I really, really like Vista Vapors. 5 bucks for 17ml and they almost always have a 15% or 20% off coupon code. You're getting a full bottle for the price of a sample most places. The quality and taste is the same as the expensive juices.
Why is e-liquid selling at such high prices ?
- Thread starter Tangaroav
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
i'll put it this way. I don't usually vape 5pawns, but for my birthday i decided to treat myself to a bottle of perpetual check. After taking this to work and having it passed around by my vape buddies, nobody could guess the flavor. No one. Amongst ourselves is a running joke about plain eliquid from fly by night shops just trying to make a buck off this "trend", we say "OH YEAH THAT'S WATERMELON ALRIGHT!". In reference to the one hit wonder flavors. And so my point being i will pay the extra price for something that is unique and creatively crafted, rather than (IMO) dump money down the drain on flavors that make you think to yourself welp that's watermelon alright. 
the price goes along with effort made to make a real good quality juice.... sure some of them are crap, but for the best of the best juices, there is really much time, effort, and money spend for testing it to be that good.
those who are selled for 30 bucks are the ones that almost no one can recreate easily, thats why!
think about going to the restaurant, exact same thing, u pay for what u get
those who are selled for 30 bucks are the ones that almost no one can recreate easily, thats why!
think about going to the restaurant, exact same thing, u pay for what u get
... The 100 $ restaurant analogy does not really fit, except for those who only vape on special occasions. For them it may be allright to pay 15$\20$ for a 30ml bottle of a special, hard to reproduce flavor.
For chain vapors like me, a big Mac is a better exemple, at 5.00 $ it is only about twice what it would cost me for a similar burger whereas the difference between 30ml DYI for 1.50$ and 15$ for 30ml of commercial e-juice, (or more), is over 10 times the cost of DYI. ( btw as any DYI vaper will tell you, it is more complicated to make a Big Mac than to mix the ingredients of e-juices).
All those arguments about the high cost of doing business to charge those prices are excuses for the uninformed.
For chain vapors like me, a big Mac is a better exemple, at 5.00 $ it is only about twice what it would cost me for a similar burger whereas the difference between 30ml DYI for 1.50$ and 15$ for 30ml of commercial e-juice, (or more), is over 10 times the cost of DYI. ( btw as any DYI vaper will tell you, it is more complicated to make a Big Mac than to mix the ingredients of e-juices).
All those arguments about the high cost of doing business to charge those prices are excuses for the uninformed.
Last edited:
About the cheapest PAD cigarettes get is over $4/day
Average ecig use is 3ml. High priced $1/ml vaping still beats low priced smoking by over $1/day. As long as they can beat the price of cigarettes even by a little they'll have customers.
What the stores aren't realizing is they also rely on mod sales and that has to come in under $365 a year. Not much other money coming from your customers if you overprice your liquids and base on cigarette savings.
That's all I can figure their bad business plan is banking on. That of course drives people to DIY just like cigarette taxes drove people to RYO and then RYO taxes drove people to pipe tobacco. Pipe tobacco taxes will probably drive them to tobacco seeds.
I guess it could be worse. Another bad business plan is to claim since it's healthier than smoking they could charge more, it could be priced to be slightly more than cigarettes like patches are.
The reason these are bad business plans is because they are relying on something not related to dictate their prices. It's great as long as that item is way above their needs but when it goes away or the bottom falls out they'll be grasping for an excuse to convince people to use their product.
NRT banks on cigarettes always being around (which is why they're fighting ecigs so hard) so their pricing can work. Ecigs rely someone on the claim they can make smoking obsolete so it doesn't make good long term sense to base your prices off cigarettes.
I see someone already corrected you so I'll edit this sentence out and say I thought you were going for "non-sequitor".
That's obviously not an attack and it does follow your argument of a $10K machine, exactly how much do you think a gas station costs to build? Or an ocean tanker? Or an oil well? I guarantee you they all cost more than $10K.
Average ecig use is 3ml. High priced $1/ml vaping still beats low priced smoking by over $1/day. As long as they can beat the price of cigarettes even by a little they'll have customers.
What the stores aren't realizing is they also rely on mod sales and that has to come in under $365 a year. Not much other money coming from your customers if you overprice your liquids and base on cigarette savings.
That's all I can figure their bad business plan is banking on. That of course drives people to DIY just like cigarette taxes drove people to RYO and then RYO taxes drove people to pipe tobacco. Pipe tobacco taxes will probably drive them to tobacco seeds.
I guess it could be worse. Another bad business plan is to claim since it's healthier than smoking they could charge more, it could be priced to be slightly more than cigarettes like patches are.
The reason these are bad business plans is because they are relying on something not related to dictate their prices. It's great as long as that item is way above their needs but when it goes away or the bottom falls out they'll be grasping for an excuse to convince people to use their product.
NRT banks on cigarettes always being around (which is why they're fighting ecigs so hard) so their pricing can work. Ecigs rely someone on the claim they can make smoking obsolete so it doesn't make good long term sense to base your prices off cigarettes.
I see someone already corrected you so I'll edit this sentence out and say I thought you were going for "non-sequitor".
That's obviously not an attack and it does follow your argument of a $10K machine, exactly how much do you think a gas station costs to build? Or an ocean tanker? Or an oil well? I guarantee you they all cost more than $10K.
Cost me about $1.00 to whip up 30 ml,and it taste s better than ''store'' juice.I vape 3 ml/day so i spend max 5 to 10 bucks/mo.Ironically the VG cost more than the nic and flavourings.
Last edited:
Well, Ive read through this entire thread. Some interesting stuff/comments in here. The shops are there to make money and for your convenience. If you dont like paying the piper, make your own. I dint want to pay the piper after a while and the cheap juice for the most part tasted like crap (there always exceptions)..as well as some of the higher priced juices. Theres nothing majic about it. Good recipies are all you need. Do you want to put the time in it to find your own good recipies?
I DIY for my family of three vapors because the majority of juices out there dont "float my boat". I normally make 120 Mls at a time cause Im lazy and dont care to make juice every three days. I have glass beakers, but have sometimes used a drinking glass to mix my juice cause ive have other juices Ive just made in the beakers. My dog walks in that room quite often. I dont wear a sealed suit, and, by the way, all of the Nic you are vaping comes from China (so far). (there is supose to finally be a manufacturor opening in ther USA....havent kept up with that in the past 4 months). By the way, the Dekang, etc, from China has better quality control and cleanliness in their labs than any back store set up Ive seen in the States
Everybody seems to love my juice. Ive had 6 diff local vape shops around Atlanta that have asked me to package and distribute to their stores..I have no interest.....too much work for that kind of volume. No, you cant buy my juice because its too time consuming and its not worth my time to sell you a 30 ML bottle for 14 bucks or so even though I may only have a dollar and a quarter in the cobalt blue glass dripper bottle and maybe 1.00 in the juice. I dont want to be bothered.
My Juices are fantastic and yours would be too if you spent hundreds of hours, days and days, trial and error... reading through these forums like I have in the DIY section. If you did this, you would find the majority of the great juices out there have been posted through the years inside these forums, and many went on to open up their own stores selling via mail order. I know, Ive met a handfull of the older ones that have been selling successfully and some have told me their old "ECF Names" and Ive found some of their recipies in thise very forum. It takes effort. The thing DIYers sometimes forget is the "Time factor".
Anyway, just my thoughts. I dont mean to come off cranky, but come one, either buy from the store up the street, mail order it, or DIY. Why beat this dead horse over and over ?
Dont rag me too hard...Im just on my soapbox. Oh yeah, I charge my batteries while I sleep. Sue me.
I DIY for my family of three vapors because the majority of juices out there dont "float my boat". I normally make 120 Mls at a time cause Im lazy and dont care to make juice every three days. I have glass beakers, but have sometimes used a drinking glass to mix my juice cause ive have other juices Ive just made in the beakers. My dog walks in that room quite often. I dont wear a sealed suit, and, by the way, all of the Nic you are vaping comes from China (so far). (there is supose to finally be a manufacturor opening in ther USA....havent kept up with that in the past 4 months). By the way, the Dekang, etc, from China has better quality control and cleanliness in their labs than any back store set up Ive seen in the States
Everybody seems to love my juice. Ive had 6 diff local vape shops around Atlanta that have asked me to package and distribute to their stores..I have no interest.....too much work for that kind of volume. No, you cant buy my juice because its too time consuming and its not worth my time to sell you a 30 ML bottle for 14 bucks or so even though I may only have a dollar and a quarter in the cobalt blue glass dripper bottle and maybe 1.00 in the juice. I dont want to be bothered.
My Juices are fantastic and yours would be too if you spent hundreds of hours, days and days, trial and error... reading through these forums like I have in the DIY section. If you did this, you would find the majority of the great juices out there have been posted through the years inside these forums, and many went on to open up their own stores selling via mail order. I know, Ive met a handfull of the older ones that have been selling successfully and some have told me their old "ECF Names" and Ive found some of their recipies in thise very forum. It takes effort. The thing DIYers sometimes forget is the "Time factor".
Anyway, just my thoughts. I dont mean to come off cranky, but come one, either buy from the store up the street, mail order it, or DIY. Why beat this dead horse over and over ?
Dont rag me too hard...Im just on my soapbox. Oh yeah, I charge my batteries while I sleep. Sue me.
Last edited:
Great for you that your recipes are such a hit. Share them with us so WE don't have to research for 100's of hours.
In the China versus USA juice debate, one must also factor in the lower wages and the sheer scale of mass-production that the Chinese employ. This alone cuts down on the running costs significantly. Most gourmet USA brands are so much smaller in terms of scale and efficiency, yet they too have to invest in expensive equipment to create their juices. Also, they often source organic flavorings and higher quality nicotine which factors in the price. And since no one wants to run an unprofitable business there needs to be a healthy sales margin as well. They push fewer bottles, so the margin per bottle has to be higher, et cetera.
So yeah, I can definitely see why the American juices often appear overpriced in comparison.
It's just that in terms of sales volume and efficiency, the Chinese are king of the e-liquid market.
So yeah, I can definitely see why the American juices often appear overpriced in comparison.
It's just that in terms of sales volume and efficiency, the Chinese are king of the e-liquid market.
Last edited:
If you cant make a small batch of juice on your own your may have a problem.
Ive made hundreds of 5 ml batches. Now I dont have to..... unless Im experimenting with a new juice.
I sorta agree with OP why can't all the premium vendors have prices more on par with alien visions I feel the price is fair but hey it does all come down to supply and demand and as long as they are getting the money they gonna keep taking it.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
I agree absolutely.Thunderball said:
I've only been working on my DIY project for a month or so, but the one thing I've learned already is that mixing an interesting, flavorful, genuinely satisfying liquid takes a huge (HUGE!) investment of time, money and patience. If you're not prepared to vape swill and call it ambrosia just because it cost you 6 cents a gallon, you will have to put in the time.
DIY has taught me to have much more respect for the good commercial vendors, and I don't begrudge them a single penny.
I really don't understand these threads. Is it really possible so many have no idea how business works?
I think regulatory uncertainty has a lot to do with it. Vendors are not willing to spend a lot of money expanding their production line, when the rules of the game aren't set yet. As a result the market is extremely fragmented, I am willing to bet that there aren't more than 10 or 15 companies that have a customer base of over 1000. What you have as a result, is hundreds of smaller vendors, each with their own set of dedicated customers, who are willing to pay premium price for their product.
Vendors have to cover their original investment, pay ongoing costs and support their families, all with limited production and a limited customer base.
The handful of companies with a huge customer base ( DeKang, Hangsen MBV etc... ) do have lower prices. I know some of you will come back with the argument that their product is not as complex and is inferior to the so called premium vendors etc..., but that's a different issue, and a subjective opinion anyway. It's an opinion which i agree with btw, but that's the point. Those types of companies are trying to reach the masses with flavors which have common appeal, not complex, niche products.
Vendors have to cover their original investment, pay ongoing costs and support their families, all with limited production and a limited customer base.
The handful of companies with a huge customer base ( DeKang, Hangsen MBV etc... ) do have lower prices. I know some of you will come back with the argument that their product is not as complex and is inferior to the so called premium vendors etc..., but that's a different issue, and a subjective opinion anyway. It's an opinion which i agree with btw, but that's the point. Those types of companies are trying to reach the masses with flavors which have common appeal, not complex, niche products.
You would be surprised.....
I have to deal with people all the time telling me I am gouging them because they go online and see the part I installed in their air conditioner cost $50 and I gave them a bill for $249. What they don't understand is I have to have 6 of these invoices a day just to pay the overhead of a very small 2 man HVAC operation and the company has no profited at all yet. These same people are the ones who vote for big government and sticking it to the greedy business man. What they don't understand is it is their vote that has caused the cost of goods and services to skyrocket and their wages to be lower. I understand it is hard to not want the free stuff promised on the backs of others but people really need to take the time to educate themselves and stop taking the talking points as fact....
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/e-liquid-recipes/343181-tpa-tfa-recipes-only.html
I can't speak for all the recipes there but the ones I've shared are ones I think would appeal to average tastes (I'm limited to 10% PG so that's all the flavoring I can use, some of mine are good but not flavorful enough for others).
I don't know where people come up with 100's of hours unless they're counting steeping time.
I mix up some unflavored. Pull 5ml out and flavor with 2% (.1ml).
After it ages I go to a dripper.
First I try them alone to get an idea of how they taste (weak, strong) at that percentage. Then a little of this, a little of that goes into the dripper to give me an idea of what flavors get along and how much of each it takes.
Onto a 10ml recipe test. After aging I taste it and start working on recipe tweaks. 2-3 tweaks and I generally have my final recipe.
Within my first month of DIY I had enough recipes (I like to change flavors a lot but I have one main flavor) that I had to force myself to use up the bought liquid in my freezer. It costs me 5¢/ml and maybe an hour a month.
- Status
