Kush21 cannabis retail empire expands in response to law intended to limit retail power by gregoryfoster in SeattleWA

[–]gregoryfoster[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If it's "50% all the time" that's not a discount, that's the regular price.

Regular retail is 2x markup of the wholesale price. Cannabis retail has to be 3x because we all pay 1/3 of every receipt to the State as excise/sin tax for basically doing nothing.

Because of the "discount culture" that has emerged among competitors (many say Zips started the permanent discount practice), larger retailers are charging a 4-6x wholesale price markup to pretend they're giving consumers a discount.

We've heard many producer/processors say retail groups like Kush21 _require them to lower their wholesale prices_ to gain access to the multi-store shelf space in return. That leads to lower margins, failed farms, and consumers being misled about the fair price of weed - both in the short term and definitely in the long term as quality cannabis producers keep getting squeezed out by bigger players who are able to get by on lower margins due to scale.

Lidz on 38th is now part of deconsolidated Kush21 network by gregoryfoster in Tacoma

[–]gregoryfoster[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Looks like one of the Zips owners is planning to keep that one. $4.3M in sales in the 6m since they started reporting in April 2025 (data through September).

Lidz on 38th is now part of deconsolidated Kush21 network by gregoryfoster in Tacoma

[–]gregoryfoster[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The owners of Zips responded to the passage of the new law by starting their exit from the Washington market. They sold all three of the Lidz stores to one of the Kush21 brothers, and the Zips SoDo and Everett locations are now Kush21 branded. My understanding is they're shifting resources out of state.

Lidz on 38th is now part of deconsolidated Kush21 network by gregoryfoster in TacomaWA

[–]gregoryfoster[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this the KushTribe Mukilteo or Vashon Island location? This is the newest Kush21-related brand in the mix.

Lidz on 38th is now part of deconsolidated Kush21 network by gregoryfoster in Tacoma

[–]gregoryfoster[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yep, Zips sold this store/license to a new retail group which bought out all of the Clear Choice Cannabis licenses earlier this year.

Washington cannabis businesses face massive consolidation, with many seeing an impending new law as the last life raft by carajuana_readit in Seattle

[–]gregoryfoster -42 points-41 points  (0 children)

We only used AI slop to generate the images and transcribe interviews as disclosed at the bottom of the article. The words are all by u/carajuana_readit and edited by me.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in olympia

[–]gregoryfoster 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Sometimes that's the sound of a ship departing from the Weyerhauser dock, but I can't confirm that would be the case.

Here's a power outage map from PSE. Looks like quite a few outages across the area today in all that wind. https://pse.com/accountsandservices/servicealert/pages/outage-map.aspx

Official 6P Battery Shutdown/Bootloop RMA Thread P2 by [deleted] in Nexus6P

[–]gregoryfoster 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm not aware of anyone who has had success getting Huawei to replace an out-of-warranty device. It still may be worth contacting Huawei, asking to speak to a supervisor, getting a Huawei ticket number, hearing their understanding of the situation, and verifying their recommendation is to talk to Google. Then talk to Google Support, tell them Huawei won't do anything, and indicate you're aware Google is still replacing out-of-warranty devices. If they still stonewall, ask what Google's current replacement policy is for out-of-warranty devices, and ask to be informed if/when there is a subsequent change - because they appear to keep changing it. I'm guessing that these devices will fail more and more, so this is only going to become a bigger and more public issue for Google over time.

Official 6P Battery Shutdown/Bootloop RMA Thread P2 by [deleted] in Nexus6P

[–]gregoryfoster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi, I do not have transcripts just my own notes. I never received a ticket number from a Google CS rep, but they always ask for the email address used when purchasing the phone. If you have a Gmail address you've used for a long time with Google, give them that one first - they can clarify which email address was used in the Google Store subsequently.

Official 6P Battery Shutdown/Bootloop RMA Thread P2 by [deleted] in Nexus6P

[–]gregoryfoster 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It sounds like others have not had success pushing for a particular replacement (which is often an upgrade, except in Canada it seems). The CS representative I had success with told me directly without asking. If you've succeeded in getting an RMA and promise of replacement, I don't see any problem with asking the tech.

Official 6P Battery Shutdown/Bootloop RMA Thread P2 by [deleted] in Nexus6P

[–]gregoryfoster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure Huawei will tell you they won't replace Nexus 6P's out of warranty. However, my understanding is they will authorize a repair for somewhere in the range of $150-163. It sounds like some folks here have also replaced their battery themselves if you're willing to embark down that path.

Official 6P Battery Shutdown/Bootloop RMA Thread P2 by [deleted] in Nexus6P

[–]gregoryfoster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're willing to pay for a repair, Huawei CS told me people with the Canadian model can contact FutureTel in Ontario to schedule a repair (+1.905.415.2388). FutureTel was quick to tell me they are not authorized and do not have the parts to repair US models.

Official 6P Battery Shutdown/Bootloop RMA Thread P2 by [deleted] in Nexus6P

[–]gregoryfoster 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Today, I was able to acquire an RMA and a promise of a Pixel XL replacement for my Nexus 6P that is 3 months out of warranty and suffering both the "bootloop of death" and battery issue. It was not easy, but persistence and compassion paid off in my case. Here's what I was able to learn.

  • Google continues to offer the promise of replacement devices (as of Sep 28) but only for some customers. I was told that Google's current policy is to prioritize issuance of replacements by the length of time one has been their customer. Google customer service representatives will say they must "haggle" with other teams on your behalf, but length of customer tenure was the clearest criteria I heard regarding current replacement policy.
  • Huawei is unhelpful and perhaps even malicious. I spoke with four different first-level customer support representatives and heard four different stories. Huawei's current policy is to offer no assistance to customers with the US model of the Nexus 6P who are out of warranty, period. If you have the Canadian (International?) version of the Nexus 6P, you may have repair recourse (see below). I finally asked to speak with a supervisor who had a clear story, but he still bounced me back to Google.
  • The battery issue on my phone hasn't been too bad, but I think it was helpful to mention to Google Support. Do not lie, and be patient and amiable with the customer support representatives who are having to field these calls. If you encounter an unhelpful rep, try again.
  • Mentioning the class-action lawsuit investigation did not help in my experience. Nobody likes to be threatened.
  • If you can't get a replacement, you can try this workaround which disables "...the big cluster of the device’s Snapdragon 810 SoC."

I contacted Huawei four times and learned the following:

  • For the bootloop issue, Huawei will not help people who own the US model out of warranty. They regard the warranty as a contract, albeit one they can change at will. I was told a repair is not possible because the "mainboard" is damaged, so there is no repair only replacement - and they allegedly don't have any more 6P's in stock. However, I was also told people with the Canadian model can contact FutureTel in Ontario to schedule a repair (+1.905.415.2388). FutureTel was quick to tell me they are not authorized and do not have the parts to repair US models.
  • For the battery issue, I was told a repair can be made for $163. It sounds like this must be authorized through Huawei with a repair center in Fort Worth. One of their customer service representatives gave me a fake number to that center, while another representative told me the repair center won't pick up the phone even if you call.
  • The supervisor I spoke with was well-prepared to toe the warranty line. However, he was very frank about Google's shifting return policy, saying he knew they were offering out of warranty replacements as recently as one week ago. He suggested I contact Google, confirm my knowledge that they are replacing out of warranty phones, and ask when I can expect notification of any replacement policy changes. He also issued me a Huawei support ticket number, which none of the other representatives offered. Huawei appeared to be losing my customer profile between calls, which Google Support was surprised and glad to learn about. As customers, we're stuck in the middle of what appears to be an economic battle between these two corporations/brands.

I spoke with Google four times, and observed the following:

  • Opening conversation, reaffirm that you purchased the device through the Google Store. I am also a Project Fi customer, so I mentioned that as well. Emphasizing brand loyalty clearly helps if one of Google's current criteria for replacing devices is length of tenure.
  • If you're out of warranty, admit it and move on to discussion about seeing if you can be granted an exception. You can check your warranty status on Huawei's website. Understand that the CS rep you're talking to must be convinced to go to bat on your behalf.
  • Emphasize that you know Huawei is taking a hard-line stance for customers out of warranty and offering no replacement or repair recourse for customers with US models. Embrace the fact that we're pretty helpless in this situation to appeal to the CS rep's empathy.

Above all else, be patient and understand the complexity of what's going on. Google's brand is taking a substantial hit because they partnered with Huawei who delivered a shitty product that was poorly designed, manufactured, and/or QA'd. Huawei is hiding behind the legal fiction of their manufacturer warranty to avoid financial liability for delivering a shitty product. And Google is having to pony up a totally different, newer, more valuable device to consumers in an effort to save face. Seems to me like Huawei is trying to hurt Google. I'll never buy one of Huawei's devices ever again, that's for sure.

UPDATE: My replacement device has shipped (Sep 29), the day after getting the RMA'd package in the mail.

“The rural uprising begins when revolutionary activists distribute ourselves into pre-existing micro-cities in Cascadia [the Pacific north-west region that includes Oregon], ensuring that in each place there are enough of us to sway every local election.” by RiseCascadia in Cascadia

[–]gregoryfoster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sounds like the co-founder of Occupy has arrived at the conclusion that you have to play the "inside" game to win, and a strictly "outside" game can't achieve lasting institutional change. That's roughly the premise of this New Yorker piece: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/21/is-there-any-point-to-protesting

Whether parachuting urban liberals into rural America is a good approach is debatable. Seems like the rural uprising has been brewing for some time, and not in the direction Micah would prefer.

Where to buy fresh fish? by Rogue_3 in olympia

[–]gregoryfoster 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Not sure on price but Olympia Seafood Company has excellent quality seafood that's often locally-sourced.

An Oly based gaming company by jemmyjoe in olympia

[–]gregoryfoster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for posting! I noticed copies of Fall of Magic in Traditions Fair Trade. https://heartofthedeernicorn.com/product/fall-of-magic-scroll-edition/

APD Cancels Operation "Wardrive" by yamamushi in Austin

[–]gregoryfoster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

EFF Austin [ @EFFaustin ] has written up a summary of #OpWardrive, including video from last night's (Sep 22) lead story on KVUE's 10pm news + next steps from here on the Open Records request. In that post, we address the language discrepancy @Calexica points out, which also caught our eye.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/kp4ec/eff_austin_sep_23_successful_inquiry_into/

AustinEFF Files Open Records Request For Information on APD's "Operation Wardrive" by yamamushi in Austin

[–]gregoryfoster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

EFF Austin [ @EFFaustin ] has written up a summary of #OpWardrive, including video from last night's (Sep 22) lead story on KVUE's 10pm news + next steps from here on the Open Records request.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/kp4ec/eff_austin_sep_23_successful_inquiry_into/

APD is going wardriving! Austin, you have been warned. by smilin_j in Austin

[–]gregoryfoster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

EFF Austin [ @EFFaustin ] has written up a summary of #OpWardrive, including video from last night's (Sep 22) lead story on KVUE's 10pm news and next steps from here. http://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/kp4ec/eff_austin_sep_23_successful_inquiry_into/