anyone feel awkward in vape shops

[DaveP]

Although there aren't a huge amount of vape shops in London, I get the feeling that most (not all) are overpriced trying to rip off people new to vaping. I used to feel guilty trying their samples, but when they mention that their prices are double what I have seen online I feel no guilt walking straight out the door.

Also as a side note, too many sop assistants who don't know enough to try and sell you, quite a few have even admitted to me that they don't even vape. Seems liek quite a few shops a started by passionate owners struggling to find knowledgeable staff

I think most vape shops put a premium on prices over what you'd pay online, but the shipping costs add up unless you order in quantity. That said, I've been in vape/smoke shops that sell ecigs on the side and they get $12.99 for a 5 pack of Kanger coils that normally sell for $5.99 online and $7.49 in my favorite B&M.

Double wholesale cost and add 10% is the formula I've heard for small mom and pop shops. That's about right if you look at Alibaba cost for Kanger coil heads at 65 cents each. They sell in a B&M for $1.50 apiece singly and about $7 and something in a 5 pack.

 

[Tomthern]

I have had bad experiences but there are a couple I'm comfortable in. I agree they should be professional. I have ordered more online then I did because of the price.

 

[gwhetzler]

Meh we have 1 shop here with the hipster kids that I dont like to go to. But other than that all the other shops are very friendly and nice to be in.

 

[k702]

Here in Vegas we have quite a few vape shops around now. Hard to drive down a street without seeing at least one at some point.. I've visited quite a few and seen the same problems I keep reading in here.

I don't know if it's the age of the people they hire to work the counter. I know plenty of 20 year olds with work ethic and an ability to act right while working. I just don't see those people at vape shops.

Vaping has gotten somewhat popular here so normally you can expect a few other customers in these shops when you walk in. That is great! the 45 minutes you could sit around waiting for one of the people there to stop hanging out with their friends or trying to hawk 80 dollar itaste vv v3 kits really isn't.

Neither is the music. It seems about half of the shops here insist on playing rap, metal, or some other loud and abrasive music as loud as they possibly can, to the point that yelling is required to be heard in the shop.. Went into one with my dad, got embarrassed as hell at the rap song they were blasting from behind the counter and ran out the other way.

Went into another and waited about 10 minutes while the guy that was supposed to be running the counter stood outside on the store phone waiting for someone. He then did what seemed very much like a drug deal and came back to "help me"

Knowledge is another HUGE problem. The guy that had to wait outside before helping me had no clue what cartos that hadn't been pre punched existed. He quoted the price of an igo w (sold to me by the owner for 15.99) as 33.99.. He didn't know what a kick was. And gave me the wrong mg juice twice! This experience isn't rare in the slightest.

I'm done venting.

 

[vapero]

I do feel awkward as I just go there to look around and never really get anything so almost always is just me asking to see stuff and 2-3 staff just looking at me

 

[AndriaD]

Yes, uncomfortable is an understatement. I go in and it's like 5 dudes acting like seagulls that just got thrown bread. They all hover over to me because apparently it's weird for a girl to go in a shop that vapes. Enough to the point where the attention is annoying and I just leave and order online.

I don't think that's because it's a vape store... I think it's because you're female, and they're, well... *men*. Show them a female, and they're like pointer dogs. Much the same often happens in auto-part stores, hardware stores (if they're not the family-owned kind), and other stores where females are somewhat less prevalent than men as customers.

This is partly why I take my husband with me, when I go into those kinds of places -- if someone is helping me with something, I want to know it's because I'm a customer with money to spend, not because I'm female and he's male and has some fantasy of hitting on me -- of course, at my age that's far less an issue than it used to be.

Andria

 

[Midniteoyl]

Most shops around where I live are friendly and fairly knowledgable. The only issue I have is with one particular shop. Even though they are extremely friendly, they have bar stools all down and around the juice bar where you sit and test juice. Every time there's 2 guys sitting at the corner where the Five Pawns juice testers are. They aren't testing juice, they are vaping their own juice and hanging out there! There's no way to try that juice like that. I just try it elsewhere but its aggravating. It's their most expensive juice and that keeps people from testing it. I tried at least 4 different visits before going elsewhere. It's usually the same guys. Sometimes 1 guy will be different. They just sit and Vape in that spot which happens to be right in front of their most expensive juice. If I owned that store those dudes would be over on the couches, not there. They have a huge area with couches where you can Vape. Ugh.

Other than that issue, the other stores are awesome.

Place isnt called 'Cheers' is it?

 

[TheProphet]

Meh we have 1 shop here with the hipster kids that I dont like to go to. But other than that all the other shops are very friendly and nice to be in.

Where are all the shops? I was down in NOLA a couple weeks ago and didn't see a single one. I spent most of my time in the French Quarter though.

 

[seahawkin]

I do. I get excited about stuff and like learning, I think everyone has their something that works for them. But somehow we end up whipping it out and seeing whose is better and I lose interest fast.

 

[hippieben]

Most shops around where I live are friendly and fairly knowledgable. The only issue I have is with one particular shop. Even though they are extremely friendly, they have bar stools all down and around the juice bar where you sit and test juice. Every time there's 2 guys sitting at the corner where the Five Pawns juice testers are. They aren't testing juice, they are vaping their own juice and hanging out there! There's no way to try that juice like that. I just try it elsewhere but its aggravating. It's their most expensive juice and that keeps people from testing it. I tried at least 4 different visits before going elsewhere. It's usually the same guys. Sometimes 1 guy will be different. They just sit and Vape in that spot which happens to be right in front of their most expensive juice. If I owned that store those dudes would be over on the couches, not there. They have a huge area with couches where you can Vape. Ugh.

Other than that issue, the other stores are awesome.

Why don't you just ask those two guys to move so you can taste the juice? Or even if they can pass you the samples. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to let you get at it.

 

[meemawpawpaw]

I didn't know what to expect when I walked into my first Vape shop. I'm a 60-year-old grandma who knew NOTHING about vaping, but I wanted to be around for my grandkids, so I became proactive. The staff was great! The owner came out and spent a lot of time explaining all aspects of being a Vaper. I never felt out of place (even tho I sport no tattoos...ha). I've since customized and upgraded a few times as he helped me discover exactly what I wanted in my vaping experience.
....so there you have it! My very first post on this Forum!
Meemaw

 

[Chelonian]

welcome to ECF, Mamaw!

 

[pahick]

I dont feel awkward. Irritated yes, but not awkward. Once I found this site and started reading, I realized how high their prices were, and how they push useless crap on you. They do let you try juices, but half of them taste like crap. I think its a good place to start, if youre not going to buy online. But theyre customers are getting short changed. Theres a big beautiful world or vaping out in internet land, and most stuff is a lot cheaper.

 

[ILoveNorCal]

They do let you try juices, but half of them taste like crap.

I noticed this too! All of their test flavours all tasted the same out of those crappy CE4 clearos.

 

[krisjay]

Sadly the local shop near me has an employee, who seems to be there always, and isn't the nicest guy I've met. Plus the juice they sell is kind of awful. Not a great situation, needless to say most of my biz is online.

 

[ninjazx11]

im in quebec canada
and we are getting surrounded by vapeshops, and we feel very welcomed in everyone of them..........

 

[Clappingwithonehand]

The last few months vaping has become so popular, there's hipster shops opening everywhere. Those places typically suck. Rule of thumb: If there's one hipster hat (you know exactly what I mean) in the place, there's a good chance they're douches. I've hit every vape shop I could find in the last 2 years and there's some great people out there, too. They are in the business of selling their inventory, so if they don't carry what you want, they're probably have no idea what it is and try selling you something else. Educate yourself online, buy online, but if you find a good shop you're comfortable in, be sure to support them. If not, use the hipsters as a showcase, then buy from one of the ECF Suppliers.

 

[AndriaD]

I noticed this too! All of their test flavours all tasted the same out of those crappy CE4 clearos.

That's probably true, and might be one reason I like tasting juices at The Vaping Shack; they use a tank with a removable drip tip, so they don't need to use those little "condom" things, they just give you a disposable drip tip to put in it; I asked the guy what kind of tanks they were, and he said it's a Volcano, their bottom-coil one. I'm very impressed with the flavor you get from them.

Andria

 

[ILoveNorCal]

That's probably true, and might be one reason I like tasting juices at The Vaping Shack; they use a tank with a removable drip tip, so they don't need to use those little "condom" things, they just give you a disposable drip tip to put in it; I asked the guy what kind of tanks they were, and he said it's a Volcano, their bottom-coil one. I'm very impressed with the flavor you get from them.

Andria

yeah we have one shop in town that actually uses tanks. but it's more of a vaping bar than a vape shop. I mean, they sell juice and gear-- but their main focus is the bar side of it. It's like $10 and you pick out 5 flavours and they bring you a caddy with 5 tanks and a battery, and you just vape and socialize there-- kinda like a hookah bar.

 

[AndriaD]

yeah we have one shop in town that actually uses tanks. but it's more of a vaping bar than a vape shop. I mean, they sell juice and gear-- but their main focus is the bar side of it. It's like $10 and you pick out 5 flavours and they bring you a caddy with 5 tanks and a battery, and you just vape and socialize there-- kinda like a hookah bar.

Wow... I just sit at the bar and he hands me the "menus" (a different laminated sheet for each brand he carries) and I tell him what I'd like to taste.. he hands me a box full of drip tips, I take one, and he hands me the mod. He's got them all setup on passthrus. Anyway I did that for over an hour a week or so ago, tasted... oh I dunno, 8 or 10 different flavors, and finally decided on one that was $8.99 for a 10ml, which I thought was fairly decent for retail -- it was a Nicquid flavor. But I like when he does 2 for $25 deals on 15ml bottles of Hard Rock Vapor, those are GREAT.

Andria