Stupid implulse purchase..paid way to much?

[pennysmalls]

Again, people keep throwing around the terms 'ripped off' and 'gouged' without knowing the costs incurred by the business just to be there and available to you.

Do you have any idea what rent alone is for many of these stores? I investigated how much it would cost to rent a little storefront (roughly small vape store size, no sitting area) in a strip mall along a fairly busy road 5-6 years ago - it was $2,200/month!! And if you assume any employees working there should make a living wage (let's say $24,000/year because that's easily divisible by 12), that's another $2,000/month. Of course, if you're open more than 8 hrs/day, 5 days/wk, you need at least two employees so that's $4,000/month. So we're already up to $6,200/month just for space/employees! There's a whole raft of other costs we haven't even mentioned yet!!

Look, I'm not saying that the store was not charging too much. But we can't just automatically assume that because he's selling something for triple fasttech prices, he 'ripping people off'.

(And why is it ok for juice makers to charge 10x the cost of ingredients and no one complains? I can make up 30mL of juice for less than two dollars (and that's paying retail prices for ingredients). But I don't go around complaining that juice makers are 'gouging' me. They offer something at a price - I'm free to accept or decline.)

I understand. I mentioned earlier in this thread that it has to be expensive for my local to operate because they're located in the business district downtown. They're getting great exposure but have to be drowning under the weight of their space rent alone. I get that part of the equation. For me personally though I believe if prices have to be raised to the point that he's raised his prices to then something is very wrong with the business model. If a business is carrying products that can be found elsewhere for 5, 6, 7 times less then success cannot be possible. It makes no sense to me why such a business would even be created in the first place. So he may not be ripping people off in the sense that he truly appreciates people paying those prices to keep his business up and running but if people knew...no...they would not be interested in supporting him to that extent.

 

[Train2]

They have a special deal on pants dropshipped direct from FastTech.

How can some stores charge the same price online as they do in the store then?

I was looking at pants on old navy and they charge the same.

 

[pennysmalls]

If his kit came in a black box that said "eGo" on it, with two gray 18350's, two CE3's, a European wall adapter, and a dinky black plastic battery charger that has flip-down prongs that plug directly into the wall... Then I'm talking about that charger. Not the Nitecore one. And trust me, the charger they include in the Vamo kit that comes in the black box is NOT Nitecore.

Yes, that was the kit I had purchased. I noticed right away how crappy the charger seemed. I took the kit back, so no worries. Thanks for the heads up though!

 

[Vapolith]

For comparison, my local B&M sells a similar kit for $89.

http://www.ecignificance.com/vamo-vv-vw/

 

[Cavere]

If you wanted to try you could tell the b&m you would start writing bad reviews on various sites and give them lots of bad press. Unless you get a refund or even a decent amount of stuff to somewhat justify the price you paid.

Not all b&m are bad though. I have one that I will drive thirty minutes to because they have a good selection. Yes the prices are a bit higher but not ridiculously so. A vamo kit costs about $55 there I believe. They just got in the Russian rba and its $96. Which is actually cheaper than most online vendors. Having knowledgable people is a great resource. Along those same lines though there is a new shop very close to me but they have a very limited selection and the owner hardly knows anything (asked what my provari was...)

 

[Mike Sheda]

It doesn't matter what a B&M's overhead is. There is obviously going to be some markup compared to online. A store needs to make a profit to stay in business, I get that. In some cases it works out to about what you would have paid for shipping and in some cases a little more.

But seriously, to anyone defending this store even as Devil's Advocate.

$150.00 for a Vamo kit? That is an absolutely insane profit margin.

You don't know what his profit margin is. He is probably at the end of a long line if he isn't dealing with the Manufacturer direct, or even with FT (and hey.. they all have families that need to eat also.. right?)

Like Glen said, so many in Retail don't really have a clue anymore. They worked in a shop, and the driver drove a Cadillac, so this thing comes along, and they figure.. hahaha.. easy money, get in while it's hot. And look around, and find a supplier (any supplier will do you know....like, the guy at the flea market that sells them for 140.00.. I could buy.. oh.. say 10 from him at 130, and mark it up to 150.00 because I have a nicer store....... so hey.... that's.. let's see... a 15% markup.. and I heard that a business could live with a 15% margin, so I'm good.)... (yeah.. folks... those that managed retail are laughing at this... but I've met way too many people that didn't understand the difference between markup and margin). But, he wound up with old stock somehow.. someone probably saw him coming. Just because it's in a store with nice carpeting means that they know what they are doing. As evidenced many times over and over here with tales of woe from things that people have overheard clerks in B&Ms tell new vapers...

First rule in retail, don't pay wholesale unless you have to! Swim as far upstream as you can for your supplies. Again.. not everyone knows this.

 

[gr1llmeacheese]

True, Mike. Without knowing the store's cost I can't give you an exact margin. I suppose if that retailer is paying a cost that makes that price land within reasonable margins then at least he isn't ripping people off but there is a lot of "if" involved there.
Either way it sounds like the OP was able to resolve the situation so, happy ending!

 

[Butters78]

I like to say "Old Navy" like the cousin in South Park, the kid they mail or something. He talks like Sol Rosenberg.

"Old Naay-vee"

Lol you a jerky boys fan? I love them. Kisel kicked ....

 

[Glen Snyder]

I agree with your premise, but this part is somewhat inaccurate. In many cases the $1 menu will be the same, but they're loss leaders for all the stores (just not as much of a loss in some areas as in others). The prices of their other menu items will vary depending on location.

By triple?

 

[kushka]

Are u talking abt nitecore i2??? I have had it for abt 3 months - no issues with it at all............it is supposed to be one of the reliable and safer ones.......where did u read it is garbage?

I thought that too but I was just reading a posting in the new members forum where a persons new Nitecore intellicharger i2 just exploded:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/462542-my-charger-just-exploded.html

 

[gr1llmeacheese]

Lol you a jerky boys fan? I love them. Kisel kicked ....

You killed uncle Freddie?!?!

 

[puchox]

Don't have time to read the whole thread, but make use of your rights as a consumer and get a refund ASAP. When you do that, if you are still in the mood for spending 150, either get a vamo or SVD full kit from Fasttech or another online vendor you like or go for a provari.

While i wouldn't buy a provari for me, i understand why people praise them so much and it would be an amazing upgrade to your current setup.

I hope you can get that refund

 

[Mike Sheda]

Here... let me help shorten it for you..

the butler did it, it was a sled, Darth is Luke's father, and Bruce Willis was actually dead the whole time...

(oh.. and they exchanged it for her for other stuff, so while not happy, she is at least less unhappy.. so it all turned out OK)

 

[Butters78]

You killed uncle Freddie?!?!

Lmao! You know this!

Sparky the clown! Back flips! Lmao

 

[albcig]

some B&M here sells FT items at 5-6 times their price. they are artificially making vaping expensive because most of their pricey items are clones. a long lasting expensive item is one thing but if one that is meant to be cheap and easily replaceable has a high price, that is a big problem for a non experienced vaper.

 

[Mike Sheda]

some B&M here sells FT items at 5-6 times their price. they are artificially making vaping expensive because most of their pricey items are clones. a long lasting expensive item is one thing but if one that is meant to be cheap and easily replaceable has a high price, that is a big problem for a non experienced vaper.

True... there is gouging out there as well...

Or as some people believe.. you can fool some of the people some of the time... and that's good enough....

I preferred to go for repeat business by offering the best quality I could find, at the lowest price I was able to. That way I not only got their money, but their brothers, and their sisters, and their friends, cousins, etc...

 

[RoseB]

Pennysmalls, sorry you got ripped off, and yeah I mean ripped off. I've worked in a lot of stores. There should be no reason for charging that much of a mark up! Maybe $70-80 , but $150? Meh, live and learn. On the plus side: thanks to posting this thread, you know where to get the latest & greatest Vamo! At a way better price too

 

[Racehorse]

Sucking it up now. Digging out my receipt. The price I'm paying for my stupidity.

Don't be too hard on yourself. AFter all most of us spent many THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on smokes....and felt really stupid when we realized they were KILLING US slowly.

After that mistake, I'm not sure any of us can make any that are a whole lot worse?

 

[WattWick]

I'm all for people making a living. I'm not at all for the trend of people wanting to skip the whole "new business investment period" by making customers pay through their noses.

Setting up a business is a long term investment. I don't enjoy paying a premium for some schmuck to be able to play shop for a couple of months before blaming "the current economy" and "online competition" for going out of business.

 

[RoseB]

Don't be too hard on yourself. AFter all most of us spent many THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on smokes....and felt really stupid when we realized they were KILLING US slowly.

After that mistake, I'm not sure any of us can make any that are a whole lot worse?

You make an excellent point. Plus all of the tax dollars. Paying tobacco companies & politicians to kill us...now that is embarrassing.