I hate to interrupt their promotional commercials,
but this is the
SECOND time now I have seen this company respond to criticisms about their firm by THP members, with a combination of self-serving advertising and nebulous attacks against others.
I have purchased pepper seeds from many companies. But many years ago (long before THP even existed), I was forewarned by fellow chileheads to steer clear of this seed company, due to the following two concerns -
* Re-naming pepper varieties
* Overpriced
These complaints started many years ago, but in looking over the more recent complaints by many respected THP members in this thread -
http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/15006-pepper-joes/
as well as a recent review of their web site, it appears that this leopard can't change his spots?
With regards to the first issue, one of the pepper experts I most respect once confessed to me that his biggest pet peeve in this field was the mass confusion caused by
people re-naming peppers. Its bad enough when individuals do this, but even worse when a commercial seed vendor does it to increase sales.
I think he felt there was a special place in Hell reserved for seed companies that engaged in this despicable practice.
As Pepper Joe should well know, a serious hobbyist/collector is more likely to purchase a new or unusual variety he has not seen or grown before, over a common variety he already has/doesn't need.
For example - I am not going to pay high prices for common Fish Pepper, but "Bahamas Seafood Pepper"? - I might be tempted!
(BTW, its worth noting that they have now "double-named" this pepper on their site (but with the BS name still in larger & bolder type), in apparent response to public complaints by two THP members
who actually live in the Bahamas, stating that there is no such pepper! -
Well I can pretty much verify that the "Bahamas Seafood Pepper" does not exist, at least not here in the real Bahamas lol.
BTW the scetch looks like a fish pepper.
i hate that crap !!! Pepper joes is pepper Noes!! i would never buy from them . We dont even say " Mon " here. we are not jamaicans. darn pepper joes that site need to be blown to smitherines. Bahamas seafood pepper ( no such thing ) . NEVER BUY FROM HIM!!! IF U DO I WILL FIND U !!!!
A serious hobbyist/collector is also going to be more willing to pay a high price for a variety name he can find nowhere else, vs. one he can obtain elsewhere for less.
Then there's the second issue -
pricing.
Let's compare Pepper Joe's with a few other reputable sources, shall we? -
Mustard Hab -
Pepper Gal - $2/25 seeds =
8 cents per seed
Seed Savers Exchange - $2.75/25 seeds =
11 cents
Pepper Joe's "
Spicy Mustard Habanero" - $3.99/20 seeds =
~20 cents
Fish Pepper -
Pepper Gal - $2/25 seeds =
8 cents per seed
Seed Savers Exchange - $2.75/50 seeds =
5.5 cents
Pepper Joe's "
Bahamas Seafood Pepper" - $3.99/20 seeds =
~20 cents
Then there's Bhut Jolokia. They take "real" Bhut Jolokia f/Dr. Bosland, rename it to "
GIANT Bhut Jolokia", and sell it for almost $1 a seed!
They also imply that this re-named "Giant" variety is available
ONLY from Pepper Joe's, loudly proclaiming right under the new name in ALL CAPS -
"WOW...TRY TO FIND THIS ANYWHERE ELSE..."
OK, how about here -
http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/files/tiny_mce/file_manager/2011Catalog.pdf
Now, why in the &#$! would I want to pay so much more $$$ to buy re-named seeds, when I can get them from from the official source for much less?
Then there's this claim about their "Giant" Bhut Jolokia -
"This seed originated from the University of New Mexico via India. The UNM is where our respected Peer Paul Bosland is based."
WRONG - Dr. Paul Bosland is based at New Mexico State University (NMSU),
not UNM!
Dr. Bosland is considered one of the world's leading experts on peppers, and
his affiliation with NMSU is well-known to anyone with a serious interest in this field. I am
very surprised that Pepper Joe's got that wrong!
The fact that this company mis-identified the supposed source of their "Giant Bhut Jolokia" is also a bit disconcerting!
Speaking of questionable Bhut seed sources, there has also been some recent concerns expressed by various members here at THP about some of their seeds not growing true? For example -
I bought Bhut seeds from him that turned out to be Car. Red Habs. Never, ever again.
But the way they chose to respond to THP member criticisms in these two threads is also quite telling - blatant self-promotion/links, combined with nebulous attacks against others!
In this thread, they respond to complaints about
THEIR firm, by attacking their competitors! -
but some of the other companies that I've seen mentionioned, I totally disagree with. I've seen poor service, slow deliveries, and cross-pollinated seeds from these companies several times.
along with an ad hominem attack against
one of their own customers, a THP member who had just complained about their company -
I just checked out your website http://www.wickedspices.com and instead of having spices for sale it has some 3rd party computers for sale??
And in the
other thread, where many THP members (including well_respected, senior ones) posted negative comments about this company, they responded with a nebulous attack
against the THP members themselves! - actually accusing the THP members of being competitors that were secretly out to get him! -
Also, some of these comments were made by individuals that own their own seed companies or Chile related companies...mostly very unsuccessful operations. I've chosen not to attack them back...
Nor is this the only time they have done this! Following is part of their reply to a negative customer review I came across on another site from Googling them -
Sorry that you just can't please some people.
I notice you didn't take issue with my feeling that you were either a Competitor or that you may possibly 'Hear Voices".
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/99/
I'm sorry, but for a company to respond to complaints
by attacking their own customers, is just not the kind of company that I am encouraged to do business with!
Their posts in both of these threads at THP also consisted mainly of
self-serving promotional claims, and read more like an
advertising brochure for Pepper Joes! Much of these promotional claims were duplicated in both threads, and also included a total of 7 self-promoting/spamvertized links!
Then there's the whole honesty issue of a company whose sales site is
STILL claiming that Bhut is "THE HOTTEST PEPPER IN THE WORLD"!
:
I can't help but wonder if that is because that is the hottest variety they happen to carry right now? A suspicion that was not exactly contradicted when I read the following plea on their member page -
Seeds Wanted: Naga Viper...will swap for any of my seeds...5 packs.
Now, I will say something nice about Pepper Joe's -
I don't think they are as bad as Hirts or Reimers, and I might actually do business with them if they were to
clean up their act.
I originally had lingering concerns about them, based in part on prior warnings I had heard regarding their company. But after reading some of the more recent complaints here at THP, and in particular the way they chose to respond to them, their reputation in my mind has taken a major move South.
Dude, you need to straighten-up and fly right, if you
EVER want to get my business in the future!
Anyways, that's my opinion, and I'm stickin' to it!
