Feeling Like A Newbie - ripped off

[katz-in-boots]

Probably because I am a newbie. I have today realised how much money I have wasted thus far.

My first e-cig = White Cloud. Yes, that's right, the $249 Cirrus II starter kit. And packs of 5 cartomizer at US $19.95 each. It worked really well, I'm now 3 months since last real cigarette and will not be going back to them.
I already have a 2nd ecig - Elusion. I like them better than White Cloud, the size, flavour & ease of draw are more like a real cigarette, though the batteries don't last very long. Cartomizer prices are about the same as White Cloud.

I've thrown out so many cartomizers though. The sales person at White cloud recommended starting on Full Strength - although I smoked approx 25-30 per day, it was at 2mg, so not strong, and even the Light cartos were too much for me. Am now using Ultra Light (still too strong) & nicotine free.

I was getting ready to buy my 3rd e-cig, couldn't decide between Vapour4Life or V2, and checked these forums. Have now placed order with Heaven Gifts for KR808-D1 batteries & cartomizers.
Cannot believe how much cheaper than some of these other companies for basically the same things.

Thanks ECF !!! I think. Though I might've just been happier in my ignorance...

 

[Glam]

At least now you are on the right track. But wait until you start searching for the perfect juice to fill your cartomizers with--that is another whole new expensive story. Be sure and read the e liquid forum--there is tons of information on who carries the better juices--seems like Backwoods Brew, Kick Bass Vapor, and Vaperite have tons of loyal customers. Good Luck and keep plugging. We are all a bunch of former smokers who have made the switch, and a lot started out just like you with trial and error.

 

[dormouse]

Make sure you get soft-cap standard resistance cartos. The Vapor4Life ones are soft-caps and there are some nice Premium KR808D-1 soft-caps at LiteCigUSA.net

With soft caps you start out by totally filling them (unless they are prefilled) and whenever the vapor gets light or tastes a bit dry, I add more juice - usually 5-8 drops. The mouth end cap pops out easily with an unbent paperclip - stick it in only as far as needed to pop out the cap so you don't catch the stuffing. I can often get 4+ days out of a carto, sometimes a week.

 

[316lvm]

Welcome katz-in-boots! (Like your name.) Look at it this way - it was $249 well spent if it got you off of cigs. I've heard that the 808 is a good pv/ecig. I think DonDondaboom (?) an old timer here uses one. (Sorry Don!)

Then comes the stockpiling of supplies. Extra atties, batts, juice, gadgets, storage - WooHoo!!!
Before you know it, you'll be loony like the rest of us

 

[lordthree]

...the $249 Cirrus II starter kit...

uhhhgg. Ya, Vapor4Life is going to be much better for you. If you want batteries on the cheap, look at VaporKings.com - but don't even look at their juice. It's overpriced. WAY overpriced. Vapor4Life has got good prices on Juice and batteries, their PCCs are ways outta line tho. Again, go to VaporKings.com for PCCs too.

For Cartos, I've found electronic ash has very low prices (and pretty darn good quality) and you could purchase juice there as well if you're looking to get all your supplies from as few vendors as possible...

Don't EVER throw the cartos away until they're O L D E R than dirt. They can be refilled 50+ times if cleaned occasionally!

 

[kboyts]

I took my first vape from a white cloud kiosk in the local mall. Then went home to talk about them with the wife. Got online and did a little google searching and ordered a e-9(808d-2) from china. Two days later I stumbled upon ECF. The next day I had assembled my first mod and was waiting on some juice I ordered from a US supplier.

While vaping that new juice I Built my second mod, and was switching back and forth between the two for a couple weeks before my original order from China ever arrived lol.

Long story short, sorry you fell into the white cloud scheme but you lve and you learn. Congrats on the successful vaping and moving from the analogs.

 

[Rosco]

Like others mentioned....in the long run, it was worth it. Just don't let it happen again. Sounds like you are positively on the right track now. ECF is THE place to learn..and continue to learn.
Congratulations and enjoy your new smoke free life.

 

[Shinypaladin]

Probably because I am a newbie. I have today realised how much money I have wasted thus far.

My first e-cig = White Cloud. Yes, that's right, the $249 Cirrus II starter kit. And packs of 5 cartomizer at US $19.95 each. It worked really well, I'm now 3 months since last real cigarette and will not be going back to them.
I already have a 2nd ecig - Elusion. I like them better than White Cloud, the size, flavour & ease of draw are more like a real cigarette, though the batteries don't last very long. Cartomizer prices are about the same as White Cloud.

I've thrown out so many cartomizers though. The sales person at White cloud recommended starting on Full Strength - although I smoked approx 25-30 per day, it was at 2mg, so not strong, and even the Light cartos were too much for me. Am now using Ultra Light (still too strong) & nicotine free.

I was getting ready to buy my 3rd e-cig, couldn't decide between Vapour4Life or V2, and checked these forums. Have now placed order with Heaven Gifts for KR808-D1 batteries & cartomizers.
Cannot believe how much cheaper than some of these other companies for basically the same things.

Thanks ECF !!! I think. Though I might've just been happier in my ignorance...

Don't beat yourself up, I'd say a good %50 of people who post in this section got ripped off before they stumbled onto ECF. I know I did, I bought a $45 kit from the local mall tobbacco shop in a little green box that lasted me like 2-3 days total. Now overall I guess it was a investment because I did get the idea of what a ecig does allthough crappy as it was. Bottom line to me though is every day I don't smoke a analog cig is absolutely priceless. I got burnt, I found ECF, started making more informed decisions. I don't make choices from listening to any one poster I read many threads and posts before I make my calls. Seems to work out so far there is many good folks here with great info to steer you in the right direction. with what I have learned here in the past few weeks I have gone to owning a couple great PVs, mixing my own juices, and if they ever stop comming out with shiny new Vaping toys and new flavorings one day I may break even lol. The biggest Value is my health, I can't put a price on that.

 

[katz-in-boots]

Thanks for all the support everyone !
I really don't want to get into dripping or e-liquid refilling cartomizers. Honestly, I'd be happiest if I could go to a shop & just buy new cartomizers & batteries, which I can't because these things can't be bought in Australia (not with nicotine, anyway) If I could afford it, I'd buy disposables.
I guess I'm still a smoker deep down.

I'm looking to replace cigs with e-cigs, but really don't want it to become a hobby. I'm already freaked by how much money I've spent, and that I've already ordered my 3rd ecig set - and I've only been vaping for 3 months. Mind you, with a carton of cigarettes costing approx $110 AUD, I'm probably still ahead financially!!!

I don't really resent my White Cloud, I love it. It is great, just need a better menthol/mint taste, and to try to keep costs down. Ideally I'd prefer a slimmer, shorter e-cig though, like Elusion or Blu, but haven't found the right one. Cigarti look slimmer, but can't find many reviews on them other than for their looks.

 

[Shinypaladin]

Thanks for all the support everyone !
I really don't want to get into dripping or e-liquid refilling cartomizers. Honestly, I'd be happiest if I could go to a shop & just buy new cartomizers & batteries, which I can't because these things can't be bought in Australia (not with nicotine, anyway) If I could afford it, I'd buy disposables.
I guess I'm still a smoker deep down.

I'm looking to replace cigs with e-cigs, but really don't want it to become a hobby. I'm already freaked by how much money I've spent, and that I've already ordered my 3rd ecig set - and I've only been vaping for 3 months. Mind you, with a carton of cigarettes costing approx $110 AUD, I'm probably still ahead financially!!!

I don't really resent my White Cloud, I love it. It is great, just need a better menthol/mint taste, and to try to keep costs down. Ideally I'd prefer a slimmer, shorter e-cig though, like Elusion or Blu, but haven't found the right one. Cigarti look slimmer, but can't find many reviews on them other than for their looks.

$110???? holy crudmuffins!!!

I am a aussie ex-pat living in usa but I can remember in Aus saying "when smokes get to two bucks a pack ahm givin em up" lol!

I haven't been back to Australia for 8-9 years now but wow... they have gone up a little I think a pack of winnie reds was only like $4 even then.

 

[DarwinUser]

Same here... spent a ton of money on Green Smoke starter-kit, along with other accessories.
Got frustrated with short battery-life and even went back to smoking analogs for a while.
Decided it was a money well spent for my introduction to PV and got me the new Darwin unit.
Just got it today, so still trying it out, but what difference in vaping experience... better taste and vapor.

 

[spaghetti straps]

I started researching e-cigs because I remembered being at a friend of mine's house last summer and him telling me that he could smoke in his house but I couldn't. Then he explained to me he was smoking an e-cig. I was mildly interested at the time, but wasn't trying to quit smoking yet. So, when I decided to give them a try, he was the first one I called. He told me that he'd given them up, but that the ones he was using were the "Diamond Standard" of e-cigs. Lucky for me I decided to do more research online, or else I would've ended up getting ripped off by Blu. Instead, I went went V4L and have been very pleased.

 

[Pneathery]

I've been vaping for almost a month, and my first purchase was a overpriced. My wife had a Joye 510 that she had been talked into buying, and she had never used it, it sat in her drawer for 6 months or so. I quit smoking one day, and on day two was ready to kill somebody/anybody, then I remembered that little pink fake smoke in her drawer, I started using it, and was amazed that it totally got rid of all of my cravings. I smoked between 3-5 packs a day, depending on the stress level, I was paying right at $3.00 a pack for Pall Mall's ultra lights, and that little battery would last me from 15 minutes to an hour at the most, I had two, but still, I couldn't go anywhere. So with ought doing any research at all I went on line to buy something that mtgs battery would last longer, and I wouldn't have to pull the cart out every10 minutes to refill with juice. I ended up buying two Joye 510Mega kits, it was just like the one I was using, except everything was longer, the longer battery meant longer battery life, and the longer cartridge meant I wouldn't have to refill as much. So one kit for the wife, and one for me, she saw how well it was working for me and wanted to try herself. I also had to make sure I could leave the house and not run out, so I bought a car charger, and a PCC kit, plus gobs of juices. So my first order was either $190, or $290 I really don't remember now, I kinda want to forget. So the cartridges on the Mega could sometimes make it for an hour, and sometimes make it for 20 minutes, and the battery life was now up to an hour to two. Then I found these forums..........and I felt like I had been ripped off. As soon as I read about the Riva 510 from liberty flights for $30 for a kit, and compared that to my $70 kit for the Mega..........well I was ......, mostly at myself. Te Riva gets between 8-12 HOURS out of a battery, and all of these kits come with two batteries. I ended up ordering something very similar to the Riva for the same price, oh about 5 days after I got the Mega kit. Then I found out about the new tank systems........well since I had just ordered the type of battery that they are designed for, I went ahead and ordered a tank atomiEr, and 5 tank cartridges. I got that a week later in the mail, by this time I'm just hy of three weeks vaping, and the day I got the tank system, I let my wife try it, and told her all about it, and showed her hownit worked, NO MORE LEAKS, NO MORE GUESSING HOW MUCH JUICE YOU HAD LEFT, AND HUGE CAPACITY!!! Well not an hour later and I had ordered TWO Joye Ego-T kits (at least I found a good sale on them for $59). So all of those dollarsmi had spent..........at first I felt horrible, I felt ripped off, but slowly it dawned on me. That from the moment I took that first drag off of my wife's pretty little pink electronic cigarette, I haven't smoked! Hell for the most part I haven't wanted to either, and I don't know which one is more of a miracle!
I'm so glad you quit smoking too, and welcome to the world of vaping. And if you are looking for low hastle filling, and ease of use, might I reco end checking out the new tank systems. I absolutely love mine. I have three of them, and Cary all three with me wherever I go! (one is a passthrough). Now they don't look like a cigarette, but those models battery life really sucks anyway. Good luck, and congratulations on such a wonderful investment!

 

[OwnedByAGrey]

There is no "Ripped Off-edness" in The Vaping Dojo! Think of it as "Aggravating Elightenment". Refill your cart, drip the atty. Vape studiously upon this lesson, Grasshopper.

 

[spaghetti straps]

According to the little counter that I can't quite add as my sig yet, I'll break even in 29 days. Probably because I spent $89.95 on my kit in order to get all of the chargers, the PCC, USB pass-through, etc.

 

[Shinypaladin]

According to the little counter that I can't quite add as my sig yet, I'll break even in 29 days. Probably because I spent $89.95 on my kit in order to get all of the chargers, the PCC, USB pass-through, etc.

Its going to be a long long time before I break even heh.. I just keep buying stuff!

 

[katz-in-boots]

tax + tax + more tax !!! Yeah, obscene.

 

[Guyver Gaiden]

yeah started off with a blu but it didn't cout out for me ..then got an ego and it was great...10 bucks lees than what the blu cost and i like it very much.....

 

[dspin]

Welcome to the forum and not to worry. I myself was ripped off big time, but still glad it happened as I no longer smoke my beloved cigars. Wait until you start fooling around w/juice. I'm at 25 companies now. For sure I will try no more.

Probably because I am a newbie. I have today realised how much money I have wasted thus far.

My first e-cig = White Cloud. Yes, that's right, the $249 Cirrus II starter kit. And packs of 5 cartomizer at US $19.95 each. It worked really well, I'm now 3 months since last real cigarette and will not be going back to them.
I already have a 2nd ecig - Elusion. I like them better than White Cloud, the size, flavour & ease of draw are more like a real cigarette, though the batteries don't last very long. Cartomizer prices are about the same as White Cloud.

I've thrown out so many cartomizers though. The sales person at White cloud recommended starting on Full Strength - although I smoked approx 25-30 per day, it was at 2mg, so not strong, and even the Light cartos were too much for me. Am now using Ultra Light (still too strong) & nicotine free.

I was getting ready to buy my 3rd e-cig, couldn't decide between Vapour4Life or V2, and checked these forums. Have now placed order with Heaven Gifts for KR808-D1 batteries & cartomizers.
Cannot believe how much cheaper than some of these other companies for basically the same things.

Thanks ECF !!! I think. Though I might've just been happier in my ignorance...

 

[n2xe]

$249 and 3 months post analog... Priceless! You got your money's worth. Now that you found ECF, you can vape better and cheaper. It doesn't matter how you got here, we're just happy you are here. Welcome.

Probably because I am a newbie. I have today realised how much money I have wasted thus far.

My first e-cig = White Cloud. Yes, that's right, the $249 Cirrus II starter kit. And packs of 5 cartomizer at US $19.95 each. It worked really well, I'm now 3 months since last real cigarette and will not be going back to them.
I already have a 2nd ecig - Elusion. I like them better than White Cloud, the size, flavour & ease of draw are more like a real cigarette, though the batteries don't last very long. Cartomizer prices are about the same as White Cloud.

I've thrown out so many cartomizers though. The sales person at White cloud recommended starting on Full Strength - although I smoked approx 25-30 per day, it was at 2mg, so not strong, and even the Light cartos were too much for me. Am now using Ultra Light (still too strong) & nicotine free.

I was getting ready to buy my 3rd e-cig, couldn't decide between Vapour4Life or V2, and checked these forums. Have now placed order with Heaven Gifts for KR808-D1 batteries & cartomizers.
Cannot believe how much cheaper than some of these other companies for basically the same things.

Thanks ECF !!! I think. Though I might've just been happier in my ignorance...