I received NN's newsletter this morning. Apparently they have had problems recently with volume and USPS changes in their area. This might explain the slow delivery and full mail box and so forth. I'll copy it in here. Doesn't explain the black gunk, but some people here have come up with possible explanations that seem to make sense.
I've been waiting a while for my very first flavoring order, which was some samples from NN. Given the stuff below I reckon I'll give them a pass.
NN Newsletter
The last few weeks have been a trial and tribulation for us at the Nude Nicotine laboratory. The new-years resolution coupon code really did reach a massive amount of new DIYers; and in combination with the Reddit 'Hug of Death' that had ensued thereafter, we were really put up for trial...
Of course it couldn't have come at a better time. Uf! Our newest GC/MS machinery was needing validation and we had scheduled a flight for the Agilent representative to visit and set up our machinery with us. I (Jake) was tasked with keeping this part of Nude Nicotine functioning while formulating for the production line, both wholesale and web. It was quite a task.
3 new hires later, we are back in full force, ready to handle a double capacity throughput since the end of 2014! Duplicate machinery has been purchased for nearly every process in the lab we perform, and our hours have been drastically reworked to assist us in meeting USPS deadlines. We have also located a secret "drop-point" near our lab that services DIRECTLY to the sort facility in 92199! A lot of investigation went into finding this location after the 'hug of death' scare in an attempt to force through many more packages than normal through the system.
This leads me to a sincere, wholehearted apology to anyone who may have experienced a slight shipping delay from the period of the 7th through the 12th of this month. We were completely unaware that after the new year, a MAJOR change of management at our local post office (92121) had been implemented. Drivers were now returning to stations after sorting trucks had departed further delaying delivering. ....... me right???!!!?? (Insert Jonah Hill voice where appropriate) After a heated call or two with our local post office rep, we located this 'hot-spot' and have set up recurring pickups DAILY that happen at 1PM from our laboratory. As long as we are able to get these out by 1PM PST, they will go DIRECTLY TO THE SORT FACILITY! A sincere, wholehearted effort to alter the horrid logistics that seemingly happen @ USPS after 5PM
We are all back-to-normal at the Nude Nicotine lab as of this weekend (thank you Martin Luther King for fighting for civil liberties and for Nude Nicotine to have one more day to formulate for USPS). 24-48 hour formulating/processing time still holds true, and we are pushing straight on ahead!
Back to the hires... figured this would be amazing news for everyone - in the near future we will be introducing you all to Jacob (that's right Jacob and Jake.... seriously...???!?!?!) our newest process development engineer. Jacob brings a wealth of experience from batch-scale liquid handling at a local pharmaceutical company, as well as his most recent venture in kilo-Liter water desalinization utilizing a novel membrane technology. His production experience will allow Nude Nicotine's daily operations to accelerate leaps-and-bounds, by automating nearly every process we perform, all while maintaining the meticulous quality and precision you come to expect from our chemistry staff
He will also be able to help us expand ou contract manufacturing capabilities, which readily leads us into our next topic......
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