SXmini mod ... Yihi

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roxynoodle

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peterforpats

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rounding third and heading home...
I found this SXMini on sale for $99.99! Not clear if it is really in stock or just a pre-order. Anyone have any dealings with this vendor?
https://www.ecigarettelobby.com/yihi-sx-mini-high-wattage-box-mod.html
i notice it is on "pre-order"- apparently they haven't hijacked a real shipment yet. my guess is it will stay on "pre-order" until their stolen parcel gets delivered. you just can't trust modern thieves, they used to be so much more reliable. IF these ever showed up and were genuine i'll bet they are a little warm to touch.... that has to be the only way......

edit- FYI i contacted them with their contact form asking a few questions. will be interesting to see if they even reply....
 
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aldenf

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Hi guys. Spent the weekend vaping on an SXMini and thought I'd add my :2c:

First of all, my brother received the SXMini for Christmas to add to his collection of "authentic" mods. I vaped the Mini while my brother vaped a bespoke SX350/LiPo walnut box mod. (It's purty. ;) )

China has a workforce that is currently very unique in the world. They are capable of pulling off some pretty incredible feats. We have all known the Chinese can manufacture quality goods. We've used them. Apple, Lenovo (a Chinese company), Dell, Motorola, etc all manufacture in China. What they all have in common is an insistence on Western standards of workmanship, quality control, customer service, branding and regional presence. Standards that Yihiecigar has, apparently, yet to adopt.

The SXMini is a fine device and vapes like a beast. No question. The chipset is brilliant. But to compare the SXMini to the "Cadillacs" of European and North American manufacture is just plain silly. Here's why.

Firstly, it ain't so "mini". The istick or Cloupor Mini are "mini". Besides, nowhere on the yihisxmini or vendors' websites are dimensions of the product even listed. Really? Come on. The only specs that are shared are that of the chipset. I'm sorry. This is not acceptable at any cost.

The materials that Yihi has used in the Mini's enclosure are clearly inferior to the "Cadillacs" we've come to know here. The workmanship and quality control are obviously not the same. Look at your devices and read this thread. My ProVari P2.5 is a good example of quality materials, craftsmanship and quality control. Provape's customer service is second to none in the industry. It was a $200 device, though I purchased it used for $125 in spectacular condition. The authentic ZNAs are further examples of quality materials, workmanship, quality control and customer service. Yes, the ZNAs are $300 devices and hard to come by. Such is the price to pay for hand-made craftsmanship. Europe has Cadillac or, rather, Mercedes mod manufacturers that rarely make it Stateside.

I don't consider Hana, Vaporflask, VaporShark or ProtoVapor to be "Cadillacs" by any means. These companies are the solid "Chevys, Chryslers and Fords". Their mods are comprised of materials mostly made in China. Only the Evolv chipsets are confirmed to have been produced in North America (of mixed foreign and domestic materials). They are assembled in the States. Their customer service is in the States. You can pick up the phone and call them. And they seem to, with few exceptions, take care of their customers. These services require an American workforce at American salaries. You may not enjoy their styling. But the designs are solid.

It's difficult to compare American companies who pay their skilled workers $35 - 40k a year to the Chinese manufacturers who pay their highly skilled labor $5 - 6k a year. The SX 350 Mini chipset costs about $15 to produce. The Mini's enclosure and final assembly maybe another $25 (probably less). Both include labor. Their marketing, such as it is, is negligible. Their "R&D Engineers" earn about $8 - 10k.

If YiHi had a physical presence in Europe & North America including...

Customer Service with reps fluent in major international languages,
Warranty returns/repair,
Marketing/Communication services that can output materials like spec sheets, websites and manuals in reasonably clear and understandable major regional languages,

...then I would say $190 (perhaps more) is a fair price for the SXMini. We pay $150 over & above the $40 cost for the listed services. Without these services it's just a $130 - 140 device. Yet we're already paying for these services and not receiving them. Without them, the extra profit is going into who's pocket?


I hope everyone's had a great weekend!
 
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dravell

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I think my SX Mini is easily on par with my ZNA quality wise and every bit as nice as my Provaris. Is machined stainless nicer than investment cast aluminum? Guess it depends what you want. I have pistol frames that are machined and investment cast, they are just different, one isnt nicer than the other.
If an american or euro company was selling the SX Mini it would be $250 bare minimum. Probably near the $300 range. That's as it is now, no changes.
The SX Mini manual is actually very clear and concise, no chinglish, just clear english and well written.
The chinese wages are absolutely true, the device is still going to sell at it's market price though. The IPV3 was originally selling at 130. Even at its present price of $100-109, the SX Mini is very much a $50-89 more expensive device.
As for the warranty, no ones actually tried to warranty it through YiHi yet, so no one can say whether its not up to par or not. So far all issues have been handled and replaced through the retailer. If and when units have to go to YiHi themselves, then we will know whether they are up to snuff or not. If they arent, then we can bash that, but until then no on can say their warranty isnt good.
Ive owned authentic Hanas, ZNAs, Vaporsharks, Variant, GI2, Provaris, and I can say 100% without a doubt my SX Mini stands right up with them, better than some. I like it more than all of them personally.
I havent owned an authentic Zero, Wapari, Gepetto and the like so I cant speak for the uber luxury mods, and I dont expect it to be that nice. Those cost $400+ at retail levels with year+ long lists with resales over $1000.
Im confident in saying the SX Mini is a deal at $189 though. Would I have liked to pay $140 for it? Well sure, but to say its only worth $30 or less more than something like a IPV3, Sigelei 100+, etc is crazy.
 

Nikkita6

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yes, send him back in, i have the matching pieces surrounded in some beautiful " chocolate" diamonds.....
and yes, i can get anything you are willing to pay for....(i have some nice friends in N.Y. and Tel Aviv).....

Aha, duly noted :D .. Well, one day I get a few other things squared away I have intentions of going all Elizabeth Taylor and will drown myself in Diamonds. *whispers* I'll call you
 

dravell

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I really wish I had the willpower to let good juices steep for a month plus. I want to try them with these power modes.
I STILL havent tried any Nicoticket, I want to try Creme Brulee, ACB, and Custards Last Stand soooooo bad but I want to try some thats at least been steeped a little before buying. I dont know anyone here that vapes it so I can try *cry*
Everyone raves about how good it is. I guess sooner or later Ill just have to buy some and try to let it steep.
 

peterforpats

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rounding third and heading home...
"...then I would say $190 (perhaps more) is a fair price for the SXMini. We pay $150 over & above the $40 cost for the listed services. Without these services it's just a $130 - 140 device. Yet we're already paying for these services and not receiving them. Without them, the extra profit is going into who's pocket?"
thoughtful but mis-guided IMHO
i contacted yihi about customer service and had my contact form responded to in about 10 minutes- 3 times so far so i don't think that was an aberration. a very nice woman named Cherry was about to arrange my warranty repair through my selling dealer if i had neede it. turns out i did not. but i sensed no problem getting work any work done. obviously , the time would be a little longer than having it done here in the US but it might not have been any longer. fact is, i have had domestic repairs take an awful long time so location doesn't assure quickness.
the guesstimate about cost and pricing is just not correct. fact is, you have no idea how much an item such as the sx mini actually costs unless you are privy to the real numbers not some numbers you think is right. and her is a fact. any item is worth whatever a second party is willing to pay regardless whether you or anybody else thinks it is "worth it". the notion that a particular piece should be $40 ,50), or any amount less to be fairly priced just makes no business sense. the market place determines if something is "worth" it. as far as the sx mini is concerned , the market has said it is worth it. i'll bet yihi left some money on the table- i stare everyday at my protovapor xpv which cost more than my sx mini and wonder why....because i bought it that's why. that's how it works. but no normal person(not knowing the cost of either) after holding and using both mods for awhile would guess that the xpv was quite a bit more then the sx mini. yet, at different times, i purchased both- that's how business works. doing it over at the same time i would buy 2 sx minis and not bother with the xpv.
 
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dravell

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Jul 29, 2014
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Gotta take into consideration the chip by itself is over $80 retail too, and sells out. Obviously it doesnt cost YiHi that much to produce them, but they sell out at over $80 all day long so we're paying about $100 for the rest of it. I know im okay with that.

People pay $200+ for Hammond boxes with $30-40 of components in them. In the grand scheme of quality devices on the market, $189 for what you get here is dirt cheap.
 

aldenf

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I think my SX Mini is easily on par with my ZNA quality wise and every bit as nice as my Provaris. Is machined stainless nicer than investment cast aluminum? Guess it depends what you want. I have pistol frames that are machined and investment cast, they are just different, one isnt nicer than the other.
If an american or euro company was selling the SX Mini it would be $250 bare minimum. Probably near the $300 range. That's as it is now, no changes.
The SX Mini manual is actually very clear and concise, no chinglish, just clear english and well written.
The chinese wages are absolutely true, the device is still going to sell at it's market price though. The IPV3 was originally selling at 130. Even at its present price of $100-109, the SX Mini is very much a $50-89 more expensive device.
As for the warranty, no ones actually tried to warranty it through YiHi yet, so no one can say whether its not up to par or not. So far all issues have been handled and replaced through the retailer. If and when units have to go to YiHi themselves, then we will know whether they are up to snuff or not. If they arent, then we can bash that, but until then no on can say their warranty isnt good.
Ive owned authentic Hanas, ZNAs, Vaporsharks, Variant, GI2, Provaris, and I can say 100% without a doubt my SX Mini stands right up with them, better than some. I like it more than all of them personally.
I havent owned an authentic Zero, Wapari, Gepetto and the like so I cant speak for the uber luxury mods, and I dont expect it to be that nice. Those cost $400+ at retail levels with year+ long lists with resales over $1000.
Im confident in saying the SX Mini is a deal at $189 though. Would I have liked to pay $140 for it? Well sure, but to say its only worth $30 or less more than something like a IPV3, Sigelei 100+, etc is crazy.

The Mini's manual is fine. No complaints. But have you seen the websites? Simply not having the Mini's dimensions is not acceptable. I had to read this thread to discover the dimensions. I don't know about you, but I bill at $60/hr. I shouldn't have to spend 3 - 6 hours of my time to research a < $200 purchase? Especially if I made $25/hr., is $100 of my time worth deciding on a $190 device?

I agree with you completely about the relation to the 100W devices. I think the IPV3 and Sigelei are overpriced as well. They should land around $75, making $130 - 140 more reasonable for the SXMini. I think your comment about machined stainless vs cast aluminum is fair. It is certainly a preference one way or another. However, there is no doubt the cast aluminum is less costly to produce than machined SS.

As far as quality vs my ProVari or other high-end mods.... My brother's SXMini's threads are scratchy. Production marks in the castings. Device had to be practically disassembled to align body panel to casting. 510 connection is far too cheap. Micro USB port is annoyingly misaligned with opening. These issues really aren't acceptable for a $190 APV.

I also agree that an American manufactured SXMini would run around $250. Remember that's the retail price. The manufacturer only sees $125 - $150 of that. I bet that $100 - 110 is pure cost. The rest is what can be reinvested in R&D and other legitimate improvements or claimed as profit.

I see what you're saying and understand completely as a consumer. But this attitude basically states that the United States should get out of the manufacturing business altogether because third-world countries can undercut us by 30 - 60% and Americans won't pay for Made in America. This makes me sad and might just happen. Before it does, however, I want to make sure that China has its act together: workmanship, quality control, communication, warranty/repairs and customer service.

Or, we could turn manufacturing duties over to Apple and pay $500 for an iVapeMini2... a vape even your iPad will love! :lol:
 

aldenf

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Gotta take into consideration the chip by itself is over $80 retail too, and sells out. Obviously it doesnt cost YiHi that much to produce them, but they sell out at over $80 all day long so we're paying about $100 for the rest of it. I know im okay with that.

Agreed. As long as people are willing to pay the price, and they're hard to get; that's capitalism. But I won't buy them. And they don't need my money.

People pay $200+ for Hammond boxes with $30-40 of components in them. In the grand scheme of quality devices on the market, $189 for what you get here is dirt cheap.

Don't get me started on this. You're being generous. It's more like $20 - 25 BOM. I've built them.
 

dravell

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The Mini's manual is fine. No complaints. But have you seen the websites? Simply not having the Mini's dimensions is not acceptable. I had to read this thread to discover the dimensions. I don't know about you, but I bill at $60/hr. I shouldn't have to spend 3 - 6 hours of my time to research a < $200 purchase? Especially if I made $25/hr., is $100 of my time worth deciding on a $190 device?

I agree with you completely about the relation to the 100W devices. I think the IPV3 and Sigelei are overpriced as well. They should land around $75, making $130 - 140 more reasonable for the SXMini. I think your comment about machined stainless vs cast aluminum is fair. It is certainly a preference one way or another. However, there is no doubt the cast aluminum is less costly to produce than machined SS.

As far as quality vs my ProVari or other high-end mods.... My brother's SXMini's threads are scratchy. Production marks in the castings. Device had to be practically disassembled to align body panel to casting. 510 connection is far too cheap. Micro USB port is annoyingly misaligned with opening. These issues really aren't acceptable for a $190 APV.

I also agree that an American manufactured SXMini would run around $250. Remember that's the retail price. The manufacturer only sees $125 - $150 of that. I bet that $100 - 110 is pure cost. The rest is what can be reinvested in R&D and other legitimate improvements or claimed as profit.

I see what you're saying and understand completely as a consumer. But this attitude basically states that the United States should get out of the manufacturing business altogether because third-world countries can undercut us by 30 - 60% and Americans won't pay for Made in America. This makes me sad and might just happen. Before it does, however, I want to make sure that China has its act together: workmanship, quality control, communication, warranty/repairs and customer service.

Or, we could turn manufacturing duties over to Apple and pay $500 for an iVapeMini2... a vape even your iPad will love! :lol:

Thats the thing though, a lot of people buy american made strictly because its american made, which I do too, theres room for both though. Im in the business where if people started buying only the chinese counterparts id be out of business and go bankrupt.
Nicoles post summed up a lot of the issues you bring up perfectly though. They have issues they definitely need to overcome to really contend with American and euro companies. Im not buying into YiHi's stock though, im buying their mod :)
My device is perfect in every way, not one blemish or defect. There's going to be defects and blemishes though as there are with any company, American or otherwise.
At the same time, everyones opinion on what is worth the money and what isnt is going to be different. I will spend a disgusting amount of money on a watch, a lot of people would think im literally bats... crazy considering what I get.
I will say one thing though, I dont like seeing a HUGE markup on something american made strictly because its american made. That right there is part of why people end up buying chinese instead. There needs to be a happy medium where costs are covered and profit is made without margins that would get you a deal on Shark Tank.
 

dravell

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Agreed. As long as people are willing to pay the price, and they're hard to get; that's capitalism. But I won't buy them. And they don't need my money.



Don't get me started on this. You're being generous. It's more like $20 - 25 BOM. I've built them.

Depends on the box, ive built about 70, the 20a Raptors are $20 by themselves, 40a Raptors $30, 20a OKL $13, so with "good" vandal switches and such its 30-40, but a LOT on the market, you're right, 20-25 lol
 

aldenf

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"...then I would say $190 (perhaps more) is a fair price for the SXMini. We pay $150 over & above the $40 cost for the listed services. Without these services it's just a $130 - 140 device. Yet we're already paying for these services and not receiving them. Without them, the extra profit is going into who's pocket?"
thoughtful but mis-guided IMHO
i contacted yihi about customer service and had my contact form responded to in about 10 minutes- 3 times so far so i don't think that was an aberration. a very nice woman named Cherry was about to arrange my warranty repair through my selling dealer if i had neede it. turns out i did not. but i sensed no problem getting work any work done. obviously , the time would be a little longer than having it done here in the US but it might not have been any longer. fact is, i have had domestic repairs take an awful long time so location doesn't assure quickness.
the guesstimate about cost and pricing is just not correct. fact is, you have no idea how much an item such as the sx mini actually costs unless you are privy to the real numbers not some numbers you think is right. and her is a fact. any item is worth whatever a second party is willing to pay regardless whether you or anybody else thinks it is "worth it". the notion that a particular piece should be $40 ,50), or any amount less to be fairly priced just makes no business sense. the market place determines if something is "worth" it. as far as the sx mini is concerned , the market has said it is worth it. i'll bet yihi left some money on the table- i stare everyday at my protovapor xpv which cost more than my sx mini and wonder why....because i bought it that's why. that's how it works. but no normal person(not knowing the cost of either) after holding and using both mods for awhile would guess that the xpv was quite a bit more then the sx mini. yet, at different times, i purchased both- that's how business works. doing it over at the same time i would buy 2 sx minis and not bother with the xpv.

First of all, YiHi probably has another $10 - 15 in front-office overhead on top of the cost-off-the-line. But that comes out of their mark-up not before. Just as the vape shop employees come out of a retailer's markup, not before.

We can discuss the BOM, price-off-the-line, labor costs, front office costs, etc. if you like. But I'll bet my overall experience, ten-years experience in China, and engineering degree that my numbers are darned close.

I'll bet that the BOM for that XPV was only $70. It would probably only be $55 if Protovapor designed and built their own chipsets. There's two layers of profit in the XPV. Well, far more than two, but only two big ones. The rest of the cost, because it is direct sales, goes to labor, and cost of doing business. We can't underestimate the huge cost of labor here compared to China nor the increased expenses in fuel, energy, regulation, etc. That's why I cringe when I see mediocre American manufacturing. We HAVE to be better. Chinese manufacturers are very used to building disposable products. They need to evolve their mindset.

Look to Apple for the right way to manufacture quality goods in China. And they've had their troubles. Jobs said it best. Apple saves little to no money by manufacturing in China. What they gain is HUGE flexibility in the manufacturing process that they could never attain in North America. And they get a premium around the world for their Chinese-made products. But they ain't cheap, that's for sure.

Yes customer service varies immensely all across the globe. How many months have we waited for those $10 rebate checks? It's amazing that we can often get a special auto part from Germany or Japan faster than we can from Detroit. However, I know B&M owners that simply exchange faulty merchandise and deal with the manufacturer or distributor themselves, sometimes at great cost. I have never done business with YiHi. But I would be far more confident in any foreign company's product if it had a physical presence in this country. Why? For many reasons, but not the least of which is as soon as they do, they are beholden to our consumer laws just like the American companies. That's equal footing. Currently, we have no recourse if Yihi or any other similar company just flips us the bird.
 

haku

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sorry for interrupting actual discussion.. just to share an stupid workaround for my 510 pin problem, which is working ok:

antecedents:
the smaller bottom gasket is damaged, so the pin (and that gasket) were wobbling (touching the walls) and sinking down; the spring and the broken upper gasket were outside, and couldn't insert them back till ZeroOhm shows us how to take the top cap apart safely (not breaking the ground soldering), if possible.

temporal fix:
inserted a white (soft) silicon o-ring (7.8 x 5.6 x 1.1mm) at the bottom.
inserted a red (hard) silicon o-ring (7.2 x 4 x 1.6mm) above it. it has the right thickness to fit the channel of the pin where the upper gasket was "holding" it (about 1.5mm), so the pin doesn't sink down; it has the right width to fit the walls (~7.5mm ID) and the pin (~4mm width).

the result is a fixed 510; well, it has a minimum tolerance, due to the compression ability of the silicone. it's isolated, the pin doesn't touch the walls (had no shorts yet). it's a bit sunk, so attys with short 510 doesn't make contact (for example, the erlkonigins with no adjustable 510; but didn't try this one when the pin was ok ;))
tried 20w, good contact, no shorts, it's working flawless, so won't try to insert the spring, unless i'm sure 100% of not breaking the whole device.

maybe yihi reconsiders their warranty coverage of this issue, and also learns that a satisfied happy customer ensures the company success at medium-long term (warranty, repairs, and qc, are investments, not wastes).

thank you very much, dravell, Nikki (my guardian angel), ZeroOhm, and all who have helped and given love =))
 
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dravell

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Jul 29, 2014
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sorry for interrupting actual discussion.. just to share an stupid workaround for my 510 pin problem, which is working ok:

antecedents:
the smaller bottom gasket is damaged, so the pin (and that gasket) were wobbling (touching the walls) and sinking down; the spring and the broken upper gasket were outside, and couldn't insert them back till ZeroOhm shows us how to take the top cap apart safely (not breaking the ground soldering), if possible.

temporal fix:
inserted a white (soft) silicon o-ring (7.8 x 5.6 x 1.1mm) at the bottom.
inserted a red (hard) silicon o-ring (7.2 x 4 x 1.6mm) above it. it has the right thickness to fit the channel of the pin where the upper gasket was "holding" it (about 1.5mm), so the pin doesn't sink down; it has the right width to fit the walls (~7.5mm ID) and the pin (~4mm width).

the result is a fixed 510; well, it has a minimum tolerance, due to the compression ability of the silicone. it's isolated, the pin doesn't touch the walls (had no shorts yet). it's a bit sunk, so attys with short 510 doesn't make contact (for example, the erlkonigins with no adjustable 510; but didn't try this one when the pin was ok ;))
tried 20w, good contact, no shorts, it's working flawless, so won't try to insert the spring, unless i'm sure 100% of not breaking the whole device.

maybe yihi reconsiders their warranty coverage of this issue, and also learns that a satisfied happy customer ensures the company success at medium-long term (warranty, repairs, and qc, are investments, not wastes).

thank you very much, dravell, Nikki (my guardian angel), ZeroOhm, and all who had helped me and gave love =))

Yay! At least you have a temporary fix until we get it fixed fixed!
 
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