Value for money

[Kate]

At the start of someones esmoking experience I don't think a decent, cheap generic kit can be beaten. Some people don't like esmoking so they won't be out of pocket too much and for those who do take to it they will have a device to use as a backup if they buy others.

However, as time goes on we usually seem to want to experience the 'best' devices. It's pretty subjective I know but some brands get good reviews from experienced esmokers and that suggests that they really are a better experience.

So is it worth sticking with trusty, workhorse, budget generics or does it make financial sense to go with a guaranteed brand device?

I've compared the cost of esmoking with starter kits - Smokester's classic, Janty's Kissbox classic, Sedansa's Diva and Ruyan's bling ecigar from Heaven Gifts.

Smokester's RN4072 classic with one month guarantee. Price £26 Cost of replacement atomisers £6.49 Cost of replacement batteries £7.99. To replace an atomiser and battery every two months (that's five extra atomisers and batteries per year) makes the cost of esmoking with this device £98.40 per year. This includes all postage costs but not eliquid or cartridges.

Janty's Kissbox classic comes with a one year guarantee. Priced £56.87 plus postage. Replacement atomisers, batteries and charger free for one year apart from postage. Cost of esmoking with this device £56.87 per year plus postage, not including eliquid or cartridges.

Sedansa's Diva comes with a five year guarantee. It costs £72.97 plus postage. Replacement atomisers, batteries and charger free for five years apart from postage. Cost of esmoking with this device £72.97 per five years plus postage OR £14.59 per year plus postage, not including eliquid or cartridges.

Heaven Gifts Ruyan ecigar comes with a five year guarantee. It costs £31.86 (with five cartridges) including postage. Replacement atomisers, batteries and charger free for five years apart from postage. Cost of esmoking with this device £31.86 per five years plus postage of replacements OR £6.37 per year plus postage of replacements, not including eliquid or cartridges.

So it seems to me that if you're the type of person who is prepared to use a guarantee there are some good deals out there. I don't know how brands can sustain the rate of replacements with these things but if they continue to offer guarantees we can continue to benefit from the favourable terms.

I haven't shopped around much, if anyone wants to work out Njoy or other devices please go ahead. I think the DSE901 works out at a similar price to Smokester's RN4072.

Another thing, my maths isn't great. Don't go by my figures too much, I might have miscalculated or converted currency wrong. I stand to be corrected.

 

[Mr.Darcy]

of course all the long guarantees are from overseas companies,no UK based ones...which means extra waiting and greater postage fees,and sometimes customs problems.

i suppose long guarantees have their place...but it would be better if the companies who offered them had a base in the UK...have you noticed that none of them have,not even the big brands?

 

[ApOsTle51]

Whoa, Glad i ordered a couple of blings now then.
nice post kate.

 

[smoking gnu]

Hi, I decided to go for a sedansa diva after trying a mini that I got from eBay. The diva gives a good smoke, I’ve had it nearly 4 weeks now and its still going well at the moment. Are you sure sedansa give 5 years on the batteries? I know they do on the atomizers, if they do have that guarantee on the full set then I will be very happy. They have been very fast sending me carts, 3 to4 days so far . I have ordered of them a few times now so I know when to order as not to run out. I’m sure there are other great suppliers but I can only speak of the ones that I have used . To be fare the one I bought of eBay the supplier was smart smoker and they where very good , it came with a faulty atomizer and he sent out a new one really fast, it came the next day. I just cant take to the mini with those little dinky drinky carts. But as soon as they make disposables I will change to them a lot less trouble. This e smoking is turning into a full time job. LOL

 

[Kate]

Yes, I did notice that there were no guaranteed brands in the UK. This is the age of global trade I suppose and Europe is as close as some North American states are to each other. Janty and Sedansa can both ship to the UK within a matter of days. I haven't heard of any reported customs problems within the EU, it's mostly to do with stuff from China. That would be an issue with the Ruyan ecigar.

I know that it is a bit of a pain calling in a warranty but it works for some. I've just had to post a battery and switch back to Janty in Holland, it cost £1 to post. They didn't charge for posting the replacements to me, those were sent with no questions asked.

At those prices you could buy two Sedansa Diva or Ruyan ecigar starter kits so you didn't have to do without while waiting for replacements. That would still be a cheaper option than maintaining a single generic. You could almost even buy two Kissboxes.

It's a matter of being able to make an initial higher investment or regular, lower, spread out payments I think. And of course the guarantee is only good if you are prepared to follow it up and the company doesn't go bust.

The bling does look like a great deal Apostle. It depends on after sales service but I've heard that Wayne is good with that.

 

[smoking gnu]

Sedansa are in the EU no tax no customs for the UK. They are good sending carts.

 

[Kate]

Hi Gnu. I'm not sure about the Sedansa guarantee, I think it's five years for the whole kit but I could easily be wrong. Hopefully someone who knows will post and clear this up.

I tried Sedansa too but was a real novice at the time and couldn't get on with it. They refunded my money, including the cost of the cartridges I didn't send back, in the thirty day return period. No problems with them for me.

 

[Mr.Darcy]

well i havnt bothered buying anything from europe or china for ages...i got ...... off with the waiting involved...and stuff getting lost etc...

ive never received anything faster than 11 days from europe-sometimes much longer,and 2 weeks absolute minimum from china-except for dealex...

i guess things must have improved...or else ive just been unlucky-which wouldnt surprise me.

there certainly are some very good deals to be had out there right now...i actually see a few very tempting things on offer...

 

[Kate]

I read that Ted had a bad experience with the wait for his Sedansa Diva and Ruyan bling ecigar too Darcy. It could be a matter of luck, I wouldn't bank on things having improved. The important thing is to have a working device while you're waiting so you don't go back on the cigs. That's where generics come in handy - as fall backs.

Sedansa's web shop says that they have a '5 year product guarantee', whatever that means. To me it suggests the whole kit.

I've left a post asking Ludo to confirm the Janty guarantee, I can't find any mention of it on the Janty Europe website.

 

[ted26]

well i havnt bothered buying anything from europe or china for ages...i got ...... off with the waiting involved...and stuff getting lost etc...

ive never received anything faster than 11 days from europe-sometimes much longer,and 2 weeks absolute minimum from china-except for dealex...

i guess things must have improved...or else ive just been unlucky-which wouldnt surprise me.

there certainly are some very good deals to be had out there right now...i actually see a few very tempting things on offer...

Same here which as put me off buying from overseas.

Waiting for a supplier in the uk that i can go round and strangle when my goods are late

Its either that or buy 2 and wait for shipping!

 

[smoking gnu]

If you order 5 boxes of carts minimum from sedansa you get free delivery to the UK and the rest of Europe. These come recorded delivery by parcel force. Which I think is good for free delivery. As for the full kit you pay them enough for quick delivery and that’s what I got. As I say I can only speak of my own experiences ,So far so good, but I shall have to see what they are like when I will need a new part. If you live in Belgium they promise 24 hour deliveries. But I would rather wait 3 days than that. LOL When I have some spare cash I would like to get a janty kissbox classic. Or as you say a generic back up would be sensible. After reading the posts on the forum I would happily buy a generic form some of the recommended sellers.

 

[leaford]

Nice comparison, Kate. This is the point I have tried to make time and again, but you did it best. Thank you.

 

[trog100]

i could be wrong but dont these guarantees only apply if the sellers carts are the only ones used.. buy a sedans device and use sedansa carts.. or a ruyan device and use ruyan carts..

i think the guarantee is based on the gillette method of selling.. they make that much money selling the consumables that they can afford to keep sending out atomizers and batteries when they fail.. assuming the batteries are included in the guarantee..

take the sedansa posh 901 type.. the carts which i would get thru at least five a day of cost a quid each.. that 35 quid a week on carts.. its no wonder they can offer a five year guarantee is it..

over five years my sedansa running costs would be 9100 quid on carts alone.. have i lost the plot here cos it strikes as absurd to try and work out running costs when the most expensive item is left out.. the e cig equivalent of the Gillette razor blades..

the bling by the way is an end of line product being sold well bellow its original selling price by a hong kong ebay seller.. so are the year old carts.. its now in the cheapo range.. its now good value..

also i love the suggestion that a generic is needed to back these things up while the punter is waiting for his new guaranteed part to arrive.. to be fair i think at least two brand name kits should be included in the start up price..

or its like saying buy a rolls royce but make sure u have a ford escort to use while the fancy one is way being mended.. he he he he

now if sednasa are daft enough to send out free new parts for five years even if any old cheap fluid is used in the products i take it all back.. they are good value.. but somehow i doubt they are.. i also doubt they will be in business for long as well..

trog

ps.. useing 2 ml of liquid per day.. doing it my way would work out at 3,120 quid over a five year period..

 

[leaford]

Typical Trog, answer a post of solid facts with a bunch of "I doubt," and "I don't believe"s.

"I doubt they'll be in business long," is nothing but speculation, and paranoia. I would bet on Sedansa's or Njoy, or Janty's longevity over a smaller operator's. They have more backing them up.

Basing the guaranteed brands on buying two kits to start, but only one kit to start with the non-guaranteed brands would be deliberatly stacking the deck, which fits your usual pattern, but defeats the point of a head to head comparison. If you suggest two kits for the guaranteed, so you're covered while waiting for replacements, the same reasoning would suggest buying 2 kits of the non-guaranteed as well. WHether you have to buy your replacements or they are covered by a guarantee, either way you need something while you wait.

But, whatever. You have a very strong bias against guaranteed products, and I'm sure I will never understand why. Why does paying for a guarantee bother you? Would you buy a car without a warranty if it was half the price of one with?

As to the cartridges and the warranty, there's what the fine print says, and what we all do in reality. I've read all sorts of service problems here, but no one has yet said their warranty has been voided for using someone else's liquid. And seriously, given the cost of testing the liquid, can you seriously expect a manufacturer would EVER go to the length fo proving the customer used a different brand liquid?

 

[Kate]

Where does it say you have to use a particular eliquid with them? I've not come across that with Sedansa, Janty or Ruyan. Njoy might say that, someone mentioned that recently about them.

It would still be cheaper to buy two kits for Sedansa and Ruyan and almost as cheap for the Janty as maintaining a generic by the calculations I made. You don't mention the very conservative estimate on how many replacements are needed for a generic throughout the year.

 

[Kate]

Ludo has just told me that the Janty warranty is six months on all parts. That means doubling the original costing I did to have a years warranty. Or if parts of your Janty still work after six months adding the cost of one replacement for each part required for another six months usage.

Another note for Trog. Just because I think generics have their place doesn't mean that they are a better deal than a guaranteed brand device. Not everyone will think that way and it's hard to argue that the value for money prize goes to guaranteed brands. Even Janty with only a six month guarantee is probably close to the same cost of upkeep as a generic with a replacement atomiser every two months and a replacement battery every two months. And it's fairly certain that for a twenty a day man (lol) generic replacements would be needed much more than that.

 

[leaford]

In fact, Trog's own estimate, stated SEVERAL times in SEVERAL threads, is every two weeks.

 

[Kate]

He'll probably be back here with his persecution complex soon complaining that we two are ganging up on him

 

[trog100]

typical leaford.. to assume they will be in business for long enough to honour their long guarantee is also pure speculation.. he he he

unless of course u have a crystal ball and can read the future..

the reason for my bias is simple leaford.. if i buy something with a five year guarantee i assume the guarantee to reflect the expected life of the product.. i dont simply take it to mean they will keep supplying me with new parts as the ones i have go wrong and expect me to be product-less while all this is going on.. and keep making trips to the local bloody post office..

i dont expect for one second any of these people making these five year promises to be around long enough to honour them.. why on earth anybody else does i cant fathom..

my figures are based on my e current total weekly running costs kate extrapolated over five years.. but things change.. my sedansa figures were based on just the cost of sedansa carts alone over five years.. nothing else.. no postage and no kit price and no spare parts.. or ford escorts to keep me going while the rolls royce is being mended.. he he

i have broken down my costs and how they are arrived at before..

u should know by now i dont expect any of these things to last much longer than a couple of weeks on average.. my screwdriver device should cut my battery replacement cost down to next to nothing.. so it will just be atomizers and fluid from now on..

and no way on gods earth can i see the brand name people sending me out new batteries and atomizers every couple of week for the next year or so.. can u.. ???

ruyan are pulling out of this silly guarantee thing with their over priced disposable.. that carries an 1800 puff guarantee which is bout right.. he he

but whatever planet u guys are on i certainly seem to be on another one.. he he

trog

ps.. and kate u are ganging up on me.. u always do.. i dont mind thow..

 

[Kate]

You may not believe in the guarantee fairy but I have personal experience that it works. I don't know how long it will last for but in my opinion anybody with any sense will make good use of it. Just think of it as a lease agreement.

What about the eliquid claims you made earlier? Which dealers insist on particular brands of juice being used?

Love from your Sweet (who is very relieved to be on a different planet).