Have you ever gone into a vapor store and made a "Pity" buy?
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There is a b&m around here that sells thier own "brand" of knockoffs. The "vivi nova" that they sell is called The Perk. With a big blue The Perk stamped on the side of the tank. I have one laying around from when I first started this adventure a few months back so I put it on my SID to see if it worked any better. When it read 4 ohms steadily on the "2.5" ohm head that confirmed my doubts in that company. Other stores do get my pity purchases. Just not them.
My local smoke shop doesn't have a huge selection of juices, batteries, or really anything... but I want them to stick around, so they've gotten a few semi-sorta-pity buys.
First time I went in I bought a bottle of Niquids Day Break. Just so happens that I actually started liking it on the way home.
Second time I bought another bottle of Day Break and another Mini PT2. Didn't really need the juice since I was still working on the first bottle I bought, and didn't really need a Mini PT2 since... well... I hate them.
Third time I bought an iClear 30. Turns out it was pretty awesome. Still use it, and got another with my MVP, so double win.
Fourth and latest time... I bought a couple of ridiculously overpriced juices that actually aren't bad. Jameson's Irish Vapor Amelia (a very strawberry and very awesome juice) and Blueprints Park Ave (another strawberry juice mixed with lemonade). Paid waaaaay too much for them, but they are quite tasty. $25 a piece when I could have gotten them online for $20.
I really hope they expand their inventory. Otherwise I'm going to feel bad about spending way too much money there.
First time I went in I bought a bottle of Niquids Day Break. Just so happens that I actually started liking it on the way home.
Second time I bought another bottle of Day Break and another Mini PT2. Didn't really need the juice since I was still working on the first bottle I bought, and didn't really need a Mini PT2 since... well... I hate them.
Third time I bought an iClear 30. Turns out it was pretty awesome. Still use it, and got another with my MVP, so double win.
Fourth and latest time... I bought a couple of ridiculously overpriced juices that actually aren't bad. Jameson's Irish Vapor Amelia (a very strawberry and very awesome juice) and Blueprints Park Ave (another strawberry juice mixed with lemonade). Paid waaaaay too much for them, but they are quite tasty. $25 a piece when I could have gotten them online for $20.
I really hope they expand their inventory. Otherwise I'm going to feel bad about spending way too much money there.
I have 4 local stores...and a week or 2 ago I went hunting for some kanthal .... not one of them had any, I was sad, but they all said they would get it ... well, I ordered some online.
I get my hubby's juice at the local B&M. He only vapes two flavors mixed together. I get my juice online. So far I've got all my gear at the B&M. I know I can get it cheaper online but I like not having to wait. And it's nice knowing if I have a problem with anything they'll try to make it right. Plus they have a warranty on batteries.
For a medium sized city, Grand Rapids has 4 shops. I have made a few "pity" purchases of small stuff.
All of the B&M's have the problem of competing on hardware prices with the Internet. Retail needs to have a gross margin of 50%. Those kinds of margins will be difficult to hit with the Internet as competition, especially with the competition from the Fasttech's of the world.
Admittedly, not all vapers take vaping to the level of a hobby like myself. I make my own juices and use RBA's. I saw a MVP 2 in a shop, played with it a bit, and liked it. Was I about to buy another mod which I did not need at his price of $79? No, I got one on Black Friday for $39. Was it fair on my part to try something out in a B&M and then order the item on line for a lower price? Yes. It is today's market reality, and that reality applies to almost any other product you can think of from consumer electronics to toys, golf balls, and hardware.
The only way a B&M will make it is to have good juices where the mark ups are orders of magnitude above hardware. Hardware is a loss leader or opportunistic sale to a newbie. Ecig hardware is no longer unique with only a handful of exceptions.
One pays for uniqueness. If you have that, you are a winner.
All of the DIY nuts out there, including myself, think we can blend the best tasting juices. We are all chasing that elusive beast called taste. Aroma chemists are some of the highest paid professionals out there because the great ones are so rare. I know of one famous cosmetics company where the chief aroma chemist makes more money than the CEO.
Taste is not universal. I will probably get beat up for this, but I dislike Boba's Bounty which is one of the most popular juices out there.
The ecig market has gone from cottage industry to a rapidly expanding multi-$ billion competitive market. If you are going to be an entrepreneur, you must be good at it and understand the market you are dealing in. Nice guys who are incompetent deserve to finish last.
All of the B&M's have the problem of competing on hardware prices with the Internet. Retail needs to have a gross margin of 50%. Those kinds of margins will be difficult to hit with the Internet as competition, especially with the competition from the Fasttech's of the world.
Admittedly, not all vapers take vaping to the level of a hobby like myself. I make my own juices and use RBA's. I saw a MVP 2 in a shop, played with it a bit, and liked it. Was I about to buy another mod which I did not need at his price of $79? No, I got one on Black Friday for $39. Was it fair on my part to try something out in a B&M and then order the item on line for a lower price? Yes. It is today's market reality, and that reality applies to almost any other product you can think of from consumer electronics to toys, golf balls, and hardware.
The only way a B&M will make it is to have good juices where the mark ups are orders of magnitude above hardware. Hardware is a loss leader or opportunistic sale to a newbie. Ecig hardware is no longer unique with only a handful of exceptions.
One pays for uniqueness. If you have that, you are a winner.
All of the DIY nuts out there, including myself, think we can blend the best tasting juices. We are all chasing that elusive beast called taste. Aroma chemists are some of the highest paid professionals out there because the great ones are so rare. I know of one famous cosmetics company where the chief aroma chemist makes more money than the CEO.
Taste is not universal. I will probably get beat up for this, but I dislike Boba's Bounty which is one of the most popular juices out there.
The ecig market has gone from cottage industry to a rapidly expanding multi-$ billion competitive market. If you are going to be an entrepreneur, you must be good at it and understand the market you are dealing in. Nice guys who are incompetent deserve to finish last.
I sadly do not have a B&M close by, but if there were, I would certainly buy something. Anything. Just my way of supporting a business I like.
I know it's a sentiment that has been echoed before, but I don't have a problem with spending a few dollars more locally on something I could buy cheaper on line - especially if the local store has good customer rapport.
I know it's a sentiment that has been echoed before, but I don't have a problem with spending a few dollars more locally on something I could buy cheaper on line - especially if the local store has good customer rapport.
Yes, I have eliquid that tasted great in the store, and now I wonder, "REALLY?" What was I thinking!
Yes, I make a point to buy at local stores, but I wouldn't call it "pity buys." I enjoy hanging out in several of our local stores and have learned a lot that I couldn't learn online. The staffs are really cool to deal with and very low pressure and it is cool to actually vape in public without hate. But I do buy certain items online which are not available in stores.
Indeed. Last week I went in to a recently opened shop near me just to check them out. There are only 3 shops near me an 2 of those have opened since sept. One of the owners, a husband and wife team was busy getting a new vaper set up with a starter kit and trying some of their juices.
I talked to the other owner for a while. They only had a limited selection of mostly ego's an clearo type products. About what I expected but they did have a few low end mods, nothing I was interested in. I ended up buying a couple of 18650 batts, not like I needed any more but I wanted to support their business.
I talked to the other owner for a while. They only had a limited selection of mostly ego's an clearo type products. About what I expected but they did have a few low end mods, nothing I was interested in. I ended up buying a couple of 18650 batts, not like I needed any more but I wanted to support their business.
I can always use some cartos so that is the usual pity buy if I don't like the rest.
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