Hardware prices at the local B&Ms

[LeftofCenter]

I see B&Ms done well and I see them done very badly. They will always have higher prices as they can't sell in the volume that internet stores can and as others have stated, they have much more overhead. When done well you may pay a bit more, but what you get is a good relationship with knowledgeable staff and a community. Good B&M stores hold rebuild nights, tasting nights and various other community and knowledge building events, those are the stores that are worth paying more for their product. Done badly you get slick sales people who don't know what they are doing and will sell your grandma a mechanical mod with a crap rba. Those are the stores that need to die off. Sadly, there are not enough of the good ones around.

 

[Danbrooks2k]

DIY flavor shack has a DIY class every 3rd sunday of the month.

I am thinking of going in march. I think you pay a hundred bucks for a mixing kit and some flavors... Now that is a B&M that has a good online portal and offers a real service worth me taking a flight to vegas for.

I am going strictly to learn mixing DIY Juices... no casinos, shows, loose women or booze... strictly for the DIY Mixing class... all the way to las Vegas.

What?

 

[Str8vision]

Are the hardware prices at your local B&Ms out of control?

Not only expensive, but many of the small rural B&Ms carry the same low quality gear that tobacco shops, truck stops, convenience stores and mall Kiosks do.

 

[George Ogilvie]

My local shop started as i little head shop in the '70's They have since moved into their OWN 2 story building and sell alot of skateboard and t shirts and other crap that that is WAY overpriced. Their price for a Nautilus mini is $75. Now I don't mind paying retail, but when you jack up the price 3 times that's highway robbery. They want $25 for a 15 ml bottle of juice that should retail for about $14. An 18650 costs $30. Thanks but I'll stick to mail order. BTW, the shop is owned by an ex-cop.

 

[smacksy]

I'm with you! Its the same way here in Southern California.. But as more shops are starting up hopefully competition will drive these high prices down some..meantime I shop mostly online..quality and reasonable prices always come first..

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[johnny madman]

Good business model is to make 20% profit, not rape someone when they walk into the door. A simple thing as a drip tip, 12 of them can be had for 10 bucks mail order and these are the better ones. Go into some B&M stores and they want to charge 20 bucks for the same drip tip, not the set one of the tips! This is unacceptable. I go into one B&M and they are more modest and sell it for 5 bucks but the other one charges 20. No it is not the rent money, same town so much for that. We simply don't want to call a spade a spade!

 

[erikbal]

One thing that disappoints me is that the only B&M here doesn't even offer juice sampling. I really like the juice they sell but it would be nice to be able to try before I buy. They also have mostly just 10ml bottles and they run $8.

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[Stringplucker]

Reasons why I do what I can to support my local shop...

1) Hands on assistance
2) Questions answered
3) Demonstration
4) I get to see and handle the merchandise prior to purchase
5) If there's a problem, I can take it back for exchange quickly
6) He'll deliver to me if I request it (I'm disabled and sometimes can't get out)
7) A place to hang out when I'm able to...and no alcohol to ruin my life while doing it
8) Enjoyment of meeting other people
9) Seeing new merchandise and how it works
10) Keeping money local
11) Employing local folks instead of foreign companies
12) Free coffee, soda, water, and snacks while I wait

Reasons to buy online

1) Cheaper prices
2) Wider selection of product


Weigh those two out and ask yourself this question...Are the few extra dollars spent local worth it in the long run?

Look, I'm on a fixed income, too. I understand about pinching pennies and such. However...keeping local folks employed is important to me. I've seen more and more jobs lost to cheaper online stores and cheaper labor. There's a difference between saving a buck and shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[DaveOno]

One good vape shop near me has a fair markup, $40 in store for something online I could get for $30 (then $5 shipping). So for a few bucks more, I have it in hand now. And I get to see it before I buy.

But I don't think we, the online ecf community, is their target market. There's a lot of people buying hardware, both the 20s crowd and the older crowd. Newbies next to the clouders.

And they have good juice (with big profit margins as most juice does). Not the one-note garbage, but some well thought out complex juices.

I wish they'd offer a bit more. A Keuric at $1.25 a cup, some soft drinks. Maybe get some big chairs and offer free WiFi. Give me a reason to hang out, and I'd spend more money.

 

[Danbrooks2k]

Good business model is to make 20% profit, not rape someone when they walk into the door. A simple thing as a drip tip, 12 of them can be had for 10 bucks mail order and these are the better ones. Go into some B&M stores and they want to charge 20 bucks for the same drip tip, not the set one of the tips! This is unacceptable. I go into one B&M and they are more modest and sell it for 5 bucks but the other one charges 20. No it is not the rent money, same town so much for that. We simple don't want to call a spade a spade!

Yeah... my point exactly... I know you got a minimum of 10 drip tips on fasttech for the discount... you paid about a buck a piece with shipping... I am happy to pay you 5$ for one... 4 times what you paid for it... a nice little mark up... not 10$. I dont expect a B&M to pay $11.53 cents for a nemesis clone https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10009160/1922602-marstech-nemi-nemesis-style-mechanical-mod and sell it for 15$, not even for 20$... maybe clean off the machine oil and put it in the display case for 40$ But I see all too often them selling a metal tube for upwards of 100$... The problem here is because of unreasonable prices like that they will move very slowly forcing them to increase the prices of stipends like juice, batteries and coils....

I have a friend that wanted the tugboat and manhattan ( Clones ) in black, he saw them in new orleans but couldnt pay 200$ for it. He got the exact same thing on ebay for 35$ and they had to make a profit too... He would have gladly coughed up 100$ for them for the convienence of not having to wait for shipping, and lets face it... instant gratification.

I am not the only person who has walked into a B&M store and looked up the price of a mod online and decided to buy elsewhere. Thankfully I found this forum where I can start a post asking where to find a particular item cheap and have it to my door at a rock bottom price in 3 days.

I guess I just wish more local shops gave me a reason to want to visit them more often...

 

[Javamon]

The *few* extra dollars are worth it, good for the industry, and good for the local economy.
Now - we probably will all define *few* differently.

If a local shop today offered me the iStick for 50 - 55, they would have had my money. I would have considered that a reasonable adder to buy local.
65 to 75, for an iStick - just wasn't unacceptable.

 

[smacksy]

Reasons why I do what I can to support my local shop...

1) Hands on assistance
2) Questions answered
3) Demonstration
4) I get to see and handle the merchandise prior to purchase
5) If there's a problem, I can take it back for exchange quickly
6) He'll deliver to me if I request it (I'm disabled and sometimes can't get out)
7) A place to hang out when I'm able to...and no alcohol to ruin my life while doing it
8) Enjoyment of meeting other people
9) Seeing new merchandise and how it works
10) Keeping money local
11) Employing local folks instead of foreign companies
12) Free coffee, soda, water, and snacks while I wait

Reasons to buy online

1) Cheaper prices
2) Wider selection of product


Weigh those two out and ask yourself this question...Are the few extra dollars spent local worth it in the long run?

Look, I'm on a fixed income, too. I understand about pinching pennies and such. However...keeping local folks employed is important to me. I've seen more and more jobs lost to cheaper online stores and cheaper labor. There's a difference between saving a buck and shooting yourself in the foot.

There maybe a shop like that back in PA
but no such shop that I know of exists locally where I live here in southern CA.
Nothing is free at these shops and even juice prices are outrageous, although I do buy things like kanthel and juice from them occasionally when I'm low and don't want to wait on vapemail..
These shops are geared for the newbie impulsive type buyers who are vulnerable to high pressure sales tactics
that don't know any better, and believe me, there s lot of those folks here in El Cajon.. I don't feel bad buying cheaper online..

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[thanantos]

I think it has a lot to do with competition and consumer knowledge. I don't have many vape shops near me, and the ones that are here haven't been here long. The only shop locally that sells devices RDA's and high wattage regulated mods is a total joke. Always a 100% mark up on everything they sell.

That being said, I just ordered a Sigelei 150 watt from Coval Vapes (a B&M in San Antonio) for $90 online. San Antonio is a large metro area with a larger, more educated vaping populous.

I like the idea of negotiation. I don't think that particular shop would be into it, but I get my revenge by checking out devices there and then buying them online for half the price. Don't get me wrong, I go out of my and and pay more for local products/shops all the time. I get the fact that it costs money to run a shop and that it is a convenience for me, but I am not paying you double of what I can buy it for somewhere else.

 

[jonnychadootz]

It's unfortunate to see to see what "business" has become in alot of places. In the case of my local vape shop a mech is anywhere from $60-100. I find that ridiculous in general as you are paying that price for what is essentially a flashlight (for the most part) I've seen a kanger 3.7v regular old ego battery (non-VV) go for $30 (waste of money) Thing can barely light up a 1.8 - 2.2 ohm coil. Juice starts somewhere around $11 for 15ml (house blend) that's actually realistic. The real issue in this particular shop is rent cost (I actually have a pretty good idea of what they pay monthly) and it's alot due to it being on the main strip in my city. Some people don't know any better (bout the intertubes) some just don't care. I guess it's really a matter of what you need, how fast you need it and how much you are willing to pay. Glad we have options though as I did not get into vaping to cost me the same amount of money as smoking cigarettes (rather close t it at those prices) did.

 

[klynnn]

I have given up on B&M type stores and no longer care to go in them.

 

[dgm76513]

Then, by all means, shop on line. But attempting to compare online prices to those charged in a B&M is rather unfair to those that have a lot of extra overhead to deal with.

Yes, there are some stores that are shamelessly over charging. But the majority are just trying to stay solvent.

Retired1, may I ask a question that may sound stupid?

How do B&M stores have more overhead than an online store? Doesn't the online store need staff, a building, a webpage, electricity, etc etc as well?

 

[Danbrooks2k]

That being said, I just ordered a Sigelei 150 watt from Coval Vapes (a B&M in San Antonio) for $90 online. San Antonio is a large metro area with a larger, more educated vaping populous.

I like the idea of negotiation. I don't think that particular shop would be into it, but I get my revenge by checking out devices there and then buying them online for half the price. Don't get me wrong, I go out of my and and pay more for local products/shops all the time. I get the fact that it costs money to run a shop and that it is a convenience for me, but I am not paying you double of what I can buy it for somewhere else.

Boom! well stated... I WANT to give a good local shop my buisness... I am single, no bills other that 30$ electric, 300$ car payment, 60$ pre paid cell phone... I work off shore as a paramedic... the helicopter ride out here costs my employer 30 thousand dollars... I have a HUGE disposable income...

BUT this paying 40$ for a 30$ item does not happen in my neck of the woods. This -----> https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10010766/1921000-dovpo-e-mech-style-variable-voltage-wattage-apv costs the shop 48$ if they buy it on fasttech, they have it on sale for $130 REALLY? I can afford it... I can afford 10 of them... but the fact that they couldnt just be reasonably greedy and ask for 99$ is kind of ridiculous.

I bought my second MVP2 ( the back up I thought I needed ) at a brick and mortar for 60$... now that is a fair price... 50% mark up everybody is happy. I really dont care much one way or the other... as long as prices are ridiculous informed consumers will just drop by to sample juices and look at mods to decide if we want to buy them online or not.

 

[Stringplucker]

There maybe a shop like that back in PA
but no such shop that I know of exists locally where I live here in southern CA.
Nothing is free at these shops and even juice prices are outrageous, although I do buy things like kanthel and juice from them occasionally when I'm low and don't want to wait on vapemail..
These shops are geared for the newbie impulsive type buyers who are vulnerable to high pressure sales tactics
that don't know any better, and believe me, there s lot of those folks here in El Cajon.. I don't feel bad buying cheaper online..

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It's very common here. Many shops in Ohio are the same way. I've grown to expect that kind of service for the markup.

 

[Danbrooks2k]

.It reminds me of the time when I poured my entire life savings into starting a fried chicken franchise...

The jingle on the televison commercial went... " Karate chop Charlies Chicken Shack, we will karate chop your face so you cant come back! "

My idea was to only hire mixed martial arts enthusiasts and to make each customer participate in a 10 man kumite to be able to purchase a piece of chicken.

You cripple a few women and kids, and the next thing you know you are out of the fried chicken buisness... go figure!?


You know with my sterling reputation as a retailer I think I should open a Vape shop. I could call it TNT vapes, and sell a mod that is painted up to look like a stick of dynamite.

 

[jambi]

Pretty simple...you're gonna pay more to see it, touch it, try it, taste it first, buy it right now, and have the option to easily return it if it turns out to be s**t. You're gonna pay less if you're willing to buy it sight unseen (+ shipping), wait for it, track it, wait some more, roll the dice on if it works/tastes as good as your expectations, and possibly incur minor to major has$les returning it if it turns out to be s**t.

With B&M's, customer service is where it's at. Don't just buy from any B&M and then say "I could have gotten it 20 bucks cheaper online, they're ripping me off!" Buy from B&M's that provide excellent service, then say "Those dudes totally took care of me! They earned that extra 20 bucks."