Local ecig shops--- what a RIPOFF!!

[eda123]

I got my first starter kit from Shawn @ Zeecigs locally. 2 full ego-C units, 5 atomizers, charger, pouch, 10 tanks. $75 bucks.

Since then ive gone to several others around Austin. Thier prices are insane!! One place wanted $104 for a ego c starter kit-- with only one battery, no extra atomizers, etc... when I told him there was a HUGE discrepancy, he said "ah!! BUT WE GIVE YOU A BOTTLE OF FREE juice!!!". Oh, and thier juice was way expensive, $10 for 10ml.

So I went to another local place. Their kits were even more expensive.

Man, im glad i did at least a little research before diving in- i feel bad for folks who go in there unknowingly and overspend rediculously!!

 

[KrisAinTX]

I got my first starter kit from Shawn @ Zeecigs locally. 2 full ego-C units, 5 atomizers, charger, pouch, 10 tanks. $75 bucks.

Since then ive gone to several others around Austin. Thier prices are insane!! One place wanted $104 for a ego c starter kit-- with only one battery, no extra atomizers, etc... when I told him there was a HUGE discrepancy, he said "ah!! BUT WE GIVE YOU A BOTTLE OF FREE JUICE!!!". Oh, and thier juice was way expensive, $10 for 10ml.

So I went to another local place. Their kits were even more expensive.

Man, im glad i did at least a little research before diving in- i feel bad for folks who go in there unknowingly and overspend rediculously!!

There is a pretty wide variation in pricing among B&Ms in the Austin area, but keep in mind that there are knockoffs of EVERYTHING in the e-cig world. Genuine JoyeTech eGo batteries are more expensive, even on Fasttech direct from China, than the clones are. They are built to higher quality standards and tend to last longer, hence the higher price.

Not saying you didn't get genuine products. Just putting out there that there is a reason for prices to fluctuate. Some stores carry more expensive products that look exactly like the less expensive products that other stores carry.

 

[Vicshalls]

I have some friends that are going to be starting out and i know good and well no matter what i say about research they wont do it. They will go the the b & m and get what is there and just go with it. This works for people. I was lucky and my b & m was not too bad. Worse than had i waited to order and get it in. If i had done that i might not have started at all.

 

[vernhall]

A B&M has overhead to deal with that an on-line shop doesn't have - one reason for the price difference that will always come into play... That being said many, if not most, B&Ms are still in that 'what the street will bear' phase now with e-cigs being the latest, and greatest, craze on the market.... All too many B&M shops think they're the only game in town and price accordingly... Which does, sadly, result in people who don't do their basic research getting ripped off big-time!!

 

[Chablo]

Keep in mind B&M shops purchase most starter kits from China. They get the kit as low as $10 and sell for $40-$70. They do need to make a profit. If you order stuff online you have to wait for it to arrive but if you go to the local shop it's there. Your sacrifice is more money to have it now. In some cases it does become better than worse. I only purchase juice locally if in a pinch. But most all of my orders are done online! And most juices at local shops are hand crafted high quality juices. Which I can't stand to vape. Either too much flavor or the steep time is ridiculous. Cheap juice does it for me! $5 for a 50ml online!

 

[Baditude]

Many considering to try e-cigarettes to quit smoking are extremely reluctant to purchase online. I know that I was. I wanted to at least see the package or product in person before buying. At the time that I started there were no e-cigs to be had other than the disposable N-Joy or Mystic brands. I did purchase an N-Joy disposable, and was "impressed enough" to decide e-cigs could work, and began my online research which thankfully lead me to ECF.

Many here recommended Smokeless Image as a good company to start out with. They were, and still are. That kit got me off of the smokes. Of course, I graduated up to mods within a months time, but when I started out there was no way I would have thought that I would use something that large, and why would I even want to...?

I've since lost that fear of purchasing from online vendors. I've gotten enough knowledge and experience to know what I need and where to find it.

Most beginners also do not know the value or necessity to have more than one item in their startup set. Not until I got lazy and wasn't diligent about recharging my stick batteries and was left without any charged batteries to vape with did I learn the number one rule in vaping: backups for your backups.

I guess I have veared off the OP's main topic. The e-cig business is a new and unknown product category for most of the general public. Standard prices are not widely known unless they take the time to research. Many unscrupulous salesmen are taking advantage of this, namely shopping mall kiosk vendors, flea market vendors, and even some e-cig B & M stores. Eventually these types of places will disappear as e-cigs become more commonplace.

However, by then, the FDA and Uncle Sam will have made their regulations and set up e-cig product taxes, so if you think prices are bad now....

 

[dchest02]

There is only one B&M in my area, and the reason I stopped going there was only partly because of the prices. If they could have answered at least half of the questions I needed answered back then I could have dealt with the higher prices. When a person that owns a vapor shop I would like them to know what a Boge cartomizer is for pete sake. When I started getting odd looks when I asked questions I knew it was time to go elsewhere, and since they are the only game in town, I started buying from the same place they were getting their stuff from, online. That was almost two years ago, and I have not looked back.

 

[tj99959]

Guess I was lucky.
When I started there was one B&M in town, but they were also a major player on line. Their prices in the store were the same as their on line prices.
Now there are more vape shops in town than there are smoke shops.

With many of the "brand name" products (like Joyetech) the price is set by the manufacturer, and when you see the same product sold elsewhere for less .... it's a knockoff with questionable quality. Every one of the eGo battery explosions to hit the news of late has been a knockoff.


I should also note that Jason & Rob at ENS spent over an hour showing me everything there is to know about my little ole eGo starter kit during my first visit to their store.

 

[edlox]

1. apply for job at local ecig shop
2. get job at local ecig shop
3. get discount and freebies
4. send stuff my way

 

[Dave Crabtree]

10 bucks for 10ml? Walk away slowly!
You can always find things cheaper - somewhere.

 

[KrisAinTX]

10 bucks for 10ml? Walk away slowly!
You can always find things cheaper - somewhere.

Especially in the Austin area. Create-a-cig is terrible and sells rebranded knockoffs. Juice prices are too high. All About Vapor has locations in Austin (Airport near 35) and in Round Rock (re-opening this AM in their new location on N Mays) and sells legit gear at what I would call 'reasonable' prices. Their juice is far cheaper than $10 for 10ml, too. I think their 10ml bottles are $5.45 or so. The Refined Vapor in Round Rock (Sam Bass just off 35) is awesome, but carries the higher end juice lines and high end devices. They do offer eGo style starter kits with mini ProTanks, at a decent price, though. There are a couple others that I haven't checked out yet, but AAV is a good place to start. They've never done me wrong.

 

[discusfan]

^^^ Ion Vapor is reasonably priced and quite helpful.

 

[Jsucool76]

One of the things I love about having a B&M nearby is that if you want to buy a different liquid, you can try it before you buy it. Online its just like "well...the name of that flavor sounds like it might be somewhat appealing..."

 

[Recycled Roadkill]

Ripoff is a bit harsh considering what a B&M store has to pay to be there. Rent ain't cheap and there's lots of expenses you're probably not aware of. As it's been said, they have to make a profit or there's no reason for them to be there. It's a very tough balance for them.

 

[Evi|grin]

I cut the local B&Ms some slack but that slack ends when i see huge price gouging or selling a cheap product and claiming its a brand name like Vision. This was the case when i found my first local B&M. Mod prices were barely ok but good enough to prevent me from going online. I paid $67 for a MVP V1 kit with a bottle of juice when i started and i was in heaven. Juice is pricy $15/30ml but i can sample over 250 flavors. Some of them are really really good too but they are made while you wait. At first i thought this was a good thing but now i understand "aging" or steeping can bring out more flavor. I only get their menthols types and they seem fine if i vape them right away.

Then i noticed a big discrepancy in Mini Pro tank knock off. They claimed ir was made by Vision but i proved to no less than two employees it was made by Jomo/Sinrow. I had them get the box and its right on the box, JOMO. I even made their online CS aware of the mistake and then they put it online with the false Vision label. That was the last straw for me and i began to look for better B&Ms.

Anyone in the STL area that wants to know the name of this B&M can PM me. The shop is not all bad but i will share my experiences with them in more detail in private. I really hate bashing them since they got me off cigs at a fair price. I spent 5 times as much on other methods and they all failed.

I hate to do business with a shop that blatantly lies about a product and wants nearly the same price for a real Kanger Mini PT. Plus they want $3 a coil for this fake and no other coils fit. If they wont or cant tell me the VG/PG ratio, i look somewhere else also. That info is helpful when choosing cartos and even clearos that might not wick well with thick liquids.

Now im in near heaven with Elite VaporWorks and SmokeSmart LLC in the STL area. Both offer good pricing on most stuff and some prices are as good or better than online. Plus i get great face to face customer service. Yeah i can get juice cheaper online but 3 36ml bottles at $14 each and the 4th is free is very reasonable at a B&M. 144ml for $42 isn't bad for juice if you like it and i do like it. A MVP V1 kit for $44 is enough to keep me from suggesting a friend get one online. VapeOnly vPower VV 14500 kits for $24 is a steal IMO at a B&M or online and IMO a better value than a "spinner". Genuine Kanger coils for $5/5.95, so for some stuff i cant beat them by going online.

I could of strangled my friend who knows im more than willing to help. He got his father a far more expensive starter kit with only one battery and one clearo.

Ive recently got more into cartos though and local selection is either poor, expensive or non existent. Elite VW carries my favorite single coils cheap for $1.39 each but they are sold out on everything else except a 3ohm which i did not really like. ATM the online carto supplies are thin if you are looking for a specific carto. I like a flanged single coil in 1.7-2.2ohm with a single hole for my DCT Pyrex and nobody has them in stock!!!!!! I had to get some dual coil 1.5s with a single hole and pay more for them.

Our "smoke" shops are starting to carry more vaping gear and juice but they are insanely priced and the employees are totally clueless. That is not surprising for a "smoke" shop, so my advice is to avoid them and mall kiosks. The kiosks have slightly more knowledge but the prices are crazy high to pay for the overhead.

Use the online vape store locator. It might help you find a B&M that meets your needs. It helped me find Elite VW and Smoke Smart.
Electric Cigarette|Eliquid|Supplies|Electronic Cigarette|Ejuice|Smokeless|Vapor Search USA

 

[H Niemand]

My local B&M started as an on line shop. His prices are good and I was already dealing with him on line. Problem is the hour round trip. Add BS time and that's 2 hours or more. I'd love to see him open a shop near me.

 

[patkin]

It saddens me and, I guess, makes me angry when I hear these B&M shark stories. I think of the number of lives that could be saved if smokers didn't get the impression that vaping was just as or even more expensive than smoking... not to mention the truly horrid juices most B&Ms I've seen carry that off-put smokers. Overhead is one thing.... greed another. And, truthfully, even in a pinch I wouldn't buy juice from such an ethically unsavory place.

 

[Glenn_K]

I have some friends that are going to be starting out and i know good and well no matter what i say about research they wont do it. They will go the the b & m and get what is there and just go with it. This works for people. I was lucky and my b & m was not too bad. Worse than had i waited to order and get it in. If i had done that i might not have started at all.

I'm in that same category; I bought before I read.

I guess I need to have something in my hand before I can start to make sense of the technology - e-cigs can be overwhelmingly confusing to brand-spanking-newcomers.

It turned out that I did overpay for my first purchase, and it was also one that I wasn't too happy with. But considering how much money I've already saved not buying tobacco cigarettes, it's not really that big a deal. Once I could start to make sense of the discussions in ECF, I was able to quickly find a clearomizer that works for me.

The one thing I am sorry about is that though I have a couple friends that got into e-cigs before me, I didn't think to ask them what they're using, and whether they are happy with it, until after my original purchase. That would have saved a little grief!

Regards
Glenn

 

[eda123]

Ripoff is a bit harsh considering what a B&M store has to pay to be there. Rent ain't cheap and there's lots of expenses you're probably not aware of. As it's been said, they have to make a profit or there's no reason for them to be there. It's a very tough balance for them.

Well let me give specifics... just one of many.


Ego Twist battery-- MSRP 29.99.
Most places online selling for ~$24.
This guy? $38 bucks.

OVER MSRP?? Thats just price gouging. When i very politely said that it was over MSRP, he said "yes but you get my amazing customer service-- what price would you put on that?". Not $14!

He then tried to tell me that $29 MSRP i see online was for "cheap knockoffs". Um- no-- im reading $29.99 right on Joyetechs website.

I understand B&M gotta make a living and have employees and rent. But this is a little excessive in my opinion!

 

[mcftlf]

I would pay more to go to a B&M that could answer questions...problem is my only local shop is clueless. They can answer very simple questions but nothing else.

They don't even know where they get their juice..