For new members: Why you should buy genuine products.

[CaddyWhompus]

Just a little message to the new vapers because it shouldn't take 6 months to find you're happy vaping setup!

Sitting here with my now leaking knock off Vivi Nova clearomizers has me looking back at my purchase history over the last 6 months. I've purchased a decent amount of gear, some legit and some knock-off and I hate to say it but the quality of the knock-off stuff is almost always worse. Here's a look at a couple of my experiences:

Knockoff Ego batteries:

Bought two ego 900mahs from a vendor who i'm not going to name. The ego threading pattern is different on each battery. The black coating fell off of one and now I have a stainless steel lol. The one with the coating still on actually works pretty well but the other has shortened battery life and erratic firing (even with adjustment of the contact).

Knockoff Vivi Novas: Bought 3. On one of them the tank literally fell apart in my hands one day. The other two have been ok but are getting leaky.

Ultrafire "4000"mah batteries. I got 4 of these for a crazy low price. They work but clearly the mah rating is inflated and who knows how long they will work for.

These are a few of my experiences with knockoffs and while I did save a couple dollars I don't really think it was worth it. My goal is a pleasurable vaping experience and i've learned that it's worth it to spend the extra couple dollars (and we're talking dollars here people, none of these products are that expensive to begin with!) and get something of good quality. When you read a review of a product it's referring to the genuine article so dont expect to get the same results from a generic.

Want to know if the product your about to buy is real? Before you hit that confirm purchase button do a little research here on the forums or ask one of the veteran members.

Hope this thread is helpful to anyone finding themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of products available

-CaddyWhompus

 

[rotku]

Sound advice. Knockoffs do not tend to last as long so they do not really provide the cost savings intended.

 

[Thunderball]

Knock off mods/Mechs on the other hand....... are just getting better and better. Thats what we need this forum for.... So every one will let each other know whats OK and what is not.

 

[artt]

It's still a valid phrase "you get what you pay for".

 

[Zoom]

My first purchase was name brand from my local vape store. I was trying to get off cigs and I wanted face to face transaction. I learned something's and it was a good experience. I still buy juice from them but have found some better deals on the web which I have purchased. I purchased a Evic and a MVP2.0 both name brand non clones. I may buy a clone one day but would not suggest for a new person starting out.

 

[CaddyWhompus]

When I was talking knockoffs I wasn't referring to "clones" because quite frankly I have no experience with mechanical mods and i've actually heard alot of great things about some of the clone mods.

 

[crxess]

There are knock-offs and then there are copies.

Generalizations don't do a lot to help people understand. They simply Promote Spend more. This is not always the case.
Yes, many Ego Battery look a-likes are pure garbage. Poor build quality, sub-standard battery builds, soft metal threading, etc.
Many others are as good as the original at a fraction of the cost.

i.e. my first Big Ego battery purchase was a kit with (2) 1100mah pass through Batteries, cables, charger, wall adapter, Type-a Atomizers and tanks, in an Ego Case. Total cost $26.00
At the time an original Ego 650mah kit was running $79.00
Batteries are now a year old and still like new.

There are always options, but you have to be smart about purchasing. Cheapest usually means just that.