Why Spend Money at Vape Shops?

[Liskrig]

When I first started vaping, I tried every shop I could drive to. CT, MA, RI, NH, OH...(Girlfriend's college). I found some that I love to this day, and others I never went back to. For me it was the employees.

Knowing I could buy anything online for 20+% cheaper, means they really had to impress me. So far my favorite shop is Worcester Vapor. Draco Vapory in CT is a close second. The owner of Draco is a really awesome guy.

I've been into some places where they were too busy performing (what I like to call) the Vape Mating Ritual. They are too concerned with trying to impress me (a nobody) with cheap vape tricks than talking to me about any new products, or juices or anything else. The two shops above have never done that to me, or anyone else unless I am just loitering in there (which is allowed, and encouraged )

I buy most of my stuff online now, as my new job does not allow me to travel, and the office is 1 hour drive away, so I don't get a lot of time after work to do much of anything except for the occasional coil, and re-wick.

 

[nancybout]

I try to do local shops and been meaning to get back mostly for the fact I want to know local Vapers and stay up to date w state stuff


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[nancybout]

My Vape shop my fav one is in Waretown NJ I feel horrible but I'm going back it's just 15 mins away from me out of my way lol there's 2 IN town but I still love the other one my real first one who got me set up.
There's a part of me that's wanting to remain loyal and feel like crap that kids spend so much $$ and I buy cheaper juice w Max VG that they didn't have at that time (now I know they carry premium juices and their house juices were great too... But 50/50 I can't Vape)
So my online search began and getting best prices began and sure enough I found them...
So ig became harder... And w 3 daughters and softball and sports and going everywhere I have a smartphone it takes a second to click pay and wait for mailbox.
I however feel inside there's a responsibility to keep vape shops open.
More reasons than the obvious and I personally don't like liar Vape shops.
I seen it myself in a diff one.
I detest it.
It's NOT professional.
Anyway, just my opinion and I'll be heading back soon[emoji177]... Again.
There's 2 I like they are nice


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[coolerat]

Not every shop is for everyone.

I have a shop not five minutes walk from my back door. However my shadow shall never darken there doorsill again.

But in two different cities, each about 15 miles away in different directions, are two shops that greet me better then my own kidz. One I walk in am greeted like Norm on Cheers. "what are you vaping on this week Sean" and I hand them the latest toy. I generaly have newer and/or better modz then they carry.

Vape is retail and retail is the worlds oldest profession. Pretend you like me for a little while and I will give you money.

 

[joeybear]

I went to B&Ms for the first two weeks when I started. I realized quickly that the shops that were near me were run by idiots who knew only what they read on the net, but then again that was a while ago. The day I was dumb enough to pay $10 for a drip tip that was on the net for $1.80 was the last time I went to a shop for anything. Now I don't live near any shops so a long drive that would typically cost $20 round trip isn't worth it for a $20-50 item.

 

[mcclintock]

Another thing (already posted once): for some people, if the customer service is good at a shop, it would be false economy to buy online. However, most shops don't cater to the kind of vape I like or even seem to know much about how to get good toodle-puffing results. They sometimes have provided "food for thought" more than precisely usable advice.

 

[DaveP]

There's only one vape shop in my area and the owner is an ECF registered vendor and a vaper since 2009. She ran the business out of her basement for several years and opened her first shop about 5 miles from my house. Now she has three shops in as many local cities.

I buy my mods and some of my rebuild supplies from her. It's actually paid off to do business with her since my iStick 50W failed and the replacement failed during the 90 day warranty period. She replaced them over the counter and let me move to the Cool Fire 4 after the 2nd iStick lost it's display. It the vendor had been online I would have had shipping costs to pay each time.

 

[Alien Traveler]

You really aren't serious with that. Are you?

I am serious. Why should I support local business I am not interested at?
I am supporting local cheese seller because I am interested in buying French and Argentinian cheeses locally. That's it.

 

[Bad Ninja]

I am serious. Why should I support local business I am not interested at?
I am supporting local cheese seller because I am interested in buying French and Argentinian cheeses locally. That's it.

This is one of those times when I agree with you.

I only support businesses that support me.
Blindly offering cash to a business just because they are local is just foolish.
I worked hard for my money. If you want my business, you must earn it.

 

[Douggro]

I am serious. Why should I support local business I am not interested at?
I am supporting local cheese seller because I am interested in buying French and Argentinian cheeses locally. That's it.

But they're putting a high markup on their cheese. You can get it cheaper online, can't you? I mean, you don't need to taste the cheese before you buy it do you? And besides, Walmart carries Kraft Singles really cheap..

Yeah, I know this is oversimplifying the argument, and I'm not proposing blindly getting all your stuff at the local shops. @Bad Ninja raises the valid point that any local business needs to be responsive to me if they want to retain me as a customer. But if there are no local shops to choose from, your options are diminished. There are some economic aspects as well, but I don't want to step into that portion of the debate..

 

[Vaslovik]

Hey folks happy new year!

With all the vape shops now a days and online sites, what factors make you spend your hard earned money at a particular vape shop?

It could be prices, services, cleanliness. Whatever list what factors most attract you to a certain store.

I just had to chuckle when I saw this thread

I don't need anything at all from the vape shops, they have nothing I need, so I never go into them. I roll my own wicks, wind my own coils, make my own juice and buy anything I need online, mesh, kanthal, DIY supplies, and hardware. Being an old school genny purist means I can't find attys in any of the vape stores, they just don't carry them, and as for mods I use Poldiacs, and nothing else, which they also don't have. Moreover, I grew weary of interacting with the 20-something bimbos the owners of those stores hire for reasons other than vape sales. One of them wanted to know what kind of dripper my genny was, and when I told her what it was she had not the foggiest notion, and then told me it had to be a dripper because it was on a "dripper mod" (my mech). Just.... wow....

 

[Tol]

I frequent a local shop because:

The guys at the shop are very nice, they know what they are talking about and very helpful. They even offered me 10 ml of house juice when I stupidly spilled my 30 ml bottle I had just bought from them on their counter. They didn't have to do that, I turned it down because it was in no way their fault, and I don't need free juice to reward my own clumsiness. The thought was very well appreciated though. They have my favorite liquids in stock, for about $1 more than I would get it for online and I don't have to order, wait, pay for shipping, steep, etc... They let me try any juice they sell and will let me drip samples onto my own RDA, and they are good with recommendations of new flavors. I get to check out any new mods in person before I order one (hate to do it to them, but when I can get mods for about half the price online with shipping included, hard to justify buying in store.

Not all B&M stores are equal obviously, and that being said, ALL of the other ones I have visited in my town range from mediocre to awful.
I went into one near where I work and as soon as I stepped into it, I knew I would never spend any money there. It was full of DBag vape kiddies who are too cool for anyone's own good. There was a decent number of people in there, but no idea how many worked there or were just friends of employees. NO sampling of any of their flavors, they only carry their own juice and I can only imagine the conditions they brew in. They had a lot of cool mods in there, all very high priced.
Another one I visited was nice but the people working there knew less than I do about vaping which didn't sit well with me. They were baffled when I told them I have a Reo. They asked what resistance I was running on it. I had not used it in quite a while, but I had 1.5 ohm cisco LR atties on it, which they told me was dangerous. LMAO. Seriously 11-12 watts with 2.8 amp draw from a 15 amp battery, and how is that more "Dangerous" than any of the mods & coils they are selling currently?

If you are fortunate enough to have a great local shop, I see it as great place to support when you are able to. Obviously I am not paying $80-90 for a mod that I can get for $30-40 online, but some people don't mind the extra to have the ability to walk back in for help, exchanges, refunds, etc...

 

[crxess]

For good or bad, I have never purchased anything from a Brick and Mortar Vape Shop. We did not have them here when I started vaping and only one of the many that have cropped up locally is even close to being a Community minded store.

I could honestly care less about supporting ant particular business simply on the grounds it is local. Are they participating in the local community(giving back) or just making money off the community?

 

[YoursTruli]

I would not be surprised if all sales of eliquid end up having to be face to face, just like other "tobacco" products. I think at this point finding a shop you like locally might not be such a bad idea.

 

[jumphour]

When I started vaping a year and a half ago, I quit cigs using cigalikes, and I totally fell in love with the iTaste 134 mini, so I got one for a good price at the time on eBay. Before it arrived, I made a trip to a B&M in my town that I hadn't been to before. I got an eGo kit with one 650mAh w/passthrough, one atomizer, a case to put them in, a little eGo metal stand, an acrylic/metal drip tip, a 10ml juice, a couple coils, an ego to 510 adapter, and a lanyard. $100. Then once I discovered all the online sources, I was freaked out about how much I spent at the store! But they were nice and very helpful. Except for when I had problems with the eGo battery, and had to make multiple trips and phone calls to get it taken care of. Now that I DIY and do everything online, I can't bring myself to go there anymore. I may look into checking out if they have coil building classes though, and I'd probably buy an atomizer there if I did that.

 

[Poolea77]

I go to local shops for a few reasons:
1. To not get so many packages in the mail, so I can keep my purchases quiet from my disapproving significant other.
2. Because sometimes I just don't want to wait for the mail to be delivered. I want my new toy NOW!
3. Because something has broken or is not working the way I would like and I really need something now. (this need is decreasing as I move into making my own coils and DIY and I am collecting more backup devices)
4. Sometimes just to try new juice - wasted way too much money on flavors I just don't like
Why I go to one shop over another:
1. Easiest parking
2. Friendliest staff - I feel much more welcome in the shop that does not act like they are too young and hip to assist this middle-aged woman.

 

[DaveP]

There are places online where I can get things cheaper and I do order from them sometimes, but my local vape shop always has sale prices on various items. When they are on sale it's not worth searching through online shops to order. I check the local vape shop first before ordering and frequently I buy and make it back home in 30 minutes with the item in hand for about the same price.

 

[daviedog]

I would never have quit smoking if I had to order my first setup online. With no idea how this stuff felt in my hand, or how it worked, I just wouldn't have coughed up the dough to take a chance on a mystery ofrom the Internet. Though my first vape shop also sold some sort of perfume and the place reeked of fake cologne, the nice young man at the counter showed me the starter kits, gave me the pros/cons of each, showed me how to fill my tank, and showed me how to replace my coil. I left feeling like I could manage this, even though it was way harder than flicking my Bic to light a cig.

In my case, this was really helpful because I am a freaking idiot with devices: I insert things upside down, whether it's the blades on my Cuisinart, the cables on the DVD player, or the coil in a clearomizer. I do better when I can observe how to do something, although I have trouble viewing learning from YouTube videos (not always my fault - some filming is terrible!) So, yeah, I really benefited from the hand-holding a B&M can provide. Though I abandoned my original B&M long ago (can not tolerate that perfume!!) there's a great store about 20 minutes away that I visit every couple of months when I want to see how a new mod feels or my online order is stuck somewhere between post offices. The staff are always attentive, helpful, patient, and not pushy with me. I want folks like that to continue to have a job, and want this stuff to be available locally when a storm in the Midwest delays my vape mail.

Never trust a man that plugs things in right the first time

I just had to chuckle when I saw this thread

I don't need anything at all from the vape shops, they have nothing I need, so I never go into them. I roll my own wicks, wind my own coils, make my own juice and buy anything I need online, mesh, kanthal, DIY supplies, and hardware. Being an old school genny purist means I can't find attys in any of the vape stores, they just don't carry them, and as for mods I use Poldiacs, and nothing else, which they also don't have. Moreover, I grew weary of interacting with the 20-something bimbos the owners of those stores hire for reasons other than vape sales. One of them wanted to know what kind of dripper my genny was, and when I told her what it was she had not the foggiest notion, and then told me it had to be a dripper because it was on a "dripper mod" (my mech). Just.... wow....

Took me 6 wks to reach foggy leval on my kraken..

 

[Richiepoo]

Imagine how hard it is helping people getting started when they often have never ordered anything off the internet. Even less ordered anything from another country altogether.

Reminds me of one of the first kits I ordered from China. They were horrible, really thin, cigarette-type batteries with equally horrible screw on cartos. They were really cheap and had every color (batteries and cartos) which appealed to me at the time. You could even get the cartos with ...... or Xanax in them. I chose the plain old nicotine ones. It didn't matter...they didn't work anyway.

Next kit was an 808D (you would have to be vaping a long time to remember those) and they actually worked...sort of. I even learned from YouTube how to refill the cartos to save a little money. There was something very important about having a real-looking cigarette back then. Things have changed...a lot.

I have seen way way too many vapors get taken advantage of in vape shops especially with vapors who expect honesty and don't get it .

There's a decent kit that I bought a few of for less than $15 each (good 3 setting VV 1300 mah battery, charger, glass tank, squeeze bottle, case, etc. I'd highly recommend it to newbs...and non-newbs...I still use it occasionally. The vape store was selling them for $50.00 and they were selling very well, especially to new vapers...it was the cheapest kit they had.

Maybe it's just me. I rarely buy anything ...especially a gadget...without a little research to find a better price.

 

[herb]

Reminds me of one of the first kits I ordered from China. They were horrible, really thin, cigarette-type batteries with equally horrible screw on cartos. They were really cheap and had every color (batteries and cartos) which appealed to me at the time. You could even get the cartos with ...... or Xanax in them. I chose the plain old nicotine ones. It didn't matter...they didn't work anyway.

Next kit was an 808D (you would have to be vaping a long time to remember those) and they actually worked...sort of. I even learned from YouTube how to refill the cartos to save a little money. There was something very important about having a real-looking cigarette back then. Things have changed...a lot.



There's a decent kit that I bought a few of for less than $15 each (good 3 setting VV 1300 mah battery, charger, glass tank, squeeze bottle, case, etc. I'd highly recommend it to newbs...and non-newbs...I still use it occasionally. The vape store was selling them for $50.00 and they were selling very well, especially to new vapers...it was the cheapest kit they had.

Maybe it's just me. I rarely buy anything ...especially a gadget...without a little research to find a better price.

It's definitely not just you , i am the exact same way . I find it nearly impossible to buy anything at full asking price lol. Some people just pay whatever the asking price is and don't bother researching , we have all different kinds.