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I agree with HM…your valued opinion may better guide their purchasing and development decisions. Win-win for everyone.
Good luck.
I third and forth and fifth ---tell them why. Let them know that you like their service and prices (if that's true) and that you intend to continue to patronize their shop and wanted to let them know that you have been experimenting with juice and found e juice that you like much better.
If they are very reputable I would think they would ask you what brands, what flavors etc, what don't you like about their juice ---you might even inspire them to carry more juice.
If they give you any flak then take all of your business elsewhere.
If they are very reputable I would think they would ask you what brands, what flavors etc, what don't you like about their juice ---you might even inspire them to carry more juice.
If they give you any flak then take all of your business elsewhere.
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As I recall, supplies were only available online in the very beginning so I have established "relationships" with those companies thru the years.
I don't feel any compelling urges to support B&M stores. If I did, it would be because they carry hardware and juices I like at prices competitive with what is available online.
I feel that their great contribution is to help new vapers with education and choices available to get them happily involved in vaping.
Just saying, if they ask, that you have found your favorite flavors online. Then it is up to them to ask you for more details if they are interested in knowing more and perhaps gaining you and others as regular customers again.
I don't feel any compelling urges to support B&M stores. If I did, it would be because they carry hardware and juices I like at prices competitive with what is available online.
I feel that their great contribution is to help new vapers with education and choices available to get them happily involved in vaping.
Just saying, if they ask, that you have found your favorite flavors online. Then it is up to them to ask you for more details if they are interested in knowing more and perhaps gaining you and others as regular customers again.
Stores have to support their customers to get their customers to support them.
I understood but never fully bought into the need to support your local vape shop at all costs.
i tell the truth, most of the time there's only 1 vape store i like going to, but when time is short or i can't get to it i go somewhere else (my vape shop's clerks know me well and understand i can't always do what i want as i take the bus everywhere). More often than not i always regret going elsewhere and my store clerks love having a crack at me for it
Would you feel the same way if you started with online vendor and later "cheated" by shopping at your local B&M?
If the local B&M doesn't offer enough value for your money you don't need to feel guilty. Sometimes just the convenience factor of walking to a local shop and getting what you want in few minutes is more valuable than how much the item cost.
But if you feel the shop has unreasonable markup (sometimes happens with eliquids), you need to make a decision. You either:
a) decide to send your child to college by saving money buying online; or
b) decide to send the B&M shop owner's child to college and buy from B&M
If the local B&M doesn't offer enough value for your money you don't need to feel guilty. Sometimes just the convenience factor of walking to a local shop and getting what you want in few minutes is more valuable than how much the item cost.
But if you feel the shop has unreasonable markup (sometimes happens with eliquids), you need to make a decision. You either:
a) decide to send your child to college by saving money buying online; or
b) decide to send the B&M shop owner's child to college and buy from B&M
When Mrs. qg and I started vaping there weren't many B&M shops. This was around a decade ago. Pitiful cigalikes at quickie marts were about the only thing available locally.
I educated myself online and bought from online vendors. Started out with Riva and Joye 510 cartomizers and refillable tips. Big fat 650mah batteries (Oh my!). Lots of juice flavors. (Thanks, Liberty Flight USA. Miss you guys.)
Since then I've walked into a couple of vape shops, looked at the prices. Tried to keep from laughing out loud, and walked right out.
I have loyalty which those pioneering online vendors earned. New ones have also earned their place. I'm good with that.
Best product for the best price. Being in some strip mall storefront and charging twice as much or more to cover the rent isn't enough to inspire loyalty for me.
I ran across an interesting inverse of this a little while back. I finally started DIY ejuices, and learned that one of the online sources for flavors and pg/vg was local to me ... with a storefront of sorts in a 'business/industrial park' so you could do walk-ins.
Thing is, even with shipping it's almost cheaper for me to order online from them (their prices are a little bit higher for flavors than some of the big guys but not out-of-line) than it is for me to drive to the other side of town and pick it up myself.
I educated myself online and bought from online vendors. Started out with Riva and Joye 510 cartomizers and refillable tips. Big fat 650mah batteries (Oh my!). Lots of juice flavors. (Thanks, Liberty Flight USA. Miss you guys.)
Since then I've walked into a couple of vape shops, looked at the prices. Tried to keep from laughing out loud, and walked right out.
I have loyalty which those pioneering online vendors earned. New ones have also earned their place. I'm good with that.
Best product for the best price. Being in some strip mall storefront and charging twice as much or more to cover the rent isn't enough to inspire loyalty for me.
I ran across an interesting inverse of this a little while back. I finally started DIY ejuices, and learned that one of the online sources for flavors and pg/vg was local to me ... with a storefront of sorts in a 'business/industrial park' so you could do walk-ins.
Thing is, even with shipping it's almost cheaper for me to order online from them (their prices are a little bit higher for flavors than some of the big guys but not out-of-line) than it is for me to drive to the other side of town and pick it up myself.
Well, yeah, of course online shops have no overhead so can charge less than b&ms. I mean if you are aware of that, why does it make you laugh?
Can’t see the funny in charging what it costs to operate a store. Where you can see the item in person before you buy, and it’s convenient because you don’t have to wait a week to get it, and just maybe, a curious smoker can get some questions answered and get started vaping. Local shops provide a valuable service aside from keeping our friends and neighbors employed.
You can't say that online vape shops don't have overhead like a B&M.. because most online vape shops ARE b&m's that simply have a website as well as a physical store.
Some of them closed their retail stores in time. For instance I got my very first bottle of ejuice from a company that has gone from being a b&m with an online store to wholesalers of ejuice. They made it that far because even as a b&m vape shop they made good ejuice and sold it at reasonable (if not downright inexpensive) prices.. I never bought any of the hardware they once sold.. but they had reasonable prices on those too.
My local vape shop is a b&m, who doesn't even try and sell online. their markup is enough to make a wealthy man choke and its no wonder because they aren't even trying to sell online, so their prices reflect every dollar of their overhead.
A website, while not always a make it or break it idea, can at least potentially draw in some additional revenue and help to allow the owners to offer slightly better prices than they would otherwise.. given enough time it can even grow a company to the point of being able to be competitive with larger companies..
But the more expensive b&m's are banking on local business only, charging exorbitant fees for the privilege of convenience..
Me? I don't buy soda at the gas station for a reason and i treat my local vape shop the same as I do any convenience store.
I can see trying to support the mom and pop store who was doing all they could to stay competitive, even if they failed in the task, where i felt I could.... but I can't see trying to support those who are banking on your desire for convenience over cost.
I don't owe anyone anything.. and for the convenience I desired, I paid for at that time and owe nothing further for it.
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Lying is never good policy. Simply changing the subject is better.. but I agree with other's. In your case truth is better as it will help the store make better purchasing decisions in the future.
Believe it or not stores want real feedback from customers so long as it's a polite truth..
And your polite truth is you've never cared for the ejuice your store carries and have been vaping it because you didn't know better existed until recently.. but now that you know that it exists and where to get it your not willing to go back to juice you don't care for.
You don't have to mention cost unless cost is also a major factor for you, in which case you want to mention the lower cost also because if they start carrying your preferred flavor and brand then you will be rather obligated to buy from them since they started carrying it just for you.
But, if your polite about your personal tastes and finances (within reason) then it might help them in the future and will leave your heart at ease instead of feeling weird about going back in there at all.. you don't want that feeling. Better to have everything up front and honest and do the business you can do with them with your head held high.
Can't say that the cost of operating a B&M or online retail is necessarily all that different. In the case of the latter it may be that if the vendor is selling into a broader market with higher inventory levels than some storefronts. If done well, wholesale advantages can mean better retail pricing to their customers. If not, well, we see examples of that every day in the overpriced online reseller.
I've found some outstanding values especially on the high end at vape shops, along with a greater interest in rewarding loyalty by dealing face-to-face. The internet client is here today, gone tomorrow. The clear advantage of the B&M is the wonderful shiny touchy feely aspect which we all relish.
Good luck.
Check the cost per square foot to rent commercial space in a place that has decent traffic vs. the cost to rent warehouse/industrial space. The former is generally 2-3x as expensive as the latter.
Walk ins are an extremely valuable and important resource.
Maybe not for us 'seasoned vapers'...
But - for the SMOKER that can walk in, see, touch, ask questions and be able to walk out vaping and hopefully be able to never smoke a cigarette again !!
THAT is what it's all about. NOT SMOKING
Maybe not for us 'seasoned vapers'...
But - for the SMOKER that can walk in, see, touch, ask questions and be able to walk out vaping and hopefully be able to never smoke a cigarette again !!
THAT is what it's all about. NOT SMOKING
I kind of think you should say what makes you comfortable, and you ARE in fact supporting them.
I did get asked by a vape shop I (occasionally) frequent that question, and I said, "I DIY because I want to be self-sufficient." For me, it wasn't about the price or the fact that their in house juices are "bad." In fact, they are one of the few commercial outfits whose juices I actually like and they're reasonably priced. I occasionally buy juice because they don't carry much of what I like, I asked about MTL topper options one time and they rummaged and pulled out a dusty Nautilus (original). I'd imagine they'd have sold it cheaply but I didn't need or want one.
The salesman got this sort of "shuddery" look on his face, but man, it is NOT my job to cater to anyone's FEELINGS on the subject.
I support them with juice from time to time, because I want them to be there for the new vaper. With that said, if you buy hardware from time to time, you don't have much to apologize for in my opinion. Etc.
Anna
I did get asked by a vape shop I (occasionally) frequent that question, and I said, "I DIY because I want to be self-sufficient." For me, it wasn't about the price or the fact that their in house juices are "bad." In fact, they are one of the few commercial outfits whose juices I actually like and they're reasonably priced. I occasionally buy juice because they don't carry much of what I like, I asked about MTL topper options one time and they rummaged and pulled out a dusty Nautilus (original). I'd imagine they'd have sold it cheaply but I didn't need or want one.
The salesman got this sort of "shuddery" look on his face, but man, it is NOT my job to cater to anyone's FEELINGS on the subject.
I support them with juice from time to time, because I want them to be there for the new vaper. With that said, if you buy hardware from time to time, you don't have much to apologize for in my opinion. Etc.
Anna
At least. In my little town, where someone suggested I start a little vape shop, rent goes $800-1000. Town of 1,500. I can get storage for $65 big enough to put everything I own in, and still have room to park my truck. It’s the difference in cost between living in your parent’s basement and owning your own home. I’m not saying everyone should buy at b&ms, just explaining why the prices are different. Do those owners look like they’re raking in the dough?
I do agree that retail space costs are often completely out of line with the ability of a retail store to pay it.
The problem I've seen on ECF is that some shop owners think that high rental cost should be figured into their markup not just overhead.
To put it in simpler terms, if they pay $1 for a bottle to put 50¢ of liquid in they're not satisfied with having you pay $1 to cover the cost of the overhead of the bottle and then markup the liquid for profit. They want to markup the bottle and the liquid of $1.50 and then figure in labor and all the other overhead costs. And that is how we had liquids with over 1000% (I recall figuring it as much as 10,000% on some) markup that made DIY so appealing.
I'm sorry if you need to markup product 300% OVER what I can get it for elsewhere to pay the rent, the bad decision to sign the lease is not for me to pay for.
My last boss did that. His idea to make the customers pay for his bad business decision cost me my job and almost cost him his whole business (it would've if his dad wasn't there to keep him afloat for the lease period).
I would just straight up tell them the truth, and not feel bad about hurting any feelings, as any good B&M will value customer input and likely get what you want.
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