Should You “Grow Your Own” Seeds From GYO Seedbank in 2023?

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At first glance, GYO Seedbank looks like an inviting place to order your next batch of seeds – with a huge selection, a website filled with 5-star reviews, and all sorts of discounts and promotions. But an alarmingly high number of this seed bank’s online reviews paint a very different picture. If this has left you wondering how much is truth and what’s been exaggerated, our full GYO review gives a thorough and honest look at the pros and cons of this seed bank, to help you decide if it’s worth placing an order.

GYO Seedbank Reputation and History

Is GYO Seedbank ultimately a trustworthy place to buy cannabis seeds? The answer may appear to depend on who you ask. While GYO’s own website is full of 5-star ratings, the sheer number of negative reviews out there are enough to make any potential buyer reconsider. Here’s a look at where that discrepancy came from, and what that means for potential buyers.

Contrasting Customer Reviews

While there have surely been enough satisfied buyers over the years to keep GYO Seedbank in business, a closer look reveals that many of the 5-star reviews on GYO.green were written by buyers who hadn’t even sprouted their seeds yet – many of them remarking solely on GYO’s fast shipping, but saying nothing at all about the quality of their cannabis crop. Considering that GYO Seedbank offers buyers extra loyalty points in exchange for reviews (on public forums as well as on GYO.green), it’s easy to see why there are so many of them. It’s also highly likely that these average ratings were artificially inflated, as multiple buyers have reported their less-than-glowing reviews of GYO seeds were deleted from the site.

If you venture off of GYO Seedbank’s official site, it’s easy to see that GYO’s reputation is actually not that great. Most reviews in growers’ forums skew dramatically toward the negative, complaining of everything from seeds failing to germinate and difficultly getting through to customer service to delayed shipping and orders never arriving at all. Unlike most other well-known seed banks, GYO does not maintain a presence in popular growers’ forums to respond to negative reviews or offer explanations or solutions.

GYO Company Background and History

GYO (“Grow Your Own”) Seedbank is based in the UK and Spain. GYO was founded in 2015, originally created as a sister seed bank to Bonza Seeds. Bonza Seeds has since been purchased by another well-known seed bank, while GYO was acquired by Homegrown Cannabis Co., which has rebranded the company in the United States and Australia. The seed bank is still operating as GYO in all other countries.

GYO’s Seed Selection and Quality

GYO Seedbank does boast a very large selection of seeds and strains to choose from, with over 2,500 strains from over 70 breeders listed on its website. However, the quality of GYO’s genetics has a track record of being inconsistent at best.

An alarmingly high number of buyers have had the unfortunate experience of receiving multiple seeds (in some cases, an entire order) that either completely failed to sprout or abruptly stopped growing at some point after sprouting. Some of these buyers realized something was amiss as soon as they opened the packaging, finding underdeveloped seeds that were smaller than they should be and white or gray in color. There have also been several cases of hermaphrodite plants growing from seeds that were advertised as feminized. GYO does not guarantee germination or seed quality, and there is, unfortunately, no recourse given when seed issues arise.

Reviews describing the following types of situations and interactions with GYO are unfortunately rather common in public cannabis forums:

GYO Seed Bank Customer Service Review

Unfortunately, customer service is another area in which GYO Seedbank has considerable room for improvement. For starters, GYO’s customer service team is difficult to get ahold of via telephone, email, or the live chat option on its site. Response times are often unreasonably long and the responses themselves not particularly helpful.

However, the most concerning problem buyers have experienced with this seed bank is the repeated incidence of orders being canceled on GYO’s end after payment was received – with no refunds given. Multiple buyers who experienced this issue and contacted GYO about it were met with customer service representatives who refused to research what went wrong, simply claiming that payment was never received, or, in some cases, failed to respond at all.

GYO Website Design and Navigation

At first glance, the eye-catching graphics on GYO.green give it the look of an interesting and fun site to shop. But each page is cluttered with so many pictures and text that it quickly gets overwhelming to sift through and zero in on what you’re looking for. However, a particularly nice feature of the site is the footer shopping cart, where buyers can quickly reference which items are in the cart, the cash value of any available loyalty points, and what their running cash total due will be at checkout. All prices on GYO.green are listed in Canadian dollars.

It is worth noting that some links on GYO.green redirect shoppers to Homegrown Cannabis Company’s website. While these two sites are part of the same company, unsuspecting buyers may find it disconcerting to be abruptly redirected. It is also somewhat troubling that the links to several important pages on GYO.green, including the FAQ page, appear to be permanently broken.

Price and Payment Options

GYO’s seed prices are pretty well in line with average prices across the industry. The discounts offered to loyalty club members can yield buyers some great deals, but considering the steep entry cost of joining this club, most members will still end up spending close to typical retail prices in the end.

GYO Seedbank does accept a variety of payment options, including cryptocurrency, cash, personal check, wire transfer, Visa, and MasterCard. However, its payment processing system is also rather inconsistent, with frequently-changing addresses across the globe where buyers have been instructed to send wire or check payments. GYO Seedbank uses a credit card processor based out of Nigeria. There has also been a concerning trend of buyers experiencing credit card fraud shortly after placing orders with GYO, indicating the likelihood of a serious security risk via the payment processor.

Shipping Range and Stealth Methods

GYO Seedbank ships everywhere in the world, from its hubs in Spain, the UK, and California, USA. When orders ship out as scheduled, buyers tend to receive their seeds very quickly. But as with many would-be pluses of this seed bank, shipping has been another area of inconsistency. In many cases, an excessive amount of time has passed between orders being placed and the seeds actually leaving the warehouse. This issue is made more frustrating by how difficult it often is to reach GYO’s customer service team to inquire about the delay or cancel an order that took too long to ship.

Discreet Shipping

GYO’s website states that all orders are always shipped in discreet packaging that’s sturdy enough to keep seeds from harm, though this has not always been the case. It’s not uncommon for seeds to arrive in relatively flimsy packaging, and occasionally inside sealed packaging with punctures or tears in it. As an extra security measure, shipping is supposed to be tracked, but that tracking info isn’t always shared with the buyer.

As far as stealth goes, like most seed banks, GYO sends seeds by mail, without mentioning the company name or contents on the packaging. But on the inside, seeds often arrive wrapped up in nothing more than a page ripped out of a book. On the other hand, some buyers prefer their seeds ship in the original breeder packaging, for the assurance that they are getting correct and authentic seeds. Handling these requests is another area of inconsistency for GYO Seedbank, with some buyers reporting their seeds arrived as requested and others receiving repackaged seeds despite requesting otherwise.

Discounts and Loyalty Programs

GYO’s Eucalyptus Points

GYO Seedbank gives a lot of attention to advertising its loyalty program, Eucalyptus Points, which includes many ways to rack up points to cash in for discounts on future orders. Some of the ways to get extra points include writing a review of your purchase on GYO.green, reviewing the company in a public cannabis forum, signing up for the newsletter, sharing on social media, or inviting a friend to join the program. You also get points on your birthday, with every fifth purchase, and when you first create your Eucalyptus Points account.

Despite the fact that Eucalyptus Points are heavily advertised on GYO’s website, the program is not necessarily dependable. Some of GYO Seedbank’s repeat customers have seen their large quantities of previously accumulated points suddenly disappear. GYO’s explanation for the disappearing points was that the Eucalyptus Points program was “temporarily” shut down, with plans to bring it back in the future. No mention has been made plans to restore these lost points, however. Despite this status, both GYO’s and Homegrown’s websites are full of advertising for the Eucalyptus Points program with no mention of this hiatus.

GYO Club

In addition to its loyalty points program, GYO Seedbank offers a membership club option for repeat customers. The perks of joining GYO Club include free tracked shipping on every order, a replacement guarantee, first access to new products, a 10% discount on all purchases, a 50% higher Eucalyptus Points payout awarded for each purchase, and a free GYO t-shirt. You’ll also be gifted up to 40,000 Eucalyptus Points when you join.

These perks all sound nice if you’re planning to do business with this seed bank regularly. However, it is rather pricey, with a three-month membership running $65CA, six months running $123CA, and $221CA for a full year – or you can pay with Eucalyptus Points if you happened to have enough stored up. Unless you are buying very large quantities of seeds or placing multiple orders over a relatively short period of time, the discounts and free shipping may not be worth the cost of membership.

GYO Discounts and Sales

GYO also offers a number of sales and discounts open to non-club members. For instance, you’ll receive discount pricing, bonus seeds, or extra Eucalyptus Points if you purchase seeds from one of the selected Breeders of the Month. Purchasing the selected Strain of the Month rewards you with double loyalty points. GYO Seedbank also runs Mix & Match deals and buyer’s choice of selected free bonus seeds with orders of a minimum purchase amount. The more money you spend, the more bonus seeds you’ll be eligible for. Bulk quantity discounts are offered for single and pick-n-mix seed orders of 3 or more. Orders over $500CA (approximately £300, €400, or AUD$550) are also subject to bulk discounts.

Conclusion, GYO Seedbank Review 2023

Since enough buyers have received useable seeds for their money, we do consider GYO a legit seed bank. However, we still recommend shopping elsewhere, as this seed bank has a track record of inconsistency in nearly every important area – including genetics, customer service, and shipping methods.

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