Breaking Through The Barriers - Give Vape a Chance

I met a friend for dinner the other night that I hadn't seen in almost a year.  He had never stepped foot into a vape shop and had never tried vaping before.  He has been smoking on and off for many years and the more we talked about how my new vape shop was going and talking about how we go about introducing people to vaping as a cigarette alternative, he asked me a very interesting question.

"What are the barriers?", he said.

He could tell I was somewhat puzzled, so he continued: 

"You know, what are some of the barriers that people face when it comes to giving it a try?  For me, I would have never considered vaping until I sat here and talked to you and actually tried it myself.  Vaping has always been something I considered to be for the hipsters - something about the people I see that do it, well, they dont really seem like my kind of people.  They seem, I dunno, like douchebags."

Even though, he pretty much insulted most all of the vaping community, that made me really think for a minute because honestly, I too had those same initial thoughts about vaping when I started using it to help quit smoking.  The first person I ever saw vaping was a complete douche.  And not just because he vaped, but sucking on a little blue glow pen and exhaling a tiny puff of "water vapor" didnt help his cause any.  Back then, there was NO WAY that vaping looked nearly as cool as I thought I was taking a long, contemplative drag of my Marlboro between my fingers and flicking an ash to the ground.  If I would have let that one guy be a barrier to me trying vaping, my life may have taken a completely different turn.

But as naive as my friend's statement was, he brought up an interesting point that night and I'd like to share with you some of the things I feel are barriers that people face when considering vaping as a smoking alternative.

Barrier #1: First Impressions

First impressions are often the most influential in any situation.  As is with vaping.  If you are new to the scene, some of the sub-culture of vapers may be an immediate barrier to wanting to try it for yourself.  Lets take my friends example, those of us in the vaping community either acknowledge, participate and/or support the act of "cloud-chasing" but to the novice, this may seem unusual.  People getting together to see who can chuck the biggest clouds may be seen to some as a turn off.  Similarly, if your first impression of vaping is by walking into a shop that is run by some punk kids who either dont know the 1st thing about vaping, or cant speak intelligently to help someone from all walks of life get into a device and setup for their best personal experience, this could potentially be a barrier that would prevent someone from taking the next step.  It is important as responsible business owners of a vape shop to not only hire but also continually train our staff the art of customer service, putting the needs of the customers ahead of selling the latest and greatest products.  I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a poorly run vape shop, where I find the "employees" either playing a game of grab-ass or completely ignoring their customers.  Blowing huge plumes of vapor in the face of a first time customer is a sure fire way to not only lose the sale, but also send those people right back to smoking.  Vape shops need to be a safe haven for anyone, so this barrier can be avoided.  Likewise, if youre out in public and you see people vaping irresponsibly where they shouldnt, this could also steer your opinion on the entire vaping opportunity.  Vapers, as a whole, we need to be respectful of those around us and be an ambassador for the community, not a detriment.

Barrier #2: Mind Games

People are 100% mental.  No, not crazy (although many of us have those tendencies at times), but everything you do is controlled by your mind.  A person needs to be willing to acknowledge that smoking WILL kill them, and there are better, safer alternatives to not only quit smoking, but also to get completely off the addictive nicotine.  The person has to be committed to give it a chance to work, and nobody can force anyone to do something they are not ready to do.  This will always be the most difficult barrier to overcome.

Barrier #3: The Exit Strategy

Most people quit the habit of smoking and pick up the habit of vaping.  Ask any of us that are hobbyists and collectors and we'll tell you that vaping can be a very expensive habit.  Many people need to know that vaping doesnt have to be a lifelong thing.  It is a great way to quit smoking by using vape to supplement the addiction of nicotine and satisfy the oral fixation, but as you advance in your vaping, you should be able to tailor back on the nicotine levels.  Once the addition of that chemical is gone, there can also be an exit strategy for also quitting vaping.  Many of us enjoy it too much, but knowing that there can be a way to end it completely and not be handcuffed by simply replacing one addiction for another should help someone overcome this barrier.

Barrier #4: Expense

As I mentioned in the previous barrier, expense can be a barrier for people when they start to look at vaping.  Sure, you can get into vaping relatively inexpensively, but anyone who has been vaping longer than a month or two will tell you, you need some serious vape budget if you plan on doing this any length of time.  Not only can advanced devices be expensive (especially if you are always chasing the latest and greatest), but just the normal expense of vaping from juice to consumables like coils, etc can add up quickly.  Most recreational vapers will go through at least 15ml of e-liquid a day (or more), so if you compare the cost of that to the cost of cigarettes, unless you are a two-pack-a-day smoker, vaping will be much more expensive over the long run.

Barrier #5: Quality of Goods Sold & Consumer Education

How many times have you purchased a juice or a piece of hardware and been completely dissatisfied for one reason or another.  For vaping to work, your devices have to work reliably, all the time.  This is often the biggest excuse for people who are trying to quit smoking to go back to the stinkys. I know for me, I make sure everything I sell, from the juice to the hardware and everything in between, is the best quality I can get.  This doesnt mean I only sell high-end authentics, but everything I provide as a responsible shop owner, either has a manufacturer defect warranty or I personally guarantee repair or replace if it's something I can control.  In the very least, I try to offer as much assistance to people, as much as I can.  Another thing is making sure the customer is steered into something appropriate for their level and experience and they leave with an understanding of how everything works.  If more manufacturers and vendors did the same, this barrier would be much easier to overcome.  Educating the consumer is hugely important not only to their success but to the growth of the industry as a whole.

Those are the 5 barriers that I could come up with in the short amount of time in writing this blog post. Feel free to use the comment section below to offer feedback or provide some barriers of your own.  As always, please come visit me at Zootie's Vapors at 40602 Charles Town Pike in Paeonian Springs VA 20129 and we'll be happy to help you overcome the barriers you face to quit smoking and start vaping.  We want you to be successful and give vape a chance.

-Zootie

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