New to the lifestyle

[gfletch]

Hello from Washington state. As you can tell by the subject I am new to the vaping world. I wonder if there are any folks out there besides me using vaping to quit the nasty habit of chewing tobacco. I've been a chewer for over 20 years. My usual use is about a can a day. I've tried to quit several times using the patch, the gum, the lozenges, even a pill from my doctor....nothing worked. I finally HAVE to give it up. My gums have eroded so badly that I'm in real danger of losing my bottom teeth. A friend turned me on to an e-cigarette. I don't know which model it is, it's from a company named TheVaporPro. Not to be confused with the companyI absolutely love vaping and haven't had a chew in over a month. I can't say Im happy with my VaporPro. I had to by an additional starter kit so I would have 4 batteries and two chargers just to keep up. The batteries were that bad. Also, I've been through 4 atimizers already. Needless to say I just ordered new devices. DomesticVapors was running a sale. For $99.99 I'm getting 3 different starter kits....the eGo, DSE905, and The Stick. I thought this was a decent price. I'm retiring from the military if a few months and my partner and I (also retired military) are seriously thinking of starting a retail business. I know there are several companies already doing this, but from what I can tell there aren't very many in the Pacific Northwest. We haven't decided on a main model yet to start with, but have a couple (510, 401)on order so we can sample. What we really want is a quality model that somewhat resembles a real cigarette. We want quality, reliable devices so we can introduce vaping to smokers here in the Pacific Northwest. We want to make customers, not sales. So....can anyone suggest a few we might want to sample? I've been poring over this forum for the last three weeks and I really appreciate all the information. I only wish I had started here before buying my first e-cig, it would have saved me a lot of hassle. Thank everyone for you post and hopefully guidance as I start my second career.

 

[gfletch]

I just read through my post again and saw that I made a mistake. The e-cig I bought and am NOT happy with is VaporPro, this should not be confused with the company TheVaporPro. I have not had any dealings with TheVaporPro and am assuming they are a great company with great products. Sorry....

 

[NCC]

If you aren't totally committed to a cigarette look alike I'd have several suggestions. One is a two piece model (battery and cartomizer) the KR808D-1. Very user friendly and quite popular on this forum. Another forum favorite looks even less like a cigarette ... the basic type goes by various names, call it the eGo type, after the Janty eGo. This design offers much greater charge time than the KR-808D-1.

I'd just like to say, your primary complaint regarding your VaporPro (I'm not familiar with it), is the poor battery charge time. You will find short charge time to be normal for cigarette look-alikes. It's pretty basic, the battery chemistry available today can't pack enough power into such a tiny battery.

 

[cskent]

Hi and welcome to ECF. Most of us started out on an expensive PoS so don't feel too bad. It introduced you to vaping. For $100 you get 3 different PV's, I hadn't heard of that type of offer before. It doesn't sound too bad though, especially if you want to try different models from the start. The problem is that none of them are compatible with each other. You can get adapters and you might want to consider that. The DSE905 uses 905 atty's, the eGo uses 510's and The Stick uses 302's (I think). But, give 'em all a go and see what you like.

 

[gfletch]

Hey...thanks a million guys. Your wisdom is much appreciated. I will be trying out these models and if anyone else has favorite, please speak up. I imagine we'll have to try a few out to see what we are most comfortable. Id sure like to know what the VaporPro model is. I'd like to buy atomizers and use mine as a back up. Unfortunately I don't know which Atty to get.

 

[908Tracy]

gfletch,

Can you post a picture of your model? That will help those in the know help determine what model it may be. =) btw Welcome to ECF!!! It's a great place. =)

 

[deback]

It sounds like you're thinking about starting a business selling e-cig parts. Many users will buy eGo batteries after they discover that the "mini" batteries need to be recharged very often. It would be great if everyone could drive to a local smoke shop and buy eGo batteries, but that isn't the case. Maybe some day that will be possible.

If your business sells the "mini" batteries (in kits or individually), you'll risk having a lot of customers return them within the first week or two, but those "mini" batteries will most likely sell quicker to the "new" buyer, since they look more like real cigarettes. The mini batteries will sell quicker than the eGo (to new users, that is), which is about twice the diameter of a "mini" battery, but will be returned more often.

So, I think you'll get much more repeat business from customers who are familiar with the eGo type batteries.

I don't see the e-cig business as being very profitable at this time. But it could be in the future, especially if you carry the popular, more durable eGo-type batteries that last much longer before needing to be recharged - and if you advertise enough so people will know you're there -- and if you carry liquids and other parts that are required to assemble a full e-cig (drip tips, cartomizers, atomizers, cartridges, adapters, juice bottles, storage containers, etc).

 

[gfletch]

Yeah....our long term goal is to be profitable enough to start and maintain a retail stores in Tacoma and Kennewick, WA with Internet business supplied by a central warehouse. I know this isn't going to happen over night, but I truly believe that vaping will do nothing but grow. The way I look at it is "find a niche, supply it with quality products and great costumer service and you can't go wrong". I think that we can help a whole demographic that isn't currently being addressed, the smokeless tobacco users. I know that most long term chewers have gum/teeth/stomach issues. At least I did. Now that I'm over a month chew free, my gums don't hurt anymore and I haven't had heartburn since. And vaping isn't dirty or offensive like chewing and smoking are. I'd like to hear from some folks in the Tacoma or Tri Cities area that would consider shopping at a local vaping supply store. Thanks for all your feedback and support

 

[Hoppyy]

good luck to you

 

[wv2win]

Mini's and cigarette look alike models with auto batteries generally give poor performance and I would not recommend them. The eGo 510 is a good choice as well as the regular 510 (other than the battery). I would also try to find a good 5 volt model to offer as many see that as the optimum vaping power level. I would guess that 80 to 90% of vet vapors only use manual batteries due to the better performance and more control.

On quiting chewing, have you considered Swedish snus? There is a sub-forum on here for snus users. 60 Minutes even did a segment on it and the safety of snus. You might want to check into it.

 

[908Tracy]

Sorry, I am not in your area, but I think it's a wonderful idea. I would LOVE to be able to go to a local shop and see things first hand. (not to mention smell some e-juices!) Yummmmm!

I wish you and your partner luck in your business endeavor and I hope it's successful. =)

 

[gfletch]

I want to thank everyone for the advice and good counsel....very much appreciated.

 

[Stosh]

My eGo looks like a small cigar, thing about a Half Corona, to me this is a plus!
It's a great model and uses the 510 thread, which is going to be compatable with
many of the carts, cartos, chargers, and accessories available.
Plus it vapes good, tastes good, long battery life, nearly noob proof.

At this time in the VP produce cycle the eGo seems to be the '57 Chevy.
Rugged, dependable, affordable, stylish, and easily optioned.