Gun Metal ZenKote!

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DJLEC

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Any other expectant GMZK owners after the 4th of July sale? Plunge officially taken on my first Provari! Mini w/blue LED and extension cap, hopefully to arrive next week. Can't wait!

It was a tough decision but I also ordered the Mini with Blue LED and the Extension Cap. Decision was made easier when I discovered $26.00 of Rewards I did not know even existed in my Account. With the 10 % off also I pulled the trigger.

This will be for my vape Anniversary of 1 Year in November. I am not allowed to use it till then :).


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Elantis

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It was a tough decision but I also ordered the Mini with Blue LED and the Extension Cap. Decision was made easier when I discovered $26.00 of Rewards I did not know even existed in my Account. With the 10 % off also I pulled the trigger.

This will be for my vape Anniversary of 1 Year in November. I am not allowed to use it till then :).


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Congratz....but I wouldn't count on ^^^that^^^ happening! ;)
 

Garemlin

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This will be for my Vape Anniversary of 1 Year in November. I am not allowed to use it till then :).


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Sux having to wait that long. Should have waited until November to order. I have heard their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are better than 10%.



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DJLEC

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Sux having to wait that long. Should have waited until November to order. I have heard their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are better than 10%.

Not a problem to wait since I have 2 Satin Blacks. I bought 1 Satin Black last Black Friday and it was 10 % off. With my Rewards $ I felt ordering now was the better time since my 1 Year Anniversary occurs before Black Friday.

If I like the Gun Metal finish as much as I think, then I will Sell 1 Satin Black.

That is the Plan and I am sticking to it :).


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Ozwald

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Sux having to wait that long. Should have waited until November to order. I have heard their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are better than 10%.



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It was 10% last year. IIRC it was the first 10% sale they ever had. I could be wrong on that part though.
 
It was 10% last year. IIRC it was the first 10% sale they ever had. I could be wrong on that part though.

I think you're on the money. I've been Provari stalking for a while, and I don't ever recall a sale offering more than 10% off. Some of the ones last year I recall being 5%. Barring some scenario where they do a fire sale to clear inventory for the P3 (Which would seem to happen through their "Clearance" page if past history is a guide) I don't think the future is likely to hold bigger discount levels for their 4 or so one day sales every year. Then again, my crystal ball has been malfunctioning since, well, forever. LOL.
 

Gato del Jugo

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I think you're on the money. I've been Provari stalking for a while, and I don't ever recall a sale offering more than 10% off. Some of the ones last year I recall being 5%. Barring some scenario where they do a fire sale to clear inventory for the P3 (Which would seem to happen through their "Clearance" page if past history is a guide) I don't think the future is likely to hold bigger discount levels for their 4 or so one day sales every year. Then again, my crystal ball has been malfunctioning since, well, forever. LOL.

Yeah, if you check out their Facebook history, most of their sales were 5%..

Cyber Monday 2013 was 10%..

There was also one 15% back in the early days..


Not sure I would start to get used to it just yet, but the 10% has been becoming more regular now.. Think they're starting to realize that it drives revenue? :D
 

Ozwald

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I think you're on the money. I've been Provari stalking for a while, and I don't ever recall a sale offering more than 10% off. Some of the ones last year I recall being 5%. Barring some scenario where they do a fire sale to clear inventory for the P3 (Which would seem to happen through their "Clearance" page if past history is a guide) I don't think the future is likely to hold bigger discount levels for their 4 or so one day sales every year. Then again, my crystal ball has been malfunctioning since, well, forever. LOL.

Since they're not getting rid of the 2.5, but selling it alongside the P3, I wouldn't expect a major sale when the P3 is released. Maybe if they decide to trim down the color options, but they started doing that already over the last couple of months.
 

Gato del Jugo

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Since they're not getting rid of the 2.5, but selling it alongside the P3, I wouldn't expect a major sale when the P3 is released. Maybe if they decide to trim down the color options, but they started doing that already over the last couple of months.

Agreed..


And seems to be the reason why they trimmed down some old color options, is to bring some new ones on board -- and I don't think they're done yet..

Wouldn't be surprised to see darker reds, blues & purples, for example, at some point...
 

Riverboat

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Gun Metal Grey ZenKote™ ProVari™ Variable Voltage V2.5 Price: $195.95 + 18650 Extension Cap-Matching Color to Tube $19.95 = $219.90

Gold ZenKote™ ProVari™ Variable Voltage V2.5 with Matching 18650 Extended End Cap = $229.95

All Zencoated Z2 Stainless Steel body tubes cost the same no matter what color Zenkote you pick... Just wondering why does the Provari Gold Zenkote cost $10.05 more than the same configuration Provari Gunmetal Zenkote ? I also know from one of Zen's videos that all Zenkoted mods start out as Gold ZenKote then with further process they develop the other colors... I had a Gunmetal Zen Z2 18650 body tube and where the lines where cut you could see the Gold Zenkote underneath the Gunmetal Zenkote in a few spots.........
 
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Gato del Jugo

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Gun Metal Grey ZenKote™ ProVari™ Variable Voltage V2.5 Price: $195.95 + 18650 Extension Cap-Matching Color to Tube $19.95 = $219.90

Gold ZenKote™ ProVari™ Variable Voltage V2.5 with Matching 18650 Extended End Cap = $229.95

All Zencoated Z2 Stainless Steel body tubes cost the same no matter what color Zenkote you pick... Just wondering why does the Provari Gold Zenkote cost $10.05 more than the same configuration Provari Gunmetal Zenkote ? I also know from one of Zen's videos that all Zenkoted mods start out as Gold ZenKote then with further process they develop the other colors... I had a Gunmetal Zen Z2 18650 body tube and where the lines where cut you could see the Gold Zenkote underneath the Gunmetal Zenkote in a few spots.........

Since the ZenKote process is apparently a tricky one, I'm wondering if maybe the shading of the gold can vary..

They then take those off-shaded ones, since perhaps they're too splotchy or something to sell as gold, & insted turn them into gun-metal, which covers up the off-shading...

Hence, the lower cost -- especially given ProVape's stance on not forcing customers to subsidize other sku's..


I could be wrong, but what other possible explanations are there?
 

Ozwald

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Since the ZenKote process is apparently a tricky one, I'm wondering if maybe the shading of the gold can vary..

They then take those off-shaded ones, since perhaps they're too splotchy or something to sell as gold, & insted turn them into gun-metal, which covers up the off-shading...

Hence, the lower cost -- especially given ProVape's stance on not forcing customers to subsidize other sku's..


I could be wrong, but what other possible explanations are there?

It's pretty much said between the Zen vid & the Tour vid. You're not paying ProVape for the color per se. They're basically charging what it costs for them to have it done & aren't making much, if any, money on the finish you choose. 2nd, Zen says that different colors cost different amounts. There's a certain rejection rate per color (which was the rise of 2 different blue colors from 1 firing & then the subsequent demise of the blue all together) & that the chamber costs the same amount to fire, whether there's 1 piece or 1000 pieces in it. Add those all up & the ZenCoat process could cost a whole lot more than a mere $10 difference between 2 colors.
 

Gato del Jugo

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It's pretty much said between the Zen vid & the Tour vid. You're not paying ProVape for the color per se. They're basically charging what it costs for them to have it done & aren't making much, if any, money on the finish you choose. 2nd, Zen says that different colors cost different amounts. There's a certain rejection rate per color (which was the rise of 2 different blue colors from 1 firing & then the subsequent demise of the blue all together) & that the chamber costs the same amount to fire, whether there's 1 piece or 1000 pieces in it. Add those all up & the ZenCoat process could cost a whole lot more than a mere $10 difference between 2 colors.

What I'm saying is, if some golds in a batch are rejected for color irregularities from the ZenKote process, it's not like they have to send them off as blems to Clearance because of that..

Instead, they save them for the gun metal batch, since all ZenKotes start off as gold, anyway.. Thereby, bringing down the price of gun metal lower than gold..


Just my interpretation of the manufacturing process & price differential, anyway...
 

Garemlin

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I think you're on the money. I've been Provari stalking for a while, and I don't ever recall a sale offering more than 10% off. Some of the ones last year I recall being 5%. Barring some scenario where they do a fire sale to clear inventory for the P3 (Which would seem to happen through their "Clearance" page if past history is a guide) I don't think the future is likely to hold bigger discount levels for their 4 or so one day sales every year. Then again, my crystal ball has been malfunctioning since, well, forever. LOL.

The one this past Memorial Day was 20%.

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Gato del Jugo

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The one this past Memorial Day was 20%.

From their Facebook..

MD10.jpg


The highest was 15% back a few years ago..
 

Bklynzfinest

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Got my Gunmetal with blue LED the other day & this thing is so sexy looking! although unfortunately it's on it's way back to provape for repairs already :( firing button was getting repeatedly stuck during use causing my juice to fry, it was actually pretty scary.

Another thing I noticed was the finish in places had black streaks which refused to budge, as if they were part of the finish itself. Has anyone else noticed any of this on their gunmetal? I noticed it got even worse and more pronounced in different places when I tried rubbing out fingerprints with a dry soft cloth. Definitely wasn't expecting that from what was supposed to be a super durable finish, seems like it couldn't even handle a cotton rag. I'm just hoping this was simply a lemon and I won't have this same issue once they fix it or with a replacement. How are you guys cleaning yours? maybe I'm doing something wrong.
 

Gato del Jugo

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Got my Gunmetal with blue LED the other day & this thing is so sexy looking! although unfortunately it's on it's way back to provape for repairs already :( firing button was getting repeatedly stuck during use causing my juice to fry, it was actually pretty scary.

Another thing I noticed was the finish in places had black streaks which refused to budge, as if they were part of the finish itself. Has anyone else noticed any of this on their gunmetal? I noticed it got even worse and more pronounced in different places when I tried rubbing out fingerprints with a dry soft cloth. Definitely wasn't expecting that from what was supposed to be a super durable finish, seems like it couldn't even handle a cotton rag. I'm just hoping this was simply a lemon and I won't have this same issue once they fix it or with a replacement. How are you guys cleaning yours? maybe I'm doing something wrong.

That sucks, on both accounts..


First I've heard of the gun metal thing..

Did you also mention the ZenKote issues in your ticket? If not, you might want to hurry up & amend that, if possible.. Maybe they'll just send you a whole brand-new one...
 

Bklynzfinest

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That sucks, on both accounts..


First I've heard of the gun metal thing..

Did you also mention the ZenKote issues in your ticket? If not, you might want to hurry up & amend that, if possible.. Maybe they'll just send you a whole brand-new one...

I know! I only got to enjoy it for less than 24 hours before I realized it needed to go back... I did tell them about the finish & noted it on the ticket form. I'm hoping for a new one, the rep said it probably will be. It also threw a "e8" error code on me out of nowhere so yeah, very un provari like.
 
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