Are all B&Ms like this??

[newconvert]

i actually asked the OP's question from all my shops, their answer is simple, the vast maybe 90% of their sales comes from internet sales.

 

[donwuan]

I get the feeling I dont fit in when I go to b&m stores in ga. Could be tons of different reasons. But if I had to describe the vapers I have seen I would be the opposite.

Like previous poster stated 200% markup is the norm. And I know they order from the same places.

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[gando_salo]

I personally dont see B&M's lasting very long.
Its a complete walk over economically when it comes to being against the online market.
The only viable option is ejuice stores which are starting to pop up now..

 

[Maligator]

Also in the RI area is Sunshine Vapes .. he operates out of a flea market but he's a really good guy, mixes his own juices (good stuff too) and has reasonable prices. Mostly low end stuff, starter kits and such, but if you need a battery or carto in a pinch he's got them.

What flea market does he go to? I'm right over the border in MA and looking to support anything local.

 

[Truncheon]

I just checked out the new altsmoke location in cincinnati, and I've got to say it was absolutely amazing. It was large, classy, super clean. There was a long juice tasting bar with all the flavors bottles lined up on the counter and filled t3s in front with the names of juices marked on them. Rows of testing batteries were lined up behind the juices. They set you up with a stool and a drip tip condom and give you a list of all their flavors so you can make notes as you taste. The juices were arranged by price point, with the budget brands one end and the top shelf ones on the other. I chatted with the guys, who were very knowledgable.

There was a lounge area, with couches, big screen tv on the wall (maybe a couple, can't remember). I didn't hang out in the lounge area while I was there.

When I was done testing the juices I wandered over to look at the gear. The guy got out several mods and let me put my protank on them and try them out. They had a large selection of batteries, mods, delivery devices, etc...

I've been in several vape shops that were adequate, but certainly not special. More like what was described earlier in the thread. Bare bones, everything sealed away in glass cases. Altsmoke was in a whole different category. I'm so psyched that this place is 30 minutes from my house.

i found my experience with the cincinnati altsmoke store the same. very, very nice looking place. incredible tasting bar with a lineup of stools and it seemed at least a hundred flavors, very comfortable looking, welcoming lounge area, and just an all-around classy place. it felt like an upscale bar or something. it was, at that time, kind of hard to locate, and unfortunately in an almost dead shopping plaza/strip mall. i visited maybe a month before the grand opening - they had probably only been open for a week or two at the time, and besides another person who was sitting with the manager, i was the only one in there aside from the younger salesman who gave me his full attention. i was well beyond my vape budget for the month so i couldn't buy anything, but i pulled out a couple bucks to try out a vision nano, which was a decent little disposable. if i was in that part of town more often, i'd visit frequently, but i never get over that way. their selection was great, and i would really like to get back there if only to windowshop... surprisingly, the salesman had never seen a vamo, so i took mine out to show him how it vapes.

the only other b&m experience, aside from a cig shop near my work that sells some poor knockoffs, is vaporcast in dayton. the guys are nice enough - the first time i was there was around lunchtime on a weekday, and it was busy, so i kind of felt a bit rushed in my decision to pick up a new vape device (twist and iclear 16 and some juice - i had vaped for over a year on 510 cigalikes but stress and lack of good options made me go back to smokes for about a year and a half), but aside from later feeling like i overpaid for the gear, i was satisfied enough to go back once or twice more for more juice (their house juice is good but a bit more than i like to pay, especially now since i'm doing more DIY) and a few clearos. each time i was back in there, i felt the service was good and the salespeople i dealt with were friendly, helpful and professional.

that said, i would really like to support more b&ms, but i just can't afford to. i'm trying to keep in the black in my vaping vs. the amount i've spent on cigs - saving money is a huge part of it for me - and b&ms just won't allow me to do so. even at sale prices on juice that were going on the last time i was at vaporcast, it's still too expensive for me at the moment. really, and unfortunately, one of the reasons i shop online is to avoid the sales tax - i try not to even order online from an in-state shop to avoid the sales tax, unless they're the only place that has something i need. maybe that's a copout, but i have to really pinch pennies where i can. i wish it were different, but ultimately, i'm a bit of a cheapskate. not really - i just want to save as much cash as i can to spend on my kids...

 

[loggerhead]

Quite a few vape shops have opened in Austin over the past 2 years- 5 that I know of. I've been to two here and one in San Antonio and they are all the same: nicely-sized storefronts that are 80% empty except for a sparsely-furnished "lounging" section and a service counter with ALL the merchandise hidden behind it. They all have interiors with the charm of a drab empty sales office.

I will say that everyone working in the shops have been helpful and pleasant to deal with, but what's with not displaying the merchandise? Other than the rare occasions when I need an emergency piece of (cheap) replacement kit, the only other reason I would spend real money in a B&M is if it offered me something that the internet can't offer: up close, hands-on browsing. I'm not going to purposefully go to a B&M to pay 20-40% more for gear, but if I go there for a 510-ego connector and spy an evic sitting nicely in a display case, I might just impulse buy that bad boy.

So are most shops around the country like this?

Jupiter Florida...... $15 for 10ml of the worst juice imaginable and $75 for a crappy o name starter kit... I don't know how they can stay in business!!

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[arcelt]

That's exactly like my local shop. 2 round tasting tables, wide open sales floor, and products behind a counter.

Geez...*Twilight Zone Music Playing*...the one and only local shop is exactly like that. I thought it was just their personal preference. Why are so many doing business in this way?

 

[Bill Oso]

At least you guys have B&M stores where you live. Only two in my state, both an hour away. My guess is that e-cig stores don't have a whole lot of money to buy a ton of stuff to display because vaping is pretty new.

 

[Rocketpunk]

At least you guys have B&M stores where you live. Only two in my state, both an hour away. My guess is that e-cig stores don't have a whole lot of money to buy a ton of stuff to display because vaping is pretty new.

That is true to some degree. However, the B&M's I've been to all had a ton of storage space behind the storefront. The same for my own. A show room to display the merch, and a huge stock room in the back. Some B&M's do online sales, as well. What you see in a B&M show room is only the tip of the iceberg.

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