looks like the party's ending for BT.

[Lessifer]

I dunno about liquor stores, haven't been in one in so long, they could have dancing bears in there for all I know. But the "head/adult" type stores around here have picked them up, and you're right, unknown brands, devices that I know are crap just from looking at them in the blister pack. And it's like one rack in the whole store.

I was stunned this past Saturday to learn that a big vape shop in Lawrenceville, the first one I ever found or walked into, was closing; I figured they were an institution, they've been there since 2010-2012, I dunno, a long time before I discovered vaping. But at the same time, it's not really a surprise; I found the place uncomfortable, because they're soooooooooo into the cloud chasing scene; they would barely even wait on me till I showed up with a Kayfun.

Another store in town has grown so enormously in popularity, he's opening another store about 10 miles away in the next little burg -- when we first found it, the place was vacant all the time; now when we happen by there, there's so many people in there you can't get a seat at the tasting bar, and the fog wafts out the door everytime it opens. But this shop, though he has a wide selection of high-end vv/vw and mechs, specializes in good starter kits -- Evods and similar, full kits including several bottles of your choice of juice from their HUGE selection. And I've heard the guy run a newbie thru use and maintenance and getting the most out of it, and he did a fantastic job explaining everything, even explaining about changing the coil and how to know when it was needed. I'm thrilled to see him doing so well and expanding, because that kind of store and B&M owner/mgr is exactly what vaping needs!

Andria

Yeah, an actual vapor store is sort of a funny thing. It's almost like a hobby shop, as a portion of your customers already know the products and are there to see what's new or hang out. However, you'll also be getting people who know nothing about the product and will have varying levels of interest. A good shop, that gets repeat business will be one that caters to all levels of vapers. If you know your product, and show your customers that you care about them and are willing to take the time to actually provide them with a service, they may choose to come back and buy their weekly bottle of liquid, instead of finding it cheaper online. That is, for people who move beyond sealed container systems.

A vuse user can just buy them from the gas station.

 

[stevegmu]

Here in my town our local vape shop has three store fronts now and are building and equipping a warehouse to house their liquid "kitchen" that will be meet Indiana's new standards. They're also installing the state of the art surveillance and locks that will be required. It sounds to me like business is booming.

There are 3 vape shops minutes from me in Kent. I have visited them several times. No customers, just the owner/employees hanging out with their friends blowing clouds. I once asked if they have punched cartos and they laughed and said only beginners use cartos. I recommended a diet and workout program so maybe they could get a date, rather than just hang out in a vape shop with a bunch of dudes in black shirts 2 sizes too small...

 

[DC2]

There are 3 vape shops minutes from me in Kent. I have visited them several times. No customers, just the owner/employees hanging out with their friends blowing clouds. I once asked if they have punched cartos and they laughed and said only beginners use cartos. I recommended a diet and workout program so maybe they could get a date, rather than just hang out in a vape shop with a bunch of dudes in black shirts 2 sizes too small...

We have vape shops just like that here too.
We have tons of vape shops, of all shapes and colors.

But the trend towards cloud-chasing is unmistakable.
Even vape shops that used to cater to all kinds are now filled with cloud-chasers.

It is what it is.

 

[Lessifer]

There are 3 vape shops minutes from me in Kent. I have visited them several times. No customers, just the owner/employees hanging out with their friends blowing clouds. I once asked if they have punched cartos and they laughed and said only beginners use cartos. I recommended a diet and workout program so maybe they could get a date, rather than just hang out in a vape shop with a bunch of dudes in black shirts 2 sizes too small...

We have vape shops just like that here too.
We have tons of vape shops, of all shapes and colors.

But the trend towards cloud-chasing is unmistakable.
Even vape shops that used to cater to all kinds are now filled with cloud-chasers.

It is what it is.

I don't remember the last time I actually saw someone using a carto that wasn't attached to a blu/vuse/mark10. The shops around me recommend clearos to new users, that I've seen. Cartos are somewhat old tech, though I know they have their place/fans.

 

[AndriaD]

A vuse user can just buy them from the gas station.

And of course cigarettes can be bought all over the place, which is exactly why I began acquiring a lot of mods and attys; I have to make sure that it's always easier for me to vape than go buy some cigarettes, no matter how fallible and contrary the hardware and our own tastebuds can be -- because I can't just run out to the drugstore and pick up a decent vape thingie -- also one reason I made it a point to learn to make my own coils; if the last blisterpack coil fails and the USPS hasn't brought the new supply... that's not a very safe situation for a recent ex-smoker to find themselves in.

Andria

 

[stevegmu]

I don't remember the last time I actually saw someone using a carto that wasn't attached to a blu/vuse/mark10. The shops around me recommend clearos to new users, that I've seen. Cartos are somewhat old tech, though I know they have their place/fans.

Provarians still use carto tanks in droves...

 

[Lessifer]

Provarians still use carto tanks in droves...

Do many of them frequent B&M vape shops to buy their hardware? The provari 3 has an optional proprietary connector right?

If I owned a vape shop, I don't think I would recommend cartos to new users. I might keep some on hand if there were any kind of demand for them, but I would be suggesting at least an ego/clearo to new users, as I think people have a higher chance of making a full transition with something "more" than a carto. I believe it is no coincidence that the majority of e-cig users use cigalikes, and many are dual users.

 

[stevegmu]

Do many of them frequent B&M vape shops to buy their hardware? The provari 3 has an optional proprietary connector right?

If I owned a vape shop, I don't think I would recommend cartos to new users. I might keep some on hand if there were any kind of demand for them, but I would be suggesting at least an ego/clearo to new users, as I think people have a higher chance of making a full transition with something "more" than a carto. I believe it is no coincidence that the majority of e-cig users use cigalikes, and many are dual users.

I have read about a number of ProVarians buying their gear at B&Ms...

The vape shop I go to in Prague has everything- cigalikes, blister pack eGos to high end mods. Bins of cartos and clearos, an e-liquid 'artist' and coil maker. They don't mock vapers for using 'beginner' gear. Ladies even frequent the shop...

 

[azb8496]

I feel as though the majority of the adventurous people that would try vaping to quit smoking already have. I started about 3-4 years ago with a cheapo ecig I bought at a drugstore. I remember feeling very awkward buying it, as there is a subtle stigma that comes with the territory. I was impressed with it, bought the blu, but couldn't quit with it.

Gave up for a bit, then saw V2 and heard good things. I was more impressed with that ... <fast-forward> a couple years... I, like many others, grew with the industry as it evolved, converting some. Most, though, wouldn't budge. And nowadays, I can't seem to get any smoker to budge; the propaganda against ecigs is overwhelming.

I think that the people most influential in pushing the industry forward now are people like us and not potential first time users like it's been in the past.

Don't know about you guys, but I don't purchase any vapor product at a store. I buy from the lowest bidder online. I don't think this report's assertions come close to accurately reflecting the strength of the industry, although it does show its possible direction. It seems very sensical that gas stations and such would be having a harder time selling their cigalike products; the majority of the movement was introduced to this technology years ago and is light years ahead now.

 

[Mazinny]

There are 3 vape shops minutes from me in Kent. I have visited them several times. No customers, just the owner/employees hanging out with their friends blowing clouds. I once asked if they have punched cartos and they laughed and said only beginners use cartos. I recommended a diet and workout program so maybe they could get a date, rather than just hang out in a vape shop with a bunch of dudes in black shirts 2 sizes too small...

That is quite sad that so many vapeshops are not really catering to smokers. Recently i walked into a vapeshop i had never been to and they only had two or three brands of juice in 12 mg. Almost all their clientele seemed to be guys in their late teens and twenties vaping high vg liquids. In fact i believe bodegas and smokeshops in the NYC area are converting more smokers than vapeshops are.

 

[Mazinny]

Another trend i've noticed is that the chinese cig-a-likes are being pushed out of the market here. Two or three years ago Logic and Eon brands were common in bodegas here, along with Blu and Njoy from the U.S. makers. But the BT brands like Mark 10 and Vuse and Blu seem to have pushed the Chinese brands out of shelf space in the bodegas and 24 hour korean delis. It's possible they are being pressured into carrying their brands if they want to continue selling cigarettes and there is only so much shelf space for cig-a-likes. The drugstores only sell BT brands as well.

 

[Lessifer]

Another trend i've noticed is that the chinese cig-a-likes are being pushed out of the market here. Two or three years ago Logic and Eon brands were common in bodegas here, along with Blu and Njoy from the U.S. makers. But the BT brands like Mark 10 and Vuse and Blu seem to have pushed the Chinese brands out of shelf space in the bodegas and 24 hour korean delis. It's possible they are being pressured into carrying their brands if they want to continue selling cigarettes and there is only so much shelf space for cig-a-likes. The drugstores only sell BT brands as well.

It's usually not as nefarious as that. Something as small as an extra $0.05/unit discount wholesale will be enough to place one product over another, or a free display. I'm pretty sure blu/vuse/mark10 just win out with their marketing budget.

 

[Jman8]

But the trend towards cloud-chasing is unmistakable.
Even vape shops that used to cater to all kinds are now filled with cloud-chasers.

As a cigalike dual user, I blame all you big mod vapers for the cloud chasing trend.

Wait, did I say blame? I meant to say "respect."

Regarding the main topic of this thread, I agree with what @Kent C stated:

Like many polls that are done - it's all in how the question is asked or worded. If they really wanted to know 'the ecig frenzy is over' - they'd ask about the level of sales, NOT about "expanding a selection" that might not need expanded or a "selection of offerings" that no longer represent the current market. Or that replacing stock isn't considered an 'expansion'.

It's only the 'conclusion' about that, by the reporter or the editor, that makes it look like 'the ecig frenzy is over'.

I feel confident that within next 30 days, I'll read a popular article that tells me the eCig business is still gaining in popularity. Then 5 days after that, it will be dying trend and 7 days after that, it'll be peaches and cream for the industry.

I still remember when the iPod/iTunes was predicted to be a fad that would last a year or two.

 

[Racehorse]

Here in my town our local vape shop has three store fronts now and are building and equipping a warehouse to house their liquid "kitchen" that will be meet Indiana's new standards. They're also installing the state of the art surveillance and locks that will be required. It sounds to me like business is booming.

It certainly does, esp since theres a CTA out on Indiana recently that would " destroy the vapor industry in Indiana"

Yet people are gearing up to spend on million dollar facilities

YOu have to wonder who is talking to whom and who knows what.

Projected $10 billion industry by 2017 doesn't just go "pftttt!" in the night. That much I do know.

 

[Broodmance]

This has already been pointed out but the article makes no mention of vape only shops. Vape stores and online is where the cape industry lives. No serious vaper is buying products from places that also sale tobacco.

 

[Jman8]

Vape stores and online is where the cape industry lives.

I don't know how many times spell check has done this to me. And here I thought "vape" was a word in the dictionary now.

 

[Broodmance]

Haha..yah sucks too cause I caught it the first time but missed it the second. Oh well.

 

[skrymir]

I don't know how many times spell check has done this to me. And here I thought "vape" was a word in the dictionary now.

The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year is… vape | OxfordWords blog

 

[nicnik]

I don't know how many times spell check has done this to me. And here I thought "vape" was a word in the dictionary now.

At least it doesn't change "vape" to "smoke" like so many people do.

 

[pennysmalls]

My sister has been vaping for two years and still calls it smoking sometimes. I swear if she lived in the same state I'd face palm her for her.