An Inside Look at How Zootie's Vapors Select Juices for the Shop

People are always asking if we carry this line or that line.  Unfortunately it is not that simple for us to select a line of juice for our shop.  Every day, we get emails and samples from juice makers asking for a spot on our wall.  With over 70 flavors, we have to be very selective and that process takes time.

So for an insiders look at how new juice gets added, let me walk you through the steps we take.

1. QUALITY. The first and most important factor in selecting a juice line is to make sure that proper safety and quality control is being met.  All of the companies that we select use dedicated clean rooms, high-quality ingredients, and have responsible business practices.
    
2. TASTE.  We ask for samples and we personally vape on it for as long as it takes for us to determine if the flavor and quality meets our standards. Sometimes we share these flavors with our customers to get their opinions as well.  We are primarily testing for whether the flavor is good throughout the vape, whether its in a tank or a dripper.  We also make sure that all of the flavors listed are accurate and consistent.
    
3. COMPLEXITY.  We don't want to carry any one-note flavors on our shelves.  Sure a delicious strawberry is great, but we want flavors that have inhale, mouth taste and exhale characteristics.  Most all of the juices we carry either have consistent flavor through all three phases or sometimes they change, such is the case with Grand Vapors Velvet Revolver.  It is a delicious red velvet cake inhale that is followed by a sweet icing finish.  This is just one juice example of a flavor that exceeds our expectations.
    
4. PRICE POINT.  This one is a bit subjective and normally I wouldn't discuss "profit margins" with customers, but I think we all understand that shops are in business to make money.  Some shops choose to make that money by marking their prices up beyond what we would consider acceptable because of greed or because they have higher expenses to account for.  At Zootie's Vapors, we keep all of our 30ml bottles at an average of $20, regardless of what we pay for that brand.  We know that buying juice is one of the biggest expenses for vapers and we want to make this as affordable as possible, while still being able to stay in business.
    
5. CUSTOMER FEEDBACK.  Our biggest determining factor in selecting a juice line and keeping those flavors in stock is our customers.  If you ask for a line that you enjoy, we take that into consideration and will reach out to those companies to constantly bring in new juices.  Obviously we know what juices and flavors are selling best, so we'll continue to reorder and keep those in stock for as long as they are popular.  Occasionally there will be flavors that we like but they may not sell well in the shop.  Those will be rotated out to make room for new lines and flavor profiles as the industry and customer tastes change.
    
6. EXCLUSIVITY.  We enjoy having juice on our shelves that you cannot find anywhere else in the area.  Sure, we have brands that you will find in some of the other local shops, but unless they are personal friends of ours, we try not to have the same old same old.  We wanted to introduce new flavors and brands to the vaping community and offer a variety of the profiles and nuances.  We dont just call the distribution company and say, send me bottles.  We hand-pick each and every comany and flavor that is in our shop.  Often times, if you like a particular brand, we have the same, if not better, flavor profile from another company that you havent yet tried.  That's the benefit of having such a huge selection to try before you buy - we're sure you'll walk away with at least one bottle that you'll love!
    
7. PERSONAL INTERACTIONS WITH THE JUICE MAKERS.  At Zootie's Vapors, we are very proud to not only carry a huge selection of juices local to Virginia, but also from people that we know personally.  Having a relationship with our vendors is very important to us and the people that represent the brands is hugely important to us.  We want to work with like-minded individuals, those who give back to the vaping community and who exhibit the same level of customer service that we strive for on a daily basis.  We are a "smile and a handshake" kind of company, so when juice makers take time out of their schedule to come see us, follow us on social media and constantly ask how their product is doing in our shop, that means SO much to us.

So hopefully that gives you an idea of the process we go through to select juices, and why we choose not to carry many of the more mainstream brands out there.  We take pride in each and every bottle of juice we sell and we hope that you enjoy them as much as we do.

If you havent had a chance to stop by our shop, please take a day and come see us.  Zootie's Vapors is located at 40602 Charles Town Pike in Paeonian Springs VA.  You can also call us at 571-293-8277 or email store@zootiesvapors.com if you have any questions.

Zootie's Vapors Grand Opening Celebration

We are planning something special for our Grand Opening Party. We will have raffles, give-aways, customer discounts, and much more! Put this on your calendar and come out to help us celebrate our official opening and the future of vaping in Paeonian Springs!
We will be closing the shop at 8pm that night and continuing the celebration next door The Blind Pig Bar At Vino 9 from 9pm-11pm with live music and frivolity! Free sober rides will be available for Loudoun County residents. 18+ and older please.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1443586089269587/

Quick thanks to everyone that has come out to support Zootie's Vapors

Zootie's Vapors now open in Paeonian Springs VA

Hey Everybody!  Things have been happening so fast - but we are now open for business in Paeonian Springs VA.  We are located on Route 9, just a mile from Route 7 in between Leesburg and Hamilton.  We have over 60 flavors of e-liquid (many of them locally made in Virginia).  We have a tremendous selection of hardware, including starter kits, sub ohm tanks, RDAs, regulated and unregulated box mods and all the accessories you need to keep vaping and stay off the stinkys.

Stop by and see us at 40602 Charles Town Pike.  Turn in at the big pink pig - we are located next door to Vino9.  Live music on Fridays and Saturday nights!

Steam Crave RDA Review

Friends Don't Let Friends Buy Clones (When Authentics are Affordable)

Today I found out that there is a Group Buy on Facebook for a low-grade rip-off of our Authentic Zephyr Buddha RDA.  I call it a rip-off and not a clone because from the pictures I've seen, the deck is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!  Two different kinds of screws heads, cheaply made with low-grade construction.  Just a disaster waiting to happen.  It's not even close to the real thing.

But I get the appeal.  When I first started vaping, I bought clones (because I didnt know better and I didint want to pay a lot of money). My first mod was a Hcigar Nemesis clone.  It was good quality and it still in great shape all these years later.  But what this guy is buying and selling is not good at all.  People are going to be very upset when they get it.  Just remember, you dont have to buy the most expensive products, but you do get what you pay for.

I know I cant stop these products from entering the market.  If people werent buying them, they wouldnt be here in the first place.  I also know that everyone wants something for less, so I've decided to help steer people away from making a mistake by buying a cheap clone and make it even more affordable to get an Authentic Zephyr Buddha RDA.

So, here's what I am going to do:

First, I am lowering my wholesale price to retailers with the hopes that I can convince them to also drop their price on these products to the consumer.  The days of $90+ RDAs is over and I feel that the $60-70 retail price point for a 28.5mm high-quality RDA is a tremendous value and I hope you agree.  I know this still doesnt compare to a $20 wanna-be clone, but hopefully this will make them more affordable for people to get one authentic RDA that they will love, instead of breaking 3 cheap rip-offs or being completely unsatisfied with their purchase.  My goal is to sacrifice my bottom line to prevent artificial inflation and make sure that these products continue to fall within the affordable authentic niche.

Second, to anyone that is currently in a group-buy or considering buying a clone of our products, if they pull their names out of that list and say NO to clones of Vaperz Cloud products, I will sell them a REAL DEAL Authentic Zephyr Buddha RDA for $54.99 ($5 UNDER MSRP) with free shipping!  Simply contact me and let me know you say NO to clones.

Lastly, I am working closely with the manufacturer to produce in much larger quantities so on all future products, our MSRP and wholesale prices keep at a price point where it doesnt make sense to buy a clone of these products.  We would much rather our customers buy authentic products from brick and mortars than support cheap chinese manufacturing.

We have always prided ourselves in producing and distributing affordable authentic products.  We realize that as we've grown quickly over the last 6 months, our prices have also grown.  We are working harder than ever now to bring these back down so that anyone who wants a true authentic device, whether it be an RDA, Box Mod, or one of the newest innovations we have coming out this year, that you can do so at a price that wont break the bank.  We want there to be tremendous value in our products and even though we cant stop people from buying clones, we can make it affordable for people to have nicer vaping products.

Thanks for everyone's continued support.

Sincerely,
Eric "Zootie" Sutton

Important Hammer of God Box Mod Information

I wanted to personally thank you if you purchased a Hammer of God box mod by Vaperz Cloud.  We are really happy with how it turned out and so far everyone has had nothing but great things to say about it.  Since this was the very first run of these box mods, we are aware that there may be some minor kinks that need to be worked out.  Just like the Buddha RDAs, we plan on making improvements and tweaks with future runs, so your feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

As these boxes are now getting in hands and being put through its paces, we wanted to let you know of a few minor issues that have been reported to us.  These are not wide-spread issues, but we wanted you to be aware so you can pre-check your mods and possibly troubleshoot if you’re experiencing similar issues.

1. We have noticed that some of the magnets that hold the panels on may fall out and need a little lock-tight.  This doesn’t affect use at all, but if you lose or are missing any magnets, please let us know and we will get you some replacements right away.
2. A couple of people have reported a "rattling" sound in the upper chamber.  This has been due to a loose piece of glue and can simply be extracted by removing the black panel on the inside of the device. Again, not a major flaw, just remove the piece of glue and no more rattle.
3. We've also seen that some of the LED displays are not working (or stop working).  What we've found is that the nut on the inside of the 510 connection is loose and when someone screws on or off the atty, the entire 510 connection will spin, disconnecting the wires that is soldered to the bottom of the 510.  We have also heard of this happening if you tighten your atty down too much.  The box mod will still continue to function properly, but these wires powers the LED.  It's a simple fix but if you are not comfortable soldering a wire, I ask that you contact me right away so we can take care of it for you.  If you send it back to me, we will fix it for you and return it ASAP at no cost.
4.  It has also come to our attention that a few people have experienced some battery sparking/flame issues with their Hammer of God box mods.  We have found that this happens when the edge of the top contact plate snags the edge of battery.  Please be careful when inserting your batteries - this should not be a major issue if you use caution and insert them correctly (positive in first).
5. We discovered a design flaw that we will fix in the next round.  If you screw your adjustable 510 all the way to the left (down), it extends too long and touches the firing switch.  This is important to note because it could cause auto-firing.  If you experience this, check your 510 - otherwise call us and we will set up a return so we can fix it for you.

These are issues we've seen and  while it's only on a few of them, we want you to know that if you bought one and its not functioning properly, to please contact us ASAP so we can fix them.

While these have been isolated instances, we also feel it's important to pass along some important safety information to everyone, so you can continue to enjoy your Hammer of God box mod without any safety issues.

Important Safety Information

• Always use reliable, authentic, fully charged batteries in your device. 
• Replace all four batteries before the voltage without an atty attached displays 3.65v
• Always use the same brand and type of battery.  Don’t mix and match.
• Always insert the batteries into the device POSITIVE first.  You may experience a spark if you insert the negative first
• When not in use for long periods of time, remove the batteries from your Hammer of God box mod
• If you notice any flames or sparks, remove the batteries immediately and dispose of them properly

Please keep in mind that with all unregulated vaping devices, there are some risks involved.  By purchasing and using any of Vaperz Cloud products, you are assuming these risks and release Vaperz Cloud and Zootie's Vapors of all liability from any damage or injury caused directly or indirectly by using these products.

7/3/15 - UPDATE
It has been brought to my attention that there is now a clone of this box selling on FastTech.  Please use caution when buying clones.  This device has been discontinued and is no longer in production.  Less than 1000 were made and there is a registry for authentic owners.  As for any warranty repairs/issues regarding the authentic version, please contact Vaperz Cloud directly.

2/8/16 - UPDATE
I am no longer distributing or affiliated with the company that manufactured the original device, so if you have any questions or need warranty support, please contact them directly at www.vaperzcloud.com