Reliability and quality control

[Katya]

Electronic Cigarette Market Is Now Being Ventured By Altria Group Inc.

Theirs will be made in China too...

Quelle surprise...

So you get to choose from cheap junk ( by buying it yourself directly ) or overpriced junk ( by buying it stateside fom them ) ?

That's the idea.

I don't care--as long as they don't kill the competition--Internet sales and mom-and-pop stores. If they do, we'll have a big problem, as we'll have no choice but to buy their overpriced and underperforming junk.

 

[yzer]

Well, mom and pop internet store are facing increasing challenges. To compete with direct China-based sales sites the US vendors must move increasingly large order volumes. This will force lower capital based US vendors to sell out to bigger businesses or quit. That's the way capitalism works.

 

[yzer]

Of course, US businesses could fight back by getting the government to impose trade restrictions like tariffs on foreign based sales in the USA. This is also a tradition in US capitalism.

 

[Steamix]

Well, mom and pop internet store are facing increasing challenges. To compete with direct China-based sales sites the US vendors must move increasingly large order volumes. This will force lower capital based US vendors to sell out to bigger businesses or quit. That's the way capitalism works.

Part of that is also that some of the pricing gives wrong impressions: Forgot the link, it's in one of the numerous other threads here, where a measly ego starter kit is sold for a whopping 250 bucks. Anybody falling for that price expects to buy some precision electronics and may not be aware that it's way overprices run-of-the-mill stuff. For the same price does get you indeed some properly crafted gear where you can justly epxect decent after sales service.

I do buy Chinese - directly from China. Had my share of 'duds' just like I had my share of 'duds' from local vendors who buy in China too and sell it to me with a mark-up... OTOH, got some lowly CE5 that are still going good after several months and some 650mAh ego-type batteries that show no signs of letting though they been in service for almost a year.

So value-for-money performance is still better than expected....

 

[Rickajho]

90% of the stuff on the market right now is cheap junk. Clones and clones of clones that are no where near as good as the originals. Leaking tanks and clearos is the norm rather than the exception, eGo clones are notorious for their poor battery performance, build quality of most mods is cut-rate penny pinching at it's finest, and nobody seems to want to admit it.

You know there is a problem with the industry when a 1 month warranty is considered above average, and a year is virtually unheard of. Even the cheapest POS toaster at Walmart has a 1 year warranty, and those cost less than a single eGo battery.

The same could be said for the penny pinching buyers who show up here all the time and are only interested in "Where can I get a [insert item of your choice] for the lowest possible price?" I have no sympathy for people shopping cheap on eBay and FT, and then complaining when their "...lowest possible price?" thing craps out in a week and they find out - surprise! - their eBay seller offers no warranty.

The last toaster oven I bought at WallyMart almost burned the house down. Not a stellar example of a place to get good stuff on the cheap.

 

[yzer]

Oh heck. Back when (a couple of years ago) I used to buy protected ICR batts directly from China for my semi-regulated 3.7V APV. It was ECF politically correct then. I saved a bundle. Now, I buy my Chinese made stuff from US vendors that offer a real warranty. I don't want to spend the time and expense experimenting and risking my money to far eastern vendors whether Shenzhen or Hong Kong.

 

[Katya]

I just want the government (and the BT and BP) to leave us alone.

I don't care where people buy their stuff--as long as we have the freedom to make our choices. I usually buy from US based vendors because of the convenience and I don't mind paying a little more. I shop at our B&M stores and online, heck, I even bought some stuff from Fasttech.

Just let me choose...

 

[Cap'nTripps]

Well, I had no idea I was buying Chinese-made gear when I first brought my Evod kit; it looked of decent quality, the bloke in the store told me kanger make good product, and I don't really care where it was made-I like it's design quality and quality of its components.

I think there will always be garbage out there, but that there will always be a huge demand for high-quality, really well-made stuff, no matter where it's made; it's like a "cream rises to the top" type situation - the superior products will always find fans. The cheap crap that falls apart within months gets thrown away, and the user generally buys a better-made device. This is true of any type of tech IMO

 

[Katya]

The Chinese have invented e-cigs.

I'll always be grateful...

 

[Cap'nTripps]

Oh yeah, I wonder if that guy became rich off his invention, or if he's still involved in the industry in any way? If he held patents, he'd be living a comfortable life right now....

 

[Baditude]

Very much so--nJoy and Blu are BT owned.

I thought the same thing, but Kristin from CASAA said in a recent post that NJoy is not owned by Big Tobacco. The company was approached by a BT company with intent to buy them out, but NJoy decided to stay independent.

NJoy is the company who filed the appeal against the FDA when the FDA banned e-cigarette products a few years back.

 

[yzer]

I just want the government (and the BT and BP) to leave us alone.

I don't care where people buy their stuff--as long as we have the freedom to make our choices. I usually buy from US based vendors because of the convenience and I don't mind paying a little more. I shop at our B&M stores and online, heck, I even bought some stuff from Fasttech.

Just let me choose...

The Chinese e-cig business has the full backing of the Communist ruled PRC gubbermint. The PRC is ruled by Communist elites in the Politburo. Most PRC Politburo members today are the children of bureaucrats that served Mao Tse-tung. The e-cig stuff we enjoy today are made in special economic zones (including Shenzhen) in the PRC (Red China) that were established after negotiations between Mao and Nixon. Capitalism is allowed to be pursued only in these special "economic zones". Companies operating in these economic zones all share the same technology and backing of the Chinese government. The product is typically shipped out of Hong Kong, just across the water and a former British colony.

So, why would it be unfair to the Chinese for the USA to completely nationalize all of the US e-cigarette industry, fix prices and share all technology between all of the US companies?

Just asking, as a point for argument.

 

[Katya]

I don't know, Yzer!

I just want to vape in peace instead of waking every morning and checking our Legislation News Forum for more bans and restrictions...

 

[yzer]

I hear you Katya, but the world isn't that simple.

 

[Katya]

I thought the same thing, but Kristin from CASAA said in a recent post that NJoy is not owned by Big Tobacco. The company was approached by a BT company with intent to buy them out, but NJoy decided to stay independent.

NJoy is the company who filed the appeal against the FDA when the FDA banned e-cigarette products a few years back.

Thanks Bad! That's good news--or is it?

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you...
-Joseph Heller

 

[yzer]

Well, maybe the FDA resisted invasion of its territory by PRC a few years ago. Today, it's recapitulating. Are you happy, now?

 

[Katya]

Well, maybe the FDA resisted invasion of its territory by PRC a few years ago. Today, it's recapitulating. Are you happy, now?

No. I don't trust them.

I want them all off my back. Permanently. For good. Forever. In writing.

 

[yzer]

No. I don't trust them.

I want them all off my back. Permanently. For good. Forever. In writing.

That won't happen without a decimation of the world population of Homo sapiens. And the guarantee will not be in writing.

 

[seatacboy]

Interesting thoughts in this thread. Certainly, one would hope that the useful lifespan of the batteries would be longer.

The movement of giant tobacco companies into this industry is worrisome. I wonder if there's any interest on Wall Street of funding an IPO of an independent (non-tobacco-controlled) e-cig manufacturer, given that the e-cig business model does have enormous potential for long term profitability and steady cash flow.

 

[Completely Average]

Interesting thoughts in this thread. Certainly, one would hope that the useful lifespan of the batteries would be longer.

Most non-cigalike batteries are good for more than a year. That's pretty common for any rechargable battery that is frequenly recharged, regardless of the device.