E-cigs not as cheap as everyone claims?

[Tachion]

I've been thinking about this recently. Been vaping for a couple months and it always seems like I'm buying more supplies (batts/cartos/atties) and liquid to stay stocked up. It got me thinking... how much am I really spending on all of this? So I added it up.

Let's say you use a 510, and you need to buy 1 new battery per month, and 1 new atty per month (or 5-10 cartomizers). That's at least $30/month right there for equipment alone.

Now, add in the e-liquid. If you want some good stuff (Alien Visions, Halo, etc.) you're looking at at least $20-30 for 30 mL of liquid. Lets say you're a moderate user (~2-3 mL/day), so you have to buy more juice roughly every 10 days, give or take. So that's $60-90/month in liquid.

Add it all up and you spend $90-120/month on your e-cig, not to mention the initial startup costs, which could very well be in the hundreds of dollars.

Is it still cheaper? I suppose. But it doesn't seem to be as cheap as everyone (including me) initially thought. Maybe if you stuck with the cheap Chinese liquids it would be, but I dunno.

Thoughts?

 

[Mr.Self_Destruct]

Where I live I'd be looking at about $70 a week on analogs. So this is cheaper for me. It's not cheap, but it is cheaper.

 

[chrisl317]

Look at my sig. I the past year I've spent maybe about $750 on e-cigs. I didn't go crazy trying to buy every different type or flavors of juice. I concentrated on satifying my nic craving and getting off analogs. Subtract my cig savings from my cost and it proves that e-cigs are cheaper in the long run. It used to cost me $13 a day to smoke, now, it costs me maybe $9 or $10 a week to vape. Much cheaper if you do the math.

 

[JustKryssi]

I've already broken even from buying my Vapor King kit. I save battery life by using my passthrough when I'm on my computer or in my car so my batts will last longer than a month for sure.

I only vape 0mg mint flavors so I'm not spending on a ton of flavors and I use CoolCarts for my 808; they don't burn out as quickly as other carts.

So, doing the math...if I keep going the way I am, I'll use 40ml of juice a month and my cartos are averaging a week each.

Juice (Tasty Vapor)
4oz (118 ml) @ $15.00 = just about 3 months of juice give or take

Cartos (Vapor4Life)
Box of 5 blanks @ 8.95 per box

This means I'll only be spending about $20 per month if you include some shipping costs. That is a big difference from the 165 to 200 I was spending per month on analogs. Even if you wanted to add a few bucks here and there for a new battery or accessory, the savings are still HUGE.

 

[dubd1c3]

I think it depends how you look at it.

I "consume" about $20-$25 month in cartos/juice.

But I buy more/new gear every month as I expore the world of vaping.

The gear aspect is the hobby aspect for me- I only include $15 passthrough for the actual cigarette aspect.

So, $15 startup and $25 monthly cost.

However, I spend $50 month for gear I want to try/collect/mess with etc. I include this in hobby aspect, to "find my place" in the world of vaping.

 

[tazzmann]

Holy cow! A 510 batt a month!? How much do you vape!? My wife is a pretty heavy vaper and is on her first batt for two months now. I couldn't imagine going through a batt a month unless it was defective. I personally use an eGo (but that may change when I get my Saber Touch), and have been using it since the first part of May. Have not replaced a batt yet. I have gone through two atties since April 23rd (which is when I switched to vaping). One died during a boiling cleaning and one just popped. I spend WAY too much on liquid, but I like having a variety of flavors. But I look for deals (most of the time) and spend only about $20 every two weeks on flavors. At over $8.50 per pack of smokes, I am still saving a TON! Especially considering both my wife and I smoked. She doesn't order parts or liquid, so I know I spend WAY less than I did on smokes.

 

[Steamin' E.]

Try becoming a Tasty Vapor customer.

An ego batt ($15) with cone costs 18 dollars.

A standard 510 batt costs six.

A 510 atty costs four.

180+ mL of 16 mg gourmet, hand-crafted juice usually costs 45 dollars, and occasionally will cost 35 dollars when it's on sale = less than $7.50 (or $5.83 on sale) per 30 mL bottle. Of course, if your TV order passes $100, you get 10% off, and 15% if you pass $200.

So, assuming you buy a new ego batt once a month, go through three 30 mL bottles in the same time period, and four atties, too...

you'll still only be spending:
$15.00 (batt)
$22.50 (juice)
+$16.00 (atties)
= $53.50

A tobacco habit usually costs quite a bit more than 53 bucks a month.

 

[IMWylde]

The real savings comes in about 10 years when you dont need radiation treatments or an iron lung.

 

[AngusATAT]

It's easy to save money using e-cigs. But in order to do so, you must be smart about the vendors you buy from, and don't get caught up in the "OMGNEWMODIGOTTAHAVEIT" syndrome. (Yes, I suffer from that one.)

Stock up on parts & juice when you can get them cheap, build up enough to last you a long time, then just don't buy anything else until you're starting to run low again.

If you're paying anywhere near $30 for one battery and one atomizer... you're not buying from the right places, if you're looking to spend less on e-cigs than you would if you were still smoking.

 

[bearscreek]

I save over $4 per day just comparing juice with cigs. It would be way more if I lived in a more expensive location and if I hadn't switched to cheaper cigarettes when I was smoking. Overall, factoring in hardware and everything, I'm still saving a bit over $1000 in a whole year's time. I have a spreadsheet keeping track of everything I've ever spent on vaping, including even the $2 buff puffs to use as cart filler, pure grain alcohol, and Crest Pro Health for atty cleaning.

 

[Happy Domino38]

Since I started vaping, I've plunked down AT LEAST $2500.00!

But, I got stupid..

I have the 510's, c The EGo, (Number 1!!), The Precise, (SO purty!!), and a V3 on the way. I have more juice than McCain's. But, I'm paranoid too. I live in Canada. There's ALREADY a ban here...'what if?' has colored my mind.

I need help...

But, now that I've discovered all the things that work for ME, I'm sticking with them. (Or, until I see another mod that looks cool..)

 

[Happy Domino38]

Ahem..speaking of 'cool looking mods'..hiiii Angus!!

OK, OK, I won't start THAT up again...

 

[River Rafter]

Being a newbie, I've been shopping around the different e-cig sites and pricing stuff out. I'm amazed at the price differences! One place sells a PCC for $18, another it costs $25 - same item, big mark up. It pays to shop around!

 

[the_antisheep]

I've been thinking about this recently. Been vaping for a couple months and it always seems like I'm buying more supplies (batts/cartos/atties) and liquid to stay stocked up. It got me thinking... how much am I really spending on all of this? So I added it up.

Let's say you use a 510, and you need to buy 1 new battery per month, and 1 new atty per month (or 5-10 cartomizers). That's at least $30/month right there for equipment alone.

Now, add in the e-liquid. If you want some good stuff (Alien Visions, Halo, etc.) you're looking at at least $20-30 for 30 mL of liquid. Lets say you're a moderate user (~2-3 mL/day), so you have to buy more juice roughly every 10 days, give or take. So that's $60-90/month in liquid.

Add it all up and you spend $90-120/month on your e-cig, not to mention the initial startup costs, which could very well be in the hundreds of dollars.

Is it still cheaper? I suppose. But it doesn't seem to be as cheap as everyone (including me) initially thought. Maybe if you stuck with the cheap Chinese liquids it would be, but I dunno.

Thoughts?

It actually hasn't been too bad for me, and is getting cheaper with time. My ego setup was initially ~$70, and I went nuts buying a whole bunch of flavors (maybe ~$100?). I have settled on two Dekang flavors that aren't whoopity-doo exciting and create "parties in my mouth," but are mellow and give me just the right amount of everything I crave from throat hit to vapor production. They cost appx $15 per 20ml and last me about a month per bottle.

So with a few maintenance costs the savings seem high. It depends on whether you are using this just as a cessation device, or a hobby. Hobbies are expensive.

E-Cig costs per month (not startup cost):
1. New batt (1 per 6 mths if it's really bad) = ~$24/6 = $4
2. New cartos (1 pack of 10 every 3 mths or so?) = ~$15/3 = $5
3. New Juice (1-2 per month) = ~$15*2 = $30

Per month: $39.00

Cig costs per month
1. 1.2 packs per day = ~((($25 per 5 pack)/5)*30) = $150

Per month: $150

savings = $111 per month (startup cost @ month 2)

My cost of cigs was generous, of course, and took into account a bulk discount. For many states, $5 a pack is pretty much a steal these days.

Now while this isn't saving the millions of dollars per year some widgets may claim, it does add up over the course of a year. $111 savings per month adds up to $1332 per year.

Giving up smoking is priceless, regardless of the cost (well, within reason). It's easy to see how this habit could cost exponentially more than the old habit if turned into a hobby.

 

[muttSRT]

Even using the prices you give, I smoked 3 packs of Marlboro reds a day. So 2 cartons a week, plus I always ended up buying a pack or 2 before payday. $80 + a week on cigarettes or $320+ a month... your numbers would convince me to buy.

As others have pointed out, there are cheaper liquids, hardware etc out there. I have never tried halo or even looked at their website, but if they are charging $30 for 30mls, someones getting ripped. TV or VB both offer custom hand made juices for roughly half of that. And both are well known as being flavorful and good quality juices.

I would say overall, the average person is saving each and every day they vape.

Plus, your example of $90/$120 a month is only $3/$4 a day....Way cheaper...thats less than a pack of smokes a day.

 

[SuZamme]

I am still using my original 510 batts and attys from cignot that I got in October of 2009.
I also have added addtional hardware and lots of juice from different suppliers.
The juice part was necessary but not the 100+ bottles I now have.
The hardware part is because I wanted it and it was a great way in my thinking to have several different flavors going at one time.
Now, with cartomizers, I probably won't ever use all the hardware and will sell it to fund the juice, when I run out of my "favorites".
How much did we spend on replacing clothes with little burn holes in them?
How much in the future on medical challenges from "smoking"?
How much is being able to smell and taste again worth? How valuable is not smelling and tasting like a disgusting ashtray?
Did you ever have a hot ash burn a hole in the backseat of your car?
How many times have you had to go outside to "smoke" in the cold, rain, heat etc.?
How much is it worth to NOT have those conversations in your head about "I should really quit" every time you bought yet another pack of "smokes"?

Wow! I have come a long way.

 

[bwood12043]

It's easy to save money using e-cigs. But in order to do so, you must be smart about the vendors you buy from, and don't get caught up in the "OMGNEWMODIGOTTAHAVEIT" syndrome. (Yes, I suffer from that one.)

QUOTE]

I agree with the above statement. Smart shopping is the key, there are some great deals at times, and vendors have sales, discount codes, etc., that help with costs.

New flavors can be tried through PIF, it's a great way to try something new before buying and let someone else try yours.

My hubby and I are saving a great deal over former cigarette costs, he is nearly completely cig free, and I am free for the last 14 months.

We I first started nearly two years ago, device choices were limited and it was hard to find the vape device that satisfied my heavy habit.

FInd your niche, find the vendors offering the best pricing and service, you will realize a great savings, and just think, you perhaps will NOT have to someday be out that monthly lease on oxygen equipment !

 

[cyberwolf]

I budget $60 a month for ecigs - half of what I was spending on cigarettes - and have absolutely no problem staying within that. And I do buy hardware I don't really need every now and then. I agree with Angus, you may need to find cheaper suppliers.

 

[Slickstick]

Depends on where you shop!

 

[DarkriftX]

You mention using expensive juices, but did you compare that with expensive cigs? I have seen some over $10 a pack (they avg 7/pk here right now). Pack a day at avg is 210/mo(ish) so yeah.... lots cheaper even on our cheap smokes.