Darn brick and mortar stores!

[pinkie1205]

I love the idea of B&M stores. I like how they make getting supplies convenient even if they charge a few extra bucks for their items. I like supporting the local economy and I like how they almost advertise how vaping is better than smoking.

There are 3 B&M in my town. The one is VERY overpriced. The other one is more of a hangout plus they buy all their stuff from fast tech or some similar distributor and double their prices. They are tolerable because they make their juice in house so they will make it any way you like.

A new one just opened up. They do advertising here and there on Facebook. They claimed to get in liquids such as Unicorn Milk and Sugarbear. The other day they said on their facebook page they got in some eleaf isticks. This made me very interested as I have been waiting to buy one. The one B&M here sells them for $50, but this place said they are selling them for $37. Pretty decent deal IMO. I wouldn't have to pay and wait on shipping. I asked if today they would be open and they assured me they would even though it's a holiday. I get to the store and of course, they're closed. I kind of decided then, that I'm not going back. I was only going there for the convenience and instant gratification and to try Unicorn Milk as everyone raves about it. Their pictures on FB do show that a lot of their items probably come from fasttech and when I looked in the windows today, they had like a dining room table and chairs set up. Not very professional/inviting IMO. They are also located in a very bad, high traffic area.

I decided that they lost my business. I had to drive across town and beat traffic to get there. I only went because they told me they were open. I got there around 1pm. IMO that's plenty of time to open a store on a holiday.

So, has anyone else ever gotten fed up with a B&M store? This place seems like they open and close whenever they want.

Does anyone know where I can get a decent price on an istick too? LOL

 

[CloudyWithChanceOfVape]

Bite the bullet and order it from FastTech.....

Or Bite the bullet and go back to that store JUST to buy the Istick. lol

There are 3 shops in my area too, and One is a "hangout" for a bunch of stoners that only sit around and play X-Box until a customer comes in, then only 1 person wants to help customers while the others watch TV and play games.
The other shop here is WAAAAYYYY overpriced because it is a new futuristic looking shop so they have to pay for all their nice stuff and 70" TV on the wall and strobe lights and "highgrade" mods and spit.....

I prefer the Middle shop because it is professional, reasonable prices, (I do their graphic design work so I get to haggle down alot on prices), plus they mix their own combinations of juice anway you want them.

 

[CloudyWithChanceOfVape]

FluidVapes.com has Eleaf iSticks for 39.99 plus 6.95 shipping.... Not too bad, plus it would be here alot faster than fasttech

Also The Eleaf IStick mini's are about 34.00

 

[KGB7]

All 3-4 stores in our area get their supplies from same warehouse in Laurel and i dont know where they get it from.

The dude in College Park B&M knows all about latest gear thats coming out 6 month from now, hes like a Vaping guru and has deep roots in Cali vaping community. The store has an interesting juice selection that i havent seen before.



So did you talk to them on the phone they are open before you drove there?

 

[Danbrooks2k]

I started by taking advice from vape shops near me... within 3 months I had better gear and had tried Bobas bounty, frankenvape, deadly sin... had a little street cred built.

Then I just kinda cut them slack... yeah I was rocking a kayfun clone on an MVP, but hey let them sell vivi novas and egos... I will just buy a bottle of juice to at least show my support.

Recently I only used one near where i stay the night before I fly offshore... maybe for a few back up coils, maybe for some juice if I was desperate.

Last trip was to return a VW mod they sold me with a bad charging port. I just wanted to exchange it for something else and got a bunch of attitude. One girl ther knows I spend a lot, if I decide to spend and she made it happen... I exchanged the mod for 2 CF SUb batteries, a back up atlantis and some juice. 22$ out of pocket.

I am not going back... I may consider visiting a high end shop to sample flavors, but really I by authentic stuff from fasttech and have my main juice vendors... I am tired of overpriced shops... they need me... I dont need them anymore.

 

[pinkie1205]

I talked to them yesterday and they assured me they would be open today.

I might stalk their facebook page and see if they do end up opening. I *might* drive out there again. My biggest problem is their location. It's on a one way highway. In order for me to get turned around to get where I am coming from, I have to cross 3 lanes of highway then do a U turn. It's just not that easy.

I found a few sites that have the isticks on sale for $26ish plus shipping. Like I said, I want instant gratification but I will wait I suppose. I work for the next 3 days (long shifts) and I won't get a chance to get out there anyway, I might as well wait on the mail.

I thought about Fasttech, but honestly I would pay a bit more to have it here in less than 3 weeks.

KGB7-Do you know if there are any online stores that ship from MD?

 

[VapinWolf]

As a former store owner, I understand the importance of being "open", but I also understand that being a mom n pop place means if I am celebrating a holiday, I am closed I typically opened on days I could celebrate at work. IE: 4th July
If I hired someone to run the store, had to pay them, prices go up to cover that.

If you do the math, you realize to have no profit unless you either have huge markup or very low overhead.

This owner should have been there, if they said they would be. But, having been on both sides, I would cut them some slack until you find out why they were not.

The last time I had to explain to a customer why I was closed after he had driven past several stores to get to mine and was very upset I was not open.... The explanation included details of a strong arm robbery, assault with a baseball bat, er visit etc.

I hope nothing bad happened at the store, maybe they were there until lunch with no customers so they decided to lock it up. Been there done that. Before you write them off ask why they were closed. You might get an apology and a discount.

 

[KGB7]

Google; online vape stores in md. And youll get about 5-6 hits.

 

[BlkWolfMidnight]

Howdy,
Happy New Years!!

I can see both sides of the coin on this one being a manager of a mom n pop's fast food restaurant at one time. If the business is lacking then they may close down the shop to reduce overhead and operating costs (employee labor and the such). That is depending on even if they have employees to begin with, which they may not.

We would shut down the store if no one came in to reduce costs and depending on the flow of traffic may shut down completely. I guess one thing I've learned being in the operations part of a business is that cost of operations takes precedence over customers (in some ways staying open for just you or another person may be in a sense taking money out of the owners profit margin).

I'm not saying that the shop stating that they would be open and not being open is bad form, it is however, this is why I call day of (usually 2 hours or so before) heading down somewhere to ensure that I'm not making a useless trip.

B&M shops need customers, you are correct. The overhead is filtered down in to the cost of the devices and liquids that you buy (BTW, if you DIY E-Juice, you would understand why those prices never increase, really look it up sometime) also keep in mind most high end users have their devices and mods, atomizers and the such. The shop in reality very rarely makes any profit on those things (I know this working with a local B&M shop nearby) so the cost of the devices unfortunately get bounced up to make up for it. Also like computers these devices are out of date in a few months with the power users looking for the hottest trend in vaping so loss exists there unloading post dated merchandise. You have heating and display cabinets, lighting and various other goods that a business requires to run rolled in to the price as well.

I guess with the invent of the internet we all have forgotten the cost adjustment for running a B&M store front. The truth is its costly, time consuming and economically not viable in a lot of ways. I'd say contact the owner and see what happened, you'll prob. find that an apology will be provided however I'd say don't be upset if one isn't given. Decisions are always made for the best interest of the business overall and not a single person, this has and always will be truth.

 

[pinkie1205]

I understand that it costs etc to run a business. I live in a smaller town with many mom and pop businesses running. Some stay successful and some fail. I also understand that stuff happens like emergencies.
Looking at this places Facebook page, it seems like they open whenever they want and close whenever they want.
I know someone who runs a small successful computer store. He opens at the same time every day. If he isn't opening or is closing early he puts a sign on his door and posts it to his Facebook page.
The other shop here actually sent out an email saying they were closed today.
I shouldn't have to track a store owner down to make a purchase. Like I said, I know it's a holiday but they also said they would be open (maybe they forgot it was a holiday??)
Like someone else said, they need me, but I don't need them.


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[Woofer]

<snip> I by authentic stuff from fasttech <snip>

that strikes me as very funny

 

[bullet08]

there are number of vape shops around here. 3 that's close to me. one looks like not my type of place. other place looks like hippie hang out. only place that i like is some 40 min drive. i go there every other week to get juice. only problem is, they are always low on stock. lot of people around here go there to get their juice since they are one of only place that seems to stock brand name juices. but because of that, if i don't get there on time, they are already sold out on things that i want. so now i just order it from online. less hassle, less gas, and i know i'll be getting what i want instead of second.. third choice. i got all my hardware from FT. i already have working set up, so waiting 3..4.. 5 weeks isn't all that much of hassle.

 

[klynnn]

I just got one of these and the shipping is quite fast, I added the 5.00 for priority and it was delivered on a Sunday. Electronic Cigarette - Best Electronic Cigarette - Vapor Cigarette Buy the Best Eleaf iStick from www.evape.us

 

[JayWer]

Wondering what the stores are. I live in Lower Delaware and was going to stop at one in OC on Monday while I was in that area but they happened to be closed on Mondays. We have one about 5 minutes away on RT 1 that started popping up everywhere this summer. Another on Rt 24 thats pretty over priced. The one that started popping up everywhere is a nice spot in my opinion, maybe a buck or two higher but considering costs of shipping its not at all bad. They are more of a small chain/franchise than I would consider a real brick and mortar though. Then you have a few tobacco shops and boardwalk spots that sell very over priced generics, wouldn't even call them clones.

 

[Strings]

Sweet Vapes has the iStick for $35

I understand your pain: have dealt with other shops closing "at whim", with seemingly no rhyme or reason

Seems that B&M owners come in the typical variety. I'm lucky: Sweet Vapes is only about 20 minutes away, so I just buy my gear there

 

[AndriaD]

Sweet Vapes has the iStick for $35

I understand your pain: have dealt with other shops closing "at whim", with seemingly no rhyme or reason

Seems that B&M owners come in the typical variety. I'm lucky: Sweet Vapes is only about 20 minutes away, so I just buy my gear there

Lucky dawg. I'm addicted to their Blueberry Muffin!

Andria

 

[Strings]

LOL

They sold me my first "post-Blu" kit. And almost all the gear I've bought since

Weird thing: I've been into several other shops (including chains): SV has the best prices I've found, and has always given me awesome service

 

[AndriaD]

LOL

They sold me my first "post-Blu" kit. And almost all the gear I've bought since

Weird thing: I've been into several other shops (including chains): SV has the best prices I've found, and has always given me awesome service

Yeah, I just re-upped my Blueberry Muffin, and since it was with my xmas money, I also took advantage of their terrific price on AW 18350s -- $7.95! They're not the 10 amp ones, but the lower amp ones, I think 6A. Still a fabulous price. I had to replace the AWs I bought that turned out to be counterfeit, so I checked the authorized sellers list, and was delighted to find Sweet-Vapes on it -- DesertVapes too, whom I also order from pretty often, but SV's price on those 6A batteries was unbeatable. I also love their price on an EHPro Kayfun Lite Plus, somewhere around $25 I think, but couldn't do it right at the moment -- hope they keep those around.

Andria

 

[pinkie1205]

I've found a couple of isticks here and there but honestly I'm so hesitant to buy one. I almost completed checkout twice for one and cancelled both times.
I don't know, with all the clones/fakes/knockoffs whatever, I want to make sure I'm getting the real deal.
Sometimes I think there are no knockoffs, I think they're all the same, coming from the same Chinese plant. The companies just slap their logo on the item and call it a day.
I get my mini pro tanks from fast tech. I always go through the listing that says "authentic" That still doesn't mean much though, I got an "authentic" spinner and pro tank off eBay as a start up kit and the pro tank from fast tech looks different and the spinner looks identical even though the spinner from fast tech was just a "spinner style".
I collect hand bags and with those it's easy to spot the fakes. Not so easy with vape items.
I might just order the istick from Mt Baker so I can order some juice at the same time, or another company the offers both.


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[pinkie1205]

Wondering what the stores are. I live in Lower Delaware and was going to stop at one in OC on Monday while I was in that area but they happened to be closed on Mondays. We have one about 5 minutes away on RT 1 that started popping up everywhere this summer. Another on Rt 24 thats pretty over priced. The one that started popping up everywhere is a nice spot in my opinion, maybe a buck or two higher but considering costs of shipping its not at all bad. They are more of a small chain/franchise than I would consider a real brick and mortar though. Then you have a few tobacco shops and boardwalk spots that sell very over priced generics, wouldn't even call them clones.

The biggest store here is SS Vape. I think they might be widespread.