Paid Members Deserve the Right to Discuss Vendors Freely

Hi everyone,

I want to raise an important issue concerning what we, as paying members, are actually allowed to do on this site.

Yes, part of our membership fee grants us access to a private list of vendors not available to the public. But if that’s all we’re paying for the ability to silently view vendors then what’s the point of having posting privileges at all?

Recently, I made a post asking two straightforward questions in a vendor thread. Here's my post https://drugbuyersguide.info/threads/canadian-snow-man.10326/post-313230

These are reasonable pre sales questions that help members make informed decisions. The vendor gave a vague reply, and when I asked for a clearer explanation in response my reply was immediately deleted with the reason given: "Thread clogging, vendor's threads are for members that actually placed and paid for an order. Not for your opinions and what not"

This is contradictory. We pay to post. We pay to engage. But if we’re silenced the moment we ask something that isn’t a post-purchase review, then our membership is worth far less than advertised.

If vendor threads are truly for “reviews only,” that policy should be clearly stated upfront not enforced selectively after the fact. Otherwise, we’re just paying for a directory, not a community.

Has anyone else run into this? Are we really only allowed to speak after we’ve bought something? I think we deserve better clarity and better rights as paying members!

@xanxiety I am clearly not a mod and this is only my opinion: What I think this means is don't post that kind of "stuff" on the vendor specific thread in that section. Those threads are supposed to be for a quick review of how the vendor handled your order, etc. Its not a space for the questions you posted as it does "clog" the tread and makes it more cumbersome to make a quick decision on the health of that vendor in terms of its ability to delivery and such. I don't care about the questions you brought forth (that's not a judgement on you!!) and that post can get buried pretty quickly—Like this: so then you or maybe even another member with the same opinion/viewpoint/question will again post it BUT with a statement now leading it with saying your question wasn't answered/answered to your satisfaction and then someone else will pop in to give their feedback—agreed or not—to your post—typically one/two of the "angry" posters will spout off and viola' now 10 posts later not one post if this vendor is delivering on time, etc (plus original post was not answered or maybe not even seen!)

And look—it's me!—I have been the problem before so I really know from where I speak. AND on both sides of this! ‍

The much better thing to do is first search the board to make sure no one has already made a most with the same questions/feedback you have. If there is one already, just jump into that thread and ask or tag the vendor. If there isnt a thread yet about this particular topic then start your own. Tag the vendor.

This keeps the review section clean PLUS it ensures the mods aren't spending hours cleaning up REVIEW threads because the guidelines of "vendor threads are actually for members who placed and paid for..." weren't being followed!
Lastly: which probs should have been firstly: Ain't no one telling you—or that's my history—that you cannot give your opinion or ask your "presale" questions—what you are being schooled on is where you can't make those posts. Its hella irritating to have to read through post after post after post to find the info on the health and well-being of the ordering etc process of a vendor!
This board has so much offer—way more than silently view vendors...unless thats all you want to do. Its the foremost list of well-sourced vendors, loads of experts, access to items that would take an "average" person multiple MULITIPLE hours to just locate—not to mention be able to ask questions or give opinions—about...I could go on but I will stop!
Welcome. Read—not just threads but the guidelines for belonging to this group. Post. I have been here since the beginning. Its been the one consistent board--others boards have come and then gone. This is the best one and one of the last ones that offer all that it does.

You can always just dm the vendor with any specific questions or if youre looking for advice about a specific vendor you can try dming others who have posted reviews on their thread and asking them. Most people on here are very friendly and are happy to help. But that's pretty much what dms are for. Threads are for reviews. Also keep in mind that only some threads are behind the pay wall. The majority is publicly available and that's why most people/vendors dont like specific language on their threads because it draws searchable unwanted attention.

@xanxiety It's a fair question IMO, what currency a vendor sells in makes a difference and is pertinent review information on the vendor. I've seen many vendors respond positively to such, and others ignore them. It's a bit of a free-for-all, who does what, but as long as the questions or comments are pertinent to the vendor and business at hand it's useful information in the visitor/observer judging the attraction or otherwise of said vendor.

As long as the data points are legit considerations in deciding whether to buy or not, especially if it goes to the honesty or trustworthiness of the vendor, I want to see them on their threads and not have to search the site for the info. And whether a vendor's prices are in CAD or USD I shouldn't have to go digging for it - unless it's just to the vendors clearly available menu/info, but it's up to them whether they do or not. It's then up to me how I view that and spend my money.

I've seen it said a few times 'you can only do this or that' on a vendor's thread, but I've seen it done every useful way far more often too.

PS I've seen the snowman's menu and the info you want isn't there and it should be. As of today, 1 CAD equals approximately 0.7045 USD. That's a huge difference I'd think all interested members would want to know up front. That it's not up-front suggests something, doesn't it.

And given it's not up-front it's fair to ask. And asking in their thread is a service to the other members who may not think to, bc you'd expect a CA vendor's prices to CA be in CAD and not USD - if that's the case.

When the info is missing there's nothing wrong with asking for it, and when it's confusing - as the snowman also ships to US - there's nothing wrong with posting for clarity of it for other members in the vendors thread.

Isn't that what we need here, pertinent info on a vendor's business easily found, with so much potential and actual scamming going on, to keep vendors honest.

As long as people stick to facts.