New vape shop opening up in town and I have concerns…

[yoshi.poshi]

So for context I live in a small town past five years or so now - think technically it’s a hamlet. Fewer than 500 people. Have to drive several miles in any direction to get signal. Two stop lights. 35mph speed trap. Etcetera. New store or restaurant opens up in town here and word gets around quick.

So I’ve been waiting for this vape shop to open. It’ll beat driving 20 miles in any direction before I get to one. I could basically walk there. So pretty cool.

The first pictures have started to circulate online and they’re… well they’re really bad. Devastatingly bad. I’m not going to post them because myriad reasons but…

Half the wall is just cigarettes.

First glass case is all knives.

Two cases devoted just to glass pipes.

I see some geek bars and disposables in one case.

An entire case - not a shelf - A CASE devoted to blunt wrap.

Some snus next to the cigarettes.

But there’s no ejuice… maybe one shelf… maybe? Two?

But there’s no mods… there’s no coils… no rebuildables… nothing.

But they sell soft drinks and dipndots.

Maybe inventory will improve over time? Maybe I can ask the guy to carry some juices the wife and I like? IDK… I’m no longer optimistic. But TBH I probably should have known better.

And yes - it is a “VAPE SHOP” not a “smoke shop”… in the name

 

[WorksForMe]

Unfortunately this is becoming the norm in my area. Most of vape shops are called Tobacco & Vape stores. They mostly sell cigarettes, drug supplies, and disposable vapes. It's almost impossible for a vape shop to survive just selling legal vape supplies.

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[Bingbong]

Stores, especially new stores like that will stock whatever you will buy(if they can get it). Just ask….

 

[Texugou]

The last shop I was going to went from over 200 types of e-liquid to just 30, and most of them are really old — like 3 years old. All the shelves were replaced with disposables. They don’t even sell mods anymore, just the ones they had since opening. I started DIY because I liked it, but now I don’t really have the option to go back.

Disposables give way more profit. All stores not even about vape sells them and they were losing money selling liquids.

Since it is a big department store I wouldn't be able to ask them to bring some, but maybe if the store you went is smaller with the owner being there they would get some even for trying.

 

[jdrewry]

Unfortunately this is becoming the norm in my area. Most of vape shops are called Tobacco & Vape stores. They mostly sell cigarettes, drug supplies, and disposable vapes. It's almost impossible for a vape shop to survive just selling legal vape supplies.

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Did you REALLY say drug supplies?!?

 

[WorksForMe]

Did you REALLY say drug supplies?!?

What I meant was, vaping equipment that is used for vaping drugs. I don't really know much about it.

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[yoshi.poshi]

I have no problem with cannabis and those who indulge. I certainly used to in my youth. I was more in to joints and bowls myself. Never cared for blunts or bongs and I hated when my friends wanted to hotbox the car. Too claustrophobic.

But personally I don’t like seeing - yes - recreational drug paraphernalia lumped in with vape accessories. I think the vape industry should distance itself from anything with a reputation for being illicit. The connotations have improved over time I agree and perhaps the cannabis industry should be working toward the same goal. But I’d prefer if their fates were not so intertwined.

Argue that they’re tobacco accessories if you like. A - I don’t buy that. And B - I don’t want to see vape accessories right next to tobacco paraphernalia. One could argue that it’s meeting people where they are. A smoker comes in to a smoke shop like that and discovers the possibility of a healthier alternative. I think it’s too much temptation to fall back on bad habits - their tank has a leak or they’re having a hard time with their coil, well the Marlboro reds are right there and it’s just so much easier than messing with this stuff. And the guy behind the counter doesn’t know what he’s talking about anyway he’s just selling whatever people want to buy the fastest, in it for the quick buck.

Vape Shops - IMO - should be a haven from all this nonsense. When I was starting out a vape shop was wall to wall egos and juice and accessories. Knowledgeable staff who guided customers through every aspect of their device. When I had a problem I could go there and get help, get support, get recommendations.

Some of us likely owe our lives to stores like these.

Later on I could go to a shop and they would host swaps where the community could trade devices and get to know each other. One place even has a build station set up where we could go and build exotics if we wanted to - drill and wire and everything. Another place would host lunch for the community and little parties now and again.

One place used to be like a tasting bar and you would sit there and taste juices and they guy behind the counter was more a bartender than anything else and you could call them up and ask what was new in stock and they would know all the deets right over the phone - this new thing has no posts, this new juice came in, etc…

There was one place in the mall - yes in the actual mall I couldn’t believe it - and they ran that place like jewelry store. Not like a blu kiosk where they sold you a starter kit for $150 knowing you’d be back in a week for $30 refills and quit at it an month later. And this jeweler store looking place was always packed. Must have been seven guys in there showing customers the ins and outs of the mech mods and RDAs. Wearing straight billed baseball caps and sports jerseys. Not my scene really, but I respected it for what it was. Round the time the tugboat was really big - I remember that.

And now we have neon fluorescent bodegas and the guys behind the counter are too stoned to know what an atomizer is (happened to my wife). I am just so disappointed with where the customer facing side of the industry has gone over the past few years and it’s just devolved so fast and so quickly.

 

[Storm52]

Blame FDA, Goetz(? sp), deeming regulations, and markets flooded with cheap Chinese products.

 

[newyork13]

You can also cast blame on some state governments which have banned sales of juices other than "unflavored" tobaccos. That makes it much more difficult, I would guess, for a shop to survive.
I had a very similar experience just this afternoon in MA, where I still hang my hat but spend very little time in of late.
It is a fairly new shop on Main Street. An entire wall of glass items. A bunch of THC mods. Some cigs.
No ejuices, no disposables other than Juul due to flavor bans. The only mods or vape pens were all Smok, which I've always avoided cause in the old days [maybe it's changed] they were very unreliable.

 

[Katcandoo]

Did you REALLY say drug supplies?!?

I’ll jump in. ‍ There's been a lot of “vape” stores opened around here recently. The majority sell disposables, questionable synthetic products, and lots of bongs and .... pipes. That’s what people see. There are a few legitimate vape shops that carry batteries, tanks, coil, juice, etc. but they are getting squeezed by regulations that limit production, transportation, and delivery.

 

[MuddyDog]

I hope they improve their inventory in the future. Another challenge Ive had to face was finding someone who was experienced, knowledgeable, and genuinely cared about my needs rather than just making a sale. I feel more informed now after receiving advice from members who seem to have been around the block once or twice.

Anyway, best of luck

 

[retired1]

So for context I live in a small town past five years or so now - think technically it’s a hamlet. Fewer than 500 people.

OK, let's get real here. You're in a small town (similar to the size of the one I grew up in). Do you honestly think a full on vape shop that caters only to eliquids, mods and supplies will make it past the one year mark? Especially in a location where you're not going to have a whole lot of new customers.

Even in this case where the shop is trying to cater to as many individuals they can, I'd be very surprised if they're still kicking around this time next year. The statistics are rather brutal in this respect. 20-25% of all new businesses fail within the first year. At 5 years, that number rises to almost 50%.

 

[yoshi.poshi]

I guess it’s more so the four way intersection of vape shop / tobacco shop / head shop / bodega that disagrees with me. As a whole. Not just my local vape shop that - yeah - probably will fail like many other businesses do here.

But it’s not just here in this little town either. 20 miles in any direction we got a pretty decent sized area in terms of population. And when we get in that territory there’s one of these “vape shops” (to use the term loosely) in almost every shopping plaza. Can’t throw a stone without hitting one.

And they’re all the same.

It’s this weird epidemic and it’s getting worse every year.

I’m not saying there’s a fix for it either. Shops will sell what will sell. I’m just nostalgic for what a real Vape Shop used to be and - as many businesses have - most have failed. And that bothers me.