Vapor Guy Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Any thoughts on this? Or has anyone tried? Been talking with Joytech and kanger tech, with there crazy *** minimums, I want to sell quality. And I know my pricing would be a bit higher then some competitors I won't be ordering near the volume of the big dogs, and I probably will go with pre made e juice. Just kinda sick of seeing the brick and mortar sell cheap junk for super high markups. I figure offer quality. It will be hard, and I know the industry has become super competitive. Any thoughts guys?? I figured vaping saved my life, I feel if I can give that to someone else that's amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FXRich Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Last time I went to a B&M they wanted $40.00 for something I could get online for $17.00 but they do have overhead. Online stores don't have much overhead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Guy Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Last time I went to a B&M they wanted $40.00 for something I could get online for $17.00 but they do have overhead. Online stores don't have much overhead. I don't care if a store is making profit, I get how the world works, but when I have B&M ordering a fake ego for $7.00 and charging $59.00 around here, then selling that China juice in a green box with a flower on it for 20.00 there is a issue. That **** leaks and the juice is bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FXRich Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 I mix my own juice, with the flavoring nic pg and vg it costs me less than $1.00 per 30ml bottle, not including the bottle which is about .50 if you order enough of them. I don't trust Chinese juice anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FXRich Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 There is something that seems to work. I have noticed a girl around here sells hardware and juice out of a van, she just parks somewhere and starts selling, I hear she has good prices. Never bought anything from her myself. Would depend on the laws where you live though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcartervol98 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) I looked at it several times and came close on a very large scale but at this point there is not a wholesale-supplier chain trustworthy enough and that allows enough margin to make it worth the investment. My brother and I came very close to buying and consolidating four well known online shops but after analysis decided against it. Everyone has different risk thresholds but I would rate it a very high risk venture right now with all the competition and limited markup in product. You would need a very extensive in house made liquid line and very high volume to even be marginally profitable IMO. Edited May 12, 2015 by bcartervol98 Tam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthling789 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I agree with the desire to offer better equipment and juice at reasonable prices, but I too have looked at the cost of start-up (and maintaining) a B&M... a GOOD B&M, that is... And, I agree with B... the risk was beyond my threshold of comfort. It kills me to see every thrift-store, tanning salon, video-store, and gas-station selling clone 650mAh eGo-T starter-kits (with a Ce4 and USB charger) on the cardboard card for $22... and juices that are the worst of the worst (for $15+ for 30ml)... The good B&M's are few and far between, and those tanning salons and other non-vape businesses are partly the reason new vapers get discouraged with the products. More power to you if you can accept the risk and open a good store-front, offer a good selection of quality merchandise, and most of all... have educated employees that aren't just there to blow vape-rings at customers! Bebop and Tam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Not to discourage you, but there are so many stores both online and B&Ms out there these days that, in order to compete (despite having only quality name-brand items), you'll need to be able to compete with low prices. That means buying in large quantities. Unlike many, I'm very lucky to have a great B&M (prices are a bit high), with very knowledgeable and friendly employees in my area. There are also five or six others that sell quality product but the prices are too high. Then, you add online vendors who sell at a deep discount and... it's usually not pretty for new vendors trying to break into the business. You'll also want to be looking very hard at getting insurance that will cover you should something go catastrophically wrong with a product you sold (even if it was user error). With the US being such a litigious society and people doing stupid, unsafe things, it's too easy to lose everything if you don't have good insurance to back you up. Earthling789 and Bebop 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Guy Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'm going to take the plung with a online web store. And try to build that up. Starting online offers less risk, you still have to buy and stock products. The big challenge would be trying to cater to the two different types of vape clients. The ones that are just trying to quit smoking and the sub ohm clients. I have ran online businesses before that have been semi successful, this will be the first one that I would have to actually stock products. It will not be easy and to advertise will be very difficult, since most advertising is associating the vape industry with alcohol and tobacco. It will be challenging. This will not be easy but I will give it go. The insurance or a strong legal disclaimer will for sure be looked into Tam. Thank you for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FXRich Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 I would be very cautious of investing money in a vape business right now. New laws popping up all over the place. Of course I shouldn't be saying much I'm considering manufacturing a RBA, but I don't plan on investing a lot of money yet, just in the design stage right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcartervol98 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 (edited) Good luck I hope you do well. Just remember many people like to buy their stuff all at the same place and will pay a little more for good service. I don't even shop around anymore personally if Sweet-Vapes doesn't have it I probably don't need it. IMO they are top of the heap in online shops and would be a great shop to model yourself after. Fuzion Vapor liquids are also available wholesale. I talked to Chris some about his about a year ago when we were in talks to buy the four companies and consolidate them. We met with the owners of two and the CEOs of the two that were incorporated and once we saw financials we realized how thin the margin of profitability was. Without naming names you would be amazed at one we looked at, one of the biggest online(2.8m in gross 2013 sales) that had barely break even years. The more profitable of the four we were going to consolidate was still on the lowest end of profitability of any business I have looked at and buying and flipping smaller businesses has been something I have done for a long time on the side. Just don't invest your life savings expecting a big return. Our break even point on the potential investment was at 12 years even with a combined $5.8m in sales annually between the four. Edited May 12, 2015 by bcartervol98 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcartervol98 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Also keep I mind we were not looking to do it for fun or as a passion we were looking at it from a standpoint of consolidating and building a brand for a year then dumping the "largest online supplier" for a profit lol. If we had pulled the trigger it would have been the largest online storefront in existence lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 The advice you have been given is very sound. All I can add is, good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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