My personal opinions/thoughts about B&M shops...

[xerostatus]

I have the fortune of living in Southern California, known for having a highest concentration of BM stores than anywhere else in the world... This was actually a wonderful blessing to be had, because I'm belong to one those strange, rare species which still has buttons on their phones, lack a social-media addition, and generally like to touch and hold things (even if its wrapped up) before I make a purchase.

So early on in my vaping journey, I found it helpful to shop around, visit different stores and see what they had to offer. Admittedly, I made a somewhat impulse purchase at one such store, and walked out with an Ego C twist, a protank, and a bottle of juice in a flavor I wasn't fully satisfied with. In any case, this is what got me started chugging along, and soon I visited other stores, picked up a few more bottles of liquid.. I was hooked and became knowledgeable enough to take my vaping purchases online, found a flood of cheaper, better, easier options.

Now, this post is in no way an attempt to simply bash or rant about BM stores, since we ultimately have similar goals. They are frontrunners in a fledgling new industry, and they really are paving the way to expand our little niche hobby into public acceptance and propriety. So Kudos for this, but I offer the following "complaints" as an invitation for these BM shops to improve themselves, and be open to constructive criticism.

These are the main issues/problems I see with *most vape shops:
- selection
- price
- atmosphere

It was my experience that it was nearly impossible to compare different local stores' prices between each other, because they rarely carried the same products. If one store stocked T3s, they didnt have EVODS. If they sold protanks, they didnt have replacement coils. You get the idea. Often, there is little to encourage choice and selection between categories. Would it be okay for a "video game" shop to carry ONLY Playstation hardware? I would like to see not only a vertical range of, say, batteries, (different levels of mah, features, all the way up to APVs, etc) but also horizontally (why is it that the Vision or Smoktech varieties of "twist" batteries invisible to the BM arena??).

Price is another clear issue. I understand you're a small business, and that running, stocking, and staffing a BM store is a whole different beast compared to online retailing. However, there is a very big disparity between the online and BM prices, and even myself, who WOULD pay the extra just to get my hands on the product right-then-and-there, it becomes steep and it's only natural that I'm going to find myself purchasing online, as I get deeper into the hobby. $13/bottle vs the $5 (and that's only at the lowest ml price point, buying bigger gets you even steeper discount) isn't something to ignore.

The overall atmosphere that I often get from vape shops isn't the most inviting one. Not that the staff aren't reasonably friendly, but most of the time when you walk into one of these vape shops, you feel an instant cringe of being the outsider... it's akin to walking into, say, a comic book or hobby shop. And the blame doesn't fall solely on the employees/shoprunners either, it's the "customers" as well.

I think BM stores still have a long way to go. I genuinely want to see these small business succeed, but I think the above three mentioned issues is a big hurdle for them to overcome to really break that barrier of "niche" hobby store to mainstream prevalence.

I know that was a mouthful, but;
TL;DR -- What do you guys like about BM stores? What can they do to improve?

 

[Lucky1127]

They are just like the head shops I used to go to when I was younger sales person stares at me stupidly when I ask for something or just says I'll have to ask someone else the shops around my city employ a bunch of washouts that really could turn a lot of people off of vaping

 

[Lombaowski]

My buddy has a place in Florida with a terrific atmosphere. I went to two other places since and both were meh, the one here in the DC area was downright horrific. Place had like ten employees in the back but had two out front with 7 customers. I was trying to outfit my friend with a starter kit and basically explained the set-up to him and a stranger, effectively doing the shops job for them. Awful.

I am looking into opening one myself actually, that footprint just doesn't exist here and those already set up aren't doing it right. too bad I have a day job...

 

[ilanstylz]

I live in socal as well, and my experience differ's slightly from yours...... Yes items are generally more expensive (mainly ejuices) however my first experience at a shop in my area is what will keep me going back to them and others.... My friend got me into vaping and we both went to a B&M store that he recommended, and the customer service there was probably the best I've ever experienced and to me that is very important.... The sales rep took his time with us (especially me being a newb) and was even suggesting flavors etc... One of the main things I liked is whenever someone else walked in he would politely ask us if we didn't mind him helping them out real quick (which I thought was great and didn't mind at all)........ Low and behold two hours later I walked out with a bunch of juices and tanks......

The next shop I went to was a little bit pricier but once again each person there was very friendly, even the other customers were cool and asked us about our mods, and I once again walked out with a bunch of stuff. Now I know I can get things online cheaper (and I do spend more online just to save money), but I will always go back to the B&M stores because to me its great to meet others that love vaping as much as I do, and to me its a plus that I get to try out tons of different juices in order to try to find that ADV...........

 

[BlueMoods]

My B&M is good, clean, friendly, limited hardware options, but this is an very backwoods, hillbilly, dare I say it - simple minded community. They have enough trouble convincing anyone over 30 to even try an "electric cigarette" and, every time I have been in there with other customers, the first thing they ask is "Where does the tobacco go?" Yep, the uninformed here still think PVs use tobacco somehow.

Makes me feel strange, I'm 47 and I get it, but then that's my Californian coming out - spent most of my life in SoCal. I'd expect upscale, classy, competitive prices out there with a good selection of both hardware and juice options and, I'd expect any parts I needed for what the shop sold to be available in the shop.

 

[pinkfloydian]

Where I am, there aren't very many places to get vaping supplies. There a couple of tobacco shops that carry Totally Wicked junk and a couple of poorly stocked B&M vape stores. I did find one that's (somewhat) decent and I've visited a handful of times. From my experiences there, I've noticed a few things. Higher prices on juice, clones/generic on just about everything hardware, few selections, and ignorance about products. I don't mind paying higher prices to get my stuff on the spot. I also understand that he's a retail store with real expenses and not just an Internet business. But I hate that he sells, for example, vivi nova tanks that are definitely fake, extremely poor quality, and won't exchange or help a paying customer when there's a problem. He also does not tell (new) vapers that he sells knock-offs and markets his stuff as the "name brand". So, my experiences with B&M stores hasn't been all that great. I only use them when I'm stuck, which is a shame.

 

[FnMag]

I work in retail, not a Vape shop though. It is pounded into our heads to greet Customers and make sure you at least acknowledge them. Having said that, read on.

I stopped on a whim at the only B&M I knew we had. It was 5:15 and I didn't expect to stay long and they closed at 6. I walked in and there were two Employees there. One of them was the Owner. He asked me how I was doing and how he could help. Awesome. I sat down and he explained everything to me about the eGo-w (all they had). I told him I had tried "Blu" and it just didn't do it for me. That there wasn't enough there for me to stop smoking. He kept going on about how you could get higher nic content and all sorts of different flavors..

Then he asked me what I smoked and after telling him, he whipped out the samples. Like 12 different Mentholated flavors. He told me he only purchased "deKang" liquids, which meant absolutely nothing to me at the time, but he also explained that to me. He said that DeKang was mixed by chemists and they guaranteed their Nic content..bla bla bla.

Then he started passing me the eGo after dropping some drops in it. Cool! This one is good. ewww, yuck! Mmmm this one is good.. Hmm, not so much. Hey, this is just like what I smoke! Bingo. Awesome. Tasted great, smelled good (for all I could smell) I liked it. So he set me up. $100 2 eGo batteries, a charger, a case and 20mls of juice. Said if 4 people come in with me as the person recommending them I'd get a free bottle of juice and handed me some business cards.

It was now 6:45. 45 minutes after they were supposed to close. No one got pissy or pushy to get me out and the other Employee was right there helping. I'd be back for sure.

So home I came and dug into the whole Vape thing. Pretty cool! But after a few hours, I realized I had spent a lot of money on something I could have purchased online at a MUCh lower price. I also could have gotten better equipment. However, I would never have jumped in the way I did had it not been for them taking the time to explain stuff to me. I still go back to buy flavors of DeKang to mix with, yea, it's expensive, but I can go in grab what I want and in 20 minutes be home mixing something.

2 weeks ago my wife and I went on a 3 day trip. I, of course, checked for local vape shops. FOund 2 run by the smae folks. Went to the website for the one in the city we were in and placed an order to pick up the next day.
I walk in and look around. 2 younger guys are hanging around behind the counter fiddling with their bolts. No "Hi!' and didn't even bother to look up until I walked across the store to the counter. They had a lot of stuff in their and I probably could have dropped some major cash, however, I didn't like the vibe. Was a real nice store in a real nice location though and had they been a little more concerned about selling stuff and less about adding adapters to their bolts so they could kick them I might have stayed longer.
So I said I had placed an order and wanted to pick it up.
They asked where I placed it, I said on your website.
Oh, well all the orders are filled through the other store.
....
Okay, so there isn't anything we can do?
Nope, you gotta pick it up there (starts fiddling with his bolt again and talking to his buddy).
.... Uh, so you guys can't just fill it here? That's like 40 miles away.
He just kinda looks at me.. and I say before he can speak - Aren't you guys the same place? I mean I was on YOUR website, not theirs when I placed the order and no where on it does it say that I am to pick it up over there.

Sorry Bro.

.. Thanks for all your help, you can go back to playing with you little Bolt now. Sorry I bothered you guys. (wife gives me the look).

We were going to the other city anyway later in the day, but these jokers didn't deserve my business at this point. So away we go, do our thing and end up over at the other place.

Walk in and there are like 4 or 5 guys working and 2 other Customers. I just stand there as I wait for someone to say something to me. Couple of minutes pass and one of the guys asks how he can help me. I proceed to explain the whole ordeal to him, after doing so he tell joe blow to pull it up on the computer. I give him the order number... the guy has no clue what he is doing. After a few minuted he says he can't find it. So the other guy comes over. He has no clue either.

Sorry dude, not in here.

Really? Because here is my receipt saying I paid for: x,x,x,x,x,x,x and x.. I just drove 40 miles over here because your website sucks and doesn't say that all items have to be picked up at THIS store. I was on THE OTHER stores website, not this one. I was on it for a reason. So I could pick my stuff up there, not here.

Well what all was it you needed? At this point, some other guy comes over that obviously knows what he was doing. He asked me the order number and in like 2 seconds had it pulled up and printed out. He handed to dingleberry number one who once again had no clue what he was looking at. He didn't know what a evod was.... C'mon guys, this is a business, at least train the guys a little bit. Show them how to run the computer and find stuff. In the few minutes I was standing there I had already seen where all the stuff was that I was going to get. So I walked over to the little plastic bins and started pulling stuff out and handing it to him. He caught on and started getting the rest of the stuff for me.

So I started looking around at other stuff. They limited people to 2 samplings.. C'mon, seriously?? I had to try 12 menthols to find one I REALLY liked.. You want people to make a decision on just TWO ? I realize you want to make money and a few drips from 50 people adds up, but the stuff you are selling is at a HUGE markup. The only reason I was buying stuff was to try out different atty's, get some protank heads to have as spares etc. I didn't really NEED all this stuff, I just wanted to get my grubby hands on some things to try out.

I realize now that I should have onlined it all.

Final B&M I've been in - Another local place that I drive by on the way to and from work but I didn't know it was there.

Nice little place, small selection of product, but definitely more upscale. Custom juice form Halo and others. Provari's, Kanger, eGo.. Good stuff. Again, high prices, but no biggy.

Walk in and one other Customer in there. Both Employees greet me and one tells me to come sit down. He asks how I am, if I'm a Vaper, what kind of Mod I have and what juices I like. Nice

We end up sampling EVEY single juice. They are all in the little plastic smok tanks and ready to go. I think I tried 40 flavors!! Talk about overload! They got me a coke and we talked about all things vaping.

Cool place! Walked out having spent $50 on juice. Got some Tribeca there and love that stuff!!!

So, you can tell what "I" liked. And I bet had you had the same experiences, you would have felt the same way.

It's not hard to make Customers happy and when they are happy, they spend money. I could have dropped twice what I did in the place I ordered from. I could have spent twice that had I NOT ordered from them and just shopped in the first out of town place had they bothered to try to help me.. Instead, I ended up picking up stuff from my local places after I got back.

(holy crap, I just dripped some MBV Candy Cane and about died from the amount of Vapor from it!) WHEW !

Anyway, I've been sitting here dripping and rambling on and on long enough and need to lower my nic intake now....

 

[90quattrocoupe]

I only started vaping a little while ago. I looked for local shops and watched a video interview of the young man, who just opened up a Revolver franchise. I know now that they are a little limited on equipment, because they sell the Revolver line.

But the young man who owns the shop was very customer oriented. He talked to me about a few things, and I ended up ordering a Pass Through. Had to order it because he had run out. But in the mean time he LOANED me a pass through, til the one I ordered came in. Who the hell does that.

He has a couple of juices I like, so I keep going back. We discuss things. I tell him Revolver needs to stay ahead of the curve, as far as stuff they let the franchisees sell.

They do have Provaris and Evics now, and are getting Dbox BCC Puritan tanks. But they need more I feel or he may not survive. I would hate to see that, because his customer service is great. I have watched him with customers, who bought there equipment elsewhere, and helped them with what they bought. They usually tell him, that the other shops, just put together the equipment, and sent them on there way.

I mainly, go to B&Ms, so I can try different juices. I am just no ready to order some juice, I may not like. I don't mind paying a little more, vs throwing juice I don't like away.

Greg W.

 

[spartanstew]

I just posted this on another thread.

I went to my first B&M today.

I really liked the fact that I could sample any juice they had with ease and I ended up buying a couple of bottles for that reason.

However, I didn't like the fact that while they had a bunch of other equipment, none of it was displayed very well or labeled or priced. They had some behind the bar area set up and some in display cases, but being new to this, I didn't really know what anything was and didn't really want to ask. I like that I can look at a website and it shows me exactly what something is, what it does, and what it costs. It seems like they should have had a menu (and maybe some do) or something that showed everything they carried and the prices.

And finally, I felt a bit out of place. I was young once and blazed a lot of trails, but now in my mid-40's, I dress a certain way and look a certain way. The whole time I was in there, I felt like I was in a head shop and we were about to get raided. The people working there were very nice, but most of the visible skin was inked (and for the record, I have three tattoos, so I'm not a prude), most of the hair color was not natural, and piercings were aplenty.

I might pop back in from time to time to get some juice, but I'll be buying most of my stuff online.

 

[Arik123]

The more the merrier i say

 

[stevegmu]

The only e-nic shops I know of in my area are also head shops. I'll stick to online vendors.

 

[nctrekken]

We have two shops that opened within a few weeks of each other. I was very happy because these were the first in my city. The first on is more commercial. People are nice but selection is limited. They are not open to ordering things out of the normal from the main store.
The second has a great atmosphere. They have chairs, couches, coffee, and good customer service. The thing I really go excited about was they put on a vape meeting two weeks ago. Got to sample new stuff, meet some local people that vape, and got free stuff for giveaways.
Something that surprised me was another vape company from out of the city came to support this vape shop. Great when everyone gets together for a good cause.
I will be going and supporting the shop, but I don't get everything there. I will pick something up at the shops and if I really like it I'll look for it online. Now the juices are good too. Smarties candy is great. Can't stop from buying a bottle everytime I'm there.

 

[Alyssasmama]

Sorry your experience hasn't been as wonderful as mine. I love my local shops. What keeps me going back is their juice tasting bar and they are always getting new vendors/ flavors and I can get it right then and there. But I do have my go to shops for certain things. I'm luck to have my 3 favorite shops within a 5 mile radius from my house.
Of course stuff is cheaper online but I just don't have the patience and its a bonding experience for my hubby and I...almost like a date night LOL

 

[bscheff]

There is only one B&M shop in the suburb of Nashville where I live, and I haven't visited yet. I did check out their website, and was unimpressed by the limited selection and high prices. They seem to only carry their own house made juices, of which I'm a bit wary. Though I feel totally comfortable shopping online, I do like the idea of conversing with (hopefully) knowledgeable/friendly employees and potentially sampling juice flavors. I would certainly be willing to spend more money for great service and atmosphere. The vaping community is clearly strong and supportive online, and I hope to find that the same is true irl.

 

[Zak Rabbit]

Any of you guys in SoCal, specifically north Orange county, want some ideas for places, give me a pm. I'm not affiliated with any of them, just have a couple I know about; one's a little hole in the wall right around the corner from my house, the other is a pretty well known place that's busy but friendly. I started at a b&m in Laguna. I won't give any kind of business to a shop that has "attitude" or can't answer my questions. One even opened its space to a 12 step meeting once a week.

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