1st Obligatory Message: Musings on my year as an e-cig user and the online racket it is

[Sister Golden Hair]

I've been using e-cigarettes for over a year…I haven’t had a traditional cigarette in that time. It was fairly easy to quit smoking. (All prior attempts were spectacular failures.) I'd be remiss if I did not say that it was time consuming to learn how to operate and clean the e-cigs and the accoutrements. By becoming a member I will be an elitists that can ask questions instead of just reading the threads for reference material. I hope to find an e-cigarette mentor, procure a new device and merchant that is reliable.

I won’t employ the term "vaping."I liken it to hipster college kids that always have their water bottles nearby while dancing to bad techno when “Rolling.” I never wanted to be part of a subculture that required a new verb to describe their behavior. However, this forum is the only e-cigarette library; therefore I am beholden to it. I tried to post a more amusing version of this post, it wasn't profane, however, this site censored it; which only evidences a my closing remarks.

I’ve used the Joyetech ego-C 1000 mah happily for a year. I am upgrading and dropping my former vendor, myfreedomsmokes.com, because they sold me two bunk batteries and wouldn’t honor their warranty; they essentially stole money from a loyal customer. That debacle was the impetus for me actually becoming a member of this forum. Most importantly I need to find an American vendor that demonstrates the importance of customer service and loyally, has a phone and answers it during business hours, sells legitimate brands, and stands behind their products. Those are not unusual expectations for bricks and mortar stores, but unfortunately the online-cigarette business is a lawless operation and you are essentially at the mercy of the merchants.

 

[happydave]

check out Electronic Cigarette | E Cig Liquid | E Juice - Totally Wicked
they have the best customer service and warranty
you will pay a bit more than most sites but you get what you pay for. out of the 15 ego batteries i have bought one was defective after a 3 minute trouble shoot over the phone they just mailed me a new one. they didn't even ask me to mail the broken one back. i had a problem with one battery, when i would touch it when it was on the charger i could feel static electricity in my hand. it would make the hair on my hand stand up and i could feel a tingling sensation in my whole hand. after about 3 minutes we figured out it was the USB port on my computer... later i found the loose ground wire in my computer and fixed that. totally wicked as a forum as well. people talk freely about the products they offer and the staff pops on the forum to give people advice... its not the only vendor i buy from. but i purchase most of my gear and liquid from them.

 

[names]

Plenty of vendors out there meet or exceed your requirements. And I'm sure all fall within your elitist budget, too. Are you looking for recommendations?

 

[Sister Golden Hair]

Thanks for the feedback. I have started compiling a list of suggested vendors. You all are very kind for chiming in despite my acerbic tone (which won't likely change ; )

 

[TraceyS]

vapor alley is top notch and Mr. Eliquid is also

Tracey

 

[Daryl Glen]

I have never had any problems with:
Welcome to Hoosier E-Cig - The Best E-cigs, Juices, and accesories
Welcome to www.Chi-TownVapers.com - Chicago's own E-Liquid E-Juice Manufacturer of E-Cig Refills
Madvapes - Electronic Cigarettes, E Cigarettes, E-Cigs
Your Online Electronic Cigarette Store - AltSmoke
Premium USA E-Liquid, Electonic Cigarettes and Handcrafted USA E-Juice by Mister-E-Liquid.com
DiscountVapers - Your source for savings on electronic cigarettes and accessories, Go-go eGo, vGo
Welcome to VaporGod.com - Eliquid, Cartomizers, Ego Batteries, Atomizers, Electronic Cigarettes and more!

 

[Sister Golden Hair]

Yes, please. The word “Provari” is ubiquitous on this site. I am trying to determine if the Provari has different models. I researched a bit and the few I saw were more aerodynamic than a Cessna plane and powered by kryptonite…

What would be a upgrade from my Cruella De Vil e-cig? I keep hearing the spinner or twist, do you feel that would be a natural progression upward? Also, will you provide reliable merchants that are in the States that have a phone and answer it (obviously excluding myfreedomsmokes)

It was very kind of you to offer your assistance.

 

[Daryl Glen]

Can't go wrong with a spinner or a twist as a next step kind of thing. Even though I own a vamo, tesla, and an mvp, I still have a spinner that I use frequently. So, getting at least one of them is not a bad choice.
All of the websites I mentioned in my previous post has answered the phone when I have called, except for Mister-e-liquid and Vaporgod....but that's only because I haven't had the need to call them.
I have ordered multiple things from all of those sites, and whenever (rare) I've had a problem, it was fixed immediately and satisfactorily.

I don't have any affiliation with those websites at all, but I do believe in excellent customer service. They all have provided that to me, so that is why I feel confident suggesting them to other people. There are a few that I have used, but won't use again, and they are not on that list!

 

[Enoch777]

What would be a upgrade from my Cruella De Vil e-cig? I keep hearing the spinner or twist, do you feel that would be a natural progression upward?

Curious what this "Cruella De Vil" was, I found them at baronunlimited. They look quite unique and I'm certain you won't be finding too many PVs that fit the category of such implementation. Similar e-cigs that come to mind would be the Vapor Zeus, although this is more akin to a cigar style.

Does the Cruella De Vil have automatic switch? I.e. you pull as though it's a lit cigarette and vapor comes flowing fourth. Or does it have a manual switch? I.e. you cannot vaporize until you push the button. I feel it's worth mentioning that the majority of mods have a manual button and if it's important for you to have an automatic switch your options are somewhat limited, though certainly obtainable.

The eGo Twist or Vision Spinner are both great devices. They are Variable Voltage so you can adjust the voltage to your preference for vapor/flavor. They are considered beginner mods, but are quite reliable. If you're looking into getting a Provari or other APV, I highly suggest you look on YouTube for reviews of each and weigh your options.

 

[The Ocelot]

Yes, please. The word “Provari” is ubiquitous on this site. I am trying to determine if the Provari has different models. I researched a bit and the few I saw were more aerodynamic than a Cessna plane and powered by kryptonite…

What would be a upgrade from my Cruella De Vil e-cig? I keep hearing the spinner or twist, do you feel that would be a natural progression upward? Also, will you provide reliable merchants that are in the States that have a phone and answer it (obviously excluding myfreedomsmokes)

It was very kind of you to offer your assistance.

The ProVari comes in a full size and a mini. The only difference other than size is the design on the body. The are several colors available.

 

[The Ocelot]

This is a popular kit. It has two batteries and you can select 2 Twists, 2 Spinners or one of each.

http://www.myvaporstore.com/Vision_Spinner_Joye_Ego_C_Twist_Combo_p/vvs-c.htm

Is your Joyetech still operating? In which case, you could use it for back-up and just upgrade with one Twist or Spinner.

 

[Sister Golden Hair]

Enoch: Yes, my ego-C 1000mah has the button...I gave it the pseudonym Cruella De Vil because of the villain in 101 Dalmatians. I was told my e-cig looked similar to it. It seems the twist is going to be ordered today. I am operating on one battery and we all know that is a precarious line to walk. One last question: does the Vision spinner use the same tanks a ego-C would?

Thank you so much!

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Yes, spinner/twist/winder/ego = ego/510 connector.

 

[wv2win]

.......................

I won’t employ the term "Vaping.".............................

Since you are using a device that "vaporizes" a liquid and does not burn a solid or create smoke but instead creates a "vapor", then what more appropriate term would you suggest, BASED on the logic of the devices' functionality??

 

[Myk]

Thou shall not write posts in invisible ink.

 

[RandomFellow]

myvaporstore.com has always been good to me. Only time I had a problem, I contacted them by email, had a response within an hour, and they were sending me out a new part free of charge by the end of the day. A good company that I buy a lot of vaping stuff from.

The Vision Spinners 1300 mah are great devices. Variable voltage with an easy-to-see setting (unlike the Egos), and tons of vape time. Another good step up would be to go to a regulated device like a Provari, Vamo, Lavatube, Evic, MVP, etc. The Provari is considered the best, but it is pricey. It can be found exclusively at provape.com.

The Innokin MVP has gotten a lot of good reviews and a lot of people really enjoy it. I bought one for my girlfriend, and she loves it. And, it can charge your cell phone in case your out and about and you run out of juice.

I personally went from the spinners (which I still use) to a Vamo v3, which is inexpensive but does the trick. Not as hearty or steady as a Provari, but still decent. I've since moved on to mechanical and Genesis RBAs, but that's for another time.

Get your feet wet with variable voltage and/or variable wattage first. Start to get a feeling of what you like and how you like it. Taste is subjective, so to each their own.

Also, it would be a good idea to try different delivery devices, as they each have their own "feel". The "big three" are the Kanger Protank, the Vision Vivi Nova, and the Innokin iClear. And, if you start to get really adventurous, you can try your hand at rebuilding their atomizers (though some are easier than others).

And then there's the eJuice. We'll have to save that for another thread, but suffice it to say there are a million different choices and vendors. One word of advice: don't use Alien Vapor. They are con artists.

Anyways, in the end, just have fun, don't worry about the descriptive words we use (though we as a group are really trying to separate ourselves from tobacco users, ergo the different terminology), and remember how much money you are saving from not buying analogs all of the time!

 

[BlondeBebe]

Dear SisGoldenHair, I appreciate your humor! I like Zeus Juice for e-liquid. And Provari, even if it's ubiquitous, it's still the best, and can save you money instead of trying all the in-between products, and racking up a fortune. If you look at the topic on what people have spent so far, a lot of them realize they've already spent enough to have bought the Provari. As always, just my opinion.

 

[beaver tagger]

I thought I was alone in my despise of the word vaping...sounds like a Madonna dance...

 

[drivesbarefoot]

I had planned on trying a few more different types of devices but then decided to just skip everything and get a provari mini which I haven't regretted. I'm definitely still a newcomer to all this but I found with my ego twists they were the best right off the charger and I didn't like having to adjust them accordingly. And then I had chargers go bad after only a week, etc.

I'd be rotating several throughout the day and charging them before they really needed it. Got tired of all that... Provari's are pricey but when I think about how much I spent on analogs, it's not that bad at all, really. What I have loved about it is it's consistent, steady vape. No bad ones! It has that "right off the charger" feel right up until it's time for a new battery. And it warns you before the battery just totally dies. So since I've had it, it's been nothing but consistency not to mention juices taste so much better with it! I do not regret getting it at all, no buyer's remorse. In the long run I think it will save me money.

 

[drivesbarefoot]

One more thing about the online racket, I've bought stuff from maybe 6 different vendors and 4 good experiences, two bad ones. Not good odds. With the first kit I bought, the charger quit working in less than one week so I contacted them - no response. So I ended up obuying two new ones from them anyway because I couldn't find that type of charger anywhere else and didn't want to risk getting the wrong thing somewhere else. Then I bought new chargers for my other kit (which it needed after two weeks) and when I got them I saw they weren't the right ones. My mistake, so I contacted that vendor about returning them. They said ok, but I must write the return ticket number on the package or they would not accept it (!) Never heard of anything like that ever - in any online ordering of any merchandise. So I followed the instructions, sent it back and then 5 days later there is the package in my mail I sent them with "refused" written on it. I was floored. I buy so much stuff online these days, not just ecig stuff and never have I had something REFUSED. So I contacted them again, and they replied back but now wanted me to take a picture of it. That was where I drew the line and decided to mark it up as a loss.