I'm talking straight up Gas Station

[Downtown]

I guess this got people riled up haha. But I agree with mostlyclassics, I used to have to go to smoke shops to get my favorite cigs, lucky strikes, so I understand what you're saying. And the kits I understand too, some people don't want to take the time. But the idea of disposables with different flavors, or a basic kit with everything included and a manual to learn what's going on and a small stock of menthol and tobacco liquids would also be great. As much and blue and njoy sometimes make me mad, they have the market on Gas station disposables, so working with them may be worth it to get those people up to our level and keep them off tobacco. So now we may have found a solution, but how do we get those corporations on board?

 

[bazmonkey]

1) The gas station ones are the exact quality I'd expect out of... anything I buy at a gas station. Most of them don't even have quality gasoline, much less anything else.

2) A person shouldn't need to shop nearly as often as a cigarette smoker assuming you're doing it a "cheap" way... i.e. at least refilling your own cartos. That's a lot different than cigarettes where it's common to buy them a pack at a time. Really, except for cigarettes themselves, why do we have it in our minds that a *gas station* is where we'd like to be doing quality vaporizer shopping?

3) Like another person mentioned, merchants make good profits off e-cig products. Cigarettes, gas, alcohol... the gas stations stock them because it's what you're going there for, but it's not profitable. I worked at a Circle K. You know where they made most of their money? Fountain drinks. They sold WAY more gas and beer and smokes but with the taxes on them and competing gas stations all over the place, there's no profit margin.

4) The real reason this won't happen (yet?) is because people show HUGE brand loyalty when it comes to smokes. They pick a brand and stick with it. Daily. Monthly. Yearly. A small station could carry a handful of brands and it would satisfy the large majority of customers. But look at e-cigs: the batteries, the mods, the different thread types, the juice, the flavors, the parts... if you're going for quality, AND looking to satisfy us vapers, imagine how much you'd have to have in stock to actually carry what most people want. It just doesn't lend itself to convenience stores. This is why it would be nice if the average consumer rallied behind a few brands like Blu or NJOY. They're really as "good" as any other mini battery.

It's like this with cigarettes: the most popular brands aren't the high quality ones, they just have recognition. Marlboros aren't created differently than Pall Malls. Brands people think of as cheap nowadays (Pall Mall, Kool to name two) used to be some of the most popular cigarettes.

If some e-cig brands market themselves enough to get that kind of brand loyalty, it would be better for the whole community.

 

[Downtown]

1) The gas station ones are the exact quality I'd expect out of... anything I buy at a gas station. Most of them don't even have quality gasoline, much less anything else.

2) A person shouldn't need to shop nearly as often as a cigarette smoker assuming you're doing it a "cheap" way... i.e. at least refilling your own cartos. That's a lot different than cigarettes where it's common to buy them a pack at a time. Really, except for cigarettes themselves, why do we have it in our minds that a *gas station* is where we'd like to be doing quality vaporizer shopping?

3) Like another person mentioned, merchants make good profits off e-cig products. Cigarettes, gas, alcohol... the gas stations stock them because it's what you're going there for, but it's not profitable. I worked at a Circle K. You know where they made most of their money? Fountain drinks. They sold WAY more gas and beer and smokes but with the taxes on them and competing gas stations all over the place, there's no profit margin.

4) The real reason this won't happen (yet?) is because people show HUGE brand loyalty when it comes to smokes. They pick a brand and stick with it. Daily. Monthly. Yearly. A small station could carry a handful of brands and it would satisfy the large majority of customers. But look at e-cigs: the batteries, the mods, the different thread types, the juice, the flavors, the parts... if you're going for quality, AND looking to satisfy us vapers, imagine how much you'd have to have in stock to actually carry what most people want. It just doesn't lend itself to convenience stores. This is why it would be nice if the average consumer rallied behind a few brands like Blu or NJOY. They're really as "good" as any other mini battery.

It's like this with cigarettes: the most popular brands aren't the high quality ones, they just have recognition. Marlboros aren't created differently than Pall Malls. Brands people think of as cheap nowadays (Pall Mall, Kool to name two) used to be some of the most popular cigarettes.

If some e-cig brands market themselves enough to get that kind of brand loyalty, it would be better for the whole community.

could you try to elaborate more on this? In the beginning it sounded like you hated the idea, but at the end it sounded like you wanted it to be an idea we can rally around if we got a few brands to do it. I got a little confused. I like your idea of the brand loyalty, I honestly do want to start seeing this happening, I don't know who we'd have to talk to honestly, I mean, blu and njoy are decent at the moment, but when it comes to competition, it's like a two brand monopoly between those two duking it out. Put more into it and people somehow gain a huge opinion, which then leads people to loyalty rather than just grabbing what's there. I used to (and will still enjoy when I get the chance) enjoy lucky strikes which I know no one tries because quite honestly, they're good toasted tobacco cigs which you don't find that often. But I noticed for awhile, I chose marbs and camels rather than sonomas and newports. You give people 5 choices and they duke it out and then make a loyalty bias out of it. Maybe we could try to keep njoy and blu in the market, but maybe add a couple other mini brands. I know eGo makes some kind of a mini, V4L and V2 make what I've seen some people put it as great minis. I have a v2, and I still enjoy using it to be honest. Start giving people more options at decent prices with maybe some decent options thrown in, this might not even be a gas station idea anymore, maybe an honest B&M or throw them in a smoke shop.

Movie quote: If you build it, they will come. If we make it known to companies our idea, and they try it, the people will inevitably give it a shot.

 

[Ryedan]

I hear ya Downtown and I think this would be a great business. I think if it could be done it would take off and if it was allowed to continue could make someone tons of money. Unfortunately, I think the business reality is not conducive to this right now.

You need a big company to make this happen. Think about what is involved in design, manufacture, have contingency for legal issues that may arise, develop business agreements with large companies and get product out to thousands of locations. The likes of Blu and Njoy are doing it successfully, but they are looking out for their bottom line first and they have a good thing going the way things are. Not only that, but big companies also simply like doing business with other big companies. Kinda really cuts out the little guys.

Unfortunately, the big players don't care about what's best for vapers, they just care about profit. I think cheap disposables (cheap to manufacture and sell a lot of, not cheap for consumers) are where the highest profit margins are and will be until there are enough people out there who know a better product is available.

Plus the whole market could change significantly in the next few months. Anyone who invests in this business now is going to have to have a plan for that and that is not going to be easy! That again really cuts out the smaller businesses and I think even the big guys are being very cautious. In this situation quick returns make the most sense.

In the end, I really like where you are coming from, but I don't think it will happen because of the business issues and the risks involved.

I hope I am wrong

 

[Erncig]

Come on guys think of things like a business man.

Ecigs are stealing their cigarette money.

If you ran Blu, or even Njoy, you would do the same thing.

The money is in repeat business, and that is why disposables or prefilled cartos are the future of vaping.

You can hate it, but that's the way it is.

 

[Downtown]

E-liquid is a repeat business, same with cartos and clearos. We've gotta keep this more on the positive things we CAN rather than always believing we CAN'T.

 

[Cool_Breeze]

Convenient stores would never get complicated enough to require any knowledge on the part of the store personnel.

 

[Downtown]

I truly guess instead of the gas stations which we all get to daily, maybe places like smoke-shops. I know my 2 locals have the employees basically versed in every cigarette, cigar, dip, and pipe tobacco there. So e-cigs could be a good addition.

 

[Scoop224]

I think what's being missed here is this:

Gas stations/convenience stores aren't in the business of saving lives and converting smokers. They are in business to fill your car, sell you alcohol, fattening snacks, and cancer sticks. Why on earth would they want people to wake up to the fact that they don't have to be slaves to the wall of cigarettes behind every counter in America?

Sure the profit is less per unit (vs ecigs), but the shear volume of cigarette sales makes up for it. Every week, my local mom&pop corner store gets a truckload of stock delivered, usually about 40 boxes of misc products.....about half of those boxes are full of cigarettes. Something that gets sold constantly, and draws more people in than any other product. You can stand by and watch.... Some folks might grab a soda and some chips, others grab a sandwich or some gum, but 7 out of 10 sales always include a pack of smokes....at least around here.

I think I feel pretty lucky that little store carries ONE display of 808 disposables (cig2o) because trying that product convinced me that there was an alternative to overpriced, overtaxed, death rolled in white paper.

Asking that store to risk losing sales in the interest of getting people off of cigs would be asking them to commit fiscal suicide. Just because the public wants to kill themselves smoking, doesn't mean an established business should kill their own business plan.

Don't like the way things are? Take that risk yourself and start your own brick and mortar vape shop. Don't expect any stores to cut their own throat to help us get free of big tobacco...

 

[budynbuick]

start up a vending service. I thought about starting a bar vending service but the gov would not allow it even though it is (so called) private property. Would be a great money maker I think. Set a display up in the bar/gas station. keep it stocked. This would be huge in the bar as folks could stay inside & get their nic. I could see it growing to monumental proportions. Oh well.

 

[Downtown]

Any ideas at this point are COMPLETELY welcome. I wanna see what you guys think are good ideas to get this taking off outside of the internet.

 

[Ryedan]

Convenient stores would never get complicated enough to require any knowledge on the part of the store personnel.

Agreed, but it does not have to be complicated to be good enough for a lot more people to get into it.

 

[oldjoe]

Look at it from a business point.
Open a retail outlet and you have LOTS of overhead so prices have to go way up to cover the costs and the better the locale the more costly. Just making the rent, utilities, advertising, insurance, etc. can be a challenge and the whole point of a business is to make a profit.
Online retailers do not have that cost so the prices are cheaper.
You won't see good quality/variety e-cigs in retail outlets (i.e. convenient type stores) because that would involve stocking a lot of inventory, consuming valuable space, that doesn't move quickly and adds to the cost.
The disposables take up little space, move quickly and generate a lot of profit.
I have noticed that several online sites, including my favorite Hoosier e-cig, are now opening stores so hopefully they will prosper and that trend will continue.

 

[Ryedan]

I think what's being missed here is this:

Gas stations/convenience stores aren't in the business of saving lives and converting smokers. They are in business to fill your car, sell you alcohol, fattening snacks, and cancer sticks. Why on earth would they want people to wake up to the fact that they don't have to be slaves to the wall of cigarettes behind every counter in America?

They are all in business to make money. Tail11 said he knows a vendor who told him there's more profit in disposable e-cigs than in smokes which would not surprise me. So it seems like the profit is there to be made. Today, with no government controls on e-cigs, nicotine freely available and with minimal taxes on it all.

 

[DietSalem]

A local vendor here supplies his really good juice to some gas stations and tobacco shops around here. If I ever have a juice emergency I know I can fall back on that =)

 

[Kemosabe]

I've been wondering these days, now that e-cigs are starting to make a big ripple in a large sea, how easily it would be to get gas stations to start offering the QUALITY brands. Fair prices, decent sales, we all see that the internet right now has most of the e-cig market. I wanna start seeing brands like v2, v4l, Joyetech, start hittin gas stations. Doesn't need to be huge at first, basic stuff, maybe a manual battery to people who are really curious. These cig-a-like brands are really pushing what buttons I have left. I wanna be able to lose a battery, stop at a local station and actually buy something RELIABLE, rather than a knock off Njoy and have the battery implode into burnt juice and metal shrapnel.

Do you guys see this move happening?

Have you already seen people making this move?

If there was a time frame, how long would it take?

Could we convince companies to at least give it a try?

This is for the better of the people, and the economic value would be huge if vapers like us could locally get something if it broke, rather than waiting 3-5 business days for a new part to drop in our mailbox. Maybe a bit outlandish, but what do y'all think on this?

Totaly Wicked has an eGo gas station package. its an ego batt, charger, and either attys+carts or cartos, cant remember.

also, the NJOY King (not the other Njoy disposable) is a worthwhile disposable. its 45mg nic and tastes exactly like an analog. im sure others have mentioned this but i havent read the thread yet, just the OP.
ok i read the whole thread. take it from me, i dont claim to be a know-it-all regarding vapor, but i employ many many different systems including RBAs. and the Njoy KING will get you through an emergency with flying colors. it puts other disposables to shame. and in a pinch, you'll miss your mod much much less (for a few hours anyway). take that only FWIW, YMMV.

edit: woops, i made a mistake. it looks liek the TW ego kit is not rechargable. i i still bet its one of the best, if not THE best disposable out there. theyre joyetech, just like you were hoping for, OP. you can even request them to be in your area, check it:
http://content.spinfuel.com/2012/11...-offering-quality-ecigs-convenient-locations/

 

[Downtown]

Now the big question: where and who do we go to this with? I know there's many a supplier on this forum, but we'd need the support of our masses to be able to do any sort of convincing.

 

[vap3d70]

I would love to see more ecigs in more places but for a lot of the same reasons others noted, it will probably never happen.
Even the few smoke shops in my area are only selling the cig2o's (last I checked $15 for 3 cartos ) and when I asked them if they ever planned to offer or even considered any of the other brands or just reselling from an online vendor like v4l, they just laughed...
They make the bulk of their cash from the tobacco and have no intent of killing that cash cow... even though yes there is money to made, there is more to be lost... bottom line.
Not completely relevant but Ive kind of related the ecig market to the pc market...
You have a few cheaply made, but heavily marketed brands (dell,hp,lenovo) shoved down consumers throats and thats what the average person will buy... just like blu, njoy and cig2
However, you will always have the geeks that know there that know you can build your own pc thats 100 times better and at a fraction of a cost... and yes we are the geeks!
The best we can really do is educate the people we see buying them in gas stations and let them know there is a better and less expensive way out there... Carry around a few extra business cards from your favorite vendor and give them one... if no one is around to give one to and one 'falls' out of your pocket and lands in front of/next to the blu display... that wouldnt be a bad thing either
Even if you can at least inform the gas station ecig users that its possible to refill the cartos a few times, they might be more likely to make the switch...
Back to the OT... I think what really needs to happen first is for disposables (not blu,njoy,etc... but our vendors) in vending machines at bars, bowling alleys, etc... thats the only places that really wont care much about the profit margins since they dont make much off them anyway... but if the business owners were to get a little bigger cut and not have to kick their patrons to the sidewalk to enjoy the product (in NY, not only can you not smoke in bars, but they are not even allowed to put up awnings or any other structure for smokers) they will probably welcome the opportunity! Win-win for all...

 

[Scoop224]

Awful ambitious...... Good luck with that.

My crusading days are over.... Just wanna get my vape on in peace. Not trying to change the world here, just trying to save my OWN life.

Since I get everything online anymore, I don't even go into stores these days... They are feeling the crunch since I quit spending my money in there.

 

[Ryedan]

Totaly Wicked has an eGo gas station package. its an ego batt, charger, and either attys+carts or cartos, cant remember.

also, the NJOY King (not the other Njoy disposable) is a worthwhile disposable. its 45mg nic and tastes exactly like an analog. im sure others have mentioned this but i havent read the thread yet, just the OP.

~~~Snip~~~

edit: woops, i made a mistake. it looks liek the TW ego kit is not rechargable. i i still bet its one of the best, if not THE best disposable out there. theyre joyetech, just like you were hoping for, OP. you can even request them to be in your area, check it:
Totally Wicked eLiquid Offering Quality eCigs At Convenient Locations - Spinfuel eCigs Magazine | Spinfuel Magazine

Great find Kemosabe! Actually, TW has two options for their blister pack product. #1 is disposable, #2 is a rechargeable 650 mAh eGo system. Both have juice available in the displays.

Seems to me like this is exactly what I was talking about in earlier posts. A reasonably big company, with the right resources, experience and connections has made a move on this business opportunity. It will be interesting to see how this plays out!