Mind is blown at Local B&M prices

[beazy]

These b&m have to order thousands of dollars with of product to get it at a profitable rate.. Its not uncommon to double prices to compensate for startup cost which can plague a business for years if it does not do well. The best thing you can do is become a patron and try to help swing biz their way so that they might do well in their area and eventually become competitive in the market.

I have 8 vendors in my area, 1 has 2 locations and does well, another is way better and coming along well it seems. The rest are not so great due to various reasons.. Typically a lack of inventory and knowledge.

Another one just opened up called vapor zone, planning to check it out this sat.. I'm hoping that one store out of all of these will adopt the more advanced vapers desired inventory.. rba supplies, high quality mods, chargers and batteries etc.. Would be better than another starter kit stock room, we dont need anymore of those.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I wish you could experience our customer service!

Ocy, don't make any snide remarks! ;-) Pre-empting you! You have snappy one-liners and comebacks. BAM! [Cleveland Show voice]: "G'Night, C'hall!" [/Cleveland Show voice].

 

[The Ocelot]

I agree, Ocy.

Arr, me hands are tied!

Good thing you have that little zipporin to clench between your teeth. He's breaathiiing ooon his oooowwnnnn....

 

[Steemax]

Your local B&M store sounds a lot different then the two I frequent. Given that the juices are much more expensive, (ex. 15ml for $12, while I order online 15ml for $4.99) but yet they at least have brand name juices. The other thing I am grateful for are the prices on hardware. 99% of the hardware are priced exactly the same as online vendors, on top of that both of my vendors have a point system, thus far I've earned $30 of store credit to spend on anything. So I'm pretty much set on hardware, I only order my juice online.

 

[Rocketpunk]

SWITCH TO B&W: Rocketpunk walks backwards into the mist, the orange LED of his e-cig the only glowing reminder of his existence

SWITCH TO INNER CITY, B&W: Rocketpunk leans up against a damp redbrick wall. He lifts his Zip to his lips, takes a drag, blows vapor into the oil-tainted wind.

ROCKETPUNK (mumbling a song): "She was just somebody that I usta know..."

 

[The Ocelot]

SWITCH TO B&W: Rocketpunk walks backwards into the mist, the orange LED of his e-cig the only glowing reminder of his existence

SWITCH TO INNER CITY, B&W: Rocketpunk leans up against a damp redbrick wall. He lifts his Zip to his lips, takes a drag, blows vapor into the oil-tainted wind.

ROCKETPUNK (mumbling a song): "She was just somebody that I usta know..."

He coudda been a contender...

 

[degnr8]

If this forum allowed it, I would double-like this post. Once for the content and once for the awesome sig line.

Thanks, I almost didn't use it cause I wasn't sure if people would get it or if it would seem pretentious

 

[The Ocelot]

Thanks, I almost didn't use it cause I wasn't sure if people would get it or if it would seem pretentious

What's wrong with pretentiousness? I excel at it.

 

[2coils]

B&M stores have overhead/expenses that online vendors do not have.
That said, the lowest retail price you can find online is about half the actual wholesale cost.
Any retailer knows this.

My local B&M sells eGo 's for about 3 times the retail price.
Acrylic basic clearomizers for 25 bucks.
I understand "keystoning" inventory but 3 times online RETAIL is rediculous.

Agree 3 times is a bit much. I DO understand that there are SEVERAL factors to consider when buying at a B&M and dealing with pricing. I shop mainly online, though I feel some crazy responsibility to support the B&M's in some way (a few small purchases). My hat goes off to them for opening in the first place. This industry is highly controversial. Nobody really what the future of vaping will look like. Because of this, I try to support the B&M's, providing their customer service and product knowledge earn my business.

 

[InTheShade]

100% mark-up on items is not unheard of - in fact your local Wal-mart? Those Dickies jeans it sells for $18? yep, they paid about 7 bucks for them.

Do you know how much rent is on a store? how much you have to pay the staff, liability insurance, fixtures, fittings and installation? Add all that in, plus massive inventory startup costs and all this before the owner even sees a dime on their investment or draw a salary from the store, and you can see why their prices are high.

No offense, but if you buy juice for $6 and sell it for $7.50, you'll not be in business long.

I try to support my local B&M and I do buy the occasional bottle of Halo from them, maybe a couple of coils here and there, but if you go into a B&M you have to expect to pay between 50-100% more than you would online.

What is invaluable to most people is being able to talk to someone, to see, feel and even try the products, to vape the juice before they buy and to maybe sit and chat with a few fellow vapers. That's what you are paying for, it's like a value added service. It's not for everyone, but you can't just compare their prices in isolation with online vendors.

 

[degnr8]

100% mark-up on items is not unheard of - in fact your local Wal-mart? Those Dickies jeans it sells for $18? yep, they paid about 7 bucks for them.

Do you know how much rent is on a store? how much you have to pay the staff, liability insurance, fixtures, fittings and installation? Add all that in, plus massive inventory startup costs and all this before the owner even sees a dime on their investment or draw a salary from the store, and you can see why their prices are high.

No offense, but if you buy juice for $6 and sell it for $7.50, you'll not be in business long.

I try to support my local B&M and I do buy the occasional bottle of Halo from them, maybe a couple of coils here and there, but if you go into a B&M you have to expect to pay between 50-100% more than you would online.

What is invaluable to most people is being able to talk to someone, to see, feel and even try the products, to vape the juice before they buy and to maybe sit and chat with a few fellow vapers. That's what you are paying for, it's like a value added service. It's not for everyone, but you can't just compare their prices in isolation with online vendors.

Completely agree. This is why I'm willing to pay more (within reason) at a B&M. I just think when they try to sell me a vamo for $200 we have a problem

 

[The Ocelot]

I agree about pricing to cover their overheard, but the discrepancy between the local B&M storefront prices and their online prices bothers me. Also the fact they don't allow tasting of juices or trying equipment. They take the time to show customers how to put a kit together, but not a single vape is allowed until it's paid for. It seems they are in the minority, but they have no competition. This would be a great area for someone to open a shop, so it's only a matter of time.

 

[Myk]

For the record, I am a small business. I've worked my whole career in small businesses.
What the customers really don't know is manufacturers who also deal direct tend to not undercut their wholesale customers and they allow for some very nice markups to cover the higher rent areas.
If B&Ms can't deal with the already healthy profits ecigs supply they need to get hooked up with a minimum pricing brand. Instead they see those minimum pricing brands and figure they can charge that much for the knockoffs. I'm sorry but that is bad business.

 

[The Ocelot]

Completely agree. This is why I'm willing to pay more (within reason) at a B&M. I just think when they try to sell me a vamo for $200 we have a problem

Or $79.99 for a starter kit I know for a fact wholesales for <$25. They also told me about a year ago that they didn't stock Twists because they were junk and all broke within a week or two.

 

[Leithan]

I almost gave up on vaping at the start because my local (Local for me is a 2 hour drive) B&Ms either wanted way to much for their stuff or were just too trendy for me, very pretentious and snide. Fortunately I eventually found one (Vape Rev) that is awesome. I still shop on the net, 2 hours through the desert feels like 4 and sometimes I just don't have the time, but when I can I'll make the drive. I like how they have products that they only sell in store, kind of an incentive to swing by and visit. They also have a great juice bar and lounge. The staff is awesome and very helpful. I was a little intimidated at first because of my prior experience with "trendy" B&Ms but as soon as I walked in and was greeted by one of staff I knew I'd like this place. There is at least one great B&M for every 4 crap ones. I just hope that new converts find the good ones first. They need all the encouragement they can get.

 

[wsteven321]

I live in fort myers, florida and between there, cape coral, bonita springs and naples (all within 30 minutes) there are prolly 10 to 15 BM stores. so far ive only been to one shop but i think it paints the picture on how most BM stores operate....juice.

every juice my store has is available to taste. they have free coffee and a couch you can chill out on while u get a good feel for the juices. they also have mods u can use in store. they charge 6 bucks for 10 ml bottles of 50/50 0 nic to 24 at no cost difference. every 5 bottles u buy u get one for free. they also sell boge cartos for 2 bucks a piece, which isnt a bad deal if u really need some.

i order all my parts online but when it comes to juice, i like to support local business.

 

[petee314]

I have a brick and mortar that sold me all my first stuff, ego batteries, clearo's, juice, charger, a couple of hundred dollars worth of stuff in the first month. They had a nice layout where you could try out their juices, with all their house brewed stuff. This place is over an hour from my house, but I was making weekly trips, and spending money every time on juice and devices. Then one week the table was empty, and I was told they had ran out of atomizers, they would put the juice back out when their order came in. One week later (they are only open 16 hours a week, the only day I could get there was on Friday's, the only day they are open until 6), again, empty table. This time, they had a "No Loitering" (LOL) sign up, and I was told that they had issues with theft, and weren't going to let anyone sample juices anymore.
Why have a B & M if you are going to treat your customers like idiots and thieves? I spent between double and triple what I could have spent online, and would have continued to do so.
If you owned a shoe store, and you had a problem with theft, would your solution be to not let people try on the shoes? Don't wonder why people start ordering shoes online, not much of an advantage going to your store.
Now I wish I wouldn't have given them a dime. They are a juice company, that's the only thing they carry that's not a complete ripoff, they clearly hold their local customers in contempt, and they won't get any of my business again. If you can't keep your prices competitive, they shouldn't be in business, no one owes them anything.
I went into another B & M, looking at mods. The guy comes over and we start talking, one of the first things he tells me is that I can't expect the prices in the store to match what they sell things for online. From their website. Because I wouldn't be paying for shipping and handling, their prices were HIGHER in the store. I never went back.
I have another B & M that I go for juice, because I was able to try it, and found what I liked. When I want to try something new, that's my go-to place, but I am not going to overpay for hardware ever again out of a misguided sense of loyalty. Vaping is a business to these people, and buyer beware

 

[PinoyBoy]

My loval vape shop has vivi novas from $13, vamo v2 for $60, MVP for $99. However, their 30 ml home made juice are $10 each. I'm an internet shopper, so I doubt they'll ever get my business. I talked to the guy who makes his own juice, he seem cool. The store is neatly laid out and very clean. Their juices are nicely organized and the place looks very professional. I felt like I was at starbucks without the coffee and the tables. Very warming and inviting place.

I let him try my DIY juice, he said it tastes like burnt cotton. I agree with him, but something about the taste of burnt cotton is just so damn addicting to me.

 

[jg1986]

I was wondering how everybody's (here on the forum) perception of certain B&M that are located in their area... Vaping has slowly spread around in my rural area. I am an online shopper and if it wasn’t for the internet, I wouldn’t have known what vaping was nor would I known about ECF...

I’ve been busy trying to keep on vaping (4 months no smokes) raise the kids/work/pay the bills yada yada yada....you know the deal


Anyway the local store (7 miles from my house, opened early June, 2013....the owner has several stores many miles and places away)
He has a basic selection (new mods, basic clearomizers, basic juices ( the juices has his store name brand, I’m not for sure if his business makes their own juice or he buys e-juice and slap his sticker on it) and I believe (could be wrong) that they don't make their own.

I’m already seeing problems with them... and I’m having problems dealing with my moral compass of the situation.
1. The mods/accessories are marked up way farther than what I have seen on the net.
2. The juices are "basic" and are enough to get by with... Some are Dekang / a few Halo/ and his store name juices and they are high priced there.

Number 3 and this is my dilemma...

I ordered some juice from a reputable online vendor... The mailman has it in my box waiting for me... I went to facebook and I went to the local B&M page and I saw where the owner was stocking his shelves with juice ( from the same company I ordered) for twice the amount. I bought 30 ml of juice from the online vendor and the B&M owner is selling 15ml for the same price...

My jaw just dropped...

I feel sorry for the older customers (that don’t use the internet) and it scares me because the price gouging could possibly give non-knowing & perspective new customers a bad taste in their mouth. Vaping i thought was a safer alternative to smoking... cheaper (with juice) than buying packs or cartons of smokes...


Now my brain is telling me... "this is your reaction as a customer...Try seeing it from a vendor's standpoint..." and I can't!
This is what is seriously considering myself to go into DIY... My friends who I have helped started vaping are telling me "You should start your own store"...

I can understand a store vendor or any business owner trying to make a profit... If I had a store and say I bought/made e-juice for 6 bucks for example... My common sense would say "ok I’ll sell it for 7, maybe 7.50 ..but not 12 bucks... for a 10-12ml bottle
but then again, I’ve never had a business/operated a business...

or maybe I’m just plain stupid?

Sorry for the ranting... but how do you feel about local B&Ms? Do you have a majority of vendors that are nice/considerate of their customers wants and needs?... or do you have local mom/pops stores that want to rape your wallet? If you are a B&M owner, How do you deal with the competition or do you have that evil rival?

From a simple customer...I feel sorry for the older customers (that dont use the internet) and it scares me because the price gouging could possibly give non-knowing & perspective new customers a bad taste in their mouth. Vaping i thought was a safer alternative to smoking... cheaper (with juice) than buying packs or cartons of smokes...


Now my brain is telling me... "this is your reaction as a customer...Try seeing it from a vendor's standpoint..." and I can't!
This is what is seriously considering myself to go into DIY... My friends who I have helped started vaping are telling me "You should start your own store"...

I can understand a store vendor or any business owner trying to make a profit... If I had a store and say i bought/made e-juice for 6 bucks for example... My common sense would say "ok Ill sell it for 7, maybe 7.50 ..but not 12 bucks... for a 10-12ml bottle
but then again, Ive never had a business/operated a business...

or maybe im just plain stupid?

Sorry for the ranting... but how do you feel about local B&Ms? Do you have a majority of vendors that are nice/considerate of their customers wants and needs?... or do you have local mom/pops stores that want to rape your wallet? If you are a B&M owner, How do you deal with the competition or do you have that evil rival?

From a simple customer...

I'm sure someone has already said this, but That's business. My family owns and operates a small business. There is a lot of different expenses that go into a B&M over online vendor. The overhead is much higher. As for the comment about if it cost you $6 to make your own you would sell it for $7.50, you would not be in business long my friend. Also, When you order online, there is a shipping charge for some places. With a B&M, you walk in, if you see something you like and buy it, you have it in your hand, no waiting for vapemail and all that jazz. It's more convenient. I prefer to shop at B&M. I have yet to order something online. I'm not saying I won't ever order online. I'm the type of person that when I want something, I want it. I don't want to wait for it to ship, then sit around everyday waiting for the mailman until it gets there. It doesn't matter what market we are talking about, if you look online for something 9 times out of 10 it's cheaper online rather your local store. It's business. I am not sure on what area you live in, but from your post you said it was rural, so there's probably not a lot of traffic going by, so for the business to stay open he has to charge more. He may adjust his prices accordingly once he gets up and running for a bit. It's always better to start high and lower prices rather than start too low and raise your prices.

Edit: $10-$12 for 15ml of juice to me is average. My local B&M has deals where if you buy 2 or more bottles you get a deal. I may pay a little more, but, if I am having trouble wrapping a coil, need a bigger hole drilled in my RBA, or want something polished, I can walk in and someone will do it for me at no charge. There's always gonna be pros and cons with both B7M and online shopping. If you prefer ordering online, go for it.

 

[NotoriousJDP]

I am no economics or business guru but i'll chime in with my experience at a local B&M.

I went to mine shortly after I discovered it had opened. I was excited to finally have a real, live B&M in my town. I was also having issues with my juice/tank tasting nasty. I walked in and was immediately greeted by a very nice lady. I showed her my setup and the juice I was using and told her what was wrong. She immediately said "Here, let me taste it." She couldn't tell what was wrong but we immediately started troubleshooting. She gave me a new head for my clearo to try. Wasn't it. She gave me a new clearo to try. Wasn't it, She gave me a new clearo filled with her juice. Bingo, that was it. Something had went terribly wrong with my juice. She then proceeded to tell me she was glad she could help and told me I could keep both clearos and the head. FOR FREE! I denied her offer and paid for them plus bought a bottle of her slightly overpriced homemade juice to compensate her for her time.

No online vendors could do that. I will gladly pay more for customer service like this.