Peter and Christine at Vaperack offered me an experience that I had totally forgotten about since I have been ordering all my vape juice, coils, tanks etc. online for the past few years - that social interaction that is unique to the vape shop. No matter who you are, your age, your position in life, if you walk into a vape shop you are "one of them", and they are just so happy to see you come in. Not just this store, but all of them.
Yesterday, while I was on my way home from the eye doctor when I realized I was down to my last coil for my SMOK Prince Tank. I had planned to get them online, but I also knew that doing so would send me down a rabbit hole since I needed a new tank and had no clue which to get.
I don't vape as a hobby; I vape because I had a 20-year pack a day cigarette habit that got too expensive both financially and health wise. I am not trying to quit, or trying to lower my nicotine. I am trying to save money and still "smoke". It sucks when your trusty tank and mod become outdated and obsolete and you only buy online. There are too many product reviews, and then you have to go to different online shops to find something in stock. I have tried many times to upgrade my tanks and mods online, but end up getting overwhelmed and give up. I have often gone to one online store for coils, and another one for vape juice, and still another one for batteries. This is a hassle.
While the Prince Mesh Coils were a bit more than what I would pay online, Peter more than made up for that. I was given a 10% discount, as well as given loyalty points towards new coils (a free one next visit). As this was going on, I brought up how my current tank (Prince) was the only one I had that wasn't broken. I have a couple of SMOK tanks at home but the Pyrex had broken and I didn't know how to replace the glass even though they came with replacements - now I can't even bring them into the shop and have them fix them because of the laws, but whatever this is the 'new normal".
Peter showed me what he was using a PNP Pod Tank that uses coils like the SMOK Nord, and is made of plastic, I guess it's just the same as those cartridges you get for the NORD for nick salts, but for a box mod using regular pg/vg juice. He hooked me up with the tank, and two extra coils - which run cheaper than the prince mesh. I haven't tried it yet, but its going to be my back up in case my tank does break.
I figured I may as well get all my shopping done while I was there. I got two batteries, the new tank cartridge, the extra coils for the tank plus he even threw in two 60ml juices to "sample". Also, I was promised another free coil when I come back. Peter even offered me a water on my way out.
We miss out on all this when we online shop.
We miss out on the suggestions and help; we miss out on the discounts because the person there is able to give you one just because. We miss out on seeing the people who are directly impacted by your support of their business. Online stores can be less expensive because they aren't held to one spot, they can offer more products with less overhead, but they cannot answer your questions about which new tank to get, or which new flavor to try. They cannot give the satisfaction of having your purchase when you leave the store, feeling good about the experience of just getting out and being social in a business that isn't about being all PC. Shopping at a vape store is an experience that we miss out when we stay strictly online. All our local businesses are hurting and need our support.
So, if you are in the area, I suggest stopping in at Vaperack when you need to get some new juice or coils, and see what's new in box mods and tanks. Your questions will be answered and they take the time to make sure you are happy with what you get, and that you know how to use it. read more