Is advocating Hong Kong direct purchases really a good idea?

[Calumoo]

I tend to buy most of my things from the UK vendors, but they when i bought a VAMO, it was around £40-£50 at pretty much every UK website i could find, and it cost me £23 shipped from china, If it would have cost me £25-30 from a UK vendor, i would have bought it from them.
If local companies cannot price their items competitively with companies from other countries, then they are always going to loose a few sales from people who are looking for the cheapest deal.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Welcome to the New World Order and Capitalism. This issue is merely indicative of what is to be and most won't appreciate the impact UNLESS they've been personally affected by job loss/ cut in wages due to a higher demand for low cost products.
EVERYONE does this from large retailers all the way down to the consumer- expect high wages/ profits yet look for the lowest priced items.
In regards to foreign competition I recently had a problem with unreliable internet connectivity. It was of considerable importance seeing as I work online all day. Phoned my ISP 10 times (including 3 trips to store to pick up a new modem) and spoke with Cdn based techies for 11 hrs- no resolution and the problem continued. The 11th time I called I was fortunate enough to be directed to an India based techie. In under 10 minutes he had identified the issue and within 4 hrs the problem was resolved.
We'd all better get used to this scenario. We are now a consumer nation and, less so every day, an original supplier of consumables and Western based business is quickly becoming the middleman in regards to the economic picture. The next killer step will be when China steps up their quality control IMHO.

 

[lilmrsyeti]

I also forgot to mention...to my knowledge...in ALL of North Alabama, that's where I live, I only know of ONE B&M store..and that is over 2 hours away from me. So, no..I won't be shopping locally. I've spent I don't know how much $$ on vaping since my husband and I started...quite a bit for the two of us...and everything I've ordered was from USA Vendors..all but my last order..which was the Vamo Kit from FT...got the kit for 53.00...free shipping...that included 2 top of the line batteries, and charger...put those items together from a USA Vendor and you're easily talking around 100.00..again...you need to ask why we give links to that site?

 

[cedric212]

Using FT as an example:

1) Lower prices, average saving of 30-50%.
2) Better warranty, even if I don't get the full 6 months I can go through PP and get ~30 day protection.

Why pay more if most of the US venders have DOA/14-day warranty policy? Back in August, a 30 day warranty on devices was considered the norm, but now?

I'm all in for supporting local business, but it's making lesser sense to do so...

 

[ebhomepc]

Agreed OK if I want to order let's say 30ml of dekang in the uk at local venders there trying to charge £4 just for 10ml this is not just one local shops its all the vaping shops I have visited 3 shops and my local market online I'm talking in the uk on the internet about £7 plus let's say 2.99 delivery now I'm at £9.99 I go on fasttech I see 100ml £10.24 Inc free recorded delivery and its the same liquid I'm definitely going to use fasttech. Personally I think most UK vendors love to rip people of by charging 3 times the price its just crazy.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[iceman68]

I agree, however for me, an EVOD clearomiser bought in the UK and delivered to my home would cost me $12, from FastTech it is $3.60 delivered.

Can't argue with that. That's just good economic sense. I'd do the same thing. Why would I pay $10 for something when I can get it elsewhere for $5? The more money I keep in my pocket, the better.

The whole premise of this forum is to provide information that is of interest to others in order to educate and help them. Whether it be answers to questions, advice, tips, opinions or posting links to other sites. Just because someone posts a link doesn't mean you have to click on it. You are free to disregard it if you choose. Others may find it helpful. To each his own.

http://www.fasttech.com/

 

[brock957]

Buy what you want from where you want. And let the rest of us do the same. It's a lot more than a couple of dollar difference. Haven't had a local vape shop treat me right yet. Been to quite a few.

 

[Leithan]

Damn you Iceman68! Of course I clicked the link, 20 EVOD heads on the way.

 

[iceman68]

Damn you Iceman68! Of course I clicked the link, 20 EVOD heads on the way.

HA! And I bet you saved a bunch of money too!

 

[bunnomatic]

It's my money and I'll spend it where I want to. If you offer me a decent deal and a warranty I'll want to spend it with you. If you tell me it is not returnable unless it is doa then I am going to get it for half price from overseas. 90% of what I spend goes overseas because everything here has a disclaimer on it of "returnable only if DOA".

Links don't cut out local vendors but they do give people more options that they might not know about.

 

[Lessifer]

I've bought from a loca B&M and will definitely do so again, I've also bought from online vendors in the US and will do so again, and I've bought from FT and will probably do so again. I buy my juice locally or from a US vendor that makes it, gear I usually shop around for good prices but unless it's something big I will trade a few dollars for getting it faster(from US vs China). But let's take my one and only FT purchase as an example, I bought the vamo kit, with two extra battery holders it came to $50.39 for the vamo, two Panasonic 18650 batteries, and a nitecore i2 charger. If I had bought that same setup from my usual gear vendor, who is usually pretty reasonable anyway, it would have been at least $70 and they don't carry the i2 charger, it would have been a cheaper one. Now, if I would have bought this same setup at my local B&M, well, They want $60 for the vamo itself so it'd be close to $100 at least.

I vape on a budget, I had planned on waiting to get a vamo, since I had just spent $35 last month on an ego twist, yeah, you read that right. But I couldn't pass up a great deal, and if it hadn't already been linked to everywhere I would have spammed that link as well. Supporting the local economy is great, supporting us vendors is great, saving $50 that you can then spend on something else locally(locally grown food for instance) while getting the great vaping gear you really wanted, that's fantastic.

Last note, what makes you think that any of the money you spend at a "local" online retailer STAYS local?

 

[SharonMM]

China gets paid whether or not we pay the markup. So really the only question is, do you want to pay a middle man, or not?

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bookworm]

The OP expressed an opinion, but it seemed to come off a little rude as well. That's great if you want to support American resellers, but why get upset with others who shop elsewhere or who point new vapers to a great price? If I would have had access to a site like fasttech in the beginning, maybe it wouldn't have taken me two years to get serious and order a kit.

 

[Myrany]

The OP expressed an opinion, but it seemed to come off a little rude as well. That's great if you want to support American resellers, but why get upset with others who shop elsewhere or who point new vapers to a great price? If I would have had access to a site like fasttech in the beginning, maybe it wouldn't have taken me two years to get serious and order a kit.

Likewise. Last summer I was really interested in starting to vape but the rig that I was sent to was going to cost me almost $200 by the time I got everything I needed. $200 wasn't in the cards so it all got put on the back burner until I discovered a thread on a gaming forum that pointed me to a setup that I could get for less than $100. I have been vaping ever since.

Help people that want to quit. That is the name of the game for me.

 

[ziggytrix]

I'd rather that middleman money go toward buying more locally made ejuice than paying someone just to resell and reship Chinese merchandise.

The original post felt like a bit of a guilt trip to me, but I feel absolutely no economic guilt over this decision.

 

[spegtoast]

Saving a couple of extra dollars by cutting out the middle man gives me the opportunity to spend that couple of extra bucks on something I choose.

 

[BlueSnake]

The Chinese are going to own us, might as well send them our money directly now. Direct buying is a big help to their overall takeover plans. Keep up the good work.

 

[BlueSnake]

I'd rather that middleman money go toward buying more locally made ejuice than paying someone just to resell and reship Chinese merchandise.

The original post felt like a bit of a guilt trip to me, but I feel absolutely no economic guilt over this decision.

That means you don't shop at Walmart or any other retail stores either?

 

[Ref Minor]

The Chinese are going to own us, might as well send them our money directly now. Direct buying is a big help to their overall takeover plans. Keep up the good work.

Where do you think the middleman is sending the money?

 

[Nicadmus]

I have posted the Fasttech link on many occasions. Buying US made products for a couple extra dollars would be ideal for me. Buying Chinese made products through a US middle man at twice the price is foolish in my opinion. You want me to support the local economy/vendors, when those same vendors are not supporting their own local businesses?

Are the links really the issue?