Supporting Local Brick and Mortar Stores

[LMS62]

A B&M should really take a look at providing loss leader prices on certain items...For a B&M these will most likely be mods. These prices will bring in the customers to make the initial purchase on a mod at a very reasonable price, ie, online pricing or slightly higher than online pricing. And the higher profit margins needs to be on items that are accessories and disposables and juices.

I completely agree, but I believe the issue with many vape shops is that the owners most likely do not have any experience in running or managing a retail business, so the idea of loss leader pricing would be very foreign to them.

 

[Andyhrn]

It's not only 1.5-2 times more mark up. There is taxes too. Plus gas. So it's much more. 20w Istick cost $55 (w/tax) in a local B&M.

 

[Dale11]

I buy both online and locally form a B&M. Yes my B&M's are higher than online but that can be said for almost any industry. I like to support the local small business, especially a vaping business. But also getting something right there on the spot is nice at times. When there is an issue it's nice to be able to talk to someone. To me price isn't always the main thing(although I wont allow myself to get ripped off either). B&M(the goods ones at least) will provide a certain level of service/support that you can't get online which is really good for new vapers. One thing I've noticed in this industry is that a overwhelming large portion of the online vendors you can't call, any communication is via email only. That alone is enough to make me buy from a B&M in case I have any issues. There are also a large portion of online companies just out to make a quick buck and not care about their customers, which can be said for B&M's too, but with the online shop it can be hard to find any info on them, so you have no idea if they're selling out of their house or what. When I see dirt, dirt cheap prices online I typically stay away from them unless it's one of the bigger operations, just my experience, dirt cheap + small/unknown company = to many problems to deal with. So I tend to split my funds equally between both online and B&M.

 

[ReigntheGamer]

I'd love to support my local vape shops, but their juice isn't that great and the prices are just nuts. I've been spoiled by some of the best online vendors (IMHO) who have a great presence here on ECF and are always ready to help me with a problem if I ever have one. Which I have not up to this point the only time I have had problems with my vape is when I stray from the gear and liquid I use now.

I have been tempted to stop by the local B&M here lately but then I just realize I will walk around look at some stuff and then leave which seems like a waste of time.

 

[codeflayer]

I view it like any local B&M vs. online. I played Magic: The Gathering for a time and would always purchase everything from my local shop. The price difference was between 15% and 30% more than I'd pay online. But, they hosted the Friday night gatherings and would be super helpful with questions or hunting down hard to find cards. If I could find a local shop where the margin was about that and they were helpful and knowledgeable I'd be more than happy to drop all my cash there. That's not been my experience at all unfortunately. Several of the shops here, as mentioned, are double the price and most of the staff I've ever talked to talked down to me. Granted, I can have some pretty dumb questions, but at least treat me like a beginner and not like a simpleton.

 

[James Wilson]

Ok not going to read this all.

I got a new friend who runs a B&M store out of a fleemarket. Mark ups are a little higher on thing. Some things more then others but he does it to keep in business. He tries to at the most set it for about the average price of what they go for in B&Ms. He doesn't try to jack up the price super high like other stores out there. He also takes pride in his shop and does what he can to help. He doesn't allow tasting of juices, but that is because he had people trying to steal his equipment for tasting and had others breaking the stuff. So these people ruined it for others. he does do what he can to help though. I can message him on facebook with a question and he will answer it. If I am having a problem with my setup he will offer my advice. He does have 1 other employee in his shop but the guy works on commission. He also has setup an online store and a buddy of his helped him set it up. It is still a work in progress though. But his buddy who is working on the site for him works on commission as well. At present it is the most he can afford to do for them. But it does encourage them to work harder. I have talked to other people working in shops before. Some were alright but none as good as this guy. I'm willing to drop some extra money in his shop when I afford to. This is the kind of person i want to see succeed with their shop. Too many crappy B&Ms are out there. We need more good ones. BTW he also doesn't take any offense if you mention you might get something elsewhere cause it is cheaper. He understands how it is to have to budget your money.

Now if I went into one of them crappy ones. Odds are I wouldn't even want to buy juice there. There is no way I'd want to support their business.

 

[Mike 586]

The shop that gets the lion's share of my business is pretty much on par across their entire line of products with the best prices I see anywhere in Canada, often better than prices I see in the US. They charge me a fair price and deal with me in good faith, so I support the hell out of them and its apparent that charging a fair price is working very well for them too since they've expanded from one little shop to multiple locations and made heavy upgrades to their online presence.

If a company is charging me a fair price and dealing with me in good faith, of course I'm going to prefer dealing with them and give them a lot of business. The ones that wanna gouge their customers just can't go out of business fast enough to satisfy my tastes.

What kills me is that people rationalize being gouged and defend the naked greed of the companies ripping them off.