(for those new to E-cigs) brands you shouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole.

[SWC1969]

Amerismoke Electronic Cigarettes, Taste the Freedom. "See what makes Amerismoke the USA's most trusted brand in electronic cigarettes".

I paid $99 for the Amerismoke Micro Starter Kit because I wanted an ecig that looked the most like an analog. And a week later paid $19 for 10ml of Classic Tobacco eLiquid.

When I wanted a few extra batteries because I was constantly rotating the two between vaping and charging, I did some research and found that their micro kit is an E8 Complete Starter Kit sold by e-cig dot com for $40 + shipping. The packaging is exactly the same, just rebranded. And I can get 60ml of juice from MadVapes for under $20. I'm cool with someone making a profit, but 60%??...Come on!!

I've since moved up to a mod I built myself, using parts purchased from MadVapes for under $50 and only use the E8 in stealth situations.

 

[Eddie.Willers]

When I started researching ecigs I found that Greensmoke was rated the highest of all of those kinds of companies, even considering the pricing. THANK GOD I found this forum. I am happy with my eGo. And even though I've spent a fair deal of cash on it so far, I think I would've spent 10 times more if I went that that venue.

+1 Too true!
I went the same way - found the 'bigger players' like Greensmoke then found this forum and had the light revealed to me!
I am grateful for the resources of the ECF community in providing valuable guidnace before I pulled the trigger on my 1st purchase (an Ego).

 

[Stosh]

Avoid any vendor that doen't make it perfectly clear what you are buying! The model number
(threading), the mah of the battery, the ohms (resistance of the atty / carto), the capacity of the
carto / carts / tanks, the mg per mL of the juice (low, med, high don't cut it).

Would you buy a pair of shoes without knowing the size, are they sneakers / loafers / wingtips,
made out of leather / canvas / plastic, what color they are, what kind of sole??

e-cigs have as many variances and not knowing what is being offered by the seller
is criminal neglect.

 

[lemonshrew]

Avoid any vendor that doen't make it perfectly clear what you are buying!

I second this! I got my first kit from v2cigs.com. The cheapest kit they have is $69 comes with 1 batt, 10 cartos and charger.

While the price isn't way out there, the main problem is that it took over a month to get it.
Of course, they charged my credit card immediately.

Same thing happened to my friend that I turned on to ecigs. Not only did it take 3 weeks to get her kit, but her order was wrong.
As a matter of fact, out of the 5 orders she placed, every single one of them was wrong!

Another friend waited for 3 weeks before finally canceling her order.

The website says 1 cartridge = 1 pack of cigs. Not!
(Not only that, but they call them cartridges when they are really cartomizers.)

They don't tell you what kind of battery you are getting. I took me ages to finally figure out they sell KR808D-1's.

The last time I ordered, I specifically asked if a certain item was in stock, (because I would always pay for 2-day shipping to get it within a week [yes I actually had to pay 2-day shipping so I could get my order in 5 days]), they said 'yes'.

So, I ordered and paid for 2-day. Three days later the order was still listed as pending. I chatted with them again, asked them how long, they said it would be another 48 hours before they even shipped!

I had paid a ridiculous amount of money to have my cartos shipped and still almost ran out before I got them.

That was the last straw for me.

I searched the internet, found this place, and never went back.

 

[ricks]

Another rip off company is "Solar Cigarette". They are complete thieves with everything they sell. 19.95 for 5 carts, thats crazy.

 

[Twinturbo4486]

Just wanted to pitch in my two cents. I made the newbie mistake of buying a disposable e-cig first. I can honestly say the company "KRAVE" is a big rip-off. You can usually find them at truck stops off interstates where they sell the disposables for around 25.00 and the re-chargeables for 50.00.

I can sadly say, the disposable one came with 4 cartridges and the battery died after only using two! My roommates died at the EXACT same time so it's a huge ripoff. I got smart, did some research and bought my Joye Ego and it's in the mail. My roommate went back to the store and got him the Krave rechargeable and didn't listen to my advice. So far he has had nothing but trouble with the unit and is contemplating on spending even more money now to buy a Joye Ego.

I fear if he doesn't have a good experience soon, he will give up hope on PV's alltogether. Stay away from KRAVE!

 

[sqirl1]

Don't remember the brand in my mall, $99 for 1 small auto battery and 2 cartomizers (non refillable) a PC charger and a hard case.

sounds like Green Nicotine. were their cartos made of green shiny metal with a white battery and a green LED at the end?

 

[Winkos]

I bought a mall e-cig and it does not really have any identifying logo. It was the worst! $120 for a small 650 battery, charger and 2 attys with carto. Always leaked, juices tasted burnt, just a god awful e-cig. And they sold you 10 ml juices for $20!!!!!! If not for this forum I would have quit vaping. Bought an Ego and although it is not always consistant it is 100% better and I really enjoy vaping now. Waiting for my Reo-mini to arrive soon. I think I would like to have various e-cigs for different days.

 

[tranced]

My rule of thumb is that if it has safe, health, or smoke in the name, it's overpriced, junk, or both. Green is close but, there are more exceptions to that one.

Sure, you say that just as soon as I prepare to launch my new web site safegreenhealthysmoke.com - my revolutionary 2 piece unit comes with 2 whopper 180mah batteries and 5 cartomizers for a low introductory fee of $199 but I am offering the second set and all subsequent sets for 40% off. As with all of my fine products I also offer an unconditional 1 year warranty against defects and if you are unhappy for any reason, feel free to return the product for a full refund minus a nominal $89 restocking fee. Please bookmark that site now - I'll be offering some super specials for the first 50 victims...err customers.

 

[MickeyRat]

Sure, you say that just as soon as I prepare to launch my new web site safegreenhealthysmoke.com - my revolutionary 2 piece unit comes with 2 whopper 180mah batteries and 5 cartomizers for a low introductory fee of $199 but I am offering the second set and all subsequent sets for 40% off. As with all of my fine products I also offer an unconditional 1 year warranty against defects and if you are unhappy for any reason, feel free to return the product for a full refund minus a nominal $89 restocking fee. Please bookmark that site now - I'll be offering some super specials for the first 50 victims...err customers.

lol!!! You make my point perfectly!

 

[sqirl1]

also, I'm just throwing this out there: never, and I mean NEEEEEEVERRRRRRR buy a "disposable" E-cig. $10 for 1 carto with a battery that only works once? nooooooo thaaannnnnks

 

[DaDoc]

i am new to the forum but i own 15+ pv's i do alot a reviews by far the green smoke and the blue are last on my list to ever recommend to anyone please stay away fomr them

 

[mblumenf]

I would never recommend Amerismoke to anyone. My wife ordered from them, thinking that all ecigs are more or less the same (well, all of OURS are, since everything we have is 510 compatible). She paid way too much for the components and when they arrived and she discovered that the cartridges and batteries weren't compatible with EACH OTHER, much less with our existing charger, the company wouldn't even swap out the pieces for pieces that work with each other. It's really irksome, to put it mildly. I now buy all my stuff from two or three sources, depending on what I am buying, and they all give me great service and will fix problems without any hassle. It is amazing how much better some vendors are at customer service while still charging far less than the bad distributors!

 

[MitchellBeans]

Altho it was not expensive ($18 shipped) the Health E-Cigarette sucked terribly. It did however get me to do my homework and find this place...

I don't even have the name of the comapny, which probably should have been a warning bell, but around 2 months ago I was at a Pilot gas station and saw single disposable e-cigarettes being sold for $6 each claiming to be at least 2 packs of cigs. Since I have already found my ideal setup, I decided why not and grabbed one.

I will never get that $6 back It was terrible, barely any vapor, flavor wasn't good, and it had a draw like attempting to inhale a chip of maple wood.

Worst part about that one is that there are people who bought one, it sucked, and probably never tried an e-cig again...

 

[wrenwen]

Altimoff. I don't think it is one of the popular scam brands, but it is was my first purchase unfortunately, before I found this forum. I paid $70 for a starter kit, that just refused to produce vapor. I emailed them (very politely) several times asking for advice or replacement parts. They did not respond to a single email. Grrr, I am still holding a grudge.

 

[xg4bx]

Cig2o usually isn't a complete ripoff in my opinion. It was my first kit, and at 45 dollars from a tobacco shop, not tremendously overpriced when you consider the overhead. It got me started at least.

i would agree with that. online its a rip-off but they're surprisngly inexpensive if you find them in a store. my local tobacco shop sells the battery with a usb charger and a carto for $14. 3 packs of cartos are like $4. imo thats hardly a rip-off for an over-the-counter, non-"disposable" e cigarette.

 

[sisters3]

Worst part about that one is that there are people who bought one, it sucked, and probably never tried an e-cig again...

Yes... this is the worst part. All the people that didn't get the chance to really see the benefits of PV's. Sad situation.

 

[unfaithful]

Gammucci, an overpriced brand in the UK. They sell the worst models I have ever seen for sky high prices. Gamucci was my first ever cigarette. It was so bad, I went back to smoking the same day I received it, until I got my 510 . Stay away from them!

 

[ricks]

All Pilot stations sell the brand "N Joy". I tried them once when I almost ran out of e-cigs... just once.

 

[robert shohet]

i used green nicotine for 6-7 months and i spent an equal amount on the cartos as i would have analogs in that period i didnt think there was anything better until i stumbled on this forum not to mention the kiosk people generally earn a commision so ive had people try to sell me batteries for 69.99 thats 30 dollars higher than the website price and 55 more than normal kr 808 type batteries shame on me for my ignorance i paid dearly