The advantages of the big city

[jseah]

There are definite advantages to living in or near a big city. For those people shopping around trying to find an istick today, it seems like every online retailer is out of stock on them. Going to a B&M you will find one, but you will pay a hefty premium for it. The price for an istick 50 full kit (including micro USB cable and charger and 510/eGo adapter) typically runs around $55 to $60 online. Where I live the two vape stores near me are asking $75 (at one location) and $80 (at the other) for it.

Yesterday I was in NYC at a vape store in midtown Manhattan and they had the istick 50 in stock in every color.....for $65. The B&M's online store (it is one location of a chain located in several states) doesn't even have them in stock. You would think that with the astronomical rents for retail space that the prices would be high. I almost walked out of there with a MVP 3.0 since they were only asking $55 for it.

I wonder if the pricing there was so competitive since in NYC there are so many B&M's.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Sound like good business tactics to fight the internet vaping vendors. Some sell a lot at a lower price and some sell fewer at a higher price. A place like NYC lends itself to good traffic flow. I wouldn't be surprised if they had good advertising in local news flyers.

I haven't shopped in NYC. I live at high elevation in AZ, so things are oretty limited.

 

[Fuzzy Bruce]

There are dozens of vape shops near me and all are priced well above online vendors. Vaporshark being the only shop that is in line with online products, but, I kind of think Vaporshark product prices are a bit high for what you get.

 

[emc1]

I rarely visit my B&M anymore. There are dozens here in Chicago - I'm just talking about the one I started with. I liked the convenience of walking over there to get replacement heads and I've never minded paying their slightly higher prices. But I get a distinct feeling they aren't there to sell hardware. I stopped buying juice there because of their prices and also because I tended to hate the flavors. I was just going to Walgreens and getting NJOY juice - same price but better tasting.

It's basically a juice shop. Think about it - would you rather sells the printers or the ink? I almost felt they would rather hold onto their replacement coils for people who bought juice there.

 

[Jugband]

Believe it or not, we're still waiting to see our first vape shop here in the town time forgot

 

[WillyZee]

I live in a really big, expensive for anything, kind of city ... I often ship vape gear to my Mom's in Florida for free, and sometimes don't get it for a couple months between visits.

I've become very patient with vape mail

 

[Das Auto]

B&M's are a business and have to pay bills etc. Having to Compete with online vendors provides almost NO competition for B&M's. They just CAN'T compete with those online prices. You have to be willing to Pay More for that Face-to-Face interaction that you don't get from online Vendors. Some people are willing to pay for that customer service interaction, some are Not.