Why i need to get to a brick and mortar store

[baseballmom]

Ok there is a LOT of stuff online and I could go crazy buying, but I think I need to go in person and see, feel, and decide on in person or else who knows how much I'd spend on-line. I guess once I'm established more, on-line shopping will be great and it is how I found my Volts to begin with, but now that I want a VV and clearomizer, I feel I got to see and talk with a reputable shop owner to decide on best next step up set up for me. I'm researching a ton of goodies on-line, but I feel I need to see in person-is this weird? Paycheck soon, so watch out local shops, here I come the newb with a ton of questions.

 

[PBOB]

Not weird, at all. I am happy to hear others want the ability to 'kick the tires' and get some instant answers to their questions. I hope you find a shop where you feel at home.

 

[SFBrianT]

Not weird at all. For my PVs I go to my local B&M , Juices not so much

 

[Kabooma]

Be careful, two things I've noticed at the B&M stores.. First is that most of the owners are vapers themselves.. and that means they are using their best stock and favorite mods.. and many of them have a smug attitude towards anything less, like the ego twists for instance. I don't think it's intentional, and I truly believe they want to help you- it's just that their predispositions tend to interfere with guiding you towards what is best for you. This is just my experience- your mileage may vary.
Second.. most only carry a handful of items and brands.. you will find very limited choices at these stores. You will also find a lot of cheap chinese knockoffs.. Just TRY finding an actual JoyTech Ego twist at one of them..

Good luck

 

[Notorious2again]

Be careful, two things I've noticed at the B&M stores.. First is that most of the owners are vapers themselves.. and that means they are using their best stock and favorite mods.. and many of them have a smug attitude towards anything less, like the ego twists for instance. I don't think it's intentional, and I truly believe they want to help you- it's just that their predispositions tend to interfere with guiding you towards what is best for you. This is just my experience- your mileage may vary.
Second.. most only carry a handful of items and brands.. you will find very limited choices at these stores. You will also find a lot of cheap chinese knockoffs.. Just TRY finding an actual JoyTech Ego twist at one of them..

Good luck

My local B&M only carries genuine items. They pride themselves on it. I do second this thought about selection, though. Very limited as far as batteries, clearos, cartos, mods, etc. Want VV/VW? Not much on offer in most places. My local just started carrying eVods and ProTanks, so that's a plus.

 

[UncleChimney]

What all B&Ms do you know of in the SE Pa area? I can only think of 4 off the top of my head? Are there more around?

 

[CRkfx1]

Be careful, two things I've noticed at the B&M stores.. First is that most of the owners are vapers themselves.. and that means they are using their best stock and favorite mods.. and many of them have a smug attitude towards anything less, like the ego twists for instance. I don't think it's intentional, and I truly believe they want to help you- it's just that their predispositions tend to interfere with guiding you towards what is best for you. This is just my experience- your mileage may vary.
Second.. most only carry a handful of items and brands.. you will find very limited choices at these stores. You will also find a lot of cheap chinese knockoffs.. Just TRY finding an actual JoyTech Ego twist at one of them..

Good luck

My town, Waco, TX, has a mess of head shops and smoke shops that carry only knock-offs and cigalikes, which I've found to be a waste of time, money, and sanity. The owners and workers, usually foreign, don't vape themselves and are just trying to sell whatever inventory they got.

I finally found the only dedicated vape shop in the area, and it's made a huge difference. I've become friends with the general manager and some of the other workers, all of which are ol' vapin' pros. They do charge full retail on about everything except their juices, but I understand, it's a small market and they gotta keep the lights on and employees paid.

 

[alunacy516]

I usually only go to B&Ms to look at the new hardware they get in and sample some of their new juices. One of the B&Ms in my area ships in some decent juice from all around the world so ill try those and see if i like them before i end up buying them online since they really markup the prices on their juice. But i usually feel bad and buy a small overpriced bottle of their juice. B&Ms are good to check some of the basic hardware but after that i have to buy all my advanced stuff online but that's just because i only have like 2 B&Ms in my area.

 

[wormy987123]

I have 2 Simi close to me in nc. One is mad vapes don't really care for the retail stores and the other is misty mountian vapors I love that store but it's the one further away in the Durham Raleigh area. They both charge full retail but the people at misty are much nicer and more knowledgeable about what they are selling.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

[MoonLit_Water]

I have been to many vape shops and as mentioned above they vary greatly on products offered, attitude and general knowledge it is kinda hit or miss, Best thing to do is gather information here and then venture out to see whats up. I understand wanting to see and feel everything in person, but the more knowledge you walk in with the better off you are, so visit the shops spend time here ask questions, watch youtube videos and before to long You will be able to tell if a certain B&M is worth Your business or not.

Check out this site Vape Search you might be able to find some near You, there is also the ability to add shops to it if You stumble across one that isn't listed

 

[andervan]

You might find some recommendations for good local shops
by researching/posting in this sub-forum:--> Pennsylvania Vapers

 

[tinkrrrbell]

Be careful, two things I've noticed at the B&M stores.. First is that most of the owners are vapers themselves.. and that means they are using their best stock and favorite mods.. and many of them have a smug attitude towards anything less, like the ego twists for instance. I don't think it's intentional, and I truly believe they want to help you- it's just that their predispositions tend to interfere with guiding you towards what is best for you. This is just my experience- your mileage may vary.
Second.. most only carry a handful of items and brands.. you will find very limited choices at these stores. You will also find a lot of cheap chinese knockoffs.. Just TRY finding an actual JoyTech Ego twist at one of them..

Good luck

Puffin away on his mod, my B&M salesperson set me up with an eGo and evod. I've only been to two stores.... but I didn't feel either place wanted to pressure me into toys beyond my experience level or price range.

That said, it's true you're not going to find the variety at a B&M that you have access to online. Every additional item they decide to carry is more overhead. More overhead means having to make up the cost somewhere, usually raising prices, for any business. They're already charging a tad more than online to pay for shop rental, the electric bill, and proper staffing. I'm sure they want to keep it simple to stay competitive with the huge offerings online.

 

[Gena]

The B and M store near me carries all name brand devices. They are very knowledgeable about all of their items and require their employee's to all be vapors so they know how to assist their customers. Have tons of juices you can try and if you order a juice from them they let you try it and if you don't like it you are not required to buy it. I love just going their and hanging out.

 

[desertlover]

Hey MoonLit, Thanks for the list. I wish there was a B&M close to me. It is difficult trying to learn it all on the computer. You tube videos are very helpful and actually got me started.

 

[MoonLit_Water]

Yes trying to learn about vaping is difficult from the internet, but ECF is the best place hands down on the internet to learn what you can.
So any question YOu may have ask them here, you will get the facts, yes there will be opinion in there too, but most of that comes from hands on experience. with that being said remember the folks here are truly trying to help you not sell you something. And when it is opinion being stated it usually comes with an explanation of why and how an individual as arrived to that opinion, so it is a little easier to tell if that will apply to you also.

remember You can ask ANYTHING you want here don't hesitate to do so

 

[Trifle03104]

I can't find a single store in New Hampshire so I'm stuck with internet.
I do find that if I directly call the online stores they will happily spend as much time as I need helping me choose and answering questions.
Just the other day Provape spent a lot of time with me explaining Ohms and wattages, which totally confused me. And Totally wicked once spent forty five minutes with me on the phone picking out a new ecig.
Sometimes I do wish we had a real store close by though, just so I could browse.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

It irks me to think that some folks might be using their local B&M as a touch-and-feel showcase for things they're going to buy online.

I understand that no one has an obligation to buy anything, even after an hour of the owner/employee's time showing and explaining the features of a new APV. I understand people object to what they (usually mistakenly) believe is an exhorbitant retail markup.

But if those folks have quality equipment and tasty liquids, and you figure out which ones you like during a visit to the local, mom & pop vapor shop and buy it all online, well...

Karma is a cast iron you-know-what.

 

[Ddippel]

It irks me to think that some folks might be using their local B&M as a touch-and-feel showcase for things they're going to buy online.

I understand that no one has an obligation to buy anything, even after an hour of the owner/employee's time showing and explaining the features of a new APV. I understand people object to what they (usually mistakenly) believe is an exhorbitant retail markup.

But if those folks have quality equipment and tasty liquids, and you figure out which ones you like during a visit to the local, mom & pop vapor shop and buy it all online, well...

Karma is a cast iron you-know-what.

As a B&M employee I would like to thank you for saying this. While we have no problem walking you through every single step of a new PV of any kind, that takes our time and we are desperately hoping for the sale. Some of us work purely off commision so having a customer ask us all the technical details and then walk out can cost us money, while during this we could have actually been making sales. It really is a huge disappointment for me to go through an entire breakdown of a device, only to have the customer turn around and walk out.

 

[FloydianSlip]

I too wish I had a dedicated B&M to shop and support so it is internet for me but thanks to a lot of good folks here at ECF and at the online vendors I deal with, I have made some good gear acquisitions, found some great tasty juices, and received a lot of friendly support.

I think I got the tar stick problem licked for good now.

Peace out and keep vapin'

 

[John_]

All of the B&M stores I've found around me are severely under-stocked, overpriced, or the staff are incompetent.
I of course attempted to get the under-educated vapers to join ECF but I have no idea if they did or not.