Pacific Seed Bank Review 2024

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At first glance, Pacific Seed Bank looks like a terrific seed resource for new and seasoned cannabis growers alike – with everything from detailed online germination resources to a sizable inventory backed by a germination guarantee. But it doesn’t take much digging to find a concerning number of scathing negative online reviews. Is this a seed bank you can feel confident trusting with your cannabis crop, or would you be better off passing? Our full Pacific Seed Bank review covers everything this seed bank gets right – as well as an honest look at what’s causing those negative ratings.

Pacific Seed Bank History and Reputation

First and foremost, yes, Pacific Seed Bank is a legit seed bank, and many of its customers have come away completely satisfied and happy with their crops. However, this seed bank has a track record of shipping problems, inconsistent genetics, and difficulty getting through to customer service reps – and its reputation has suffered as a result. Public growers’ forums are filled with frustrated buyers venting about their negative experiences with this seed bank. Pacific Seed Bank does maintain an online presence in several popular forums, thanking customers who leave positive reviews and offering to make things right for those buyers who left negative ones.

Google Reviews

To give you an idea of PSB’s online reputation, look no further than the Google listing when you search ‘Pacific Seed Bank.’ A company based in California shows up with a 2.6-star rating. But when you check out the listing, you’ll notice that it’s for an agricultural farm product company called Pacific Seed Company, not an international cannabis seed bank.

Unfortunately for the company, multiple negative reviews complain about low germination rates and poor customer service experiences from cannabis growers. So, not only has PSB created a negative online reputation for itself, but they are also hurting another business with a similar name.

Company History and Location

Founded by cannabis enthusiasts, Pacific Seed Bank draws on over 20 years of its founders’ experience and backgrounds in horticulture, medicine, and business. This seed bank is formally based in Barcelona, Spain, but operates its central shipping hub and marketing presence out of Santa Rosa, California, USA.

Other than generalizations and efforts to push a ‘West Coast lifestyle,’ you won’t find any substantial information on the seed bank’s history. Even across all social media channels and a decent collection of video content, nothing is revealed about the company’s history, process, or how they differ from other online options.

Seed Selection and Quality

Pacific Seed Bank offers a sizable selection of seeds, with an inventory of over 1,500 strains from a dozen in-house breeders throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. All seeds sold by Pacific Seed Bank are advertised as feminized.

Each strain’s product page includes essential information like flowering period, yield estimates, and cannabinoid content. In addition, you can check out reviews from verified buyers and a strain description before purchasing. Product pages also contain a high-quality image of the mature plant, seeds, and packaging.

PSB strains are available in 3,5,10, and 25 seed packs.

Seed Quality Concerns

Many satisfied customers have reported positive shopping experiences and enjoyable weed from Pacific Seed Bank. However, the quality of this seed bank’s genetics has been called into question. Some buyers have had concerns from the moment their seeds arrived, observing small, weak-looking seeds that, in a few cases, easily crumbled when squeezed between the fingertips. Other buyers have observed an obvious difference in appearance among seeds that were supposed to all be the same strain – or seeds that didn’t look at all like typical seeds for that particular strain.

Still, more buyers have successfully grown plants from Pacific Seeds, only to find the quality of their weed disappointingly lacking. One buyer brought their flower from a high-CBD strain to a testing lab, only to find that their supposed high-CBD/low-THC strain was actually composed of quite the opposite. Despite being advertised as 100% feminized, here and there hermaphrodite plants have also been reported.

Pacific Seed Bank Germination Promise

Considering these concerns with Pacific Seed Bank’s seed quality and genetics, it’s comforing to know that this seed bank backs its seeds with a 90% germination guarantee. In order to have any dud seeds covered by this guarantee, buyers must follow the germination process laid out in Pacific Seed Bank’s online germination guide. The online procedure to request reimbursement for faulty seeds must be started within 60 days following delivery. At least two seeds out of an order must fail to sprout in order to be covered by this guarantee, as Pacific Seed Bank won’t replace a single seed on its own.

Unlike many other seed banks, Pacific Seed Company offers the option to request a refund (in the original payment method) instead of sending replacement seeds. Shipping charges are non-refundable, and the buyer is also responsible for the shipping cost of any replacement seeds. It is important to note that Pacific Seed Bank’s Germination Promise only guarantees seeds through the taproot phase. Once seeds sprout taproots, they are no longer eligible for refund or replacement, should the plants fail to thrive.

PSB’s Breeders

Pacific Seed Bank works with a dozen in-house breeders. If you are interested in finding out more information about the groups that produce the seeds for PSB, you’ll be disappointed. While they have product categories dedicated to each breeder, you won’t find any substance in the descriptions or anywhere else online. Other than they are good and have lots of strains, PSB does offer some interesting copy that makes for a bizarre read. For example, the Willits Family Farm offers 125 strains for the seed bank, but the only information you’ll learn after reading their company description is that they would probably turn you down if you are “overcome with an urge to hunt them down and talk pot over a brew or a fresh-rolled joint of their premium product.”

While the selection of strains is solid, and we appreciate the ability to choose from various breeders worldwide, the vagueness around the seed bank and its partners raises some red flags.

Customer Service

Customer service is an area where Pacific Seed Bank shows considerable room for improvement. Many buyers have reported positive experiences getting in touch with and working with Pacific Seed Bank’s customer service agents. But the difficulty of actually getting through to this seed bank’s customer service department is one of the top complaints it receives.

Customers are encouraged to call or email Pacific Seed Bank with anything from asking for growing advice to placing orders over the phone. However, a large number of Pacific Seed buyers have spent hours on hold when trying to get through. When it comes to email inquiries, responses are often very slow, with weeks going by following an auto-responder message stating that inquiries will be answered in the order received. In several cases, even once email communication was established, responses remained slow and inconsistent.

A source of considerable frustration for buyers struggling to make contact is that Pacific Seed Bank appears to prioritize responding to negative reviews on third-party sites over responding to customer support emails. However, these Pacific Seed company forum responses nearly always direct buyers to email the customer support department for further assistance – despite the fact that a huge percentage of these complaints are actually about the seed bank’s lack of response to emails.

Return Policy

Pacific Seed Bank does allow returns of unused seeds. In order to get their money back, buyers must begin the return process outlined on Pacific Seed’s website within seven days after delivery. Refunds are issued via the same payment method used for the original purchase. Shipping costs are always non-refundable, and the buyer is also responsible for the shipping charge to return the seeds.

Website Design and Navigation

Pacificseedbank.com is a clean, attractive site and easy to navigate. Convenient drop-down menus sort Pacific Seed’s inventory by qualifiers such as THC level, plant height, growing difficulty, and medical symptoms. Each product listing page features a detailed description of the strain, with photos of what seeds and mature plants can be expected to look like, as well as a table of strain facts and specifications, including THC/CBD rates, common effects, ailments commonly treated, and expected crop yield. All prices on Pacificseedbank.com are listed in US dollars.

Additional Cannabis Information

One of the best things going for Pacific Seed Bank is the interesting supplementary reading. PSB includes a blog with marijuana-related articles and a Marijuana Education page, where visitors can browse several growing-specific articles categorized for beginner, intermediate, and expert growers.

The blog has some interesting articles like ‘How Weed Affects Men Vs. Women’ and ‘You’ll Never Guess Which NFL Players Smoke Weed.’ Each piece is insightful and easy to read. However, the blog only consists of 10 posts from late 2022 to early 2023. We’d really like to see more frequency and in-depth, substantive information on the seed bank or their in-house breeders.

Another nice feature on Pacific Seed Bank’s website is the Marijuana Education section. While more content on each page would be nice, especially the ‘Master Marijuana Education’ post, the germination how-to is substantive and is an excellent resource whether you have PSB seeds or not. The guide is accompanied by a video and a 4-step tutorial covering the essentials of germinating marijuana seeds successfully.

If you decide to purchase from this seed bank, we suggest following their guide just in case your seeds don’t pop.

Price and Payment Options

When it comes to price, Pacific Seed Bank sits close to the middle of the road – not the most expensive seed bank we’ve come across, but not one of the cheapest, either. Pacific Seed Bank offers a wholesale option for buyers interested in ordering large quantities. Wholesale buyers may elect to have their seeds sent in white-label packaging if they plan to resell with their own branding added.

Payment by Mail Preferred

Pacific Seed Bank prefers payment by mail (cashier’s or certified check or money order) and rewards buyers who choose to pay this way with a bonus 3-pack of seeds and no fees. Cash and personal checks are not currently accepted. Other accepted payment methods include Zelle (for US customers only) and all major credit and debit cards (8% fee).

In the past, Pacific Seed Bank accepted cryptocurrency, but it appears they have stopped offering bitcoin and other crypto tokens as a payment option.

Shipping Range and Stealth Methods

Pacific Seed Bank ships worldwide, including delivery to P.O boxes. Seed orders are sent via local postal service, with tracking numbers provided, from shipping hubs in California and the Netherlands. Flat rate shipping in the US runs $9.95, while Express Registered shipping elsewhere in the world costs $30. Orders over $500 qualify for free shipping.

Packaging and Discreet Shipping

Most of the time, Pacific Seed Bank ships seeds in the original air-tight glass vials from the breeders, wrapped within padded packaging. No mention of the package contents or company name are included on the packaging. Additional stealth packaging may be requested for orders outside of the US at no additional charge. Pacific Seed Bank’s stealth methods are relatively uncomplicated: seeds repackaged into plastic bags and tucked inside a DVD case, for example.

Shipping Delays a Frequent Issue

Pacific Seed Bank’s policy is to ship orders as soon as payment is processed in full. Once seeds leave the warehouse, they are supposed to arrive within 5-7 business days in the US, and within 7-25 business days elsewhere in the world. However, this is very often not the case, leaving many customers incredibly frustrated. Shipping issues are one of the most widespread problems buyers have had with Pacific Seeds.

In recent history, Pacific Seed Bank has fallen back on blaming shipping delays on the postal service and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has, of course, slowed mail delivery throughout the world. However, some of these issues appear to begin before postal service involvement. It’s not uncommon for multiple weeks to elapse before seeds actually leave the warehouse. Even customers who had paid extra for express shipping have found themselves waiting weeks for their seeds to arrive, as the following reviewer experienced:

Discounts and Loyalty Programs

Pacific Seed Bank doesn’t currently offer much in the way of sales or extra discounts. Nor does this seed bank offer a loyalty program for repeat customers. However, new buyers can save a little extra with Pacific Seed Bank coupon codes sent to their inbox when they sign up for the email newsletter. Pacific Seed Bank has also been known to give out “thank you” coupon codes in response to buyers’ positive reviews on well-known public grower’s forums.

Conclusions, Pacific Seed Bank Review, 2024

Pacific Seed Bank does have some attractive qualities, including a large seed selection, a user-friendly website, and a germination guarantee, and we do consider them a legit seed bank. However, this seed bank has a lot of work to do – improving the consistency of its genetics and fixing its rampant customer service and shipping problems – before it can be considered one of the best.

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