Opening a shop

Nickfrede

Hi all,

I have been following the electronic cigarettes business for a while and I have seen how well there are doing in lots of countries.
I did a bit of research and I realised that in Dublin the only physical shops are in the shopping centers, selling VIP cigarettes and Ecirette/Ovale Ireland in Talbot Street. The shop in Talbot is the only walk-in store with a good selection of products and e-liquids.

I am aware of the large number of on-line shops, both based in Ireland and abroad. I purchased some products myself directly from the Chinese producers.

But I still think that a nice shop in a central location in Dublin it would be very welcome.

I do not think there is much point at the beginning of sellings MODs. The market for them is too small and the advance vapers wouldn't go into a shop to buy at a price higher than online anyway.

I just want to test the water and ask you what do you think about a little retail unit, possibly in D2 selling the most commons e-cigarette, the classical EGO W, EGO C, 808, 901, some other cartos and cleros and a nice selection of E-Liquid. I actually want to get them in Italy, from a couple of small firms that I personally visit and I am sure about the quality.

Please let me know if you think it will work. I am open to any feedback, as far as it is constructive! Thanks in advance!

Rattleshakes

I would definitely use it if it had a decent selection of PV's,RBA's,tanks,clearos,a good selection of juices and not just Dekang!A few nice shiny mods would be cool,even just to look at.
A lot of people who start out with the eGo etc. will want to advance to the next stage,so if it only sold the basic gear it wouldn't hold much interest for them.

I do think it would be of huge benefit to somebody considering the ecig route to have somewhere friendly and informative to go,that will set them on the right track.

Are you a vaper yourself?

feckinfecker

Rattleshakes wrote: »

Are you a vaper yourself?

I prefer the term "vapist".:pac:

Mr. Chrome

Could get confused with 'rapist' :-)

redkid

I think there is a market for it out there but make sure to stock quality genuine products, there are far to many places selling low quality knock off products and it's giving vaping a bad name as people are returning to analogs

Also try to stock as much as possible as it will also interest the experienced vapor or vapist whichever, also if people are online shoppers and run dangerously low on something they will know you are there and if you get them in the door you can turn on the charm to keep them coming back

Beat of luck!

Nonamigo

I'd love to have a shop close to city centre. Being able to try/smell a new juice before you buy it is very important to me. Also id love to be able to buy clearos/cartos/etc without waiting for delivery and stuff like that. If the prices are right, myself and a couple of my vaping friends would be happy shoppers:)))

Nickfrede

Thanks for the replies so far.
I found many interesting E-Liquid producers in Italy who are very keen to explore the Irish market and they are sending me samples to try.

With the E-CIG is not straightforward.
I did contact a few factories in China. The main product they sell are 401, 501, EGO C,T,W and someone might have a special product like Elips (Clone) or some other products with added technology.

I did contact Joytech as well. Their products are 2 to 3 times more expensive than the others and they do give strict guidance for the retail price. This means that I would not be able to sell a starting Kit with a battery for less than 60 euros.

I would like to ask you guys if you really believe that people would be bother in purchasing an "original" E-Cig for 60 or they would rather buy a similar one, with nice colors and an OEM logo for half of the price.

Looking forward to your replies.

sept09baby

A shop needs to have quality produce. People can pick up cheap kits anywhere - I don't think that's the market to aim at. A dedicated vaping shop will need quality products that last and that are interchangeable. I'd go mad if I bought a kit in a shop and if I went back was told I'd need different batteries, chargers etc if I wanted to try new clearos or atomisers.

I've had ego batteries from other makers and while they worked for a while they don't last and one blew up a charger.

What I'd look for in a shop:
Quality Ego and Ego Twist Kits
Selection of clearomisers (and plenty of back up coils), atomisers, cartos
At least a couple of drippers/rebuildables
Quality liquids - large selection of flavours and strenghts
Decent cigalike kits (like the aio)
Selection of prefilled cartos (flavours/strenghts) - may not be popular here but a lot of people like them
Carry cases, chargers and accessories
Some sort of mod for people looking to take the next step
18350,18500, 18650 batteries etc
Somewhere to sit and talk and try things out

If the shop isn't going to have that I wouldn't bother - better off at a market or with a stall in a shopping centre

sept09baby

Oh and information/instruction leaflets

Celly Smunt

Juice is the selling point,if you don't have good juice I'll order somewhere else,that has always been my "policy".

By juice I mean,t juice,halo,highbrow etc etc

Most shops in Ireland stock the usual crap such as hangsen,dekang,liqua etc etc

If there is some nice juice it would be my one stop shop,id probably abandon the only route all together as the mark up on the products in the shop would probably be in or around the cost of delivery.

Nickfrede

* Liquids: I am getting some samples of Italian E-Juices. They are all coming from specialised companies. We are talking about products made in Italy, with all the related traceability of ingredients.
They produce lots of diffent flavours, once I get them I might organize a little tasting event. We could gather somewhere and try them. I don't mind to share them at all :-).

* Cig: It is not hard to find mods, cleros, cartos, atoms for advance smokers. I am just not too sure about the size of the market, but they could definitely be stocked at some stage.
@sept09baby: when you say Quality Ego and Ego Twist Kits do you mean Joytech? What brand do you usually buy?

Guys as I said as good will for your replies I am glad to share my juices as soon as they arrive :-)

eeloe

Nickfrede wrote: »

* Liquids: I am getting some samples of Italian E-Juices. They are all coming from specialised companies. We are talking about products made in Italy, with all the related traceability of ingredients.
They produce lots of diffent flavours, once I get them I might organize a little tasting event. We could gather somewhere and try them. I don't mind to share them at all :-).

* Cig: It is not hard to find mods, cleros, cartos, atoms for advance smokers. I am just not too sure about the size of the market, but they could definitely be stocked at some stage.
@sept09baby: when you say Quality Ego and Ego Twist Kits do you mean Joytech? What brand do you usually buy?

Guys as I said as good will for your replies I am glad to share my juices as soon as they arrive :-)

Are you a vaper yourself? or meerly looking at this from a business perspective?

El_Dangeroso

I went to the shop in Ennis and it was great to try before buying. Spent way too much though!

Green Hornet

pmcmahon wrote: »

By juice I mean,t juice,halo,highbrow etc etc

Most shops in Ireland stock the usual crap such as hangsen,dekang,liqua etc etc

I'd say that's a little bit harsh...I detest Dekang and not overly gone on Hangsen either but from what I understand, their QC etc (Dekang anyway) is top notch. Probably calling it crap is a bit strong. Don't like them myself either though!

I have to say that I do like Liqua though.

Nickfrede

eeloe wrote: »

Are you a vaper yourself? or meerly looking at this from a business perspective?

I am an ex-smoker. I evolved to social smoker and I discovered electronic cigarettes through my mum.
She used to smoke 2 packs of (analogical) cigarettes until 3 months ago. She showed me this Ovale Elips cig with some apple flavoured 0 nicotine e-juice.
I told she was just messing with me, but she didn't touch a cigarette since then!
I tried it myself and I loved it!
The very next thing I went to a shop that a friend of mine opened in my home town and bought a Ego-W with 4 different e-juices.
And a week after I contacted 2 chinese producers to get some different product and my first rebuildable clero! :-)
And I always bring it with me!!!

I have no business to promote (yet) and I know that the Boards will not allow me. I want to understand what people like and if I get a few deliveries of sample juices I am not going to be greedy and smoke all of them by myself!!!

Thanks moderator!

colly10

I would imagine the market for the more advanced stuff is quite large. I would imagine i spend a lot more money and go through more juice that the average person who buys a cig looking ecigarette.
The gear I buy is dearer, I buy more regularly and buy the most expensive juice and stock up regularly. The more "advanced" vapor is not someone who's trying it and is likely to be a returning customer for a long time.
If all your stocking is standard 510's and juice that has no reputation, your likely to see little or none of that market.

I would say the most successfull site is ESI, look at their stock. From the basics to the best of everything

sept09baby

Nickfrede wrote: »

@sept09baby: when you say Quality Ego and Ego Twist Kits do you mean Joytech? What brand do you usually buy?

Joytech are the only reliable Ego batteries I've used - the others weren't good at all.

But I've been using the Provari/Vamo instead for a while and am not sure what else is out there now - the market moves so fast. I'd imagine the Kanger batteries are good going by the quality of their other products.

eeloe

sept09baby wrote: »

Joytech are the only reliable Ego batteries I've used - the others weren't good at all.

But I've been using the Provari/Vamo instead for a while and am not sure what else is out there now - the market moves so fast. I'd imagine the Kanger batteries are good going by the quality of their other products.

Kanger batteries are the business, Joyetech is old school now!


If you've got a friend who opened a shop in your home town, have a chat with him and see what his customer base are looking for.

Is he just stocking basic juice, or is he catering for the higher end, more advanced user?

It'll be all well and good stocking only your high end juices, if people are willing to pay for them, most beginner users are happy to use Dekang/Hangsen cause it's cheap, and it's much cheaper than smoking.

redkid

Quality, you have to go for the quality, the knock off are just ****, and poor quality products will and do put people off vaping and besides pubs etc are selling the knock offs.

With overheads etc it would probably be difficult to sell a full starter kit for less than 60 but really that's only a small amount more than buying on line and if the staff are well informed the info for new vapors is a bonus.

If your seriously considering it and have the startup then go with the quality products or both but do is cause sooner or later someone will I can see them popping up in most major towns in the not to distant future.