It can be difficult to buy kratom locally, especially if it’s quality that you’re after. Many native kratom shops are staffed by individuals who know little about the craft of kratom cultivation. Some local kratom vendors source the Ayurvedic herb from shady third-party wholesale suppliers. These individuals are given no pertinent information about the origins of their inventory or the safety of the same. Tropical Kratom was one small-time kratom vendor in the micro-city of Augusta, KS. It was fairly well-regarded by neighborhood customers for its far-out selection and fine apparel. Find out what happened to this once-prominent kratom proprietor in today’s comprehensive vendor review.
Tropical Kratom was a kratom vendor native to Kansas. It was located on the main drag connecting Butler County. This Sunflower State supplier had been a popular destination for Wichita denizens, many of whom discovered kratom while passing through the small town of Augusta. From a more critical standpoint, Tropical Kratom was your typical ma and pa outfit, with shelves lined with chotchki and racks lined with novelty kratom T-shirts. There was little of outstanding merit to its catalog, with the exception of its white vein kratom powder. This was exactly the kind of Mitragyna speciosa product you’d expect from a small-time headshop proprietor.
Nevertheless, the brand amassed its share of supporters, especially through online kratom sales. By 2018, Tropical Kratom had earned reviews on I Love Kratom, attracted buzz on Reddit, and set kratom forums ablaze with consumers’ divisive experiences. Then something changed. The name left people’s mouths and it was almost as if Tropical Kratom didn’t exist. That is because Tropical Kratom had vanished without a trace and it may no longer exist. This vendor’s online store is no longer active, and the website as a whole is unsecure and inaccessible. This is not particularly odd in the kratom industry, but it does raise eyebrows.
Many kratom vendors face troubles and must shut down their websites before setting up newer ones. For this reason, we wanted to give Tropical Kratom the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, further probing yielded more evidence of this brand’s dissolution. Upon calling the vendor by phone, we discovered that its 1-800 number was publicly available for purchase. When we tried calling the company’s old customer service line at 323-208-0204, an automated recording told us that a person at an unrelated extension was unavailable.
Repeated calls resulted in receipt of this same pre-recorded message. The mailing address currently listed on Google appears to be the address of a post office, casting further doubt on the certainty of Tropical Kratom’s whereabouts. There are many reasons why a kratom vendor may go out of business prematurely. We will explore each of those reasons below.
Tropical Kratom never made any claims, one way or the other, about third-party laboratory testing. Its website was a lo-fi affair, one featuring few graphics and even fewer details. This vendor was never particularly loquacious, nor was it forthcoming when it came to the origins of its kratom strains. There are lots of online kratom suppliers who do not submit their kratom powder for third-party analysis. Small town vendors tend to be guilty of this kind of negligence. In the past, a number of backwoods kratom brands have come under fire for their less-than-sanitary facilities, with one vendor called out for allowing a cat to roam around in the same room in which he was preparing baggies of kratom powder. Whether Tropical Kratom was hygienic is not up for concern, although it seems clear that it was never a lab-tested brand.
Without certificates of analysis from independent labs or proof of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) it is impossible to trust the legitimacy of any company selling powdered herbs. Therefore, Tropical Kratom was not a legit operation and is unlikely to bounce back from its recent closure.
One look at this seller’s collection gives us insight into why it lasted as long as it did. Tropical Kratom carried more than 15 unique kratom strains in a variety of sizes and strengths.
Tropical Kratom Powders : Tropical Kratom carried the following strains and more:
While most of the aforementioned strains are nothing new for the seasoned kratom enthusiast, one can well imagine the excitement of an Augusta resident upon encountering these cultivars for the first time.
For our money, White Vietnam was the best strain of the bunch. Tropical Kratom White Vietnam was a white vein like no other. At once subtle and robust, White Vietnam Kratom was deeply redolent of Bali’s flower baths. This strain also boasted a formidable duration, which left a mark on anyone who enjoyed a cup of tea. Its unmistakable aroma made it ideal for potpourri and its smoothness was reassuring to the wary.
Tropical Kratom offers select kratom strains in capsule form. Encapsulated kratom is the preferred choice among active professionals. Kratom capsules are easy to swallow and easy to store. You can carry a pouch in your work bag or slip a sleeve in your pocket. Best of all, you won’t have to deal with the naturally bitter taste of raw kratom powder. Tropical Kratom Capsules come in pouches of five hundred capsules for $63.99. You can pick up multiple pouches at Peacenovelty.com. Tropical Kratom Capsules test for 1.3% Mitragynine and 0.005% 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine), making them some of the most potent caps on the market.
This is another area in which vendors frequently sink or swim. Far too many online kratom brands charge an obscene fortune for something that others sell for pennies on the dollar. If this is your first time shopping for kratom on the internet, you may be easily hoodwinked by sketchy brands that charge as much as $250 for a kratom kilo. When you buy kratom online, especially bulk kratom powder, it is worth bearing in mind that you’re paying by the gram. Ergo, a kilo (1,000 grams) should cost no more than 12 cents per gram ($120.00). In 2021, some kratom vendors have begun adjusting their prices to meet the demands of a discerning public. It isn’t at all strange to find bulk kratom sellers offering individual kilos for as little as $90, with five-kilo bundles selling for around $350.00.
Alas, Tropical Kratom was not one of these bulk kratom suppliers. These Wheat State sellers specialized in small-batch kratom. Prices started at $9.95 for an ounce of kratom powder, with as little as one hundred twenty grams going for $90.00. Clearly, its prices were part of the problem.
Slow shipping with the wrong carriers can be a big hurdle for some suppliers. A lot of consumers refuse to deal with the post office. Tropical Kratom did not offer upgrades to DHL, FedEx, or other carriers. It was USPS (United States Postal Service) or bust. On a positive note, free shipping was offered on USPS Ground packages, but this was the least expedient option available. 2-Day Mail was the best the company had to offer, which isn’t saying much. It refund policy was also unclear, which gives many online consumers pause. We want to know that we can return an item if it is compromised or otherwise sub-standard. Tropical Kratom never bothered to list a return policy on its site, nor did it provide the kind of 30-day satisfaction guarantee typical of big name vendors.
This seller accepted COD (Cash On Delivery), credit cards, or postal money orders. Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies were not accepted. It is not known whether it had added such payment options to its repertoire prior to its dissolution. In our experience, Tropical Kratom took forever to process a payment and order. If you thought you were getting what you paid for in record time, you were out of luck. A purchase that was supposed to be delivered to two to three business days usually took upwards of five to seven days.
Despite our own less-than-desirable experiences with Tropical Kratom, it wasn’t without its share of proponents. One reviewer on I Love Kratom praised its fast shipping (imagine that) and small silver pouches, writing, “Very easy to open and seal back up. Kratom had nice, fresh smell to it. The only bad thing that I see is that their prices are just out of sight. “You are getting high quality Kratom with all their Strains, but you are paying a premium price for it. For 900 grams of powder it would cost around $372.” This same reviewer was quick to add that Tropical Kratom’s selection was very nice.
Now that we’ve explored the history of Tropical Kratom, you can see that this vendor suffered a lot of drawbacks. Between its habit of price gouging and its utter lack of transparency, it’s a wonder it stayed in business as long as it did.
