Canada is one of the first countries in the world to legalize cannabis nationwide. On October 17, 2018, Canadians over the age of 19 (18 in Alberta, 21 in Quebec) became legally able to purchase cannabis from government-approved dispensaries – both physical and virtual.
Since then, the nationwide demand for cannabis has been so high.
1 year on and many cannabis consumers are still sourcing products from illegal sources, and for good reason.
In fact, the federal government is facing a large amount of criticism and opposition for failing to meet public consumer demand.
Minimal selection of products, staggeringly low number of dispensaries and extremely expensive prices have all contributed to public backlash against the government’s lack of foresight and capacity in rolling out cannabis legalization.
In light of insufficient cannabis supply and poor regulatory controls, what options are cannabis consumers left with?
The answer? Mail-order marijuana.
Mail-order marijuana dispensaries, affectionately known as “MOMs,” have been providing consumers with access to a large variety of quality cannabis products ranging anywhere from actual flower to more niche cannabis products such as tinctures and topicals.
If you’re new to the cannabis scene and hesitant about giving your business to a mail-order marijuana dispensary, your fears are not unfounded.
With so many MOMs available to purchase from online, how do you know which ones will be able to provide you with fantastic service, the highest quality products and the best prices?
Let’s discover how – together.
What to Consider When Selecting an Online Weed Dispensary (MOMs)
Here are some key factors to take into consideration when searching for a well-trusted, high-quality MOM dispensary:
- There is a large offering of cannabis products
- Excellent customer support that gets to the essence of your needs
- An educational blog that provides users with beginner cannabis information
- Reliable service – 24/7 uptime with no website downtime
- Trusted by many customers
- Intuitive and user-friendly website
- Promotional offers
Does BudMail Have These Factors?
| HA | Bud Mail | |
| Large offering of cannabis products | ✔ | ✔ |
| Live Chat support | ✔ | x |
| Educational blog | ✔ | x |
| Offers support for damaged and defective products | ✔ | x |
| Affordable pricing | ✔ | x |
| Free shipping over $150 | ✔ | x |
| 24/7 site uptime | ✔ | ✔ |
| Referral programs | ✔ | ✔ |
| Coupon codes | ✔ | ✔ |
| Daily and weekly discounts | ✔ | ✔ |
| More payment options | ✔ | x |
Herb Approach vs. BudMail: Battle For Title of The Best Dispensary
Herb Approach and BudMail are both well respected, reputable MOMs, especially given the amount of trusted reviews that each have received.
BudMail’s cannabis flower, concentrates and accessories are said by many to be of outstanding quality, but when it comes to unique features – Herb Approach definitely steps up to the plate.
Here’s what other cannabis enthusiasts have been reporting:
1. Herb Approach offers more product variety
For many cannabis consumers, having access to a one stop shop for all of their cannabis needs is important. You wouldn’t want to go to one grocery store to purchase your eggs, another to purchase your butter and another for cutlery. Why wouldn’t the same logic apply to cannabis products?
An extensive offering of products doesn’t just make the shopping experience easier, it’s indicative of a dispensary’s high trust and collaboration within the industry.
How?
In order to carry a variety of products, an online dispensary must establish and maintain an ongoing relationship with a variety of different vendors and manufacturers. These relationships don’t come easy. Many vendors are extremely selective and choosy about who they trust to become registered retailers of their products. This just goes to show how much Herb Approach is trusted and well-respected.
At the time of writing this, Herb Approach collaborates with over 80 vendors.
BudMail operates with 56.
Both of these MOMs are humble and don’t advertise their extensive product offerings – overall it’s plain to see that Herb Approach offers a significantly larger selection than BudMail.
2. Herb Approach has free shipping and handling over $150
For the overwhelming majority of consumers who have previously shopped online, shipping and handling fees are one of the determining factors when deciding to commit to a purchase or not. It doesn’t matter if a product is on sale if the shipping and handling fees are pricier than the discount itself.
Many retailers incentivize customers by offering free shipping over a certain threshold. BudMail offers free shipping for purchases over $199.99 whereas Herb Approach offers it at $150.
Considering the significantly larger range of product offerings Herb Approach has compared to BudMail, customers are in a great spot to try out a variety of new products and vendors to find one that works best for them or even adding a few small things to reach that free shipping threshold.
Factoring in how often someone might be ordering cannabis products, that extra $10-$15 one saves each time through free shipping and handling will definitely make a difference.
3. Herb Approach has better customer support
How many times have you wanted to ask a question about a certain product or service only to be met with a generic, copy-and-paste email response? What about defective products or late/delayed delivery times? The experience is frustrating at best and aggravating at worst.
When it comes to customer support, it’s safe to say that Herb Approach is unparalleled. The reasons for this are multifold.
To begin, Herb Approach offers almost 24/7 live chat support for all of their customers – both potential and returning. That means that all product recommendations, cannabis information and all-around general inquiries are answered by a real person in real-time.
This cannot be understated.
For products as variable and different as cannabis, having live chat access to knowledgeable agents is a necessity. Herb Approach’s support team has offered product and strain recommendations, troubleshooting advice and even compensation for products that are proven to be damaged or defective.
When it comes to BudMail, curious customers are greeted with a plain, informal, long-form “Contact Us” that sends them an inbox message. Waiting for a reply, especially if you’re a potential customer, is not something that’s particularly desirable if you have a burning question regarding a product or service. Herb Approach’s live chat makes them stand out as one of the only online dispensaries that offers instantaneous customer support.
However, customer’s wouldn’t be leaving glowing reviews about their experiences with Herb Approach if the live chat team were inexperienced, non-fluent speakers of English who don’t even work in Canada.
Fortunately for cannabis enthusiasts, this isn’t the case with Herb Approach. The live chat team offers fluent support in English with agents who actually live, breathe and consume cannabis.
4. Herb Approach has a blog with cannabis news, tips and information
Endeavoring to learn a new thing everyday is always a positive, and Herb Approach’s cannabis blog has made learning about cannabis easier than ever before.
Featuring cannabis recipes, how-to-guides and product recommendations, the blog is an encyclopedia of all things cannabis. Even subjects which are a bit more niche such as CBD Yoga are discussed in great detail and depth, with citations referencing scientific journals and publications to back up their claims.
BudMail has a community forum for its members, but it’s private for non-members and has only ever had a maximum of 38 users online at this time of writing.
For first-time marijuana users, finding more information about the craft can be a bit intimidating. There’s a lot of misinformation out there regarding cannabis and its consumption. It’s comforting to know that there is a free, non-gated resource for marijuana news and information.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the best online dispensary or mail-order-marijuana provider can be a difficult process. Weeding out the less-than-stellar vendors and finding the one diamond in the rough takes time, but personal experience has led me to believe that Herb Approach is one of the best, if not already the best online dispensary Canada.
Extensive product offerings sourced from over 80 vendors, free shipping over $150, instantaneous live chat support from real people in real time.
Also offering a referral program, a $25 sign-up incentive, weekly savings of up to 50% or more and free gifts with every purchase, there isn’t any reason to go with any other online dispensary than Herb Approach.