Kratom is difficult to grow and farmers in Southeast Asian countries work all year to provide you with this magic herb.
On 1st May 2020, the United States Federal Trade Commission sent a notice to Golden Road Kratom for making the unfounded claim that kratom can prevent and cure COVID-19.
This was considered unethical, and news about the company spread rapidly within the world of kratom vendors — the fragile trust their customers had in them was hurt.
But life is not black and white and there are a lot of grey areas to be found. In this article, I’ll tell you the black, white, and grey of Golden Road Kratom. You can choose to ignore the black areas and focus on the whites and greys, or you can choose to dismiss the company because of its blacks. The choice is yours – but to make an informed one, read on!
What Products Does The Golden Road Kratom Offer?
Unlike some other kratom vendors who keep other ethnobotanical products along with kratom, Golden Road Kratom sells kratom only.
The company sells all major strains of kratom, including red, green, and white. However, within each strain, the variety is somewhat limited compared to other stores like Red Devil Kratom.
Within the red strain, you have four options to choose from: Red Maeng Da, Red Thai, Red Borneo, and Red Indo kratom. The green strain has the largest variety of products.
You can choose from Green Maeng Da, Green Thai, Green Malay, Green Indo, and Green Borneo kratom.
Finally, the white strain has the least variety available — you can choose from only 3 products. These are White Maeng Da, White Thai, and White Borneo kratom.
The good news is that for each product, you can choose between powder and capsule forms. Capsules make taking kratom effective and easy. The company, however, does not offer other kratom forms like crushed leaves.
The company also doesn’t offer enhanced kratom extracts — so if you’re looking for something strong and potent, you’ll have to look for other vendors.
The greatest variety of products the company offers is in the Blends category. Different kratom strains have different major effects. For example, white strains are popular for concentrating-boosting and euphoric effects while red strains make users feel calm and relaxed.
If you’d like a mix of these effects, you would want to try blends. The company offers 10 different blends to choose from.
For example, the Green Rigel Indro Kratom Blend combines green and white Borneo kratom. You can get 25 grams for $11 or 50 capsules for $14. As you can imagine, it will provide a mix of green and white kratom effects.
Similarly, the Ceti Kratom Blend mixes white Thai and red Maeng Da kratom. It’s priced the same as Green Rigel Indo Kratom.
If you’re a fan of kratom blends, I’d suggest you visit the company’s website and explore all the 10 blends to find out what fits your needs.
How Safe Are The Vendor’s Products?
Golden Road Kratom is not AKA GMP verified. It hasn’t even initiated the process to become AKA GMP verified.
This means that we don’t know if the company follows standard kratom manufacturing procedures as laid down by the American Kratom Association. If it doesn’t, the kratom you get can have microorganisms that make you sick.
However, on the company’s website, it claims to lab-test all its products to ensure safety and efficacy. But unlike many other vendors, it does not provide further details like lab test results on its website, which makes its claim weak. This means you’ll have to take the company’s word when it comes to the safety of their products.
But is the company’s word reliable? No. On May 1st, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission of the United States surveyed the company’s website and found they were touting kratom as a prevention and cure to the COVID-19.
It further claimed that kratom contains chloroquine, a compound that has shown some success in treating the coronavirus.
There is no scientific evidence that kratom can prevent or cure COVID-19 or that it contains chloroquine, and to claim so on their website, the company breached the ethical code of conduct and their customers’ trust in an attempt to make more money.
This speaks something about the business ethic of the company and I will suggest you to be also careful with any other claims the company makes about kratom on its website. It’s best to conduct independent research before ordering kratom if you are new.
What Do Customers Think About The Company?
I am not sure. The company has a 5/5 rating on Google Reviews but it’s based on just 7 customers. This small number of customer reviews can be easily faked by the company.
However, all these customers were satisfied with all aspects of the company — from product quality to customer service to shipping speed.
There are no customer reviews on the website and the customer-communities are small and inactive on Facebook and Twitter. Therefore, it’s difficult to gauge what customers think about the company but its Facebook and Twitter pages can be used to contact existing customers for first-hand knowledge of the company’s products.
How Are The Company’s Products Priced?
I have great news for you if you are a beginner and don’t want to spend a ton on kratom. Products at Golden Road Kratom are cheap!
For example, 1 oz of red Thai kratom will cost you $15.99 at PurKratom and $18 at Red Devil Kratom. However, at Gold Road Kratom, you can get it for just $8 — that’s half the price at other vendors.
But, as I’ve always said, pricing should be compared keeping in mind the product quality. Customer reviews of Golden Road Kratom are shady and we don’t have a clear picture of its product quality.
On the other hand, PurKratom’s customer feedback is simply excellent. However, if you’re new and would like to try kratom before spending a lot of money on it, I think Golden Road Kratom is not a bad option.
What Payment, Shipping, and Return Options Does The Vendor Offer?
Payment
The only mode of payment accepted is a credit card. There’s no virtual currency or cash-on-delivery options available and if you’re reluctant to use your credit card online, you’ll have to choose another vendor.
Shipment
The company only ships in the United States and Canada. It ships through USPS, UPS, and FedEx.
In the United States, you’ll get free shipping for orders greater than $100. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay around $4 if you choose USPS Priority shipping or around $19 if you choose USPS Express shipping.
The higher you pay, the quicker your product reaches you. Also, the company is not clear about shipping costs to Canada on its website. Unfortunately, there’s no same-day shipping available.
If your order exceeds $125, you’ll receive a free 50-gram sample with your order. This is a great deal because it allows you to test different kratom strains for free in case you’re trying to find a new strain for yourself.
Also, although the company doesn’t mention the locations it doesn’t ship to, it’s always a good idea to check your local laws about kratom before ordering it online.
Return
Here’s the bummer — there’s no 30-day money-back guarantee.
If you’re unsatisfied with your product, you’ll have to inform the company through phone or email within 24 hours and then send the unopened, unused package back.
The company will not cover the cost it will take you to ship the product back. However, once your return is accepted, you’ll be offered both return and exchange options.
In case the wrong product is delivered to you, you can send it back and this time the company will also compensate for the shipping-back cost.
The company will not take responsibility for any mishaps caused by the shipping companies, and that’s obvious and fair.
Loyalty Rewards
One great thing about the company is that they offer loyalty rewards. For each dollar you spend, the company gives you 2 gold bars. When you reach 15 orders, the company gives you 4 gold bars for each dollar spent and a free gift with your 16th order.
And finally, when you reach 30 orders, the company gives you 6 bars for each dollar spent and a free gift with your 31st order. Additionally, you get to try new products before they are launched.
These gold bars can be used like coupons at check-out and they’ll be deducted from your order. If you intend to use kratom for a long time, I think this is a great way to get even cheaper kratom!
Summary
Here’s a quick summary of the pros and cons of buying from Golden Road Kratom. It will, hopefully, make your buying decisions easy!
Pros
- All major kratom strains available
- Low prices
- Lab-tested products (as claimed by the company)
- Blends and capsules available
- Offers free shipping for orders over $100
- Free sample for orders over $125
- Loyalty rewards
Cons
- Unreliable customer reviews and product quality
- Only ships to the USA and Canada
- Unethical company – touted kratom as a cure and prevention to COVID-19
- The product variety is limited
- No kratom extracts
- The only payment option available is a credit card
Final Thoughts
I think it’s difficult to trust the company after they’ve put forth the claim that kratom can prevent and cure COVID-19. But if you’re short on money, and want to try kratom for its other effects (it doesn’t cure COVID-19), then Golden Road Kratom is not an entirely bad option.
