"fake" vape shops?!

[GMayberry]

We have a few dedicated vape shops in town, one of which is MUCH better in terms of appearance, staff, knowledge, and juice. On the other hand, a guy at work told me about a tobacco store (smoke shop that has always carried cigs and beer only) about 5 minutes from our office that is now selling vape gear and juice. I had to go check it out.

He has EVERY POSSIBLE clone on the market. I mean Nemi clones, hammer clones, Hana Modz clones, you name it, its there!! He even has Kayfun clones. And honestly, I was floored at how low his prices are on gear.

One thing that impressed me was the juice selection... Space Jam, Five Pawns, Cyclops, Suicide Bunny, the list goes on. Apparently he knows what people want and buys it. He has absolutely no clue what he is talking about, but if you know what you want, it's there!

 

[GMayberry]

Oh yeah, and we can't forget the convenience store vape shops!! Those part-time kids really know their Ego knockoffs and Chinese "FDA approved" juices!! HAHAHAHA

 

[Dedra]

I bought my first setup at the BNM discount tobacco shop. The owner couldn't tell me anything about any single item that she had in the case, just handed me two evods and said 'these are pretty popular'. The only sell Nicquid juices and only one nic level, 36 mg. It's all out on the counter and right in the sun, too. She has no idea about coils, different clearos or cartos, and she even told me to stop back in and tell her if I was able to quit smoking with 'that thing' because she had some people interested, but they didn't want to buy one if it made them want to smoke more. WTH?

I haven't been back in there, but I think that I'll stop by one day this week and tell her exactly what she is doing right--and wrong.

 

[Vaslovik]

I haven't been back in there, but I think that I'll stop by one day this week and tell her exactly what she is doing right--and wrong.

Oh somehow I doubt it will do any good. She's just trying to make a little more cash, not learn anything new.

 

[Dedra]

Probably not. She was more concerned with me quitting my 2 ppd habit than selling me something that wouldn't totally ruin me.

 

[Jake67]

Let the consumer beware. I have visited 10 different vape shops on my area. I live in SFL.
It's obvious by the repeated posts that 95 % of the shops have less knowledge about vaping than the average newbie. It's only about taking your cash. If you notice a large majority of these shops have very minimal furnishings. It looks as if they could pack up and disappear within a few hrs.
Between the Chinese selling poor quality counterfeit (let's call it like it is ) garbage and the new shops just doing a grab and run it will only make it more difficult for vaping to fully legitimize itself.
Rant over. I hate getting ripped off




Sent from my iPhone

 

[Lurch]

I guess I am lucky! The vape shop within 4 minutes drive of my house is a real vape store; doesn't sell anything else, has a descent selection of stuff and is pretty knowledgable. I have seen some like what many of you are talking about. I typically walk in, look, and walk out!

 

[NYracefan]

I only have one dedicated vape shop within an hour of me (only one that I know of anyway) and this place has only been open a few months. The guy is real nice, seems very knowledgeable, and steered me towards the gear that fits my needs best rather than trying to sell me the most expensive stuff. He had what I thought was a decent selection for being a new shop, and he said he is expanding his inventory as he goes. I am pretty new at vaping and having this place, with the guy taking the time to explain all the different equipment, made a huge difference. Not to mention his prices seem reasonable when compared to online prices (obviously a little higher, but I like being able to play with stuff before I buy it), and his juice is pretty good (mixes his own, does not sell any brand name pre made juice) He lets you try it before you buy it, and will mix (or at least attempt to mix) any flavor you ask for.

I used the Blu ecigs for a while, the V2. This guy at work had an ego type vaporizer, so I went looking around for one. The local head shop had what seemed to be a reasonable supply, but the guy knew nothing about what he was selling, and the local smoke shops have pretty much nothing and knew even less about what they did have. I knew more than they did just from my own online research.

To me it is worth a longer drive and slightly higher prices to get good service from a quality shop. I have been there a few times now and will continue to buy from him in the future.

 

[silar]

You have to remember.. These guys are salesmen.. They are not engineers or experts of what they have. I live in Kentucky and we've got a couple vape shops now that just popped up in the past couple months where I live. Both have some decently knowledgeable people working there, but I still rely on my own research.

Both shops sell Kanthal, various wick material, Mech mods, VV/VW mods, multiple types of RBA's and RDA's (probably all clones), tons of liquid, and of course the usual EGO/510 style starter stuff. They don't know it all, but at least they are trying to be decent. One even has a vape lounge!