This was annoying...

[treelvr]

After just placing a large order which I received shipping notification of, and having been vaping the chocolate, I emailed:

Hi Shawn,

WOW that was quick! TY!
Question: what does the chocolate liquid have in it that 555, Arctic Mint and Almond don't?

I ordered those from you last, and the chocolate, but only the chocolate, causes me to have very itchy/irritated eyes and throat. Was wondering what the offending ingredient might be, and whether it may also be in any of these others that I've ordered, so I can avoid it.

Thanks,

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Litecigusa to me
show details Nov 9 (1 day ago)
only difference would be flavoring. if its bothering u i would suggest to stop using it

Now, the liquid is in a Dekang bottle, and I have a bottle of dekang chocolate from EL Planet that doesn't seem to cause me these symptoms.

I thought this response was particularly unhelpful.

 

[Raenon]

As far as I know, shawn doesn't do any blending of his own- this is the same dekang liquid that everyone else sells, he just carries more of the flavors than most stock.
His advice is sound, though a bit short.

From other things I've seen on the forum, it sounds like dekang may change up their ratios from batch to batch, so it's quite possible that this one is just a little stronger than you've previously gotten, and chocolate flavoring is generally a bit more caustic than others (up there with citrus).

 

[treelvr]

The flavor itself was weaker then the other chocolate I got. I also assume it's not as simple as only the chocolate flavoring itself. Obviously I'm not going to keep using it! My concern was to avoid any others that might cause the same reaction (which was the info I was trying to get).

I guess it's gonna be trial and error, and was unhappy about the unhelpful response.

 

[shawnp1]

honestly the only thing i could think of as im not a doctor would be that maybe its something in the chocolate liquid flavoring. im sorry if i couldnt help more but when it comes to symptoms and the human body i would rather not try to diagnose much as im not a physician

 

[shawnp1]

also all emails and pm's are personal responses and not usually permitted to be posted ont he forums. if a moderator sees it u will more then likely get an infraction, personally myself im not gonna erase it. but any personal responses outside this forum such as pm's, and emails should remain just that private.

 

[shawnp1]

there could also be a good probability that the bottle of chocolate u got from me and from another supplier were from 2 seperate batches from dekang. as i myself know that no 2 batches from dekang are exactly the same.

 

[svtboosted]

Agreed, almost certainly two different production batches from Dekang. Some suppliers also ask for tweaking of flavors and such when ordering from Dekang -- I don't know what EL Planet does, but pretty sure Shawn makes no changes from the factory.

Regardless, in either scenario, one batch is not always the same as the next batch. I have multiple bottles of cherry, cola and red bull that are clearly different production dates and one will taste a tad 'different' from the other.

It happens, hard to control what exactly arrives from China. It's going to be hard to pinpoint what particular ingredient causes irritation in YOU, without a lab report/study and knowing how you as an individual react or not react to particular ingredients.

 

[treelvr]

I don't know what EL Planet does, but pretty sure Shawn makes no changes from the factory.

Well, why couldn't he explain that, then? I mean, detailed ingredients would be nice. It may not be the flavor, but a color added or something. I just wanted more info about a product I've purchased from him. I don't think that's a lot to ask for...

 

[Birdy]

Well, why couldn't he explain that, then? I mean, detailed ingredients would be nice. It may not be the flavor, but a color added or something. I just wanted more info about a product I've purchased from him.
I don't think that's a lot to ask for...

If you look around the boards you'd find that a precise ingredient list from DK is actually a lot to ask for.

I believe the detailed ingredient list is the same for every DK liquid- except the one line that would say something like "chocolate flavor". And there's a link to it on Litecig, on the right, labeled "Liquid Info"

I also have never had 2 bottles of anything from Dekang taste the same, which is why I no longer use it.

But in regards to his email response to you- I've emailed Shawn many times with questions and several times with issues. His responses are always short and to the point, he's not a wordy guy. He's a busy guy.
He answered your question in the email. If you'd asked for an ingredient list he probably would have sent you the link.

 

[shawnp1]

sorry i tend to not write volumes when i answer emails sorry about that, i do however do my best to answer them an in a timely manner.

 

[Richie G]

Well, why couldn't he explain that, then? I mean, detailed ingredients would be nice. It may not be the flavor, but a color added or something. I just wanted more info about a product I've purchased from him. I don't think that's a lot to ask for...

Well, most people that read this forum and others like it are well aware that most US suppliers do not mix their own liquids. In fact, there are tell-tale signs to look for that denote DeKang liquid which makes up some 90% of what is on the market. If you look around the ring of the cap closest to where the cap meets the bottle (look VERY closely, I mean) you will see the letters YNDK. That means it is from DeKang. Shawn and ELP both use DeKang liquid.

Shawn is terse. I take that as a sign that he is busy answering other questions, filling orders, etc. He wasn't dissing you. He was multi-tasking, trying to please the masses.

The man is QUICK to answer anything one can throw at him. When not in front of his PC he is answering emails via his Blackberry. On occasion I've asked him to extrapolate on short answers and he did so just as quick as the Reader's Digest versions. <g>

 

[shawnp1]

usually im answering emails while im also on the phone lol. seriously though if u dont want a brief quick response to an email u can always call. if i dont answer im on the other line and will return all voicemails. thats the best way bc then im not hammering through emails and u can ask anything u wanna know. and if u ever meet me in person an gotta few beers i can talk for hours with ya

 

[markarich159]

As a person who has some knowledge of State-side pharmaceutical manufacturing, I can say with some assurity that , although Dekang is probably "better" at QC and QA then most Chinese manufacturers, they are nowhere near the the level of US manufacturers following FDA cGMP(current good manufacturing practices).
That said, one batch of Dekang/Boge eliquid probably varies(possibly greatly) from another. I have experienced this myself in certain instances. It is very likely that, in the bottle/batch you're referencing, some ingredient you are sensitive to may have, by chance, been formulated with a considerably higher concentration then the usual standard.
This is one of the reasons I find it slightly unsettling that Dekang does not use lot/batch# indications on their labeling. If it became known that one Dekang lot was for some reason, irritating or outright dangerous, there would be no way for that lot to be identified so that a meaningful recall could be done to avoid any further problems.
I also think it's ridiculous that Dekang chooses to list "2 years from purchase" as their standard expiration date. The bottle could already be 2 years old at the time of purchase.

P.S. By the way , this is certainly not Shawn nor any other US Dekang suppliers fault. Hopefully standards of eliquid manufacture will increase in the near future.

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

If you look around the boards you'd find that a precise ingredient list from DK is actually a lot to ask for.

I believe the detailed ingredient list is the same for every DK liquid- except the one line that would say something like "chocolate flavor". And there's a link to it on Litecig, on the right, labeled "Liquid Info"

I also have never had 2 bottles of anything from Dekang taste the same, which is why I no longer use it.

But in regards to his email response to you- I've emailed Shawn many times with questions and several times with issues. His responses are always short and to the point, he's not a wordy guy. He's a busy guy.
He answered your question in the email. If you'd asked for an ingredient list he probably would have sent you the link.

This is true, Dekang ingredient list is vague and is more of a "gereral " list. Tight quality control isn't factored in. It seems there's a history of posts that point to wide variations from batch to batch. Shawn wouldn't know what's in there anymore than other Dekang retailers. And from my experiences with Shawn and emails, yes, he's direct and to the point, no more or less. I, myself, appreciate that. He's busy, I'm busy, so a fast response without the formalities is everything I'd want. I understand you probably felt left in the dark without details, but I'm sure he included what he knew. He just bypassed all the conversation.

 

[shawnp1]

so should i change the way i answer emails? maybe more talkative? im always open to suggestions.

 

[Birdy]

so should i change the way i answer emails? maybe more talkative? im always open to suggestions.

dude, your conversation style is fine
you answer questions when people ask them, make yourself available in the forums and when things go wrong you fix it.

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

so should i change the way i answer emails? maybe more talkative? im always open to suggestions.

No

 

[LoBo]

so should i change the way i answer emails? maybe more talkative? im always open to suggestions.

nope. I loved the fact that when I had a question I e-mailed you I got a response within 5 minutes. it was short but fast, you told me what I needed to know fast which was/is great. it was almost like talking in person which is good.

 

[Lalesa]

so should i change the way i answer emails? maybe more talkative? im always open to suggestions.

Hell yes! We much prefer that you take lots of your valuable time to write us flowery paragraphs of text instead of... you know... shipping our orders out the same day or the next like you do now.

 

[markarich159]

so should i change the way i answer emails? maybe more talkative? im always open to suggestions.

talk is cheap, your customer service is precious!!!!! Hopefully, the OP got an idea of where the problem may be from from the others who posted on this thread. I think Quality Control is most likely the culprit. Again, this is out of any re-sellers hands.