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SOSA EXIT SCAMMED (confirmed as FALSE)

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:38 am
by lostinthesauceband

Admin edit: We have personally spoken with SosaSpeciosa and they are still in business. There is no exit scam. This rumor has been officially confirmed as false, post title updated, and thread locked. They remain a trustworthy vendor who got a bit overwhelmed with orders and have apologized for the lack of communication with customers.


I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong section, I am unsure where this belongs. I don't think this is a common occurrence on this forum, so mods feel free to place this wherever you want. I just want to spread awareness.

I am a long time customer of SOSA. I have previously spoken to the owner of the company, who's name appears on the shipments, and everything seemed to be on the up and up. There is also an Instagram account associated with the business, further assuring me that this kind of thing wouldn't happen.

Exit scams are generally a problem in black market DNM operations, not fully legal businesses which are able to incorporate and sell their products without breaking the law.

HOWEVER. As of yesterday:

Website down, emails go nowhere, and I saw another thread where someone said they already sent payment before he went dark and has received no response.

I sent an email a few days prior requesting an order. I'm glad he didn't reply with an invoice, because I would've gotten scammed too.

From the start this vendor seemed off since he would require you send an email with address, quantity, strain choices, and payment method, and then you get an invoice sent back to provide payment. It's not that red flag-y in and of itself, but it was a bit shady.

Reply to this post with details if you have been scammed by this vendor, if you have any information as to what's going on, or if anyone can provide evidence that this isn't an exit scam.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:47 am
by CatfatherB
I've sent several emails to Ben about making a purchase but havent got a response....id like to hear from anyone here that hasn't got a refund or their order as well cuz I've heard that rumor too? I hope it is only a rumor but nothing surprises me nowadays.... :geek:

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:52 am
by lostinthesauceband
On the positive side, it appears the name and address the packages are sent from do match up to a real person based on those Whitepages like sites which catalog that kind of stuff.

So it's not a fake name, that's really Ben.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 9:03 am
by CatfatherB
It would be nice if he would reply to these rumors cuz I see that he has visited doubleM recently! The last I saw on the site was he'd be back at the end of the week..that was 3/15 and his site has been down for a while now...

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:05 pm
by KurtisCards
Are they locked down there, or maybe he is in quarantine or something. Seems weird to try and scam people at this point. He had been around for years lol

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:13 pm
by stax-xats
I haven't ordered from them in a few weeks. Last I ordered there was a delivery delay due to sickness. I got an email a few days later with an explanation and they even sent me an additional Kg free for the inconvenience.

I hope they are still around, I really like their kratom.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:19 pm
by matt11
guess no more baik bali :cry:

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:29 pm
by brave777
Could be no internet lock down. Best to not deal until you get a response to what happened from his own mouth. Send him here to reply to people, don't make it 1v1 privet reply's because more will fall victim that way. Make it all public. Kind of what 7ohm did. Give him another chance..

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:54 pm
by K-Dawg
Copied and pasted this that i posted in a different thread:

I placed my original order on Feb 22nd, got the Ben is sick email, and 1 reply after he started shipping again. I sent 2 more emails in the past 2 weeks and have heard nothing back. I've given up at this point.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 12:59 pm
by Payshince
UNBELIEVABLE! :x

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 1:00 pm
by Payshince
matt11 wrote:guess no more baik bali :cry:
LOL!

..well, I have some if you’d like!

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 1:52 pm
by KratomAdvocateMO
I believe i actually recieved one of the last orders and he screwed me around for 5 days saying that he would send it. Finally got it. This was about two weeks ago

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:32 pm
by mivanqua
Payshince wrote:
matt11 wrote:guess no more baik bali :cry:
LOL!

..well, I have some if you’d like!
I'd love some if you have enough for two. Top five easy.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:50 pm
by herbalhippie
Payshince, didn't I sell you one of mine that you just had to have?

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 5:11 pm
by Payshince
Hi Hippie yes that one you gave me is mine that I’ve been working on!
I got another one sealed as well that I haven’t touched yet.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 5:21 pm
by herbalhippie
Payshince wrote:Hi Hippie yes that one you gave me is mine that I’ve been working on!
I got another one sealed as well that I haven’t touched yet.


Ah ok. It's a collector's item now, save it!

Also...

I may be merging this thread with the previous SOSA post that's gone on for pages and pages. So if you don't see this one later, that's where it will be. Am discussing this with admin. Edit: Will not be merged.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 5:35 pm
by Spencemastaflex
Payshince wrote:
matt11 wrote:guess no more baik bali :cry:
LOL!

..well, I have some if you’d like!
If you have enough to send even an oz or anything I'd appreciate it! I've wanted to try this for quite some time but he's been sick

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 6:14 pm
by stax-xats
I may be merging this thread with the previous SOSA post that's gone on for pages and pages. So if you don't see this one later, that's where it will be. Am discussing this with admin.

I wish all reviews were organized that way.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 7:23 pm
by conscious_conundrum
Damn....a real bummer to read this. He has been one of my favorite vendors and always been so nice to deal with. Sucks that he would have done this (allegedly).

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:15 pm
by Itake2much
Right before i read this i just sent him an email about how he always seemed honest and i was sure the rumors were false. My last order was only $140 but for me that is a lot of money and this just makes me feel cringy all over. i have only sent him three follow up emails since placing my order on the 25th, but seeing others having this same problem and the website being taken down all but confirms what was afraid of. i hope he emails us and says its all just a big misunderstanding but i got a bad feeling.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:19 pm
by BobDylanKratom
I ordered on 2/28. Some back and forth, mostly no response to inquiries. I too have pretty much given up. That was my first and last order with SoSA. Was really looking forward to the Baik Bali and 8 other strains too…

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:31 pm
by BlueRedOcean
This makes me sad, Sosa had great reds and great prices, I hope he is able to get back to all of you, Maybe he got sick again? Or has Family issues right now?

Sosa was very nice to me, he would send me 150 grams extra kratom sometimes just as a gift out of nowhere.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:23 pm
by WhiteAngelica
Yep. Ain't no month long quarantine! Especially when emailed late Feb, early March and gave a couple of us different stories regarding the delay. Didn't pan out and those who ordered before me received nothing. Something smelled rotten in the state of Denmark and I am in no way surprised.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2020 10:33 pm
by WhiteAngelica
He was very nice in the past but it doesn't make up for robbing people now. If you need a refund, do a charge back from the bank. I am of the belief it was an exit, but I cannot guess why. But I and others got various excuses on the very few times he replied back to our emails, and the stories were different. No Corona.

IF you sent him payment, please do a chargeback from your bank! Lights are OUT on his website and no one is answering the door. He is out of the game right now, so we all have to move on (Baik Bali was Godly and the whole thing is tragic) though yeah. I was pissed.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 7:47 am
by CatfatherB
I talked with a friend on MeWe last night night who's go-to vendor is SOSA, he said he talked with Ben who said that he closed the website because he was just caught up on orders and didn't want to get bombarded with orders again, my friend put in an order 5 days ago and it hasn't shipped yet. Sadly, I would advise anyone here to proceed with extreme caution.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:04 pm
by Marcussk
CatfatherB wrote:I talked with a friend on MeWe last night night who's go-to vendor is SOSA, he said he talked with Ben who said that he closed the website because he was just caught up on orders and didn't want to get bombarded with orders again, my friend put in an order 5 days ago and it hasn't shipped yet. Sadly, I would advise anyone here to proceed with extreme caution.
I had heard he was caught back up, but apparently there are still alot of people who have yet to get their orders from him. It's sad I wanted to try his reds, but definitely not going to risk ordering from him now.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:19 pm
by herbalhippie
SOSA does/did have great reds. So did Speciosa Life. Sad that these are no longer available.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:31 pm
by Marcussk
herbalhippie wrote:SOSA does/did have great reds. So did Speciosa Life. Sad that these are no longer available.
It really is sad, definitely a loss to the community. I doubt we will ever find out what actually happened after he got sick.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:06 pm
by MycatTimmy
Wouldn’t it be nice if Sosa would give up his source to another vendor. That way we could continue to get his string dried strains

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:16 pm
by woke_up_like_this
I've been buying from Ben for awhile and always thought he offered great customer service (not to mention a high-quality product!)

About a month ago (maybe longer?) I tried placing an order via email and got a response that Ben was out sick. I ordered from a different vendor (shout out to Appalachian Herbals!) because I didn't have time to wait for his return. But, being a faithful customer, I emailed Ben a few days ago when I was ready to place a new order. No response.

I really hope everything is okay with him. IDK what his reason was for going dark. And I have a hard time picturing him fucking anyone over but ya never know.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:10 am
by stax-xats
The website is updated

Important Notice 4-3-20

If you have placed an order and have not received tracking then you will receive an update and tracking by Sat. April 4th . We apologize for the delays and other issues experienced with some of these orders and we are currently addressing these problems and are devoted to making sure that each purchase is an enjoyable experience. Again we apologize for any issues over the past few weeks and are dedicated to improving all aspects of ordering from us. We still have substantial inventory in stock and will try to process new orders in a timely fashion. A special thanks for everyone's patience and understanding through these trying times.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:47 am
by matt11
When Ben was sick i wonder if he had/has corona virus :shock:

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:35 am
by Payshince
I see the website is working as of now but I do not see that message?
stax-xats wrote:The website is updated

Important Notice 4-3-20

If you have placed an order and have not received tracking then you will receive an update and tracking by Sat. April 4th . We apologize for the delays and other issues experienced with some of these orders and we are currently addressing these problems and are devoted to making sure that each purchase is an enjoyable experience. Again we apologize for any issues over the past few weeks and are dedicated to improving all aspects of ordering from us. We still have substantial inventory in stock and will try to process new orders in a timely fashion. A special thanks for everyone's patience and understanding through these trying times.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 11:38 am
by Payshince
It sucks that in life we “have to” jump to conclusions so quickly.
I mean we all want our leaf Fast! And it is strange what happened and esp. if we’re all left in the dark about it.
I have hope let’s try to be mindful about this whole thing and support Ben. He could be going through some extremely difficult times.
Addiction?
Flu or the Covid19 virus??
A super close loss/ depression?

IDK?
Nor do any of us.

My comment up above is kinda left open for interpretation but I changed my mind. I’m going to be optimistic about this whole thing. God Bless Sosa!

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:08 pm
by Puggs20
He has always been a solid vendor for me. I dont know what is going on, but I'm pretty sure there is a good reason. I myself have experienced times where I avoided life, ppl, and adulting. I'm not saying he is right, but we have all been there. (Or most of us) maybe he got sick and then a family member? Who knows. Maybe he himself got scammed.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:42 pm
by BobDylanKratom
My SoSA order finally moved today! First status change since March 13 (for an order placed Feb 28). It's scheduled to get here Monday. There is hope yet!

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 8:31 pm
by lostinthesauceband
I am so glad this story had a better ending. I think this thread should be locked once everyone reports their packs land safely.

I hope I didn't tarnish Ben's name too badly, but as there were others thinking the same and voicing their concerns, I don't feel too guilty.

I'm going to note that I always received an ounce extra of a 5th strain with every split kilo I've ordered from Ben since maybe the 3rd order, and I've ordered at least 10 times.

It's going to take a lot to win back the trust of this community, let's see what his actions are moving forward before anyone speculates.

For all we know he got shook down by cops or someone higher up in the distribution chain exit scammed him and left him holding the bag.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 1:29 pm
by conscious_conundrum
Very relieved to see his website back up. I think a direct word from Ben to the community would be wise given the wave of uncertainty and doubt that rippled through existing and potential customers minds.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 6:50 pm
by zeroblackzx
Anyone else receive some sort of communication? I have not yet, so... just wondering.

Re: SOSA EXIT SCAMMED

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 8:40 pm
by brave777
Honestly, i would of got some kratom maybe wanted to order like 5 times but always said no because of bad slow reply. Its like i am giving money, why not hire someone to take care of email and customer service? One person is to much. So i took my chances and went with Lucky and TFH instead. If only he had the crew, he would of made big bank by now. If he reads by chance, please do consider hire someone to help, long term will be more $ for you and loyal customers.