I think I got duped by "Electronic Cigarettes Fast"

[reechi]

I found a starter kit came from Electronic Cigarettes Fast from electroniccigarettesfast.com and they were really fast but they taste like crap. It being my first time, I thought that's how they were supposed to taste - like rotting furniture, but after a while it kind of burned my throat. I recognized the tingling nicotine feeling from a brief fling with snus so thought nothing of it.

I'm overseas volunteering as a teacher in Thailand and I really don't want villagers knowing that I smoke. I had a smoking habit going for a few months and had a complicated set-up involving a fan and bottles of baby powder. Anyway, an ad (thanks to Google) came up one day while I was doing some emailing and that's how I found the starter kit, which was cheap, 15 bucks, and shipped internationally. Deal!...no not really. I couldn't do my research because the internet is a bit unreliable in this part of Thailand, but when I could I found there were no reviews or articles on the company or product (really, what's their brand name, anyway? "Electronic Cigarettes Fast"?) just some "press releases" and two articles on how they distributed them to senior citizens and how they dropped their prices for the changing economy, but they were posted in some really shady blogs.

The product itself is also kind of shady. The starter kit came with a nifty usb charger but nothing was labeled and no instructions or anything were included. Along with the starter kit came a postcard sized message that said "thank you" with coupon info on the back. The e-cig is a two-parter with disposable cartridges.

Has anyone else ordered from them? I need to know if:
1)that's how e-cigs are supposed to taste,
2) if they're going to mess with my credit card and
3)if I'm inhaling something that I shouldn't in these questionable e-cigs.

 

[tualatinboy]

Well, if it tastes like rotten furniture, there's definetely something wrong? Did it taste like that from the beginning? Were you cartridges filled with liquid? There's a lot o questions in here.

 

[frosting]

I'm so sorry you didn't find us first! That just doesn't sound like a fun experience. I think you have been duped. They by all means are not a reputable electronic cigarette site. At least, not to me!! The kinds of sites I use don't have to bumrush you how great e-ciggs are. People who are shopping there already know.

Have no fear! ECF is here!

Don't use it if you are really hating it or feel something is off. In Thailand are there restrictions are e-ciggs at all?

I'm not sure which vendors to recommend as I'm not sure who ships internationally and who does not. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable then myself may swoop in.

Basic rule of thumb, if it looks like a cigarette it won't have a whole ton of battery life. A "fat batt" device that looks more like a slim cigar has more battery life, typically at least 7-9 hours depending how much you vape. Another is that if you plan to drip, or even use a cartomizer(which if over-filled can leak a little) automatic batteries are no good. They break easier then a manual, where you push a button to take a drag.

Dripping--- The atomizer/heating element of your e-cigg. You drop about 3 drops of juice directly onto the mesh of the atomizer. Put back on your driptip/mouthpeice and vape away.

Cartomizer-- This is an atomizer and the cartridge together. There are a few different ways to fill these. Many use the "condom" method here is a thread talking about the condom method more. The condom will be the plastic rubbery case the cartomizer comes with.http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/general-e-liquid-discussion/234291-condom-fill-method-please-help.html You can also just drip juice into the cartomizer, on the sides until it looks nice and wet.

No they don't taste like burning furniture! They taste like strawberry, pineapple, coconut, vanilla, and on and on. There are so many wonderful flavors out there when you buy your own juice to fill them!

 

[JQside]

Well, taste is subjective. A rotten furniture taste to one person might taste cigar tobacco to another. ;-)

My first disposable kit didn't taste like tobacco. It did have a tinge of cigarette taste in it, but the unhappy part was it had zero nic in it and the TH was just not there. I progressed to better kits and juices and I missed the taste of it, and I have no way of knowing what the name of the flavor was.

 

[reechi]

Yeah, I'd gotten the tobacco flavored cartridges. I couldn't tell if there was liquid in it or what it even looks like inside. The cartridges are just mouth pieces a little bit over an inch long that screw into the battery. In total the entire cigarette is two pieces. It tasted like that from the beginning and continues to, but the flavor is extremely faint. When I can taste, that's when it tastes like wet, rotting, wood.

Alas! I guess a 15 dollar starter kit was too good to be true. I've been browsing around and it looks like the lowest price I saw was $40. Does that seem like the minimum for a good e-cig+charger?

 

[reechi]

And thanks for the input, too! The USB charger really was pretty neat and minimal. Disassembled, the charger, battery, and three cartridges all fit neatly in a since pocket sized case. It's too bad I can't even find out if there's actually nicotine in any of it!

 

[tualatinboy]

Well, by bes guess would be to hunt for something better that can be sent to Thailand. Even a generic Ego will be better than unknown mini, or pen. There's a lot of resellers here that ship worldwide, and i'll try to get some of them to send some stuff to me to Poland, you may as well try it with Thailand.

 

[markfm]

Check liberty flights, their Riva Lite starter kit or their Riva Carto kit (personally I'm a carto user, but if you get the Lite kit you can just pick up cartomizers separately). The basic kit with two batteries, charger, comess in at about $30 after using their october20 discount (I believe that's still active -- their Web page will have a link to it).

LF has both US and UK sites, they're actually based out of the UK.

Alternately there are some sit-and-go Rivas (and others) available. These can be used with a little cord directly connected to a PC USB port or separate USB charger, and the cord removed for moving around. If you go that route, I'd recommend buying two (always good to have two batteries, since things will break eventually -- don't want to be stuck without).

Pick up a couple of spare packs of cartos (Boge 2 ohm 510 are nice, if available), and some tobacco flavored eliquid. If you smoke full strength cigs, probably 24 mg/ml is right for you. If you are a lights smoker, probably 16 - 18 mg/ml. These are just "typical" values, some need to go one level higher or lower.

I ran through 3 ml/day of eliquid, coming off of being a full PAD smoker. Others use less, like 1 - 2 ml/day. I typically ran through about 22 - 24 ml of eliquid on 1 carto before it was time to clean it or throw it out.

Another path is to order from a Chinese supplier, like Eastmall or Health Cabin. That might get you the products cheaper, faster, depends on what Thai customs is like relative to incoming things from China.

Get started, see how things work, then in a little bit pick up a spare battery and/or USB charger, when you order more liquid.

Good luck!

 

[frosting]

Yeah, I'd gotten the tobacco flavored cartridges. I couldn't tell if there was liquid in it or what it even looks like inside. The cartridges are just mouth pieces a little bit over an inch long that screw into the battery. In total the entire cigarette is two pieces. It tasted like that from the beginning and continues to, but the flavor is extremely faint. When I can taste, that's when it tastes like wet, rotting, wood.

Alas! I guess a 15 dollar starter kit was too good to be true. I've been browsing around and it looks like the lowest price I saw was $40. Does that seem like the minimum for a good e-cig+charger?

I would say yes, mine was about 40$. That just doesn't sound like a great kit. Liberty-Flights.com has eGos for about that price, the Riva Lite Bundle is 29.99 probably cheaper right now(big sales) but no idea if they ship to Thailand, the low prices may only be on the US site. I would say, make sure you use a vendor from ECF so you don't get duped. The vendors listed on ECF are there for good reason, they have proven themselves to be great. The tricky part is finding the ones who ship to Thailand!

If you have questions, let us know! Also, these are some great threads to help you get going.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/65772-do-not-order-free-trials.html


http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/40211-faqs-frequently-asked-questions-about-electronic-cigarettes.html

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/61195-abbreviations.html

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/181304-new-members-read-everything-you-need-know-about-ecf.html

 

[reechi]

Sweetness. Thanks again.

I think I'm more concerned with trying to find a place that ships quickly for under 15 dollars. I bet it'll be just fine shipping stashes of cartomizers, nico, etc. to Thailand. If they made a big fuss about it, I might say a thing or two about them speed buckets down in Phuket or point at the staff of male high school teachers who drink like fish on school field trips. It doesn't make any sense to me that lawmakers would focus so much more on vaporizers in this country.

 

[thepassionofchad]

I'd just stick with a reputable supplier and stay away from the shadier ones.

 

[redbucket]

I got my ego-T kit from No.1 Electronic Cigarette Wholesale|E-Cigarette|Best Electronic Cigarette Manufacturer|E-Liquid|Mseries E-Cigarettes -- you'd be looking at $65 for the starter kit and international shipping, plus you'll want to get some juices (you might as well stock up so you don't have to pay a bunch of shipping for just some cheap juice later. remember you'll go through 1-3ml/day).

Much more expensive than what you were thinking, but you can go through a bunch of cheap scammy stuff, or get something you'll really like and stick with. Good luck and welcome!

 

[Lisa66]

Just a suggestion: you can call you credit card company and specify that no further charges should be accepted from that vendor without the credit card company calling you first.

 

[Alac]

Well, taste is subjective. A rotten furniture taste to one person might taste cigar tobacco to another. ;-)

There's a difference? I thought cigars tasted like rotten furniture.
j/k

 

[Balthezar]

When you get 5 posts, wait an hour, and you can post in other forums. Not sure where a Thailand forum is, but you can get better answers to some of your questions from someone from Thailand.

 

[theWayISshut]

I paid $60 for a disposable kit in a smoke shop. It got ten pre-filled cartridges in a plastic case and one battery. It lasted me about less than a week. I didn't know what taste it was but it resembled a combination of coffee, tea, bark of a tree, dried leaf; a taste that you usually get from eating something that has brown color. It certainly didn't taste like cigarette. The only thing that it has is "punch", what you call "throat hit" here. When I went back to the smoke shop they're no longer available, even cartridges. I learned later that it's the nic in it that keeps these folks from selling these things freely. I bought another kit from another shop, this time they're the cartomizer types but with no nic in them. A pre-filled carto costs $6, assuming I'll go for them when I run out. Long story short, I'm still looking for longer-term devices.

I'm still learning.