Seems like a lot of vape companies keep pushing the price boundary

[Gato del Jugo]

Anybody notice this recently?


Jacking up the price on new PVs that come out, on new toppers that come out, on new juice that comes out...


It's like they're thinking, "How much can we get away with? How many people out there are stupid enough to pay this ridiculous price for this cheap piece of garbage? Everybody else is doing it, so let's keep pushing to find out!"


I know the vaping demand is there, but still..


Part of the reason why I quit cigs was to save money..

Sort of makes me want to quit vaping at some point, too, to be honest...

 

[Myrany]

Once you have the hardware you like then you are in maintenance mode. Juice and coils.

The cost of juice and coils can be cut down by DIY juice and rebuilding coils. My DIY juice costs me $.07/mL. A coil costs me MAYBE $.05

 

[Gato del Jugo]

Once you have the hardware you like then you are in maintenance mode. Juice and coils.

The cost of juice and coils can be cut down by DIY juice and rebuilding coils. My DIY juice costs me $.07/mL. A coil costs me MAYBE $.05

Not really talking about myself, per se..

I vape fairly inexpensively.. Could be cheaper, yep -- but also could be a lot more expensive, too


But I see that more & more other people are paying these prices...


Sorry, but no juice is worth over $1 per ml..

No "small-batch" mech PV with maybe $40 worth of materials is worth $700..

Etc, etc..


I just don't like the direction all of this is going, as a vaping consumer...

 

[Myrany]

Yes there are PVs that cost Thousands of dollars. We always have a choice not to buy them. The market will for the most part revolve around what people are willing to pay. When it goes above that it will correct itself.

Thing is it is the choice of the individual consumer. Is X to much money for what I get? I have 2 REOs and a Provari that is about $450 right there. I also have no need for any more PVs so I cann it money well spend on devices built to last a lifetime.

Someone else sees that pricetag and can't fathom paying that much.

 

[Elizabeth Baldwin]

I think some people, like me, make this into a hobby. Therefore we buy mechs, VV, rebuildables and build coils on them. I do my own juices, but I occasionally buy some just to taste and duplicate the flavors. I spend quite a bit, but I have tons of nice Vape gear. It's just like any other hobby. Some people are artist and buy nice canvasses and paint. Others collect figurines of angels. If its a hobby then these people aren't wasting their money. I look at it this way. I smoked for over 20 years at over a pack and a half a day, my husband was 2 packs a day. We spent over 400 a month is smokes. That money went up in smoke...literally. I now have 400 a month. I can spend it on new Vape gear, save it, or whatever. It would have been wasted if I still smoked. So I'm doing good. If I'm ever in a spot for money I have extra every week and can hold off on buying things or I can sell any of my mods or RBAs because people buy them like hot cakes in our classifieds here.

It's actually a cool and rewarding hobby. Me and my husband both enjoy it. Anybody that don't want to spend that kind of money can easily save by making your own juice and buying 1 kit and be done.

Those who pay high prices for gourmet juice enjoy trying new flavors. I'm guilty of that from time to time. Sure they mark it up. But... The higher priced gourmet blends are much tastier than your average juices. If you ever taste Suicide Bunny's Mothers Milk you would understand. It is delicious. It's well worth every dime you pay for it. These vendors have employees, mixers, and shippers they have to pay. Plus they are mixing complex blends unlike the one or two flavors you find at lower priced vendors. The higher priced vendors aren't using cheap flavors either... Many make their own flavors in house. I'm not kicking lower priced juices because some are good. I buy both higher and lower priced because I enjoy certain unique flavors that some lower price vendors have and I I also will pay high dollar if I find a tasty one I enjoy.

 

[Gato del Jugo]

Yes there are PVs that cost Thousands of dollars. We always have a choice not to buy them. The market will for the most part revolve around what people are willing to pay. When it goes above that it will correct itself.

Thing is it is the choice of the individual consumer. Is X to much money for what I get? I have 2 REOs and a Provari that is about $450 right there. I also have no need for any more PVs so I cann it money well spend on devices built to last a lifetime.

Someone else sees that pricetag and can't fathom paying that much.

And yet, the people who are paying ridiculous prices are, to some degree, affecting those vapers who don't want to / can't spend a lot..

Company A starts charging more for their products.. & some people buy them

Company B sees that, and says, hey, we should do that, too.. & jacks up their prices

And because there's such demand for vaping stuff, growing every day, they can get away with it...


Without going off on a tangent, it's sort of like outrageous levels of corporate executive compensation, always upping the ante to "attract talent," and it becomes the new normal -- and at the expense of whom?


Anyway, I understand certain things are "built to last a lifetime" -- but that doesn't mean stuff can't happen to them, like getting lost or stolen, or gasp, even break in some sort of accident (nothing is indestructable)... And you have to replace it? Now you gotta pay up


Like I said, I don't like the direction this is all going.. And never mind even to begin to throw potential taxes on this stuff..

It might be a hobby for some, but I have a feeling I won't be vaping the rest of my life... I've already gotten priced-out of cigarettes, and if things keep going this way, looks like it will happen with vaping at some point, too

 

[Myrany]

So what are you advocating? Government regulation of prices? The fact is once the stomach turning point is reached people will gravitate to the products in their price range.

I just flat do not think it is for one person to judge what another spends.

 

[Gato del Jugo]

So what are you advocating? Government regulation of prices? The fact is once the stomach turning point is reached people will gravitate to the products in their price range.

I just flat do not think it is for one person to judge what another spends.

Didn't realize I was now advocating & judging...

 

[Myrany]

Didn't realize I was now advocating & judging...

You are obviously not liking a free market system? So what system in your judgement is better?

 

[Glen Snyder]

In a free market, it's always what the market will bear.

ETA: My experience is vaping can be much cheaper than smoking was OR much more depending on what equipment the individual demands. Personally I'm spending around 20% of what I was spending on cigarettes with more satisfaction than I was getting from cigs. I have a high end mech, high end carto tank, 2 medium priced mechs and 2 medium priced regulated devices along with clearos, drippers, RDA, RBA and all the accessories to maintain their use for some months. In fact, I've saved so much below my goal of 50% of my cigarette budget I'm gonna spring for a ZNA as soon as I can win the F5 war on ENS. All this in 367 days vaping/not smoking a pack a day.

 

[JaxMike]

Fine with me if they charge what they can get. As long as their is no government agency dictating the costs, it's just business.

I am a contractor and generally try to charge just as much as I can get for my services.

 

[Myrany]

In a free market, it's always what the market will bear.

Exactly

 

[Elizabeth Baldwin]

Ummm. It doesn't work like that. ProVari charges 179 or better for a full size ProVari. That high end mod has nothing to do with the company that sells $28 ego kits. There's a demand for both companies. It's the same with juices. There is always a demand for cheaper priced and higher gourmet prices. Look at the Dollar tree for example. Will its prices change or go out of business because sears or some other high end store moves in? No... Because there's a market for both.

There are juice vendors out there who have found their niche with low prices and descent juices. They have nothing to do with the higher end juices. Why? Because the market has room for both. The higher end juices compete with other higher end juices. The cheaper juices compete with the same.

An ego twist isn't going to skyrocket because people buy higher end mods. You might see the opposite effect if sales go down on an ego.

 

[Elizabeth Baldwin]

Ok... If say MBV raises his prices, it would hurt his business because why would you buy his juice when you can buy other juices at the same price? MBV keeps his prices low so he can get business. There is always a market for cheap priced juices

Just because several people decide to buy a Ferrari doesn't mean a cheaper model will skyrocket. There's a market for both. You have different types of consumers and different vendors focus on that.

 

[Harlen]

Well I have two vv/vw mods one meck mod as well as 8 1300 mah ego battery's and I use all three mecks and three of the ego's
I make my juice and for three others that just can not pay that much for juice .i make three flavors that I like and one that the others like .
And yes I gave them the egos they use and started them off with three MT3's each ,there are three new non smokers weeeeeee.
It's like any thing els you can spend a lot or a little ,it's up too you.
Best wishes all

 

[jensy]

Business is business and having different price points makes it easier for all vendors to stay in business . By having the low, med and high price points gives everyone their niche.

 

[Dunkel]

A phrase from a cigar forum I used to frequent can be used here with modification. Vape what you like, like what you vape. In any hobby/addiciction there will be people who must have the newest, biggest, rarest and best. There are also the folks who find what they like and stick with it to some degree, but are always up to try something new. I have 2 MVP 2.0's and a Tesla. I have no need for anymore APV's. I also have some Mech Mods and RDA's that I got in a bulk deal, but so far I haven't bothered with them. I like some MBV flavors and I also like some $20+ per 30ml flavors. There will always be a market for low, middle, and high end equipment and juice. It doesn't matter to me whether Joe Shmo Vapes just came out with a 1000W mega APV that cost a grand, I won't buy it but someone will.

 

[EvilZoe]

As long as China is involved and can still import everywhere inexpensively, there will always be cheaper options.

This is not a diss to China, it's just they have the market down on producing clone-ish merchandise, whether treating their workers well or not.

 

[GemCutter]

Glen I thought you had a ZNA, good luck you won't regret it.



OP I think you are underestimating the cost of producing the high end products, buying materials in small amounts, having machining done in small amounts, labor, most of these guys have a lot more than $40 in their mod that sells for $250. Not to say there are not gougers, the market will correct them.

Heck I think Zen has more than 20 workers, does in house machining and he has said he makes $60 on the $279 ZNA, and I believe him.


And good point on reselling, mid-high end mods hold their value exceptionally well, often selling well used for near or over the purchase price. Try to sell a used TV, diamond ring, or car, be lucky to get half the purchase price.

Ever try to sell a bag of cigarette butts, ash, and empty packs?

 

[EvilZoe]

Ever try to sell a bag of cigarette butts, ash, and empty packs?

Excellent point...lol