Features

The average vaper barely scratches the surface of what his or her local vape shop has to offer. If you only go to your local vape shop when you need a bottle of e-liquid and a box of coils, you’re missing out on a lot of other fun things that you could also be buying. Do you think that the vape juices, mods, and tanks on display represent everything that a vape shop has to offer? No way.

If you spend a bit of time browsing and asking questions, you’re going to find a huge variety of products that you didn’t even know you wanted. If your local vape shop has been in business for more than a few years, they’ve probably also got a stash of older products that they don’t even bother displaying.

Make your next trip to a local vape shop an adventure by looking for something out of the ordinary. These are the 5 products that you didn’t know you could find at your local vape shop…

#1) Many Vape Shops Stock CBD and Kratom

The American vaping industry is on tenuous legal ground in 2020. In May, the regulatory grace period that the industry has enjoyed for the past several years will end, and every manufacturer in the industry will need to have a pre-market application on file with the FDA for each of its products. Since pre-market tobacco applications are far too costly for small businesses to put together, most independent American vaping brands will disappear in May unless something changes.

Vape shops, in other words, will suddenly find themselves with almost no vaping products to sell. Right now, smart vape shops all over the country like Vapor Connection LLC in Pittsburgh are working their fingers to the bone looking for alternative revenue streams. CBD and kratom are two herbal supplements that have proven to be natural fits for vape shops, perhaps because some people choose to consume those supplements by vaping them.

• Need CBD Vape Juice? We Got You Covered – Get 30ML Bottles For $30 Inside The VapeBeat Store!

Before you start checking out the herbal supplements at your local vape shop, remember that supplements are not regulated by the FDA and therefore can’t be marketed with health claims. Don’t ask the owner of your local vape shop whether a given supplement is good for treating a given condition; he or she can’t legally answer that question. Take the time to do some reading online; you’ll find plenty of published studies about CBD, kratom and other popular herbal supplements.

#2) Vintage Vape Gear

Can you believe that the vaping industry is already more than 10 years old? We’ve actually reached the point at which you can safely start using the word “vintage” to describe older vape gear – and if your local vape shop has been around since the beginning, there’s a good chance that they still have some vintage products tucked away somewhere.

Are you a collector? Visit your local vape shop and ask what vintage vape gear they have stashed away. You might find an old ProVari by ProVape or Darwin by Evolv. You might even find an ancient cigalike from back in the day. There are dozens – maybe even hundreds – of vaping brands that have come and gone during the history of the vaping industry. Those companies’ products – now relics of the industry’s past – may become serious collector’s items in the future. For now, though, you can still buy most of them cheaply.

Do you own an older vape tank that you still enjoy using? If the manufacturer of your tank no longer makes the coils, check your local vape shop. A vape shop that’s been around for a while will likely have an enormous selection of coils for obscure tanks.

#3) Replacement Parts for Any Vaping Product

Do you have a tank with a warped o-ring or broken glass enclosure? These days, it’s common for high-end vape tanks to include replacements for all crucial components. If you’ve already used your tank’s replacement parts, though – or you’ve lost them – you might have a serious emergency on your hands if you break your tank and don’t have another tank that you can use while you wait for the replacement part to arrive. When you need a replacement part for a tank or other piece of vaping hardware, your local vape shop is the best resource you could possibly have. Don’t bother checking your local vape shop’s shelves for replacement parts – ask at the counter. Vape shops often store spare parts in drawers and in other containers because the demand for those products isn’t high.

Other random parts and accessories that you can often find at your local vape shop include:

• Springs and buttons for mechanical mods
• Battery doors and covers
• Battery wrappers
• Battery packs for LiPo-powered mods
• Metal hardware and drip tips for tanks
• Mounting screws for rebuildable atomizers
• Thread lubricant
• Coil winders and wire cutters

#4) Non-Mainstream Smoking Products In A Vape Shop!?

Do you still smoke from time to time even though you vape? Maybe you’re not necessarily a tobacco smoker, but you do enjoy some alternative smokeables from time to time? Many vape shops actually double as smoke shops because, ironically, the legal future of the tobacco industry is much more secure than that of the vaping industry. In addition, many vape shops were primarily tobacconists before vaping exploded in popularity.

Some of the unusual smoking and tobacco products that you may find at your local vape shop include:

• Loose tobacco blends for pipe smoking, cigarette rolling or dry herb vaping
• Non-tobacco herbal cigarettes and smoking blends
• Imported cigarette brands
• Swedish snus and other non-combustible tobacco products
• Wood and glass pipes for tobacco or herb smoking

#5) Dry Herb and Wax Vaping Products

Dry herb vaping isn’t just for cannabis. You can also vaporize loose-leaf tobacco in a dry herb vaporizer, and that option might become very appealing to you in May if all of your favorite e-liquids suddenly become unavailable. Just like tobacco smoking, dry herb vaping has no legal issues – except for those that already govern the tobacco and cannabis industries – and isn’t going anywhere.

You just need the right type of vaporizer to use them; check out my #1 picks for dry herb vaporizers right now.

Many people are likely to give tobacco vaping a try in May, and it’s likely that you can find everything you need to get started with tobacco vaping at your local vape shop.

Wondering what the most popular vape, best selling vape kits of the last 12 months are? Well, look no further – meet 2019’s best-selling vape kits, according to overall sales figures and ratings…

#1) SMOK NOVO
Average Customer Rating – 4.5/5
Best Price – $15.99 

This one kind of surprised me. I didn’t mind the SMOK NOVO; it’s an OK pod system, but I much prefer the SMOK RPM40, which is leagues better in almost every single way. I get why people like the NOVO though; it’s small, compact, and is MTL.

However, for me, if I were in the market for a small compact vape, I’d still be looking at either the UWELL Caliburn. For me, it is the best pen-style pod mod on the market. Even now, almost 12 months after its release, the Caliburn is still a mainstay in my pod lineup of vapes. I love the flavor I get from it and I love the way it draws. On top of this, its coils last for weeks at a time. And this, for me, is what a pod vape should be like…

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#2) SMOK Mag 225 Kit
Average Customer Rating – 5/5
Best Price – $59.99

The SMOK Mag Kit is a vape mod and mesh tank combo. It delivers plenty of power, 225W, and it looks suitably impressive. Add in a very good sub-ohm tank in the form of the SMOK TFV 12 Price, and you’re looking at one hell of a combination, if flavor and big clouds are your thang.

I did quite like the SMOK Mag kit when I tested it, but I prefer the VooPoo Drag Mini kit. The mod is better and the tank, while not perfect, is more than adequate for most users. If you want the best sub-ohm tank on the market, you’ll want to be using the Falcon King Pro – nothing else comes close.

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#3) VooPoo DRAG Nano
Average Customer Rating – 4.5/5
Best Price – $18.95

Another surprise, this one. Again, the VooPoo DRAG Nano isn’t a bad product. It’s just that there are so many better options out there – the VooPoo VINCI for one is a stellar pod system that is far better than the Drag Nano. Hell, I think I’d prefer a MiPod over this one; it delivers better flavor and the coils last longer.

Consumers seem to really like this device, however, and I get that. Me personally, I demand more from my pod vapes. And the VooPoo Drag Nano just didn’t do it for me when I tested it. My advice? Get the VooPoo VINCI pod system instead. It’s MILES better.

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#4) VooPoo Drag 2 Kit
Average Customer Rating – 4.5/5
Best Price – $48.95

The VooPoo Drag 2 was the long-awaited update to the VooPoo Drag, AKA one of the best vape mods ever created. Having such big shoes to fill was always going to be tricky, but VooPoo pretty much nailed it with the VooPoo Drag 2, revamping the design, adding in more power, and releasing it in kit form with an above-average mesh coil vape tank.

An ideal starter kit for anyone interested in sub-ohm vaping, the VooPoo Drag 2 Kit is well-priced, great-looking, and an all-round solid performer. The company’s GENE chip is by far and away one of the best in the business, delivering performance-levels normally associated with $150+ vape mods. If you like value for money, the VooPoo Drag 2 Kit is a great option.

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#5) SMOK Infinix
Average Customer Rating – 4.5/5
Best Price – $17.99

I’m not the biggest fan of the SMOK Infinix; I tested it a good while ago and felt it lacked a certain level of quality when it came to flavor. As pen vapes go, it’s OK but you’re far better off with something like the UWELL Caliburn which is cheaper, has better coils, and longer-lasting battery life.

Designed for use with Nic Salts, the SMOK Infinix is a small, portable MTL pen vape that uses refillable pods. It looks great and is simple to use. If it weren’t for the likes of the UWELL Caliburn or SMOK’s very own SMOK RPM40, it’d probably have done more favorably in estimations. But them the breaks, unfortunately.

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#6) GeekVape AEGIS Mini Kit
Average Customer Rating – 5/5
Best Price – $37.95

Out of all the vape mods that I own, I think GeekVape’s AEGIS mods are my most used. I have three in total and I’ve been using them pretty much every day, interchangeably, for over 18 months now. They’re small, lightweight, and insanely robust. And they work reliability over the long term.

I’ve bought and used hundreds of vape mods, but none have had the lasting power of GeekVape’s AEGIS line of mods. They’re water and dustproof, they look like $100 mods, and they pack in plenty of useful features like TC vaping as well as market-leading safety. I love these mods, so if you’re after something that’s reliable and delivers excellent value for money, the GeekVape AEGIS Mini Kit should be high on your list.

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#7) SMOK Species Kit
Average Customer Rating – 4.5/5
Best Price – $34.95

If you want a fancy mod that has a touchscreen and features you can spend hours playing around with, the SMOK Species Kit could be right up your ally. It comes with SMOK’s TFV8 Baby V2 mesh coil tank, which is great for clouds and flavors, and the entire package looks totally badass – especially in gold.

I’m not always the biggest SMOK advocate, but the SMOK Species Kit is a step in the right direction for the company. It’s solidly built, it’s priced exceeding well for what you’re getting, and it comes with a reliable tank that is simple enough for inexperienced vapers to set up and use without any issues. The SMOK Species Kit is also jam-packed with features too, so you can really customize your vape.

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#8) VooPoo DRAG Mini Kit
Average Customer Rating – 4.5/5
Best Price – $44.95

The VooPoo DRAG Mini Kit, or more specifically the VooPoo DRAG Mini mod, is perhaps one of my favorite vape mods of all time. I’ve had mine for a good 18 months now, and I still use it every day. It runs on a massive internal battery, so there’s no need for 18650s. Just plug it into the wall via USB, wait 40 minutes, and it will be 100% recharged.

You have plenty of power, great overall design and finish, and it works brilliantly with all styles of tank – from performance sub-ohm tanks to low-power MTL tanks, like the Kayfun or Augvape Merlin Nano MTL RTA (my current #1 choice for MTL tanks). The look, feel, and fit and finish is all top-notch. I honestly could live without mine, so make sure you check this vape mod out.

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#9) UWELL Crown 4 Kit
Average Customer Rating – 4.5/5
Best Price – $57.95

As the name suggests, the UWELL Crown 4 Kit ships with UWELL’s world-beating Crown 4 sub-ohm tank. This is a good thing, especially if you like flavor because not much else can compete with the Crown 4 in that regard. What makes this kit so attractive, however, is that you’re getting a stunning box mod thrown in for good measure.

Featuring a beautiful design, replete with detailed etchings, the UWELL Crown 4 Kit is perhaps one of the best-looking set-ups on this list. Packing in support for 200W of power, as well as all the usual vaping modes you’d expect from a vape mod, the UWELL Crown 4 Kit is definitely one to be looking at 2019 if you value design, power, performance, and value for money.

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#10) SMOK Mag Grip Kit
Average Customer Rating – 4.5/5
Best Price – $49.95

The SMOK Mag Grip Kit is designed to look like the handle of a gun. It’s an unusual design choice, clearly geared at Americans, but it really does work, as it is one of the most ergonomic vape mods I have ever tested; it just sits beautifully in your hand. All the buttons are exactly where you want them to be and the mod, which has masses of power, performs brilliantly.

Again, like the SMOK Species Kit, the SMOK Mag Grip Kit comes with the brand new SMOK Baby Beast V2. This means you’ve got an array of coil options, including a few mesh options. Flavor and performance are great, as is the airflow. Combined with the SMOK Mag Grip Kit out and out power and style, this vape kit is definitely worth a look if you crave flavor, unique styling, and plenty of vaping performance.

The VooPoo VINCI and SMOK RPM40 are just about two of the best pod vape systems you can buy right now. But which is best? Let’s investigate…

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VooPoo VINCI vs SMOK RPM40 – Quick Comparison

Design

• VooPoo VINCI – The VooPoo VINCI is a very good-looking pod vape. It’s small, light-weight, and compact. It sits beautifully in the palm of your hand and is available in a range of colors. Setting up the device is a cinch; just fill the pod, attach it, click the device on, and you’re away. The buttons are nice and clicky and the entire overall finish of the device is superb, just as you’d expect from VooPoo
• SMOK RPM40 – The SMOK RPM40 is very similar to the VINCI; it’s a pod mod-style vape, meaning it’s closer to a traditional vape mod than normal pod vapes like the UWELL Caliburn. Like the VINCI, it is an impressively designed piece of vape hardware that is perfectly sized for all-day usage. It’s simple to set-up and well machined, though I do think the ever-so-slightly cheaper VooPoo VINCI looks and feels better. It’s just more premium, in my opinion.

Specs & Features

• VooPoo VINCI – The VooPoo VINCI is rated from 5W to 40W, meaning you can push plenty of power through this little pod vape. It comes with two coil heads, a 0.3ohm mesh coil, and a 0.8ohm dual coil. Both are great and can handle everything from Nic Salts to standard high VG vape juice. The real star of the show, however, is VooPoo’s GENE chip which ensures near-perfect vaping across the board. Power is plentiful and you’re 100% covered when it comes to safety features.
• SMOK RPM40 – Both the VINCI and the RPM40 are more like box mods than traditional pod vapes, and the reason for this is simple: you have more power and more control – variable wattage and voltage. This allows for more customization when vaping. The SMOK RPM40 is no exception; it allows for precise control over power and voltage, meaning you can alter how it performs with the click of a button. Performance is exemplary across the board, thanks to SMOK’s chipset which ensures solid power delivery in all modes and settings. Like the VINCI, it tops out at 40W.

Performance

• VooPoo VINCI – The VooPoo VINCI is a power-house. It can output up to 40W and it has the GENE chip inside it, ensuring everything functions optimally. I got my VINCI a month ago, and since then I’ve been using it every day. For me, the VooPoo VINCI is one of the best performing vape products on the market right now – for flavor, for coil performance, for design. It basically does it all.
  
• SMOK RPM40 – The SMOK RPM40 is no slouch, either. Like the VINCI, it can hold its own when it comes to performance. You have 40W and, when the coils are playing ball, the flavor is brilliant. You can also run SMOK Nord coils in it as well, opening up the potential for MTL vaping on the RPM40; the VINCI doesn’t have any MTL coils as yet. And for me, this is a big bonus in SMOK’s favor.

Battery Life

• VooPoo VINCI – The Vinci uses a 1500mAh battery and, with moderate usage, it’ll see you through a full day’s worth of vaping. If you run it at lower wattages, you can get a solid couple of days on a single charge. As pod mods go, 1500mAh is about as good as it gets, so whatever you’re doing, the battery performance here is going to blow you away, especially if you’re used to smaller pod vapes with sub-500mAh batteries.
• SMOK RPM40 – Like the VINCI, the SMOK RPM40 runs a 1500mAh internal battery. And like the VINCI, it is mind-blowingly good. You’re looking at all-day vaping from a single charge which, in the pod vape space, is rarer than hen’s teeth. If you’re after a pod mod with excellent battery life, the VINCI and RPM40 are just about as good as it gets right now.

Coil Heads, Flavor & Options

• VooPoo VINCI – If you’re looking for a portable vape device to vape High VG, traditional E Juice through, the VooPoo VINCI is a fantastic option. The coil heads are brilliant, kicking out plenty of flavor and clouds. They last for ages as well; around 10-14 days on average in my experience. There’s no MTL coil head, which is a bummer, but when the flavor is as good as it is on VooPoo’s two coil head options, I can honestly say I don’t mind…
• SMOK RPM40 – The SMOK RPM40 is slightly more versatile in this context because you can run Nord coils in it – and that brings MTL vaping into play. With the Nord coils, you can run Nic Salts Juice, whereas on the VINCI, you’ll want to keep things focussed on normal, higher VG E Juice. I do prefer the VINCI’s coils for flavor and overall performance, they’re just better quality, but I do like the fact that you can run Nord coils in the RPM40.

Which Is Best? The VooPoo VINCI or The SMOK RPM40?

This is a tricky one to call. Both the SMOK RPM40 and VooPoo VINCI are excellent devices, truly unique among their peers. Both look and perform brilliantly and are simple to use and setup. I love the flavor I get from both, but I do think the VINCI has better overall coils, despite not supporting MTL vaping. For this reason, I’d be inclined to go with the VINCI even though you’re limited to using standard, higher VG vape juice.

The SMOK RPM40 is a great device too; it’s more versatile, thanks to its support for Nord coils, and this means you can run both Nic Salts and High VG juice through it which will be appealing to a lot of you guys. The RPM40 also looks great too and is available in a range of colors. For me, though, I just can’t get enough of the VINCI – it’s like a miniature box mod and mesh coil tank in one. And the coils last for weeks at a time. For me, it’s ALL about the VINCI…

Prices For Both Vape Devices

VooPoo Vinci | $30.95 (FREE SHIPPING)

SMOK RPM40 | $26.95 (FREE SHIPPING)

Love tobacco? Want Nic Salts E Juice? No Problem – We Have Just The Thing…

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One of the trickiest things people first encounter when switching from smoking to vaping is choosing a flavor. There’s so much to choose from and tobacco is never high on any retailers’ agenda which sucks if you’re a fan of tobacco-flavored vape juice.

When we built our E Juice Store, we knew a couple of things: 1) people want good quality vape juice at great prices, and 2) A LOT of people want access to premium, great-tasting tobacco vape juice. Specifically, tobacco Nic Salts Juice.

For this reason, as well as the fact that I love RY4 flavor juices, we built in a brilliant Nic Salts Bundle that is 100% focused on tobacco. But it’s not just boring old tobacco; no, it features blends of tobacco with things like menthol, peanut butter, butterscotch, and caramel, so you have sweet and delicate options designed specifically for MTL vaping in tanks and pods.

Our Best Nic Salts Bundle Deal

Deal Price: $69.99 (Normally $99.99) – Inc. 5x30ML Nic Salt Vape Juices

What You Get:

• TOP BRASS: Creamy sweet, peanut butter with a hint of tobacco.
• VANILLA CREAM: Sweet vanilla filling with a crusty dough hint, adding just a pinch of sugar on top. Made from authentic vanilla beans, this is the perfect flavor for people who are into sweet-smelling clouds.
• TOBACCO MENTHOL: For the ones who know a great Tobacco Menthol salt this is the one for you.A full-bodied flavor that perfectly balances the warmth of tobacco with the chill of menthol.
• RY4: The tobacco flavor that you will always come back to. Never getting old, our blend for RY4 brings new notes of warm chocolatey caramel complementing the full-flavored tobacco.
• BUENA VISTA: Perfectly blended, Buena Vista has vanilla and caramel mixed together and touched lightly with classic tobacco hints. The clouds will definitely take you to sunny places.

All our Nic Salts E Juices come in 30ml bottles and are 35mg in strength. They’re designed for vapers that want the most from their vapes. And while 35mg is strong, it delivers a similar hit to a cigarette, so you’ll vape less as you’ll be more satisfied off a couple of hits than taking 10 or more on a lower, 3/6mg high VG juice.

Best Vape Device To Use Nic Salts Vape Juice In?

Nic Salts E Juice is NOT the same as standard, high VG vape juice. For this reason, you need to make sure you use the right devices. Ideally, you want a pod vape device or an MTL tank. I use the Augvape Merlin Nano MTL RTA tank; it is fantastic and has been my daily driver for almost 6 months now.

You can use pod mods to run Nic Salts in too; they’re lower power devices that are usually MTL, so they’re perfect for Nic Salts E Juice in. We have collected all of our favorite pod systems from the last 12 months inside our Guide To The Best Pod Vapes – they’re all brilliant, so if you’re in the market for one, make sure you check that article out!

My Personal Favorite?

I’m a big RY4 man, so I adore Top Brass. For me, it is the best RY4 Nic Salts E Juice on the planet – this is why we curated it inside our ever-expanding juice store. It’s sweet, delicate, and the perfect all-day, MTL vape for those that love sweet tobacco blends.

I can – and regularly do – vape Top Brass for months on end, never using anything else. It tastes great in pods and MTL tanks. And I never get sick of the flavor; for me, and quite a few of my close friends, Top Brass is our go-to, vape juice.

Coming in second would have to be BUENA VISTA, a sweet mix of vanilla and caramel. It’s ideal for fans of deep, sweet vape juices. If you like your flavors thick and heavy, then BUENA VISTA is a definite must-have. It tastes awesome in pods and tanks and, next to Top Brass, is easily one of my all-time favorite Nic Salts vape juices.

Wanna try it yourself? Pick up the VapeBeat Store Nic Salts Sample Pack right now and see how good it is for yourself!

The preferences of the vaping community have definitely changed over the years – and if you’ve been vaping long enough, you can probably remember a few vaping products from the past that would never, ever sell today. Have you been around long enough to remember cigalikes with disposable sponge-filled cartridges?

What about the original eGo e-cigarette – or the first iStick mods?

• The #1 Best Disposable Vapes For Flavor & Battery Life

One certain thing about the way the vaping industry has evolved over its first decade is that vapers are always on the hunt for what’s new and sexy. Beginner vapers, however, don’t seem to have nearly as many options as they once did. There’s pretty much JUUL and – well, JUUL – and some of us are pretty sick of that company’s marketing shenanigans.

Sure, there’s nothing stopping a new vaper from skipping JUUL and heading straight to a mod. Let’s face it, though; many new vapers simply don’t want mods at first. What they really want is something that’s small and convenient and mimics a real cigarette as closely as possible.

Whatever happened to the classic e-cigarette starter kit – the type that most of us started with so many years ago? What makes traditional e-cigarette kits so special, and why do they seem to have become a lost art here in the United States? What could the next generation of e-cigarette companies learn from classic e-cigarette starter kits?

Let’s examine the lost art of e-cigarette kits a little more deeply and learn more about why those kits could still hold plenty of interest for smokers-turned-vapers.

A Good E-Cigarette Kit Feels Like a Truly Complete Package

Have you ever opened a JUUL starter kit? A JUUL kit is an extremely spartan package containing nothing but a battery, a USB charger and a handful of pre-filled pods. When you open a JUUL kit, you don’t feel empowered to take on whatever situation you may encounter during your transition from smoking to vaping. You don’t feel like you’re ready to make a major life change. You don’t feel like you’ve just joined an exclusive club. The only thing you really feel is that you’re probably going to need to grab a box of refill pods soon.

A great e-cigarette starter kit, in comparison, will leave you feeling empowered because it’ll include every accessory you’re likely to need during your transition. Accessories like wall charging adapters, portable battery charging cases and plenty of refill cartridges are exactly what new vapers want to see. A good e-cigarette kit feels like a truly complete package. That helps new vapers feel prepared for the transition away from smoking and gives them a level of confidence that helps to make the switch easier.

An E-Cigarette Starter Kit Promotes a Consistent Brand Identity

An e-cigarette kit often has its maker’s logo stamped just about everywhere – on the packaging, on the battery and on all of the accessories. E-cigarette kits can feature very prominent and powerful branding in ways a JUUL starter kit doesn’t. Opening such a kit is a powerful experience that definitely makes you feel as though you’re included in something special.

Consider tobacco cigarettes in comparison; tobacco companies brand their products with a razor-sharp focus that has virtually no equal. They understand that the differences between cigarette brands are minimal. How a cigarette brand tastes isn’t nearly as important as the way that customers feel when they associate themselves with that brand. Brand identity is something that’s largely been lost as the American vaping industry has gradually shifted from traditional e-cigarettes to mods.

Nothing Is Easier to Use Than a Traditional E-Cigarette

Although vaping does make achieving a smoke-free lifestyle much easier than it once was, the initial transition from smoking to vaping isn’t always easy for everyone. During that transition phase, the last thing you want is a device that’s anything less than completely simple and user friendly. One of the best things about the traditional e-cigarette kit is the fact that it’s a platform that has seen years of refinement and has probably now reached its peak in terms of performance and reliability. Some people might say, of course, that the pod system represents a further evolution of the classic cigalike – but pod systems have a long way to go before they’ll be as reliable as cigalikes. Even though pod systems have been around for years, people still deal with problems like leaky pods and dry hits. Cigalikes generally do not have problems like those.

Traditional e-cigarettes are also incredibly easy to use because there’s no fiddling and virtually no troubleshooting necessary, ever. No flavor? Replace the cartridge. No vapor? Charge the battery. Switching flavors is as easy as unscrewing one cartridge and screwing on another one. Pod systems are equally easy to use – at least if they have pre-filled pods – but the fact that you occasionally need to troubleshoot problems with a pod system adds an extra layer of difficulty that traditional e-cigarettes lack. If you’ve ever needed to disassemble a JUUL because a leaky pod contaminated the device’s internal electronics, you know exactly what we’re talking about here. Cigalikes can’t be disassembled for troubleshooting, and if you do happen to ruin a battery by getting it wet, replacements are always cheap.

A Traditional E-Cigarette Has the Feel That Many Smokers Want

The one aspect of traditional e-cigarettes that have no peer in the vaping world is the fact that using a cigalike feels very close to the act of smoking a cigarette. You can hold a cigalike between two fingers while you vape. Some cigalikes are so light that you can even let them hang from your lips if that’s what you prefer. Have you ever seen someone struggling to keep a JUUL between their lips? It doesn’t work at all.

Pod systems definitely have their benefits; they’ve revolutionized the vaping world for a reason. Still, building and selling traditional e-cigarette kits is something of a lost art in the United States, and it’s a tradition that deserves to make a comeback for many reasons. No consumer has ever benefitted from having fewer choices available.

When you read the discussions on Reddit or any vaping forum, you can find no shortage of conversations in which people compare the merits of local vs. online vape shops. If you’re the owner of a brick-and-mortar vape shop, it probably stings a little to see complaints of price gouging by local stores.

Don’t those people understand how difficult it is to run a brick-and-mortar store in the Internet age?

You’re not subcontracting the packaging and shipping duties to a third-party warehouse that’s also handling order fulfillment for dozens of other online vape shops. You’re buying your own merchandise, paying your own rent and utility bills and creating jobs for real people in your community.

You have huge expenses that the online vaping superstores don’t have, and there’s almost no way to run a brick-and-mortar store while competing with online sellers on a price basis.

If you can’t compete on price, how can your local vape shop compete with online vape shops?

Through my vaping SEO service at eCig One, I have worked with brick-and-mortar vape shops around the world – and each one of them has the same challenge. In this article, I’ll share some of the insight I’ve gained from working with those businesses.

What You Can Gain by Competing With Online Vape Shops

At this point, you might be wondering why you should even try competing with online vape shops. If you can’t compete on price, after all, what can you do?

It’s worth the effort to try to win that business, though, because it’s a major opportunity for growth.

When you think about it, there are really only three ways for a local vape shop to capture new customers.

1. You can capture customers who normally shop at competing vape shops.
2. You can convince smokers to switch to vaping and shop at your store.
3. You can convert online shoppers into local buyers.

If you’re not doing what you can to convince people in your community that you can offer a better buying experience than the online vaping superstores, you’re leaving an important growth opportunity on the table.

#1) Get Involved in Your Community

The relationship between a business and its community runs in both directions. Cities only have so much revenue to spread around, and they look to local businesses to pick up some of the slack.

There are so many opportunities for giving back to your community and making life a little nicer for the people who live there. You can volunteer to keep a local street clean and pick up litter there with your employees once a month.

You can partner with a local brewery or wine seller and hold an event in which attendees can experience different e-liquid and beverage pairings.

You can sponsor a team in a local athletic league.

It doesn’t take a lot of money to make life in your community a little better – and every step of the way, you can remind the vapers in your city that spending their money at a local vape shop rather than online means that they’re doing their part to improve life for everyone in the community.

#2) Remind Customers of the Jobs They’re Supporting

Whether someone buys vape gear online or in a local vape shop, he or she is supporting jobs. If you’re going to do your part to help keep people employed, would you rather support the jobs of anonymous warehouse workers across the country or local workers whose names you actually know?

Unless your vape shop is a one-person operation, you’re providing jobs to members of your community. There is nothing more valuable to a city than a population of people who are employed, paying taxes and bettering their lives.

Take every possible opportunity to remind people that purchases at your vape shop support the jobs of local people who enjoy their jobs and earn good, livable wages.

#3) Create a Fun Buying Environment

There’s a reason why many vape shops have lounge areas where people can relax and vape, and it’s not just because the owners of those shops want to create trendy hangout spots. It’s also because anything that makes a local store a fun place to be – that encourages people to stop in even when there’s nothing that they urgently need – increases traffic.

Running a vape lounge also means that you can potentially earn extra money from selling ultra-profitable sodas, coffee drinks, and snacks.

Not interested in turning your vape shop into a lounge? No problem; there are plenty of other ways to create a fun buying experience that makes people want to come in.

Try creating a tiered customer loyalty program in which customers gain “experience points” and “level up.”

The more your reward program feels like a game, the more your customers will want to “play.”

Start a tournament bracket during March Madness and encourage your customers to vote by buying their favorite e-liquids. Offer a significant discount to all customers the day after a local sports team wins a game. Above all else, be creative.

#4) Offer an Online Sales Component

The fact that you run a brick-and-mortar shop doesn’t mean that you can’t still sell your products online. In fact, setting yourself up for online sales might even be easier for you than it is for some new online vape shops because you’ve already jumped through the necessary hoops to open a merchant account with a payment processor. Many new online vape shop owners have no idea how difficult it can be to get a merchant account for a vape shop until they’re already deeply invested.

Don’t forget that adding an e-commerce component to your website doesn’t have to only be about taking orders and mailing products. You can also allow customers to buy online and pick up their purchases in your store. That’s especially useful if your vape shop is often busy. Customers can buy and pay online, pick up their orders at your brick-and-mortar vape shop and be gone in a flash.

#5) Offer Local Delivery

It may not be possible for your brick-and-mortar vape shop to compete with the online vape shops on price, but you can also give your customers something that no online vape shop can: instant gratification.

A customer might pay a few dollars more for that sub-ohm tank or bottle of e-liquid, but he or she has it in their hands immediately.

If your local laws allow for it, you can make that gratification even more instant by offering a local delivery service. Out of e-liquid? Just burned out your last coil? No problem; one of our friendly delivery drivers can be at your home or office in about 30 minutes.

The quicker you can get products into your customers’ hands, the less likely they will be to ever consider buying vape gear online.

#6) Curate Your E-Liquids

Unless you happen to let your employees sample the products, they most likely haven’t tasted every e-liquid in your store – and even if they have, not every customer is going to want to ask what a vape juice with a name like “Kool Lagerfeld” tastes like.

Wine shops have the same problem.

They solve it by writing descriptions and placing them in front of the bottles. Don’t want to write descriptions of every e-liquid in your store? No problem; build a curated collection of the very best e-liquids and place description cards in front of those e-liquids.

Offering every e-liquid on the planet isn’t going to bring extra business your way; the online vape shops already do that. Curating an e-liquid collection that feels selective and exclusive, on the other hand, is something your competitors aren’t doing.

This is also the ethos behind the VapeBeat Store – less is more. Just good quality juice, made in America, in flavors that people love. And it works too; we’ve already got over 1000+ 5-Star reviews and we only launched at the beginning of 2019.

#7) Find Ways to Become More Efficient

As a brick-and-mortar vape shop owner, you probably operate with the assumption that there’s no way for you to compete with the online vape shops – but have you actually tried? If you can find a way to reduce your operating expenses and make your employees’ time more productive, it may be possible for you to lower your prices or at least improve your profitability with your current pricing structure.

When you’re looking for ways to increase efficiency, start with your POS system. Are you still using an old-fashioned cash register and card swipe machine? A modern POS – like this one – can handle card payments while tracking your inventory and managing your customer loyalty program automatically.

Want to know who your best customers are? Want to send an automated text message and coupon to the customers who haven’t visited in a while? Want to know which products you’ll need to reorder soon?

A modern POS can do all of that and much, much more. If you aren’t using one, perhaps it’s time you did. And right now, millions of store owners swear by this one.