Can someone tell me what happened to the Altoids / Penguin vv mod from Smartvapes?

[Lord Vaako]

I bought one of these about a year ago as my spare. Here's a link to the thread that I saw about them on this forum:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...rum/355943-smartvapes-mods-have-your-way.html

My main went down and I just picked up my altoids mod to use it again on Saturday and I can barely get over 4v out of it. I've tried dual or single 18650's, different types - same results. It used to work the last time I used it and it's just been sitting in my drawer, so it was barely used and never damaged. I went on Smartvapes site and my email address isn't even recognized anymore. I tried the link to the product and it doesn't exist anymore. Anyone have any info they can share that might help me?

Thanks

 

[tsbrewers]

can't help much, but I found your thread looking to see if they still make/sell them. Mine is getting pretty ragged after 2 years of heavy use and I would like another one.

 

[Lord Vaako]

Well, here's what I was able to find out.

I got in touch with the owner of Smartvapes.com asking what I would need to do to get mine repaired. The owner built the mods and sold them himself. I had barely used the mod since buying it as merely a backup to my Provari. When I went to use it one day, it wouldn't allow me to adjust the voltage over 4v.

The owner needed to be chased after simply to get a response. He called a one year old product that he personally created and sold "obsolete", and basically told me I was out of luck and that he "wouldn't even remember how to repair it". Pretty funny considering that he initially told me the exact part that was faulty sight unseen.

Meanwhile, Provari was repairing their product free of charge that was purchased the same week as the Altoids (aka Penguin) mod - which Smartvapes marketed as being more advanced at the time. And for the record, I never asked for either device to be fixed for free.

So the lesson learned? First and foremost, I'm going to stay away from Smartvapes. They seem to be run and operated by one man out of his garage who sold a product that he could not support or stand by. The only thing obsolete is his failed business model being that the cheap Chinese vaping devices out there on any other site had the same features and outlasted his own product after only a year. Funny how Smartvapes now only sells items from that category since they couldn't compete selling this mod.

Being that I couldn't count on Smartvapes to help me with their own creation and the saturation of the market with cheap alternatives, I would anticipate the entire site meeting the same fate as their Altoids mod. Would you buy from them again if this happened to you when you could get the same items they sell cheaper and from a larger more dependable site? You could also build your own "obsolete" mod yourself as many people on this forum do these days.

The other lesson learned is that you get what you pay for. Spend a little more for a better product from a better company. If something does happen to go wrong, you get helped and don't end up dealing with a hack calling himself a CEO.

Smartvapes pushed this product through posts on this forum by way of "user reviews". Looking back it's hard not to wonder if these were legitimate or just schills.

 

[Rickajho]

Umm... bit harsh.

 

[Scarey]

Umm... bit harsh.

That's what they get for having crappy customer service.

 

[BernieVideo]

Sorry to hear about your problem with the smart vapes mod.

A thought, after sitting so long, perhaps the battery connections have tarnished or corroded.

Did you try cleaning/brushing them? They may not be making a good connection or maybe build up is causing massive resistance.

Bout all I could think of.


Tapatalking on iPhone.
Join the CASAA.
Protect your Vaping Rights!

 

[Lord Vaako]

Sorry to hear about your problem with the smart vapes mod.

A thought, after sitting so long, perhaps the battery connections have tarnished or corroded.

Did you try cleaning/brushing them? They may not be making a good connection or maybe build up is causing massive resistance.

Bout all I could think of.


Tapatalking on iPhone.
Join the CASAA.
Protect your Vaping Rights!

Thanks for reaching out and trying to help. I didn't store it with batteries in it. It literally looked brand new and was only used for about a month. I tried everything I could, even polishing those. Luckily I was able to find and try some 1.25ohm dual coil cartomizers that it still worked great with. It would only power those to 3.6v, but it worked at least.

One thing that sticks out here regarding this mod is that all of the internals were covered in hot glue. They didn't tell me that would be the case before buying it and it's probably why he didn't want to fix it. Is this a bit harsh? I don't think so. It's my honest experience.

Here's an excerpt from our emails.

Not really sure how to respond? Your talking about a obsolete product we
stopped making about a year ago? Even when they were being sold we offered
6 month warranty on them and you have had it for around 10 months? I am
really not sure how I can be of help. I have not made a mod in a long time
and probably don't have a clue what I am doing anymore.

Allan Bullock
CEO SmartVapes LLC
SmartVapes - Electronic Cigarettes, Dripping Atomizer, E-Liquid and More!
Follow our blog www.blog.smartvapes.com for deals and our coupon codes



-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2013 3:45 PM
To: Allan Bullock
Subject: Re: Package Shipped to You

Allan please respond. I never thought you would intentionally disregard my
messages. I'm simply looking for you to repair a defective device and
instruct me on how to proceed.