious, what did you expect from your 0.50c spinnerbait? With my luck i'd hook a 50" muskie that would bend one of those cheap hooks without effort on the first try

I dont recall EVER paying pennies on the dollar for an item needed for any of the hobbies or professions ive been into and it being even somewhat decent quality.

For example, in the interior painting industry, theres a tendency for businesses, clients and contractors to use or prefer cheaply priced paints in the $30 range that will surely require 2 coats and likely multiple gallons vs a one coat coverage product at ~$50, no matter how much you try to explain that it would actually SAVE them money to spend more upfront. Unless you absolutely positively dont have the funds i dont get it.

coreywebster said:

I used to use a local shop but it moved right near my house so my neighbours would see me go in, then it got busted, then it went bust.

I buy almost everything on ebay now and it just shows as PayPal on my bank statement.

Click to expand...

i dont care what it says on my bank statement lol the bank can sniff my ass.

rmax said:

Yes, you're right. Today many people are skipping American vendors/websites all together and buying direct from manufactures through Ali Baba or other places.

Look at this one at Temu. I can't speak to the quality so do some DD but for $34.00 after every second grow toss the light.

500W LED Full Spectrum Plant Growing Light Professional
$34.47

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

shorturl.at

Or go to Temu and search yourself.

Click to expand...

Since it doesn't list the power draw, my guess is it's 50 watts or less.