B&M's are dangerous!

[Paramaniac413]

Yup, that's what I said - they are dangerous! To my wallet. lol. I discovered last night that I can't use the 18 or 16mg juice that I have anymore as it's just too much nic. I stopped at the B&M to get 0mg to cut down what I had. Ended up leaving with the 0mg juice and a Hobo v2 clone. On the way home, I realized I forgot to get the kanthal I needed. Another B&M between me and home. I'm always looking for good juice, so I decided to try some, but tasted none of it. So...I had that shiny new Hobo in the car...that I proceeded to build a coil on and try juice with. I did get the kanthal I needed...but also ended up with some 6mg Mother's Milk. I had never liked the stuff before since it really didn't taste like anything - until I tried it with the RDA! Now I have a new problem in that I had bought the Hobo just for tasting, but I like it so much that I may end up having to get an Igo-W because I want to keep using the Hobo! B&M's are dangerous, I tell ya!

 

[DaddyO]

I enjoy the B&M experience as well, the pricing not so much, lol. And it seems every time I walk inside one, they want to know what my setup is so they can try to sell me one at a 2-3x markup compared to online vendors. Not quite as bad as some car salesmen/women, but reminds me of those!

 

[Cacique]

I must be lucky. I have a B&M about 10 minutes from my house that DIYs great juice. They get in quality clones that IMO are worth the maybe $10 more over getting it from fasttech, similar pricing to online vendors but I haven't looked around a whole lot. The owner seems intent on getting you set up with what will work best than with trying to convince you of something more expensive. When I bought my Aspire CF Mod and Atlantis combo he showed me other mods he felt were better and more powerful, but as I was just looking for a good tank and hadn't gotten into re-building and all that he said the set up would work best for me. I eventually got into rebuilding, so I got my Mutation X v2 and SMPLE clones there and keep going for their juice and to check out the selection.

 

[maximuz]

I outgrew my b&mbas he only carried evod batterys and about 6-7 diff tanks that they can handle. Upgraded to a istick 50w and subtank. Now i just go there for juice that he diys fresh(only thing i can get local cept my own diy) and coils for the 3 tanks i use that isnt my subtank. Closest shop besides that one is 4hrs away

 

[Paramaniac413]

I am fairly lucky in that one B&M near me has fairly reasonable prices. Some have huge markups, but where I got the Hobo isn't too much above online prices. If the customer service is good, I'll pay a little extra...which is pretty dangerous. lol. I just can't believe I had never really tasted the Mother's Milk before. That's what I get for leaving the dripper at home I guess. lol

 

[Vicshalls]

I am just glad I am not that big into dripping. There are not a lot of rta's out there and most of the b&m 's ha e more drippers than anything. So that saves me money. Lol I just hate the juice chase. Ugh!

 

[dhood]

My local B&M used to have prices that I considered a bit high (Kayfun Lite Plus clone for 60, online for less than 30). But recently their prices have really been competitive. They are selling the iStick 50W for $55 and the Kanger Subtank mini for $38. Prices like that, to me, are worth buying local.

 

[DaddyO]

My local B&M used to have prices that I considered a bit high (Kayfun Lite Plus clone for 60, online for less than 30). But recently their prices have really been competitive. They are selling the iStick 50W for $55 and the Kanger Subtank mini for $38. Prices like that, to me, are worth buying local.

Those are pretty good prices it seems. My local is selling the iStick 50w for $64.99. Not a terrible markup I guess

 

[slinco]

I have 2 B&Ms within 12 miles of me.
One has really good prices but its a lounge so there are a bunch of youngsters hanging out blowing clouds in your face-not cool.
The other shop does not allow that but his inventory is lacking.
Online is the way to go

 

[ismokeinbinary]

My local B&Ms are dangerous for the wallet as well...
$79 for an iStick 50, $100 for a mini Nauty starter kit, $20 for 18ml house juice. Yeahh, I stick with the interwebs/DIY..

 

[Paramaniac413]

One of these days I'll probably try DIY juice...should be easier on the wallet. I don't go through a ton right now - filled the STM yesterday (probably around 30ish hours ago) and it's down just below the top of the OCC coil, so maybe 3ml or 4ml in that time, but I also vape a different juice in the mornings (Cinnabun goes great with the morning coffee!), so I guess it depends on the juice, what tank, dripper, etc. Would still probably be worth while to DIY.

 

[bombo81]

Is funny u mention that, cuz that use to be me until i start buyin everything, and i mean everything online, now the b&m is just a hanging spot for me, now a days i drop new juices to the owner and conversations, knowledge on this industry, but that's all, but i can relate to those days, i always spend a hundo on each trip. be cereful peeps!

 

[CajunCloud]

I now have 5 vape shops within 5 miles of me and several smoke shops that carry some vape supplies. I would swear that the competition now that they have more shops has RAISED prices. I like to support local shops but I just can't pay 200-400% mark ups on the same things I can order online and have in a few days. The biggest threat to B&M is B&M me thinks. If you can order 1 item for 100% less or more then buying it locally imagine how much they are getting it for as a dealer at wholesale pricing. Even less then you paid online for your sweet deal. I realize overhead yada yada but there comes a point where you simply price yourself right out of having customers. In this day and age of online ordering and deal finding many people will just stick to ordering items.

Now that I am into DIY juice and rebuilds I really have no reason to go to any of them now. They are already obsolete to me just based on the economics of it all. Honestly though most of the in house juices sucked badly anyway. I'd go because hey you can try before you buy unlike online crap shoot right. But that didn't matter because out of 50 I might like 2-3. I've made more then that many I like already DIY lol.

CC

 

[PhillyMike]

I enjoy the B&M experience as well, the pricing not so much, lol. And it seems every time I walk inside one, they want to know what my setup is so they can try to sell me one at a 2-3x markup compared to online vendors. Not quite as bad as some car salesmen/women, but reminds me of those!

exactly. i felt that way everytime i walked into a shop. and when they find out you got it online they act like your "that guy".

 

[DietSalem]

I love my B&M because they're good friends of mine but like all B&M their prices are quite high. It's like 6 dollars for like 2 feet of Kanthal. We buy what we can, usually trying to spend at least around 100 dollars a month there just to help them out regardless of prices. People have to remember that we NEED these B&M stores and without them we'd be in a world of trouble. Support them.

 

[BeerGolfClouds]

There are a ton of B&M shops in my area, and they are all "scene" type places. High prices, hipsters, and inventory specific to their preferences. I can't get max vg (let alone 20pg/80vg) anywhere but online. It's like if I walk into their shop and don't leave with a $40 30ml bottle of the hottest juice I'm the idiot. One shop is a bit better, I'll run over there and buy a couple feet of kanthal if I have an idea that can't wait for vapemail.

It seems like many owners just wanted to jump on the money train. I was vacationing and stopped into a shop to check it out. Owner was a very nice guy, but was also somewhat clueless. A fellow walked in for an RDA rebuild, and the owner took about 30 minutes to do it...and he ended up putting a .2 ohm build on a hammer mod using an efest 18350. Facepalm. He also had 3 customers walk in and leave during that time because he was too busy to assist. It probably wasn't my place to do so, but I didn't let the guy leave with that build. Gave him a safer build myself, had the owner download steam engine and a battery chart, and sat there for a couple hours making pre-built coils so he could handle more customers. The owner seemed genuinely appreciative, hopefully his business has grown since then.

 

[Paramaniac413]

exactly. i felt that way everytime i walked into a shop. and when they find out you got it online they act like your "that guy".

I was in a shop one day, but the owner was totally cool with the 'cheaper online' thing. He even told me where to look. It was actully good for business as I'd be more likely to go back since he was super helpful.

 

[duc916]

ended up with some 6mg Mother's Milk. I had never liked the stuff before since it really didn't taste like anything - until I tried it with the RDA!

It's always funny to read people's uppity opinions of premium juices when all they vape with are disposable heads sold in blister packs... they have no idea what good juices are actually supposed to taste like. It's like giving your review of some expensive scotch, but diluting it with a glass of water.

 

[DaddyO]

It's always funny to read people's uppity opinions of premium juices when all they vape with are disposable heads sold in blister packs... they have no idea what good juices are actually supposed to taste like. It's like giving your review of some expensive scotch, but diluting it with a glass of water.

Lol, well I do find the disposable Atlantis heads to be impressive, though they ship in blister packs.

 

[twgbonehead]

Lol, well I do find the disposable Atlantis heads to be impressive, though they ship in blister packs.

Yeah, but those are coil heads! (or "coils"). I think Duc was referring to heads like the CE's (where the whole head is a disposable).