I've noticed something that I am rather ashamed of and I can't help but feel that others have probably done this as well.
PV companies and manufacturers, I will normally buy your PV and use it, and love it... but I don't see a reason to come back for anything else.
I ordered my GLV2 from GLV almost a year and a half ago and that was my last order. It isn't because I don't like the GLV2, I love the GLV2 and I like GLV, they're a nice company... but other stores carry their batteries and chargers cheaper. I don't have any reason to come back.
While this is a good thing to people buying PV's,... I don't really see it as a good thing for manufacturers. What happens when everyone and their grandmother owns a Silver Bullet? I just bought one. Will I buy a second one? For my other mouth? No... I don't really see a reason to, and other stores have cartomizers and batteries cheaper, and I already have a charger.
In the world of manufacturing, there is a term called "planned obsolescence". This is when a product is released with an internal fail that can happen whenever they "plan" for the product to go bad, or an expiration date for the internal parts. This is normally why you buy another television after your first television breaks, rather than going to Best-Buy and having them fix your television, because they can't and won't.
What if GLV decided not to fix GLV2's anymore? That wouldn't be good. I don't think many people would be apt to buy them. It would show bad customer support and I certainly wouldn't buy another one... not that I am, because the one I already have works fine. Sorry, you made it too good.
------
On the other side of the spectrum is the lavatube family of PV's. They cost around $60-$80 depending on the model you receive and are fairly affordable and feature-worthy. Most of the retailers cannot repair, actually, none of the retailers can repair your lavatube but must either send you a working one or offer a refund if its within the warranty of the retailer.
...But if my Varitube X broke, at this point... I would just buy another one. It isn't really so much of an investment as other devices and I do understand that it is Chinese made and that no store is offering to fix the device due to the stores not being the manufacturers, as they are with most other devices.
-----
In the best interest of PV makers, I find that if this business practice is to continue, the making, fixing and selling of the same device, it is eventually bound to fail unless the number of people coming into the community also matches up cleanly with the number of people buying your device for the first time. Or they reccomend it to someone else or want a backup device.
So, continue being innovative? That's what GLV has done, making many different models and flavors of the GLV2. Apparently there are many people who have bought several different models of that PV for all of the different features they provide as separate devices. I would call that a good business practice... I just don't consider paying $130 again for a regulated device to be cost-effective, myself.
Will planned obsolescence ever dip into the realm of PV's? I sure hope not. Granted, it would be nice on the manufacturer's end if people just bought another of what they had once it goes bad or dies... but it doesn't seem like something this community would do. It seems to be a selling point that a device is reliable, sturdy and will serve you for years and years. That seems like something that a lot of people are looking for in devices. It's something that I'm looking for.
...I'm just sorry, though. I mean, your devices are just too good! I don't know why I would buy a second one when the one I have now works fine and I can get accessories cheaper elsewhere.
-Happy GLV and Silver Bullet owner
PV companies and manufacturers, I will normally buy your PV and use it, and love it... but I don't see a reason to come back for anything else.
I ordered my GLV2 from GLV almost a year and a half ago and that was my last order. It isn't because I don't like the GLV2, I love the GLV2 and I like GLV, they're a nice company... but other stores carry their batteries and chargers cheaper. I don't have any reason to come back.
While this is a good thing to people buying PV's,... I don't really see it as a good thing for manufacturers. What happens when everyone and their grandmother owns a Silver Bullet? I just bought one. Will I buy a second one? For my other mouth? No... I don't really see a reason to, and other stores have cartomizers and batteries cheaper, and I already have a charger.
In the world of manufacturing, there is a term called "planned obsolescence". This is when a product is released with an internal fail that can happen whenever they "plan" for the product to go bad, or an expiration date for the internal parts. This is normally why you buy another television after your first television breaks, rather than going to Best-Buy and having them fix your television, because they can't and won't.
What if GLV decided not to fix GLV2's anymore? That wouldn't be good. I don't think many people would be apt to buy them. It would show bad customer support and I certainly wouldn't buy another one... not that I am, because the one I already have works fine. Sorry, you made it too good.
------
On the other side of the spectrum is the lavatube family of PV's. They cost around $60-$80 depending on the model you receive and are fairly affordable and feature-worthy. Most of the retailers cannot repair, actually, none of the retailers can repair your lavatube but must either send you a working one or offer a refund if its within the warranty of the retailer.
...But if my Varitube X broke, at this point... I would just buy another one. It isn't really so much of an investment as other devices and I do understand that it is Chinese made and that no store is offering to fix the device due to the stores not being the manufacturers, as they are with most other devices.
-----
In the best interest of PV makers, I find that if this business practice is to continue, the making, fixing and selling of the same device, it is eventually bound to fail unless the number of people coming into the community also matches up cleanly with the number of people buying your device for the first time. Or they reccomend it to someone else or want a backup device.
So, continue being innovative? That's what GLV has done, making many different models and flavors of the GLV2. Apparently there are many people who have bought several different models of that PV for all of the different features they provide as separate devices. I would call that a good business practice... I just don't consider paying $130 again for a regulated device to be cost-effective, myself.
Will planned obsolescence ever dip into the realm of PV's? I sure hope not. Granted, it would be nice on the manufacturer's end if people just bought another of what they had once it goes bad or dies... but it doesn't seem like something this community would do. It seems to be a selling point that a device is reliable, sturdy and will serve you for years and years. That seems like something that a lot of people are looking for in devices. It's something that I'm looking for.
...I'm just sorry, though. I mean, your devices are just too good! I don't know why I would buy a second one when the one I have now works fine and I can get accessories cheaper elsewhere.
-Happy GLV and Silver Bullet owner