What do you want from your juice supplier?

[Hagbard Jones]

Hagbard ~ I understood the label issue differently. I thought what he was commenting on are those suppliers that all buy from the same source and then put their own label on it to make it appear different or privately made. I've run into this a few times myself. I have purchased a few bottles of 555 from different vendors over the past few weeks, trying to find the "one" that is right for me. What I found out is that more than half of the bottles I bought were identical because my supplier simply put their own label on a bottle of DeKang juice. I thought I was getting different individual recipes of 555, but I was actually buying the same thing, over and over and over again. Now, I like DeKang's version of 555, but I don't need to buy it half-a-dozen different times from different vendors to figure that out. I thought the OP in this case was saying that their should be a bit of transparency so people know more precisely what they're buying and where it really, really came from.

Of course, that's just my take on it.
Sherrick

That will never happen. That would cripple the industry that is currently known a e-cigarettes. I have done a ton of research. I have tons of sales networking that I am part of from my job and from my International Business degree. I can 100% tell you for a fact that 98.9% of all e-cigarettes, e-juice and products come from the same mother company and it's sub companies. Some try to get over with word play. Example: Assembled, packaged and tested in the USA. Doesn't mean it was physically produced in the USA.

 

[Grimtooth]

The whole thing seemed silly to me.

One line he says he wants safety and then says he thinks the unsafer way is better.

One line he says he wants plastic because glass can break if cheap shipping is used and fails to think of how easy a plastic bottle can pop if a larger box is thrown on top of the bubble envelope.

I prefer plastic because I can't drop it and break it, because it fits in my mailbox unlike glass bottles shipped in boxes, and because I can get all the juice out of a dropper bottle. USPS sorts envelopes and boxes seperately... although there is still a chance one could "Pop", I don't think it is as likely as you do. Glass IS nice because you know that you will get better shelf life and it does sort of say "quality". I honestly haven't seen a child proof glass dropper bottle... but you are right, I'm SURE they DO sell child proof caps seperately and you could just have a seperate cap and dropper cap.

One line he wants to know the ingredients are top notch and then he says he is fine with Flavor and nicotine only on the bottle.

As tommy boy said... you can stick your head up a cow's... ... The Idea is that this is more about trust... there are several juice makers I KNOW use top quality ingredients... its not always on thier bottles. And people that don't use top quality ingredients can always SAY they do... thats one of the reasons that even if I can't sell a single bottle I still want to make my own juice... so I will KNOW its made from quality.

He says flavors don't taste the same from one person to the next.............well if they aren't both buying the same liquid to resell.......it shouldn't taste the same.

I said I didn't like flavor Differences from the SAME vendor... specifically with regard to tasty 3mL sample bottles that taste Nothing like the 30 mL bottle that you later order because you loved that sample.

He slams those who take the pride to label their products.

I slam those that charge extra for something that has nothing to do with the quality of the product... which is what I am most interested in. I am very Proud of the work that I do at my day job... but I don't domy day job with flash and flair... I do with with safety, efficiency, and competency.

He slams those who don't mark up the juice to what he "thinks" is the right price and slams those who mark it up more.

Quality cost money. Products that are quality will offer samples. Anyone who wants $30 a bottle and won't let you sample is just trying to get your $30 and run.

As you said... Quality costs money... which is why I don't have quite as much trust in vendors who sell for below what I consider market price

Pricing is the sellers option, if the product is top notch and every flavor tasted exactly like the food it said on the label I'd pay $3 a ml. I paid $6.27 a pack and smoked a pack and a half per day and I hated the flavor of cigarettes, I just couldn't stop smoking. A 30ml bottle last me 20+ days. So I don't see the difference.

100% agree ... (except it was really closer to a pack a day for me)

Grim

 

[Grimtooth]

Hagbard ~ I understood the label issue differently. I thought what he was commenting on are those suppliers that all buy from the same source and then put their own label on it to make it appear different or privately made. I've run into this a few times myself. I have purchased a few bottles of 555 from different vendors over the past few weeks, trying to find the "one" that is right for me. What I found out is that more than half of the bottles I bought were identical because my supplier simply put their own label on a bottle of DeKang juice. I thought I was getting different individual recipes of 555, but I was actually buying the same thing, over and over and over again. Now, I like DeKang's version of 555, but I don't need to buy it half-a-dozen different times from different vendors to figure that out. I thought the OP in this case was saying that their should be a bit of transparency so people know more precisely what they're buying and where it really, really came from.

Of course, that's just my take on it.
Sherrick

Sherrick that's exactly what I was talking about except for me it was RY4 ordered from different vendors that really turned out the be EXACTLY the same... not just close... which leads me to believe that they just each ordered a gallon of juice from china (maybe US.. but probably china) slapped a label on it and sent it out the door.

they can each put their own lable on it... and even include an ingredients list... but they don't really know whats in it, and that bugs me a little bit inside

Grim

 

[Hagbard Jones]

I enjoy my full member status

This means you are not allowed to say things like....

I have no timetable as to when I WILL have a business to promote other than "maybe sometime this year".

I am not advertising, but rather doing "Market Research"... furthermore the information in this thread is useful not just to myself, but anyone who sells PV's and Juice.. and by useful I mean that it will allow them to run a better business in the sense of having more satisfied customers... You = Customer ... Satisfied = Good ... ... = Good for You in the long run... Good for ME ... good for the other 40,000 members.

There is a 99% chance that going into this will result in a part time job that pays less than and may even cut into my current full time job, so don't think I am blinded by dollar signs and willing to do anything to make a buck. I have converted half a dozen of my friends to vaping from smoking in the past month because I believe in it whole-heartedly. If I fail at selling Juice I will still be happy to have a lifetime supply of juice that I know is hand made from quality ingredients. (And I don't really have a hobby anymore... so why not)

Since most items are sold for a minimum of a 200% mark up how would anyone go broke other than if they have bad customer service and continue to sell bad items.

It is actually very great to know that China has extremely strict laws on nicotine production... And that even makes me feel a little better about "Resellers" who just sell premade juices from China... whom I previously had a very low opinion of.

I would have thought you would have already known this if you have been reading here for months

As far as #10. on my list goes maybe I should clarify... I meant that I am MORE likely to pay $0.50-$0.60 /mL than $0.30 and its probably just my own weird attitude but usually when people sell product for half as much as the next guy... its half as good.

Juice marked up to these price if purchased in quantity buys is almost 2000% plus

And yea as far as the samples go, mixing a bottle to put into 3mL sample bottles is easy... but mixing 5-8 bottles of each flavor in different nic strengths and PV/VG content would be a bit much I think...

I had planned on mixing the flavors (after locking down recipes) as concentrate, and then adding them to whatever base PG / VG / Nic% is required... This is why I thought it was pretty rediculous to be out of stock on something, because I can't imagine having 100 1gallon bottles of premixes so that every flavor and strength is ready to pour...

This would mean that every one of you bottles of the same flavor would all taste different and you would then become the seller you now are complaining about.

I had thought this would be a good way to have consistent flavor across all bases and strengths, but it would be MORE consistant at the 10-30 mL level than the 3mL level. But, Yes, I agree that samples probably are where repeat business is born.

You need to do more research

Looks like the bottle debate is just that... a debate hehe... maybe It would be a good idea to just let customers choose?

I'd rather do as common sense tells me is safer for all parties involved from my hands to the customers, you know the 4+ postal workers who will more than likely handle your product between houses. If you want to offer a plastic bottle for the convenience of the customer send them one to fill with the dropper from the glass bottle which they got to remove from the box you mailed them.

Jack Daniels flavor huh? ... I guess that would just be Oak and Sugar hehe

Sounds more like a spice mix to me. Your not fermenting e-juice, your making a flavor. Not the same thing.

Thank you all, even you Hagbard you made some good points

No problem, I am here all day.
Keep it coming

Grim

You need to do a lot more research and not just here, go Google crazy, you won't learn anything here about pricing or product ingredients.

 

[Sherrick]

That will never happen. That would cripple the industry that is currently known a e-cigarettes. I have done a ton of research. I have tons of sales networking that I am part of from my job and from my International Business degree. I can 100% tell you for a fact that 98.9% of all e-cigarettes, e-juice and products come from the same mother company and it's sub companies. Some try to get over with word play. Example: Assembled, packaged and tested in the USA. Doesn't mean it was physically produced in the USA.

What will never happen? Vendors revealing that their product comes from DeKang / Boge or wherever? Why won't it? It's not a knock against them. It is simply disclosure, and I think we have a reasonable expectation that they should provide that information. Bottled water distributors have to reveal where their base water comes from initially. I saw on Walmart water the other day that at least that particular batch came initially from the Dallas, TX Utility Waters. Okay. I'm fine with that. But I do have a right to know.

And, some vendors do make their own, or have it made to their specifications. TastyVapor. Vapor4Life. Dawn at DIYFlavorShack. VaporBomb. Just off the top of my head.

I understand that a very high percentage of the equipment and supplies and accessories are made from the same corporate umbrella group. I just think as a consumer I should have that information available to me, and not be mislead - purposefully or accidentally - into thinking that a flavor is customized or custom-made when it comes out of the same giant vat as so many other vendors' products. Because some places do make their own, it is not unreasonable to deduce that others do as well. I don't have a problem with the DeKang juices, but I'd like to know that's what I am buying.

 

[karmatized]

here is why it doesnt work. I can for example buy some dekang and put a drop of pg in it and guess what the fact that i modified it in any way makes it mine.

This is not what i do but its valid non the less.

Any changes you make to the original mix creates a new formula.

so people can simply say it comes from them because there is no requirements with anything anywhere that i know of where you must tell where the ingredients come from. Just the mix.

 

[Sherrick]

here is why it doesnt work. I can for example buy some dekang and put a drop of pg in it and guess what the fact that i modified it in any way makes it mine.

This is not what i do but its valid non the less.

Any changes you make to the original mix creates a new formula.

so people can simply say it comes from them because there is no requirements with anything anywhere that i know of where you must tell where the ingredients come from. Just the mix.

So, basically, your view of other suppliers is that given the opportunity to cheat or lie, they will do so. Wow.

That has not been my experience to say the least.

 

[CaptJay]

These are in no particular order btw.

Consistency - when I order from a supplier and get a flavor I love I want to be able to order it again and get the EXACT SAME FLAVOR, no differences, no 'improvements' (unless it says on the website quite clearly thats its been changed, in which case its my choice to take a chance or not) and no 'extras' (unless Ive specified 'sweeter' or 'fruitier' - if the site does that)

Bottles: With nice tip that I can drip with OR an attachment I can stick on the top to make it like that. Glass seems to preserve the taste of jucies better btw - but honestly I dont care if its palstic - plastic bottles will keep your prices lower

Price: You have costs and want to make a profit - I get that - businesses aren't charities. Charge what you will and hte market will let you know if its too high. Many people will pay more for quality.

Samples: I totally GET why custom mixers don't like doing samples - its a lot of work for no profit and no guarantee the person will buy the bottles that make money. Various sizes of bottles might solve this - depending on how much work is involved in the mixes of course. Having said that, if I buy a small bottle of flavor P I want it to taste exactly the same in larger size and not diluted or different.

Customer service: The customer is NOT always right, he is however always a customer if you treat him well and fairly. Good communication and pleasant demeanour go a long way.

Thats just some thoughts I had that you may find useful - or not - as you wish

 

[karmatized]

no im not saying all suppliers cheat in the slightest, im replying how you compared water to e-juice and how water listed its source.

Im saying that the source isnt the same as the mix and a small change in any can relabel it.

you might hate dekang
i could take dekang and add caramel and it could be amazing.
but because you have a previous experience with it, you might never know that i improved it

either way it doesn't matter im just saying that once the formula changes so does its source, it becomes a new product and the source liquid becomes nothing more then a ingredient.

Now with that in mind then you would be asking rather where did the ingredients come from which is another ball of wax.

But il agree with many of your points non the less, if someones selling straight dekang then they should say that.

 

[mini_art]

regular parcel post shipping or first class shipping as an option. There are times I want it faster, and am willing to pay for it , but I do get tired of paying priority mail for everything.

Stock simple things everyone uses but may not be readily available locally for them, syringes, small bottles, fluval, blank cartomizers for the kr808, 510 addys, perhaps a couple of lanyards,
some battery adaptors, the things that people have to go to multiple suppliers to find and pay multiple shipping for many packages.
if the maintenance items are all there with the liquid the chances are people would rather just pick them up all at one time.
I am not saying as a startup to try to stock these things for every pv. Just the most popular ones.

 

[Korr]

I want consistency in the flavors. I'm still only about 2 months into vaping, but already the cost is rising. Say if i found a flavor i like and order it again a month from now i would like it to taste the same. It's given that taste buds vary, but we can't say it's us everytime a flavor does not taste as advertised or even comes close.

 

[smokingisbad]

Until the day comes that I stop being lazy and mix my own juice. I go for what is cheap.