Products and suppliers reported as unreliable

[JohnK]

Now for the real reason I came to this thread.......

Smoking Everywhere and Smoke 51 are one in the same. When I signed up for the Smoking Everywhere Free Trial, I received a confirmation email from Smoke51, and they were also listed on my credit card statement with the $9.95 shipping charge. They are a SCAM, period. They get you for a 7 day trial, fail to get it to you in the 7 days, then immediately charge you ~$80 for the kit. I was able to get my credit card company to reverse the charges, fairly easily. But some won't be so lucky.

As for Smoke Assassin, I haven't had any personal experience with them but based on the numerous stories I see from forum users, they are using the same low-life tactics. they should also be avoided like H1N1.

I really think that the Forum Admins should sticky these three names in their own closed thread, to make it clear and easy for newbies to find this info.

Why?

1) It is a daunting task to wade through all of the posts (428 of them) in this thread in order to find with any amount of certainty, who to avoid........and it is painfully obvious based on all of the user's experiences posted in various areas here, that these three are NO GOOD.

2) Also, if we could help those that come here seeking advice, easily avoid these three, we may be able to avoid some bad impressions for vaping in general by preventing newbies from giving up on vaping and leaving with a proverbial bad taste in their mouth, when they get "taken" on their very first purchase.

[Old_sCool]

Love it, just got my stuff today, everything was so perfect when it got here. Highly suggest that place, great supplier. The 510 set is very new user friendly, this is my first one. Be sure to order a 30ml bottle when you order a PV since the original carts that come with it weren't very tasty to me.

A lot of people in different forums seem to recommend these guys.
But how do you ship? If you go EMS, it's $14, and $3 for, er, a slow boat from China...?
They do have a LOT of parts, though.

[Old_sCool]

[quote=fanofwalt;659079]@Rambling Rose: thanks!

I'm getting ready to call my dear friends at Smoke Assassin (never received anything from them, natch, but my card has indeed been charged for the full kit and, yes, as I feared, also for the two "free" discount shopping cards I haven't received or even wanted in the first place). But first, I thought I'd perform a little "whois" on their url, and am glad to share this info with y'all. Enjoy as you wish. I'll update after my phone conversation with Smoke AssAssin (perfect name for 'em, eh?). Why do I get the feeling I should have a strong drink ready before I place my call to them?

Yes! Call them GET YOUR MONEY BACK and look elsewhere!
This is a cute little DSE084, that I liked the whole 5 days it lasted (perhaps if I had just LEFT IT ALONE...) but it is a low vapor small battery thing with a small cart. I was refilling them constantly. And, they have NO NICOTINE, so if you're looking to quit smoking tobacco but want to keep the nicotine, Nuh-uh.

It's also $70! This includes the 'Free' $15 e-cig and 24 carts, that could be had from Heaven Gifts or Health Cabin for ~$22, AND a 'subscription' for 20 carts every month, at $70 a month. You can get the carts a lot of places for ~$1 a cart or less, or get blanks and buy your own juice. The carts smell and taste like anti-freeze even though they say "Tobacco Flavor", because they are predominately Propylene Glycol (to make the 'smoke') and St. John's Wort (to sooth the nerves).

Go to a recommended seller, or a smoke shop in your area that sells e-cigs and get a better one for less money. I wish I had come here before buying from Smoke Assassin; it's easy but expensive!

Good luck!

[sevryn999]

I had the same issue as Rick. Just ask for your money back or complain to your credit card company. Some companies just don't care it seems!!

[wyllyam]

Okay you have now told me all the suppliers that run scams. So what are the good companies to order from? i'm currently out of work and can't afford to get ripped off.

[SuzFleeg]

I have been reading this forum and everyone seems to have a pretty low opinion on ..........'s ecigs but I was wondering if anyone knows about their e liquid? I bought a few bottles of it before I read this forum so I was hoping someone could help me!

[leaford]

I have been reading this forum and everyone seems to have a pretty low opinion on ..........'s ecigs but I was wondering if anyone knows about their e liquid? I bought a few bottles of it before I read this forum so I was hoping someone could help me!

Flavor is a pretty individual and subjective thing.

That said, generally everybody agrees ..........'s stuff is mostly pretty flavorless. A few flavors, like Tobacco, Coffee, and Menthol, are decent, say a 3 on a 1-5 scale, but most wouldn't even rate a 2. Barely even a 1. It's also low throat kick, about a 2 on a 1-5 scale. I prefer that, personally, but many people prefer more throat kick than that. All that said, the one I do like of theirs is the Vanilla, but only in their lowest nicotine strengths, otherwise the nicotine flavor overwhelms the vanilla.

Puresmoker, Janty, and Totally Wicked are popular liquid suppliers, I'd rate most of theirs from 2-4 for flavor, depending in the specific flavor, and 2-3 for throat kick.

My personal favorite, for months now, has been Vapor4Life's Nobacco juice. Most flavors are at least a 3 or 4 for flavor, and throat kick goes from 3 all the way to 5, depending on flavor. I adore the Watermelon, a 4 on flavor, and a 2-3 on Kick (2 in the liquid, 3 in cartomizer). Also a standout is the Grape, a 5 on flavor AND kick.

Disclosure, I just today agreed to do consulting and testing work for V4L, and while the quality of their liquids (and products in general) was one reason I agreed, still, making the flavors even better will be one of my first jobs. That, and getting more vapor from their cartomizers.

[SNT]

i ordered one of the slim 29.99 kits from eluma cigs. it only comes with one battery and one vaporizer and 10 carts with a usb charger. seemed like a great cheep way to try this out. i read a lot at the time about ecigs but did not find this forum before ordering from them. has anyone used their product? they say 2 weeks is typically the most for processing and im currently on the 5th buisness day and still processing.

when i get it i will let everyone know how it is. they claim to have more fluid than other vendors and it looks like they have a standard model that is seen all over the net basically the size of a cig. they say it should be atleast a pack of cigs worth the smoking. its a auto battery and i plan on checking to see if its mic or diaphragm activated (thanks for the info).

according to aluma their model is theirs only (why do i doubt that?) and no one else has the same e-cig and supposedly their cartridges are not compatible.

[The Professor]

BluCigs should really be called BBBLuCigs. In fact it would be perfect, especially if you want to sit around an vape on your Blu while watching some less than quality BBW adult themed cinema... Of course that will cost you too.

Where am I going with this? Well if you buy Blu and you get some BBWpayperview.com videos to watch then all your money went to the same place!

The founder of BLEC LLC. trading as BluCigs is also the individual responsible for AEBN LLc, another wonderful online venture.... purveyors of your favorite BigBeautifulWomen and Gay male pornography (other genres available, these were the first two i found)

"Steve" as we call him around the office (if that's his real name) likes to start these companies and then use different aliases to register their domains. He was Steve Kirk when registering his porn empire and now marketing ecigs under the alias Steve Cuz.

So why not buy from Blu? other than the fact that you are supporting someone who makes a living exploiting others there are several reasons.

First of all most know that Blu, Volcano and other distributors of the L88 series get their product from JSB (the manufacturer in China).

JSB clearly states that their PCC is capable of recharging batteries up to 5 times although Blu has taken the liberty to bump this up to 6.

JSB clearly states that one cartridge is equal to five analog cigarettes, Yet Blu ships with printed material claiming a whopping 15 cigarette equivalent per cartridge.

As a consumer I am not disputing the performance of the products made by JSB that is an entirely different topic. What I am disputing are the marketing claims made by Blu as a retailer.

I personally don't care to give my business to a company that likes to lie to my face. (don't get me wrong I pay thousands in tax revenue to a business that bends me over daily but at least they lie a little better/more entertaining)

Most people following Blu are aware of the "recall" instructing owners to dispose of their new purchase in a homemade salt pond... There has been some speculation as to whether or not this is a scam to keep people waiting for inventory they don't have etc... and questions like why doesn't Volcano recall their PCC as well? Here is my take on it. JSB can produce, pack and ship these units within two weeks even if they ship by sea freight they shouldn't be taking 4-6 weeks from an imaginary date (they have been saying 4-6 for the last 4-6). So it sounds bogus on Blu's part.

Personally I think that the L88 is a great little PV and with some basic mods can be a regular device of choice.

My suggestion to anyone that wants a Blu... Purchase the same model from another retailer. Now I am not completely oblivious to the fact that style has much to do with the choice that most people make, so bear with me.

If you feel as though you must have a Blu consider ordering just the batteries from them (be prepared to wait). The parts are all interchangeable with Volcano or any other rebrand using the L88. Personally I still think it might be a craps shoot on the PCC. So order a battery or two if you had your heart set on Blu's style but remember there are several better options for ordering new carts, atty's, charging equipment etc.

Don't Give Up on your L88's just give up on Blu.

I'm not promoting any other retailer, and I'm not bashing Blu because they did me wrong. I am actually vaping on a Blu as I type this. I just think that we all have a responsibility to other vapers not to do silly ***** that potentially increases the chance of these products being banned or catching a bad rep with the general public. Companies like Blu that will lie cheat and steal to make a buck with only draw more negative attention to ecigs in general. The last thing we need is the FTC shutting everyone down for false advertising and questionable marketing strategies. As the saying goes, One bad apple...

[tolip]

I ordered a 2x 510 kit and 2x 20ml@36mg.
The hardware and juice got here quick, BUT....

My order recipt says "Strength:X-High (36mg)"

The nic potency SUX SCROTUMS

The "Normal 36mg" which should be labeled Marlb or some such is only 18mg. It does taste OK tho.

The "Mentholgrass High" should be menthol X-High
WAY TOO MUCH FLAVOR.
It only tests out to 11mg.

2 different juices and both were way below labeled potency.

I tested each product twice (4 ml down the drain)
(search this forum for "Simple, easy DIY test for mg/mL nicotine.")

2 emails to them unanswered.
They ship from
Hallandale Beach FL (in case they have other aliases)

END_OF_RANT

Good vendors exist!
TW: fast & accurate
MFS: fast & accurate
JC: fast & accurate (too bad I hate choc truffle)

YMMV
Tolip