opinions of "branded" ecigs

[fray]

I have 4 ego's from them and their logo looks real nice. There price for the ego's is fair and their juice is ok. Main reason for buying there - good juice and also can get good equip. I think I even got one of the ego's with reward points. I really wish that the ego came with a EGO logo on it also as a brand name thing. What I really don't like is the sale's not telling the connection type or the battery size mah. Don;t know how many times I've been looking at something and nothing in the description about the connection type.

Awesome vapor is a great supplier. I dont want to discourage anyone from using them. I just dont like their logo on my ego is all.

 

[demon72]

i'm just curious what the general feeling out there is concerning(reputable) branded ecigs and kits. do they help or harm the industry?

They help, as long as they are not spewing disinformation or setting the price WAY out of the field

personally i like them. i think they're doing more for the industry than a million mods or carto variations can ever do. for something to be mainstream, it needs simplicity. when someone goes on a site like smokeless image for example, they know everything there will work with their volt. theres no guesswork, everything they need is right there. people didn't have to wonder if they could light their marlboro with a bic lighter or if it could only be lit with a zippo, why would they want any confusion at all with their new habit? they want to grab a pack of volts the same way they'd run into wawa and grab their pack of cigs..

I agree with your point about not every vaper needs or wants a mod, 'specially a new vaper.So therefor yes the branded ones do a good service to soon to be non smokers.

maybe i'm just seeing things but i pick up on a bit of intellectual elitism amongst the hobbyists that people who buy branded ecigs are somehow either lazy, dopey or foolish with their money and aren't as "serious" about vaping because they don't break out their voltage meters when a package arrives. it's like a "oh, that's cute, look at my new mod that only hardcore vapers use. you wouldn't know about that little boy, go back to your toy." maybe i'm off base but it's just a sense i get.

Yes this is true as well.... but this is true with anything.... there are beer elitists and wine eletists and look at my new tow eletists of every flavor, and in every hobby or whatever, so it is what it is and I doubt that that will change.

Unless a new vaper with a branded 510 stumbles in on a mod only website or discussion board, then I doubt the eletism will have any effect on the vaping community as a whole.

anyway back to the topic, do you think branded stuff hurts or helps the industry

 

[izabella]

I use V4L's, and I love how easy they made it for me to get started. I needed it to be easy, because the options were so confusing, even after reading here for a while. And they work well for me. So I'd definitely say they help the industry, if their product is good.

Will I move on to something else later? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. The battery power is just fine for me, and I love the colors of the batteries (yes, I'm a girl! ). I have been eying some of those clear cartos, though...

But without the ease of use and ease of purchase, I don't know if I would have taken the steps to get started. And that would have hurt me a lot more than not getting "the best" or most powerful or whatever.

 

[Puffadder]

It would be nice if some of the vendors out there let their customers know which type of connection was on their product like the mod vendors do. I'm not saying that Smokeless Image or Bloog are doing something wrong by not stating this, but new people should know that they have other choices and they aren't just locked into buying all of their hardware from that particular vendor. Mall kiosks and some of the rip-off online vendors are notorious for this. We see it all the time in the New Members forum.

At least when I bought my Riva and eGo batteries, the connection was stated on the description of the product. I knew that I wouldn't be forced to buy my replacement atties or cartos from those vendors. I had options to buy from other vendors at better prices if I wanted.

I have mixed feelings on part of this. Maybe it's because I'm not far from being a noob, but think back to when you were all noobs would it have made a difference what connector is listed if you know nothing about e-cigs to start with? That first time I walked up to the kiosk I had seen some of the branded websites but overall didn't know much. While I don't wholeheartedly support this reality, the truth is that the vendors are there to make money and not help us to make informed decisions. It is the way most business' in most sectors operate.

This is why great sites like ECF exist as well. If all of the vendors were completely honest and helped us to choose from their competitors as well there would be not be as much of a need for sites like ECF.

I recently made a suggestion to a branded vendor that I think is a good compromise. Basically promote the specifics of your brand that make it worthwhile but at the same time at least provide a reasonable clue to the connectors used for those who know what it means. For instance if you ave a model called the X-cig which is a rebranded 510 then list it as an X-cig (Model x510) and I would have a pretty good idea that it is a 510 (provided the vendor is willing to confirm if asked). Now maybe I don't need your full kit but if your supplies have some advantage...say your carts/cartos are filled with USA made juice or your auto batts have an 8 sec. cutoff instead of 5, I might end up buying supplies from you anyway.

A true Noob will respond to the brand and marketing but once they become a little savy than they will get the rest and appreciate the honesty creating brand loyalty.

I think what it ultimately comes down to is the banded versions, mall kiosks, and scam suppliers are doing a better job of reaching out to the noobs than many of the vendors we know and trust. Prior to finding ECF (after purchasing from a kiosk) I could name at least a dozen of the brands we are talking about here but couldn't name one non-branded supplier that many of us currently use.

 

[otrpu]

To the OP, have no idea if they're benificial or detrimental to the industry, but they're certainly confusing to the new potential user. At a time when less confusion would be helpful in my opinion.

Cheers,
otrpu