How are the B&M Shops in your town?

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I havent really gone into many shops around my new living area (Atlanta) but I just googled it and a few show up. I really want to go for the e liquids and try some new stuff. Most shops wont have what you want, if your into getting the latest and greatest. Like most of my rba's i pre order and stuff. Most shops dont have kayfuns and what not, that are made in Europe. I mean who needs to go to a vape shop if your building your own coils and buying the cotton from walgreens anyways. i get the whole support your local businesses, but I'm the kind of person who wants the next thing so most shops wont have that stuff for a few months, if at all.

The one shop by me does carry the latest and greatest. Huge selection of mechs and RBA's. The problem is they sell them to people at a huge markup. And I'm not comparing it to blowout sales that you find on VJ, just standard prices.
 

Keynith

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The one shop by me does carry the latest and greatest. Huge selection of mechs and RBA's. The problem is they sell them to people at a huge markup. And I'm not comparing it to blowout sales that you find on VJ, just standard prices.

Dang your lucky. Im looking to get a hana modz and those are hard as hell to find anywhere. Maybe im just to picky...
 

BigCatDaddy

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When I started vaping the 1st part of Oct., there were zero B& M's, now there are 4, and this is not that big of a town, 30k at most. 3 of them make juice in house and the 4th sells brand juice. All have pretty fair retail on their gear and are pretty well stocked. I've bought a little from all of them and stop in to visit when I'm near. All have friendly staff and most are fairly knowledgeable about their stock. I don't know how 4 are going to survive tho...
 

revco

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I live in a fairly small town of about 65K full time residents. We have one dedicated B&M, a few tobacco huts that carry the random thing, a couple head shops that carry a few supplies/gear and a number of convenience stores that carry (mass produced) liquid and cigalikes.

The B&M is pretty expensive compared to online and I've supported them a bit, mainly because I want a local shop for an emergency or whatever. They really only cater to beginners, though, so now that I'm looking into more advanced setups, I've grown past their capabilities. Comparatively, I've also probably out-learned them in 25 short days here on ECF than they know from being in business for a year. From what I gather, they really have no intention of getting any bigger, expanding their selection or catering to more advanced vapers. The guys there are cool, though, and I'm on a first name basis, so I suppose there's something that can be said for that.
 

milescadre

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the bdsm shops in my town are quite awesome, lots of leather and silicone goodies to choo- oh, brick and mortar shops. right ^^

no my locals are alt smoke (local? more like 45 min away x.x) and vapor outlet in western hills (more like 15 minutes)

Alt smoke is probably known well enough but the other is still growing, and just got rebuildable stuffs in. they always have something new and I try it, thus they get 95% of my vaping money XD
 

Completely Average

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Deviate3s

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Beaverton, OR. Suburb on the SW side of Portland.

I have 4 shops within ~15-20 minutes from home (that I'm aware of). 3 of the 4 are head shops that carry some vape stuff. Few pen style setups, a Protank or two, few juice options that seem to be mostly centered around 0mg/mL nicotine. Maybe a mechanical mod on the shelf. No RDAs. They're clearly geared towards a lifestyle that I do not participate in and seem to be jumping on the vaping bandwagon to make a few bucks. No samples at either and no returns. On my first trip to one of them I was given 0mg/mL when I asked for 18mg. I didn't find out until I got home. On my return trip they acted like it was an act worthy of sainthood for them to exchange the bottle.

The 4th shop is a vape-specific B&M. It's a small storefront, but they've got just about everything you'd want from a $20 eGo kit to VTRs. They've got a decent selection of atomizers. Tons of juice options from 7-8 different companies ranging from $6/15mL to $12/15mL. And they seem to carry them in every nicotine strength offered by the manufacturers. I love this place as much as I dislike the local head shops.
 
Yes, but they sell hardware well below MSRP and count on bulk sales to make their profits. Local B&M stores will sell for MSRP.

MSRP usually has a 50% profit built in so retailers make money selling at MSRP.

Exactly why I don't go to the one local shop by me anymore. MSRP for an MVP2 is $69.99. They are charging $95. If there is close to a 50% profit built into an MSRP how do they justify selling at that price.
 

Firestorm

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I live in Chicago’s northern suburbs and there is a vape shop with a smokeless lounge just a few miles away. I will not name them, although they are a forum supplier and you can easily guess who they are from the subsequent description. They specialize in 808 gear and their juice line is made in China. I have long graduated from 808 gear (all of their stuff is made by SmokTech I believe). I really liked to go there to sample their large juice line, but got incredibly annoyed that they often run out of stock and restocking can take months. They’ve sold me e-liquid that is almost two years old and set to expire about a month from my purchase date and I’ve experienced quality problems (they’ve swapped e-liquid out, but refuse to acknowledge a problem). I also don’t like the fact that they frequently come out with online coupons with discounts from 10% to 30%. Why don’t I like this? Because the noob who goes in there for a starter kit gets raped and the coupons are online only, so instead of driving over there, I would have to wait almost a week for a package delivery to take advantage of deals.

In summary, I no longer frequent this shop. The fact is, that everything that I covet and buy is available online and is no doubt cheaper directly from the modder as opposed to a B&M and the markups that they have to charge for their overhead. I know that there are other shops in the city and nearby suburbs, but I imagine that all they sell are starter kits, eGos, clones, and if they happen to sell high-end mods or atomizers, they will come with a hefty price tag. I know that there are some pretty cool shops out in California that sell high-end gear, but I don’t think that are any similar B&Ms around me. I’m pretty good at the F5 game and I follow the forums and Facebook for product releases. This approach works very well for me.
 
I live in Chicago’s northern suburbs and there is a vape shop with a smokeless lounge just a few miles away. I will not name them, although they are a forum supplier and you can easily guess who they are from the subsequent description. They specialize in 808 gear and their juice line is made in China. I have long graduated from 808 gear (all of their stuff is made by SmokTech I believe). I really liked to go there to sample their large juice line, but got incredibly annoyed that they often run out of stock and restocking can take months. They’ve sold me e-liquid that is almost two years old and set to expire about a month from my purchase date and I’ve experienced quality problems (they’ve swapped e-liquid out, but refuse to acknowledge a problem). I also don’t like the fact that they frequently come out with online coupons with discounts from 10% to 30%. Why don’t I like this? Because the noob who goes in there for a starter kit gets raped and the coupons are online only, so instead of driving over there, I would have to wait almost a week for a package delivery to take advantage of deals.

In summary, I no longer frequent this shop. The fact is, that everything that I covet and buy is available online and is no doubt cheaper directly from the modder as opposed to a B&M and the markups that they have to charge for their overhead. I know that there are other shops in the city and nearby suburbs, but I imagine that all they sell are starter kits, eGos, clones, and if they happen to sell high-end mods or atomizers, they will come with a hefty price tag. I know that there are some pretty cool shops out in California that sell high-end gear, but I don’t think that are any similar B&Ms around me. I’m pretty good at the F5 game and I follow the forums and Facebook for product releases. This approach works very well for me.

LOL I know exactly who you are talking about. I don't care for that China juice they sell. Do you see the market growing here in the Chicago burbs? I sure hope so, it's nice to try things before buying. I'll buy local any day, unless they're trying to rape my pocket, which tends to usually be the case.

On another note. I saw an ego syle starter kit at a Citgo the other day.
 

Ay Dee Jay

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I promise this is not an ad!

I haven't been to a lot in Denver other than Colorado E-Smokes (always a rip off but they've slightly come down on batteries and such and are no-hassle about replacing failed batts for a year).

I just got back from a second trip to this one (below) and can attest that it's the best one I've seen in the Denver area and has a local customer base; there was a guy in there today raving about how he tries to push everyone to avoid another place because it's one of those converted headshops that doesn't really know what they're into. The owner of e-cig of Denver is pretty knowledgeable and they have a guy who helps with RBAs and such in-house. They sell some cheaper rebuildables but I haven't gotten into them yet...

I bought a ProTank Mini II for $17.99, TS3s and EVOD for $8, replacement coils for $2. Totally reasonable for a B&M. 1100 mAh Ego Twists are $25 and the iTaste VV/VW square-Ego-looking device (I forget what it is) sells for $49.95.

They make their own juice and have a loyal following there too but I have too much stockpiled to try anything other than a $3 for 10ml bottle of RY4 that I think will taste pretty good and similar to Torque 56 + RY4 (I like mixing Halo, AVE, and RY4 here and there) once it steeps a bit. Their juice mixer has been doing it for a month as I asked her about it today...she's big into cooking and applying her experience there. I'd like to give them some juices to try to copy but not sure if I should be conflicted about that and just keep sending my money to the established kings :)

They have a ton of pre-filled CE4s with samples that people try and share, with some alcohol pads to sanitize the tips. Not a big fan of that approach but it works and it's cool that it's an option. I'm sure they'll happily drip some right into your atty too, of course.

The guy there today was trying them all left and right without sanitizing before or after. I'm not averse to sharing the occasional smoking or vaping object but he was all over 'em :)

Their prices seem totally non-predatory across the board, I didn't see anything crazy, and they give you very tiny discounts and freebies here and there, which is cool and I understand that any little thing is sweet, because the margins are tight (i.e. I spent $40 and they cut off $1 from a chrome drip tip, but I can appreciate anything knowing the expense of running a B&M).

7125 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO ‎
(720) 881-1610 ‎ ·
Electronic Cigarettes Of Denver | Anywhere, Anytime, Safe Vapor E-Cigarettes

Edit: I just checked my receipt and remembered I also grabbed an ego charger for $3. Not a mind-blowing price but for a B&M it's a good statement. I actually picked up an presumably overpriced one though the other day for $6.99 but it has a nice little bushing isolating the center pin and it keeps it from getting recessed and damaged. The $3 isn't like that but we'll see which lasts longest. Meanwhile I also have a charger from Colorado E-Smokes that is almost totally hosed with the center pin but they're happy to swap things out. Haven't asked E-Cig of Denver what their policies are but their stuff seems more priced to sell in its own right with no padding added in.
 
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^Top-Shelf^

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There is only one shop in my town "smokeshop" that carries PV's mostly just Tsunami but they're prices are a bit ridiculous. I only shop there for hookah supplies mostly and occasionally e-juice. I wanted to buy a tank system as I just bought a new mechanical off line and all they had were Ce4's and wanted $10 a piece! So I passed on that. However I just discovered a vapor shop about 25 mins away that just opened in Oct. They make all there Eliquid in house and are decently priced the best part is they're website, always free shipping!!! Check them out Welcome to JJVapes - Ecigs, Electronic Cigarettes, E-Cigs, E Cigarettes
 

datrod

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Jan 26, 2014
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So Cal
There are vapes shops on every corner it seems here in So Cal. The only one I buy from is close to home, They have great juice,
Prices are a little high when compared to on line. But like someone else said they have rent and lights to pay. So I understand that.

I bought a kanger tech mini from them a week or so back. I think it was about $25.00. I didn't think that was too bad. What they do have is a rewards program. So the more you buy the more you save. My last 20 ML bottle of juice was like $3.00 because of my rewards.

Plus about everytime I go they give my a 10% off coupon for my next purchase.
 
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