You would think vendors would learn to STOCK UP!!!!

[supremekizzle]

It always seems that when I want to go online and order something from a vendor that I already have an account with (I have quite a few and hate going through the stupid process of creating an account; get a clue its called PAYPAL!! But that's another rant.) Vendors are always running out of stock.

If you know its going to sell out, STOCK UP? It is called stock, isn't it? Most vendors know this forum is getting into the high thousands of users and only about, what, 60 vendors? Odds are pretty good they will get some customers. If I want to wait a week or two ill order the .......s from china and save some money while I'm at it. Most people order from the U.S.A because they like to be able to have the product in their hands at a reasonable time. Especially me, being a new-vapor-still-trying-to-quit-smoking I'm trying out new stuff every week and its that much more discouraging when I find out I'm going to have to wait. This thread was to originally complain about vendors who always seem to run out of stuff but as I whine I realize right now that, its CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! Yay!!!! How many vendors do you think planned ahead and actually stocked up? Better get the stuff while its hot peeps. Sorry, I'm done now, I promise.

 

[jeannest]

Paypal will freeze business accounts if they find out the business is selling ecigs. I hate it too; I love the convenience of paying with paypal.

 

[n2xe]

You could always start your own business and educate yourself about what the vendors go through. I think this is a classic case of the Kruger Dunning effect.

 

[GoneWiththeWind]

Hey that's a good idea: why don't they capitalize on the Chinese New Year hiatus. If they ran blow out sales during this time of year business would be CRAZY! unh unh unh.

 

[bjannr]

I think most US suppliers have the company/business as a side job. It might be possible that the money just isn't available to stock all products. I have a responsibility to myself to never let my stash get low enough that I can't wait for a product come back in stock. There are alot of suppliers that allow you to sign up for a notification when an item is re-stocked. I for one appreciate the work and effort the vendors put into making the different vaping supplies available to us..

 

[Java_Az]

2nd on US paypal will lock up your account if selling Ecig supplies. Funny thing is if your in another country they don't give a crap.

With the FDA seizing Shipments it would not be wise to order anymore then you can afford to lose. Might be why Vendors are not making huge purchases. I would also think the smaller shipments have a better chance at getting threw. Just a guess but if i was a Vendor the thought of the FDA getting their grubby little hands on my stuff would for sure be on my mind.

 

[Zal42]

With the FDA seizing Shipments it would not be wise to order anymore then you can afford to lose.

As I understand it, only shipments from China are being seized. Everything you need to make juice is available from domestic manufacturers, so the only effect would be possibly a price increase.

But stock management is a difficult thing, particularly for very small business who can't afford to have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in stock. Demand fluctuates, particularly for flavorings which are not the main sellers.

It seems simple from the outside, but it's truly not. There are a lot of people who make excellent money doing nothing but advising companies when to buy how much of what. Too little, and you lose sales because you don't have the goods to sell. Too much and you're locking up money that is better spent elsewhere, and risk losing money outright if you've overpurchased something perishable.

Some companies do this better than others, but my hat is off to each of them!

 

[Rosco]

nap time I think `

 

[player30]

My hat is off to the juice vendors. They have invested capital into, at the moment, a risky new market. Some juicers have already been put out of business due to an inferior product or poor business management. I have never tried BWB, but it has such a large following that the owner had to shut down the site just to get a couple of days rest. That is a great problem to have! As the U S juice makers grow & multiply, we will wind up getting a superior product. But it does take time. This is a new market that will be at least five times the size it is now in a year. A year from now, we will wonder why we settled for...........

 

[FantWriter]

Some of us can't use PayPal because they discrimate.

Stocking is a nightmare when there is no way to predict sales volume or how long it takes between ordering merchandise and receiving it. I used to order from Chinese companies (products other than vaping) and orders placed with the same company for goods they had on hand might take three days one time and nearly four months the next, depending on the vagarities in carrier schedules, customs, and a host of other situations beyond human intervention.

 

[Tiari]

I run a small business (not e cigs) and i can tell you, it doesn't matter what you are selling.......... shy of having a crystal ball, there is no way to tell how much stock to have of any one item. Fads come and go, today the craze might all be 510 batteries or PCCs, tomorrow RN4081's, or Rivas or.......... on and on. They can only have X amount in stock of any one item to keep business flowing and to have a wide variety of stock, not just specialization in one item.

Your best bet is to have five or six vendors that you can rotate with, that have most of or all the items you need. That way, if one is out, you can head to the next.

 

[the ob]

As I understand it, only shipments from China are being seized. Everything you need to make juice is available from domestic manufacturers, so the only effect would be possibly a price increase.

But stock management is a difficult thing, particularly for very small business who can't afford to have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in stock. Demand fluctuates, particularly for flavorings which are not the main sellers.

It seems simple from the outside, but it's truly not. There are a lot of people who make excellent money doing nothing but advising companies when to buy how much of what. Too little, and you lose sales because you don't have the goods to sell. Too much and you're locking up money that is better spent elsewhere, and risk losing money outright if you've overpurchased something perishable.

Some companies do this better than others, but my hat is off to each of them!

all of this. I own a business that requires me to carry a significant amount in inventory, and it is very difficult to manage. Can you imagine the stress that is involved with having to fork out several hundred thousand dollars for product you "hope" is going to sell? Inventory management can be learned, but never mastered.

I suggest you should buy more and order way before you run out. That is what I would do in your position.

 

[grandmato5]

Most of the vendors are not large companies that can afford to stock thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stock at one time. Not to mention, as several have noted here already, shipments from China are unpredictable in terms of how long they may take to arrive, IF they arrive at all thanks to the FDA and customs. Add to that the amount of changes that have and continue to take place in the PV world in a short period of time. No vendor wants inventory that will be obsolete before its all sold.

No doubt in my mind most vendors that have been around any amount of time have taken into account the Chinese New Year and how it efforts getting stock. Same should go for us vaporers that have been around a bit as far as taking the Chinese New Year into account and how it can effect supplies. Those new to the world of PV's may not have had a chance to stock up but those of us that have been around for a while have no excuse for not having stocked up on our most needed supplies to get us through any delays of a vendor having run out of supplies for a couple weeks.

 

[VapnNow]

I think it's a great idea for you to order from China. It's a thrill a minute. You can do your order, wait for it to ship, watch it hit US Customs and then wait to see if it gets through or spends months at Customs. Then you can try to deal with your China Company. It's exciting. One of the shipments that I saw that was stopped at Customs was a Company and was worth $100,000. It must be quite the dilemma for the US Companies to decide if they should do a large order or a smaller order. Knowing that there is always a chance of it getting seized. Smaller order they will be paying more in shipping but if seized will lose less. Of course with the smaller order they have paid more per item but have to stay competitive with the other Companies pricing so can't really raise the rates so they just lose money. I for one am grateful that Companies are willing to take this risk to order e cig kits, batteries, cartomizers etc so that I can continue to vape and new people can continue to find out how great this is. Maybe your just having a bad day or need to increase your nic level a little.

 

[afrazier5]

Sorry but I'm going to support the vendors here because postings like this really get me peeved off.

Before you point fingers and blame someone for your inconvenience you should first understand the reasoning behind it. I've been in management of various businesses for many years now and unless you have a FULL (and I mean FULL) understanding of the supply chain and the challenges of getting products through the international customs clearing you have no business complaining.

Like the first 2 replies said, if you don't like how the vendors are running things then you need to invest 10's of thousands of dollars into a business and do it yourself.

Shame on you!

 

[WomanOfHeart]

It always seems that when I want to go online and order something from a vendor that I already have an account with (I have quite a few and hate going through the stupid process of creating an account; get a clue its called PAYPAL!! But that's another rant.) Vendors are always running out of stock.

Go ahead. Buy something on PayPal and mention anything e-cig related and see what happens to your PayPal account. Go on...do it! When they shut down your account for violating their TOS, don't come here whining about it.

If you know its going to sell out, STOCK UP? It is called stock, isn't it? Most vendors know this forum is getting into the high thousands of users and only about, what, 60 vendors? Odds are pretty good they will get some customers.

Vendors can't just gauge their stock by the number of people on this forum. Not every single registered user on the forum is a regular visitor and there are probably quite a few who aren't even vaping anymore. Aside from that, the vendors have no way of really knowing what people are going to buy or how much they'll buy on any given day. If it worked that way then my grocery store would ALWAYS have what I want whenever I wanted it, no matter which store I went to. It just doesn't work that way except in fantasy land.

If I want to wait a week or two ill order the .......s from china and save some money while I'm at it.

The ".......s" in China are keeping you vaping whether you buy from them or a reseller here in the States. It's exactly this kind of behavior and language that is partly responsible for making other countries hate us and it pisses me off.

Most people order from the U.S.A because they like to be able to have the product in their hands at a reasonable time. Especially me, being a new-vapor-still-trying-to-quit-smoking I'm trying out new stuff every week and its that much more discouraging when I find out I'm going to have to wait. This thread was to originally complain about vendors who always seem to run out of stuff but as I whine I realize right now that, its CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! Yay!!!! How many vendors do you think planned ahead and actually stocked up? Better get the stuff while its hot peeps.

I'm sure that the vendors did try to plan ahead as much as they possibly could. There are just too many factors involved for them to be able to accurately predict
1) What the demand for a particular product will be.
2) Predict how long it will take to ship from China, even when it isn't a holiday over there.
3) Predict whether their shipment will become "lost" in Customs or seized by the FDA.

If you think that shipments for individuals don't get "lost" or seized, then do a search on the forums. There are plenty of threads where people have made direct orders only to have them seized or lost.

Maybe if you call China, they'll postpone Chinese New Year just for you.

Believe me, I know what it's like to start running short on supplies. But guess whose responsibility that was? Mine. Not China's and certainly not the vendor's. That's why we tell newbies to order more atomizers and plenty of juice when they first get started.

I have several vendors that I order from for just this reason. One vendor may not have what I want in stock, but another probably will. I also stay open to alternatives just in case. Can't find the exact 510 carto I want from one vendor? Another vendor will more than likely have a comparable carto that will tide me over until I can get the ones I want. This is just how it works right now.

 

[HzG8rGrl]

It's ok Zal42, we have allhad bad posting days from time to time. I have definitely had mine, we all need to rant every now and then.
The suppliers really do try hard and risk their time and money for us to have what we want when we want it. They make it available at a good price, which in turn means they have to sell a boat load to get their bills paid. They do the best they can with all the obstacles they face and those are many.
I mostly order from the US, but I have made a few China purchases. Why? So that I have back up supply. I know what it feels like to make a 200 dollar order and sit sweating and watching the tracking online, hoping and praying it gets through customs. Our US suppliers put thousands of dollars on the line to get their stock of supplies for us and to have them available for when we are ready to purchase. I can only imagine what they must go through with watching their order-and when it stops and gets held at customs-they hold their breath and pray, cuss, scream and hopefully sigh a breath of relief when it gets through. If it isn't released they are screwed.
The seizing of the shipment now means they have to raise their prices to make up for the lost money. Risking each and every customer they cater to, and now they must try again or go out of business.
They risk their money for us and I say thank you, thank you for being there and for putting your money and sanity on the line for me.

 

[Hoosier]

OK, I thought it was funny. Great satire.

The instant satisfaction NOW insanity perfectly illustrated in a humorous manner. The I-know-better-than-them characterization is great.

Having worked in retail as an inventory manager at one point in my life, the whole thing was funny.

Good show OP! I look forward to subscribing to your newsletter.

 

[BuzzKill]

Well if we were selling pet rocks it would be easier !! , this business is VERY FAD oriented . one day it is this next it is that , there are lots of vendors with excess stock on the stuff you do not want now .

 

[phylo]

There are a ton of things that contribute to us vendors not always having what you need in stock.. Dealing with the Chinese to get product in and of itself is an arduous process to say the least. We usually have somewhere between $70,000 and $100,000 worth of inventory on hand yet we don't always have everything in stock. Between FDA seizures, incorrect orders because the Chinese screwed our orders up and our customers changing buying trends its hard to know what to stock.. Not to mention that the Chinese have more damn holidays than you can shake a stick it, it makes our lives difficult to say the least.

Phil