Obviously, there is a large difference in vape shops. The example I used of my last purchase at a vape shop, the RX22 for a cost of $43.30 USD after tax, in 2 different shops in the same city, shows that there is massive markup on vape products. There is another shop I have been to here, and it is on a main high rent high traffic throughfare, who charges $16 for 10ml of juice, sells old clearance Fasttech attys for $45, only has 2 show cases, behind which, he has a bunch of folding tables, where the sole staff member/owner does his mail order.
There is no sampleing juice, as just to the left of the door, he has a play pen set up for his toddler. While I looked around, and marvled at the $165 he was selling the X Cube 2 for, he felt it nessasary to explain the play-pen being due to his wife not helping out, and how she had changed the passode on his Facebook page and because of that he was behind in his mail orders,, "so did I want anything??"
That was 4 months ago, and is still still in business. You would think in a city with at least 14 vape shops, that he would be done, but somehow he is still there.
Now, if he was the only game in town, I'd resume buying from Fasttech, even thought they are almost an anachronism these days.
Even the corner store I used to buy my smokes at sells vape stuff now. I chatted with the owner, who has never smoked or vaped, and tried to explain what stuff he should stock, but with English being his second language, and the way his eyes glazed over when I tried to explain battery safety, it has not gone too well. Still, you can buy an authentic Smok TFV4 there for $40, $15 less than the vape shop-daycare.
On this forum, we monitor the price of vape gear more closely than most commodity traders. As the market grows and stabilizesI predict that the price gougers, will either have to change their business models, or die off.
There is simply too much diversity, and the market is still growing, the poor shops will die off and the good ones will expand.
If you live in a city or town where there is a single gougy shop, I would recognize that as a possible opportunity.
I'm aware of a shop in BC that so threatened their competition, that a bomb was planted, and detonated at their new store. Thankfully they were closed at the time, and the gas meter the bomb was attatched to failed to explode, still it took out all the windows and door. If I recall, the CCTV of the bomber and blast was posted on Liveleak. There is money to be made in the vaping biz, One of the 2 shops selling the $43 RX200s, just opened a second location.
Even at the vapy daycare, I would not have approached a customer ( had there been any) and suggested that they go to a different shop. What I would do, is approach a customer and mention that they really should join VU. If they do, they will in very short order realize they are being taken advantage of, and look elsewhere.
My point in a nutshell, if you have shitty stores, make a point to tell every vaper you meet, about the forums. So many I talk to have no idea they exist, or have been turned off due to the Nazis at ECF and intolerant people on other forums as well.
This is not out of a sense of public service only, it also provides me with an assurance that the daycare rape shop type places will go the way of the dinosaur.
This is no attack on mail order. There are many places that have no vape shops at all, and the online stores provide an inportant resource.
