First time vapers just want it to work, like you said. That's true. And, for a while, a decent little battery does work. How good? They don't know and they won't know for months. But in the vast majority of cases, they figure it out. You did. I did. Jammin did.
I didn't upgrade from a 510 because I felt like spending money, or I was dazzled. I upgraded because I got sick and tired of charging and buying batteries. And yes, my 510 was a waste of money. By the time I upgraded, less than 3 months after I started, I had well over $100 in it, not including consumables.
When I upgraded, about 21 months ago, I bought a Baby Bullet for about $105, including spare batteries. Was it more complicated? No. Harder to use? No. More confusing? No. There was absolutely no reason I couldn't have bought that right from the start, except that like the clueless newb I was, I was convinced somehow I wanted something that "looked like a cigarette." I didn't know how the performance of a little battery is ridiculously lame compared to a bigger battery. And I wasn't alone in that ignorance. Unfortunately, there was no one there to talk me out of the stupidity. I would have listened and I would have been grateful. At least I didn't fall for the automatic batteries.
21 months after I upgraded, I was still using that BB exclusively, right up until a couple weeks ago when I decided to splurge and get a LavaTube. But $105/21 = $5 a month + maybe another $1/mo. for batteries and I'll have that BB for years to come. OTOH, the 510 costs me about $110 for 2.5 months, or $44/mo. for a less capable system that I never use and, in fact most of which I can't use. Tell me that wasn't a waste of money.
I'm sure that the odd vaper keeps using something like the volt for years. It's the exception that proves the rule. I'd love to see a poll of how many people continued to use their analog lookalikes after the first 6 months or so. I'll guarantee you that the vast majority upgraded and it wasn't because they just felt like it.
No newbie is going to come to you and say they want the longest battery life or the most options available. They don't know enough about what they're talking about even to know those are questions to be asked. If you honestly told people the vast difference in performance between a 180mah battery and a 900mah battery and they choose the 180mah battery, then you had the dumbest customers on the planet, and I doubt that. More likely, you sold them what they thought they wanted. That's what salespeople do. No successful salesperson sells people what they need. They sell them what they want. I was in the insurance sale biz for years. All the guys who got rich sold what people wanted. The ones who attempted to sell what was really the best insurance for the customer failed. Those people knew as much about insurance as a newbie knows about e-cigs. Like a newb, they didn't, in fact they wouldn't, buy what was the best for them. They bought what they, in their ignorance, thought they wanted; and who are we to argue. You could walk away with a signed application, or a warm, fuzzy feeling from educating them. You can't pay the rent with warm, fuzzy feelings.
The 510 didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth either. It worked just as well as the Volt, cost half as much and didn't try to hook me on pre-filled cartridges. But, in hindsight, like all of the analog mimics, it was a poor performer. A 180 or 230mah battery is what it is. It's chemistry and physics and I don't care what kind of pretty tube you put it in.
Was it better than nothing. Yes. But so what? Nothing wasn't my only other option.
If a PV costs $100 and the chance that you will upgrade within the first year, for any reason related to performance, is better than 50%, it's a waste. End of story. You can sugarcoat it and rationalize it all you want. Just because a clueless newbie "chose" it doesn't make it any less of a waste or any better an e-cig. Kids choose Happy Meals and Newbies choose Blu every single day. All that proves is that kids know no more about nutrition than newbs know about PV's.
I'm not in the sales business anymore. Today I operate on warm, fuzzy feelings. If I can talk someone out of a mediocre vaping experience, a waste of money and the possibility of giving up vaping entirely due to an inferior class of product, I'm going to do it. They can say I'm arrogant, or presumptuous, or a know-it-all. But they'll never be able to say I didn't warn them.
