Vapor4Life First Time Order: Missing Items. Is this a fraudulent company?

[laidbacknycguy]

I have just received my first ever order for an ecig and ordered a $99.00 kit from Vapor4Life with order for two extra cartomizers. The March 10, 2011 order came quick today March 12, 2011 but astonishingly two cartomizers I have ordered extra were missing. There was no note from the shipping invoice nor was there a note in my order status online about this. I have similarly read similar incidences in other threads about this. Is this company reliable? I have sent them an email regarding this, and will wait for an answer before i contact my credit card company to cancel this order and return the shipment and order from another reliable ecig company. Am quite worried whether this is a bogus company? They do not even have a Phone Number for contact information in their website. Please advise. Am quite disappointed since I have planned to quit smoking today (I smoke 1 pack a day) and only the 8 mg sampler came and the the other two cartmoziers which are 18 mg were missing. Am honestly surprised how one could miss this. Interestingly another person posted the same incidence as recent as this week. Any help and advise for other ecig brands and reliable suppliers would be appreciated. Many thanks! Now, I have to head out and buy cigarettes until I hear back from this company. Kinda frustrating.

 

[pianoguy]

They're a very good company and will take care of you. They ship many orders each day, but occasionally there is a problem due to their volume. Here's the customer service info:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/vapor4life/125333-contacting-v4l-customer-service.html

 

[mike20]

They missed some things in one of my orders also. Showed shipped when it wasn't. I emailed them, they responded quickly with no problems. Shipped the missing items quickly. V4L has a good name but this is known to happen sometimes.
They did ask for the initials on my invoice to see who made the mistake.

 

[REET_AZ]

We have ordered from them a couple of times. They have been fine. We did not have any missing items but they are a reputable company, and I'm sure they will take care of it. I was surprised to find local ecig stores I did not know were there..perhaps try looking a bit. They may have what you need to tide you over. Good luck !

 

[laidbacknycguy]

Thanks a lot Pianoguy. Was really worried I ordered from a bogus company. Particularly when I was searching for their contact number in their website. Have really been looking forward to quitting today (Saturday) and was really overwhelmed the whole week researching about eCigs with the plethora of information out there and in this helpful forum. Thanks Mike20, I just emailed them as well as I couldnt find any contact number. I will see how they respond to a first customer. If this is a regular occurence, with missing items, might not be a good idea in the future, regarding craving and withdrawal symptoms. Many thanks both for the response.
kindly appreciate it,
Mike (from NYC)

 

[laidbacknycguy]

Thanks for the feedback REET_AZ. I feel better reading from your post that they're a reliable company. You know the feeling of being "duped" by fly-by-night online sites. Thanks again. Just got back and bought my Pack of Marlboro Lights for $9.50! here in NYC

 

[markfm]

Usually you get a couple of business cards, with their cs phone number on it.

They at least used to be closed weekends, but go to their web site and open a cs ticket.

support.vapor4life.com

(listed on their Contact Us page)

 

[keyzygirl]

They are a good company,and they will take care of any issues you might have.If there was a card in the package it has a phone number,if not just be patient and open a support ticket.Im pretty sure they will ship the items right out to you.Sux when things like this happen.Dont be discouraged.Im sure it will work out fine.

 

[Tracker II]

Yeah, do what Markfm said. I have ordered from them more than any other company and have had only one problem which they rectified quickly after filling out a cs ticket.

 

[pianoguy]

Mike, I've probably placed at least 70 orders with them and have had very few problems, and they've been resolved quickly. Really sorry that you had to buy a pack of cigs - too bad you're not nearby, I have enough stuff to last for eons. Their growth has been exponential, so some things do slip through the cracks from time to time. Once you settle on which flavors you prefer, I'd suggest ordering some juice for your cartos so that you can refill them if need be. Make sure to spend some time in the V4L sub-forum here at the ECF - lots of good folks who will help you on your new journey.

 

[laidbacknycguy]

Wow, cant believe how friendly and helpful peeps are in this forum. Thanks all for the advise and feedback: Tracker Keyzy markfm. Kindly appreciate it !!!

 

[Erfmann]

Just a note....if you plan to quit smoking, on a weekend especially, you may need more than 3 cartomizers, unless you have some liquid to refill them with.

 

[SVKing9001]

I've only ordered from them once, but they actually gave me a free cartomizer when I bought 5. Pretty cool of them, but the flavor was orange juice, and it's disgusting...

 

[keyzygirl]

LOL!!I like the OJ,feels like Im vaping something healthy.

 

[Lisa66]

I had a problem with a battery once and they replaced it right away....

 

[Myzzeri]

I just got my first order from v4L today and was also missing an item, I emailed them but am assuming they won't be getting back to me till monday. I've heard all sorts of good things with this company, i'm sure they'll fix it.

Maybe someone was having a bad day last week, lol

 

[laidbacknycguy]

My apologies for a couple of ignorant questions here, but what the heck you guys are really cool! I have been smoking Marlboro Lights 1 pack a day. Which flavor (and supplier) would be nearest a 1 Pack of Marlboro Light and at which strength. I am kinda doing this transition from Analogs -> ECig in a "scientific" way since I am in the medical field myself. What I want is to start with the most appropriate mg. dose of nicotine then I would like to wean down/taper down to a lower dose. Should I start with 24mg or 18mg? Also, I have read the recent scientific article by M. Siegel from Boston University where he has reviewed the different ecigs in the Journal of Public Health Care Policy, he mentioned "flavored" juices would have a higher risk/incidence of undetermined contaminants. So I would probably like to stick with unflavored. Lastly, how many times can I refill a cartomizer with eJuice? 1 day, 1 week? Many thanks!

 

[pianoguy]

Flavor is tough, as everyone's taste is different. Some folks love the tobacco flavors, but I never really warmed up to them. I found that early on, coffee flavors were satisfying, as they had a little of the "bite" that a cigarette does, while I found that many tobacco flavors seemed like an unlit cigarette. I got a free menthol carto a couple months after I started, and gave it a try. I was amazed at how satisfying it was, as I had detested menthol cigarettes. Now menthol is has been my all-day vape for over a year, interspersed with some fruit flavors like banana and strawberry. But everyone's taste buds are different - spend some time in the e-juice reviews section and that will become abundantly clear - LOL!

Your Marlboro Lights have 0.8mg of nicotine in each cig, so you are getting 16mg per day with a pack. There is a huge Nicotine thread in the Health section, and when I started I did a bunch of reading there. Some research indicated that you need about 2.5 times the nicotine in an e-cig as with a regular cig, due to losses in the vaporization process and the way that with an e-cig the nicotine is absorbed in the upper airways instead of deep in the lungs. So with that formula, you'd need to take in about 40mg per day with an e-cig. I'd guess that you will use about 2 cartomizers per day, each containing around 1ml of liquid, so 18-24mg strength should be right in the ballpark. I'd get a variety - some 24's, some 18's, and maybe even some 11's - you may find that you'll want to use lower-strength cartos in the evening, as some folks experience difficulty sleeping at first. Nicotine is a stimulant much like caffeine, so if you vape heavily before bedtime with higher strength nicotine, you may wind up laying in bed staring at the ceiling.

Best of luck!

 

[pianoguy]

I forgot to write about refills - it varies. The filler in the carto can get burned if you vape it too long and it dries out. The key is to stop at the first hint of burnt taste, or if you detect a drop-off in flavor (which may be accompanied by an increase in vapor). This is harder to detect when you first start out, as your taste buds are shot. But there isn't any reason you can't get quite a few refills on a carto if you keep it topped off without burning. I've had some that weren't much good after 4 or 5 refills, and others that I used for a month.

 

[Rosa]

All valid questions:

• What I want is to start with the most appropriate mg. dose of nicotine then I would like to wean down/taper down to a lower dose. Should I start with 24mg or 18mg?

It's very hard to do this in a scientific way because the research is yet to be completed. The only published study about the amount of nicotine we absorb when we vape showed that we only absorb 10% of what we inhale (so, using 18mg juice and vaping 3ml per day you'd absorb 5.4mg for the day - vs 15mg for a pack of lights) BUT one member did his own study and determined that we actually get more like 40% absorbed, so in that case if you used 18mg juice and vaped 3ml per day you'd get 21.6mg for the day. The best way to do this is to accept the fact that e-cigs are just less harmful than smoking and whatever amount you vape to start out with is going to be better for you - even if it means that you raise your nicotine amount. fwiw: nicotine by itself is actually NOT significantly addictive, it's only when you add the MAOI's from tobacco that it becomes so.. you are not likely to become more addicted and it will become easy to lower the mg later.

That being said, I do recommend you start with 18mg juice.

• Also, I have read the recent scientific article by M. Siegel from Boston University where he has reviewed the different ecigs in the Journal of Public Health Care Policy, he mentioned "flavored" juices would have a higher risk/incidence of undetermined contaminants. So I would probably like to stick with unflavored.

I can't seem to find that info here: Journal of Public Health Policy - Electronic cigarettes as a harm reduction strategy for tobacco control: A step forward or a repeat of past mistakes[quest]

But I do know that:
quote:
"the FDA has focused on potential health hazards associated with two: tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) and diethylene glycol (DEG). TSNAs have been detected in two studies at trace levels. The maximum level of total TSNAs reported was 8.2 ng/g. This compares with a similar level of 8.0 ng in a nicotine patch, and it is orders of magnitude lower than TSNA levels in regular cigarettes. <snip> electronic cigarettes contain only 0.07–0.2 per cent of the TSNAs present in cigarettes, a 500-fold to 1400-fold reduction in concentration. The presence of DEG in one of the 18 cartridges studied by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is worrisome, yet none of the other 15 studies found any DEG. The use of a non-pharmaceutical grade of PG may explain this contamination."

• Lastly, how many times can I refill a cartomizer with eJuice? 1 day, 1 week? Many thanks!

I think you can usually refill them for up to a week each. Some people swear they are able to refill for up to a month with proper maintenance, but I notice a marked drop in function after just a few days.