So why are they so hard to find and why did Ikenvape and IBTanked go belly up?
I used to work in a vape shop, so I'll tell you what my manager told me.
Cartos and cartotanks are "old technology". It was no longer profitable to try to sell them, they took up too much valuable storage and display space within the store. They got rid of their ciga-likes and pre-filled cartridges, too. More profitable items such as ego
batteries, clearomizers, replacement clearomizer heads,
rba's, wire and wick, mech and regulated mods, and
e-liquid were what was bringing in money and profit to the store. It's what the customers wanted. There were only a few customers who used cartomizers and cartotanks.
I can't speak for Ikenvape. He had had business problems in the past, quality control and supply problems with his manufacturers in China, and I imagine with the decline in online sales he had to make the decision to close shop.
IBTanked was a mom & pop run business, and I imagine they suffered the same fate as Ikenvape from the decline in sales. IBTanked lost their ECF Registered Supplier status when orders were taking too long to be completed and didn't communicate with their customers.
There's a reason that the companies who still sell cartomizers are running close-out sales on them. They are clearing space for items that make a profit.
An anology can be found in the electronic entertainment field. It's hard to find an 8-track, cassette tape, or even a CD player any more. Technology has passed them by with newer technology such as DVD, Blue Ray, MP3 players, and online download sites. Try finding a tube-style television set -- they're all flat screen HD sets now.