brick and mortar store

[jetcityman]

Im looking for some help from some of the pros around here. I have an opportunity and am curious what the majority around here thinks of a brick and mortar store. What you have seen in stores, what you would like to see in stores.

If you had the opportunity to open one, what would you carry? devices, accessories, juice brand? Who would you use for a vendor to acquire your devices?

Please kindly respond with your thoughts on this.

Thanks all.

I love this Forum..

Jetcityman

 

[POSEIDON]

If it were mine, I would offer several different starter kits(egos, cigalikes, etc), several types of mechanical mods, provari, lava tube, Vammo, Zmax, cartos, vivi's, a genesis or 2, Liquid would be from 2 or 3 vendors with the option to have me order a customers favorite(starting in small amounts)

 

[onry]

i wish we had a B&M store around here.
if i had the opportunity to open one there would be as much as i could carry from ego's and twists
to zmax and vamos as well as mech mods. even provaris if possible.
VVN and carto tanks and RBA's from low end to higher end stuff.
juice from several vendors and if i had the capabilities to do so my own custom blends

 

[Bosco]

There seem to be a lot of stores popping up, both from what I've seen and read about, that specialize in ego twists and kanger or vivi nova clearos. They probably have some erolls, too.

I would say to definitely have those things - but also carry alternatives and more advanced gear for the hobbyists. Things like RBA's, some APV's, various batteries, maybe a house-made box mod. Try to be a resource for all kinds of vapors - don't just target the newbs with overpriced egos and clearos.

Definitely have a vapor lounge where people can try out juices. Get the cheapest drip-tips you can find and let people use those - one store I went to had a box of alcohol wipes set out - I know alcohol is probably enough to eliminate any chance of getting sick from sharing a driptip - but the idea of however many people using that driptip before me kind of skeeved me out.

Definitely I would carry juice from a variety of vendors, plus develop some housemade juice (profit margin on juice can't be ignored).
I don't know about distributors.

I might also wait to find out what the FDA says in April.

 

[jetcityman]

Thanks for the input guys. Im looking at opening a Lounge. Various devices from starters, to the advanced apv's etc. Gonna start with a juice vendor and ease into making our own. I want this to be a cool place to hang out while waiting in line. Also, i want it to be very educational for people. Not just sell them stuff and send them out the door but educate people so they leave and spread the word. I've already talked to my city officials. They are behind me, and think its a great idea. I have display cases, reserved web page, working on logos, cards etc. Trying to find a location has proven difficult, and established usa vendors to deal with reasonable prices.

Thanks again.

As for the FDA, i think its at most gonna be a taxation issue. Big tobacco is moving in so i dont see a ban. could be wrong, hope not cuz im moving forward with this. Already, sold my other business to move forward with this..

 

[Ken62]

I agree with what the others here are saying; don't cater to newbies only and don't price yourself so high that only a newbie would buy from you. Carry a good inventory of everything from beginner kits to advanced APV's and juices from a couple of vendors. I personally wouldn't start out with my own juice concoctions, just from a liability standpoint.

I would LOVE to do the same thing here in my area, the closest B&M is hours away even though there are over 1.5 million people in our metropolitan area. BUT!!!!! I don't think I will as I'm not sure I want to sell my business and start all over again...

 

[daw840]

Definitely wait until April to see how this whole FDA thing is going to shake out. It would excessively risky right now.

 

[orangepeeljones]

I live in southwest FL, and there are no less than 4(!!!!) vape stores in my area (about a 40 mile radius).
One of them carries everything you could imagine: everything Joyetech makes, pretty much every Kanger thing, eRolls, 808 kits, Provaris, etc...and the prices are comparable to online shops.
Not so big on their juice though, which is mostly Dekang.
Another place called Vape King has the best juices, and the best sampling setup:
eGo-T's with clearos ready to go, they just put a latex tip over the tip so you can try anything you want on a good setup rather than center post dripping.
Another place I went has some more exotic mods, but the people creeped me out so I didn't go back.
Gotta love good customer service!

 

[bobbybilly]

As a newb myself I can't contribute to the technical aspects of your venture, but I'm glad to hear you're interested in educating along with selling. I've only been in 1 B & M so far and the reason I will go back there when I go back there to visit family is because they were so friendly and knowledgeable. If you have some great customer service and good products I'm sure you'll do well. Who knows maybe when you're ready to grow you can expand up here in Chicago as we could use some stores in the city. There are some in the burbs, but for those of us that live in the city proper we could use a few stores too. Good luck!

 

[NancyR]

As a newb myself I can't contribute to the technical aspects of your venture, but I'm glad to hear you're interested in educating along with selling. I've only been in 1 B & M so far and the reason I will go back there when I go back there to visit family is because they were so friendly and knowledgeable. If you have some great customer service and good products I'm sure you'll do well. Who knows maybe when you're ready to grow you can expand up here in Chicago as we could use some stores in the city. There are some in the burbs, but for those of us that live in the city proper we could use a few stores too. Good luck!

Chicago is blessed not just with some really great B&M's but one of the best monthly meets that happens, they are the people hosting VapeBash.

 

[Cicada]

Tons of stores popping up around my area.

Ideally, you'd carry the basics (cartos, vivis, tanks, etc)

different PV's in different styles at every price point (twist/spinner, itaste, vmax/zmax, evic)

and then some high-end mechanicals or mods (ProVari, high-end mech mods, etc)

one of my local stores does something interesting -- they test all the juices they carry, so almost every juice they carry is decent. i've seen some that just have massive menus and the majority are junk.

 

[Unc1987]

there are quite a few brick and mortar stores in my city (5 or 6 in a city of 100.000). i have been to several and can tell you what i my favorites are. professionals, they know about all the products and juices and pros and cons. you can also try the different eliquids. they sell cases, chargers, cigalikes, and egos (all the stores for the most part). they can order you special stuff based on your preferences and their recommendations, if a product breaks they will replace it (customer service i guess is what i'm getting at). BUT, you do pay a premium for this. batteries are marked up. ejuice tends to cost around 6 bucks for 10 ml. some of them have referral systems (you give them your friends name, which they have on file and you and your friend get a discount), they have coupons.

anyways, the overall good thing is you can test the eliquid and get replacement for broken batteries (2 ego minis of mine broke) but other than that there internet is cheaper, especially once you know what you like. i personally go to the store, one to support local business and two it's convenient, no waiting on USPS.

 

[jetcityman]

Thanks everyone for all the input.

Really love this forum..

 

[unloaded]

We've got a great local shop, they are really good with the newbies but also have enough stuff to keep the more experienced vapers coming back. Every time I go there it is busier than the last. They also do online sales which I'm not sure you're interested in. Besides their own line of juice they carry AVE, Halo and PinkSpot. You can check out their site to see what all they carry.
https://vaporbank.com/shop/