Startup Costs

[rcpcdude]

I think the reason for the steep startup costs is because of the "exploration" process. Most of us do not have a mentor to help us sort through the buying pitfalls. Then you arrive at ECF and research the overwhelming amount of infomation. We all basically end up upgrading to what we should have started with in the first place. In my humble opinion, a basic beginner startup including liquids should cost less than $50 (U.S.D.). That being said, I am mentoring my "smoking" friends into the transition from analogs to e-cigs. I can get them 1100mah batteries, clearos, and juice for that.

very well stated..

i did have a mentor who loaned me some start up gear and juices. but i still wanted to try everything haha.

i have:

2 twists, 2 ego chargers, case, 2 novas, 3 dct tanks, about 20 cartos and 100ish ml of juice left now

vape mail still coming is:

YJ LT 2.0 kit with 2 batteries, charger, and case with 2 attys, 2 more attys, 2 more dcts, 2 more novas, 15 more cartos, and 100ml more of juice

not bad for still a noob like i said in my last post i should be set for a while and have a variety of things to try out and $390 doesnt look so bad when i list it all off haha.

 

[JUDGMENT AFFIRMED]

How much have you $$$ invested in e-cigs so far and how many months/weeks.

I have invested $ 250.00 in one month and one week. when I notice the amount. Now I'm going to try to control myself, this could easy get out of hand with the money. Going to use up my ejuice and wait to make my next order for a while.

GOOD LUCK, AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING
$244 on first order June 15 2012
Would take the rest of day to add everything up.......it is out of hand.

 

[fourthrok]

Even if one did have a "mentor"...vaping is such a subjective thing. Everyone has different expectations, different ideas of what tastes good, different needs/budgets, ideas of what looks good and what looks "ridiculous" (which can change over time). ECF provides a platform to learn about all the possibilities in one place...ranging from basic to mind blowing. It's up to the consumer to have some understanding of what sort of things they like, and what they are willing to learn how to do, and what they are willing to pay. Unfortunately, that's going to take trial and error.

When I first started I thought I wanted something that looked like a cigarette and acted like a cigarette, but wasn't a cigarette. Within a couple of months I was seeing the advantages of a bigger mAh unit (suddenly what I thought looked like sucking on a piece of plumbing equipment before didn't look so silly) and moved on to the vGo. Things just escalated for awhile from there. Always seeing something "better" or "shinier" or whatever....colors, new delivery systems, all the equipment like syringes and cases and lanyards, and bling accessories,drip tips, etc. etc. I know I spent too much, but what a ride! Enjoyed myself tremendously. ..but my bank account was in pain.

I know now what works for me and pleases me in terms of use and my favored delivery systems, I learned DIY so I always have my favorite juice on hand (cheap!), Now I'm reaping the savings big time. So much so, I have more "disposable income"...so the siren call of the new toy still calls me. At least now I've narrowed my field so that it's only certain types of toys appeal. But bottom line is it took almost a year before I saw real "savings"...and for probably a solid 8 months I spent more than I did smoking. A lot of that was my fault for being a gadget geek. But now, I'm tickled pink at how much money I'm saving every month over what I would have spent on smoking!

 

[Los Marauder]

Tons of reasurch, I mean like 100 hours easy, befor I bought my first kit. SmokeTip was on of the few brands with"cartomizers" and not the carto/ato set up. Next I reasurched for like 200 hours at least, and found my beloved Echo's. I now DIY my own juice, and with the price of cost of rebuiding my Echomizers, costs like $0.20 cents a day or less. I have spent about $260.00 total on about 2years+ vaping.

 

[bigdaddybrink1]

Yes yall. 3.5 packs a day. And yeah i inhaled every last puff. I feel worlds better!!! I vape almost all day from when i wake to when i sleep. So ive honestly saved so much money and health wise. Thank God for vaping!!!!

 

[flintlock62]

Close to $300 in my two months. Not too bad because others spend more than I do. I am saving up for a Provari, which will change my investment drastically.

Question is, how much did you spend on stinkies, and how much better do you feel after quitting them?

How much have you $$$ invested in e-cigs so far and how many months/weeks.

I have invested $ 250.00 in one month and one week. when I notice the amount. Now I'm going to try to control myself, this could easy get out of hand with the money. Going to use up my ejuice and wait to make my next order for a while.

 

[Zack nash]

I have spent around $700 but I have all-most everything I want now. a lot of good juice on-hand, only one last thing I want is a Genesis style and I'll be set.

 

[BuGlen]

I've spent about $2,400 on vaping gear and juice over the last 9 months, but that includes 2 startup kits that I gifted to family members. With my previous PAD habit and my brand averaging about $6.50 per pack, I'll probably break even right around the 1 year mark and then start saving money. But then, there are a few good vape vendor sales (like Phiniac) going on tomorrow, so it may take a bit longer to break even after all.

 

[Photon55]

Find the right rig, I mean see what's most recommended on the forum, what fits your pocket, and lifestyle. Stick with it. Buy juice! I bought stuff that is sitting in drawer. Variable voltage IS the way to go. Lots of options, but an eGo Twist is the best bang for your buck. I've settled on a Gotvapes Vivi Nova Mini and been with it for quite a while. Once you're set up...stay off the forum, or bury your credit card. Too tempting to hear about the other stuff. Must add the juice threads on this forum will lead you to spending wisely, and avoid skunky juice.

 

[Gab-Zilla]

I literally just started vaping yesterday. So far, I've taken advantage of a lot of coupon codes for juices. They should be showing up any day now. Spent a total of $60 so far, including my start-up kit. As long as I spend less per month on vaping than I did buying analogs, I'm gonna be okay with it.

 

[fivesixtwo]

I started off with a provari and juice for 2 weeks... about 260

 

[Puccini914]

I paid $65 for a KR808D-1 kit , 3 10ml bottles of juice, and 5 empty cartomizers. I hope that's a good start-up kit for a newbie. The kit included 2 batteries, charger, and 5 cartomizers. We'll see how it goes with that, I'm sure it won't last long and I'll be reordering soon.

 

[Eric Smith]

I think im about 9grand into it so far but i'm having alot of fun doing it, it's a hobby moreless, but with the right RBA you can vape happy for dirt cheap

 

[Ray D]

About $350 in the last 3 months. But...

A) 75 of that was wasted on an awful kit because I didn't do my homework first. (And I have a cabinet loaded with juice)

And B) Just look at my sig.

 

[vsummer1]

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have spent well over a thousand dollars and am still not done with my "set up". I still need a fully mechanical mod. BUT, I have a liter of nic in the freezer, backups for my backups and rebuildable attys that will last me a lifetime unlike the cheap chinese disposables. My equipment is sound and won't get thrown away and bought again in a few months.

I made a lot of mistakes on juice, a crappy Blu kit, then 510's, eGo's, and vivi's, which are okay for beginners and have been given to others to get them started. I consider those mistakes good fortune for the people I set up who are off cigarettes now, and who can use the savings from not smoking with a free set up to save for a set up they will like.

 

[yzer]

I spent about $150 during the first month of vaping. That was last November. The initial cost included the E-Power 14650 starter kit. I added more 14650 batteries (I rather charge a batch of batteries at once), parts for two complete E-Power 14650s (back-ups: you need back-ups), chargers and a variety of juices and cartos.

Maintenance cost is now about $20 per month for DIY juice and cartos. Oh yeah, I had to buy about $15 of lab ware to go DIY. 14650 batteries cost me less than $4 apiece because I order them straight from a Chinese vendor. I keep eight of these 1050 mAh 14650 batteries in rotation. They are good for about nine months before needing replacement.

 

[Izan]

after a bit more then 8 months, about 1400.
Biggest expense has been commercial juice trying to find my "Fix".
Most samples, shipped, end up being really expensive on a per ml basis.
I have held off on VV until now, but I need to get a multimeter and figure out how it works, so I might just get a provari instead.

 

[klynnn]

I have spent about 1200. But I have saved about 1500 and am up to almost 15,000 cigs not smoked. I have nic in the freezer and juice on hand for 5-6 mos. I am shy of a year by about a week and a half.

 

[bamani71]

Ugh, I'm at around $400 and I've only been at this for 3 weeks. I keep seeing things that look interesting (started with volt, just bought some ego batteries, trying all kinds of juices). I'm hoping those savings start hitting soon!

 

[klynnn]

Once you find a system you like it is amazing how much you can save. The first few months are expensive with lots of trial and error. I know that if I had been on ECF when I first started and gotten some good advice from the members I would have saved more. Some set-ups are a lot more cost efficient than others. My expectations on ecigs working was very low, but I have become a believer.