Vaping Shop

[zeldamum]

I am seriously considering opening a vaping shop. I currently have a shop selling dancewear which to be totally honest is not doing very well and being a single mum the business is not providing enough income for myself and my children without relying on working tax credit which I HATE!

Setting up an vaping shop has been on my mind for several months even to the extent of chatting to another forum member to see if its doable.

After months of consideration, many sleepless nights, hearing of peoples disappointments with their local vaping shops I have 95% sure I am going to go ahead.

I have some suppliers lined up and if you are reading this thank you so much

Well I would like to provide the type of shop not only noobies would want to come to to start their vaping journey I would like to cater for as many of the vaping community as possible and provide an experience, not just a means to possibly quit smoking (although hopefully many will quit).

What would you all like to see in a vaping shop/vaping lounge? Not just in terms of products (they matter as well of course) but in terms of a meeting place, coiling lessons, care of ecig sessions etc.

Thank you in advance. I welcome all views negative as well as positive.

[ionian]

First of all I wish you luck with your businesses, I'm sure it must be hard to compete with the internet as a small independent dance retailer.

I am concerned that with the upcoming changes to the regulation of e-cigs, it might not be the best time to be opening a business dedicated to selling what's already out there. However, what I think would work is a coffee shop that welcomes vaping and also sells a range of different supplies, especially e-juice.

I'd not pitch your stock at the high end of the market - good quality beginners kits, a good range of juice, and a few vw devices and clearos and coils is probably all you need. Again, you're not going to be able to compete with the internet on prices so you need a reason to get people to go - somewhere they can have a coffee, a muffin, and a leisurely vape strikes me as a great combination.

This would be easily adaptable should legislation come in that makes selling equipment difficult, and would let you stand out from the other shops in the area.

Do you have an idea of the market in your area? How many vapers would have access etc?

I like the idea of holding workshops on coiling etc, but be careful that you don't do yourself out of trade by encouraging your customers to not buy your products! A large part of your trade is going to be in the consumables - e-juice and coils - as noble as it is to help people save money, think about workshops that don't cost you profit. Maintenance of equipment, the best upgrades might be better for your bottom line.

I hope this doesn't come across as too negative, I'm sure you'll make a success of whatever you try to do, but we live in such changeable times.

[zeldamum]

I did ask for negative views as well as positive as all views help.

Very good point ionian about the coiling lessons, I do plan on offering coffee, but until I know the business is going to do ok I don't want to go down the whole route of a coffee shop, it would mean major changes and a change of use to the premises which would take time, It is in my long term business plan though so not ruling it out.

I have a very good friend who is a pharmacist who gets people daily asking where they can buy ecigs better than cig-a-likes as that is all he can sell at present. He is kind of the person who has persuaded me to give it very serious consideration as he wants somewhere he can send his customers. The shops in the area sell relatively high priced liquids and starter kits with low power batteries, or are affiliated with one particular brand, there are soon to be 5 shops (excluding me) within a 30 mile radius, 6 shops within a 50-60 mile radius. Vaping is still very new in Cornwall.

At the moment going by the TPD it is workable, however the sticking point maybe if the UK government decide to throw a huge spanner in the works and we can only guess at what they may decide to do in 2016.

[lobeydosser]

When I look at the Historical side of Tobacco, when I was a youngster, just about every city street had a Tobacconist which ofcourse sold both High and Low End Tobacco products.
These were the E-cig Brick & Mortar Shops of today.

Nowadays, and within a very short time, these Tobacconists went to the wall and now every corner shop sells Tobacco. I cannot remember when I last saw a Tobacconist Shop.
To my mind, these shops were too specialised and while I am sure there is still a market for high end tobacco, I would guess that this is only available Mail Order from overseas suppliers.

Apart from existing e-cig shops, most Corner Shops carry simple e-cigs and a range of e-juice and as ionian says, between future government legislation and the market in general, unless you already have an up and running e-cig shop, now is a very dicey time to be thinking about investing in the e-cig market.

[spikus]

The uncertain future of legislation would concern me also but if your current venture is not working out anyway then it could be worth a go ...
I see from your profile you are in Cornwall ... I'm assuming you are in one of the bigger towns...
Vaping is still a niche,albeit growing market.

For what it's worth I've been thinking about doing something similar when I retire in a few years .... Here are a few of my thoughts ( I've never run a shop or business so take them with a pinch of salt ! )

I'd have to disagree with ionian regarding products

Yes your ego / clearo users will be your bread and butter along with juices and consumables but there is a lot of potential in the " middle market " of vv/vw devices and RBAs and also the high end of exclusive mech mods and limited edition atties as well as gourmet juices .

I think it's important to at least cater for the start-up and middle market.

As for the shop I'd like to see somewhere friendly and comfortable, where you can pop in, have a coffee and a chat maybe be even some cakes and bickies ... Bit like a costa coffee with shiney vape stuff !
Would be nice if people could try juices before they buy ... This eats into profits but will encourage return visits..

Regular vaping events seem to be popular ...product launches etc

Knowledgeable staff is MOST important ... Seems to be the #1 gripe people have of their vape stores

You could then start looking to on-line sales etc ..... Sounds very exciting and I wish you all the luck in the world

[spikus]

Posted that before I read your views on coffee !!

[zeldamum]

Tea and coffee is a must, but I wont be selling it to start with, it will be free

And I will provide some seating. In my current shop I have a raised area for the mannequins which can easily be converted into seating with long cushions. This will provide a comfy area in the short term. There will of course be a vape bar as I personally prefer to buy juice I have tried a tend to buy more of the juice I like. I think customers will buy more juice if they can try it also

My shop is split in two, so medium short term plan is to do the front end up as a vape shop whilst selling off the dancewear, then do the back end up with comfy sofas. I also have a solid walled changing room which can be converted into a tiny office, and a large lockable cupboard for storing eliquids and a small range of display areas.

All views on selling the cheaper range longer term make perfect sense.

The Camborne/Redruth area is one of the highest populated areas of Cornwall.

Thank you @lobeydosserand spikus

[OneDay]

I agree with the comments already posted, but I still think it can be done. Given that online purchases will always be cheaper, and that every corner shop will be selling an ego/ce4 blister pack, you have to think about what will get people through the door. Newbies will be nervous and established vapers will be skeptical so the 'atmosphere' is vital. There are several things that can contribute to this.

I do think it's important to be able to linger and sample, so comfy seating and low tables encourage that. I understand what you're saying about not running a coffee shop, but providing a complimentary instant coffee (in the same way that hairdressers do) will encourage people to stay without eating into profits or forcing a change of use for your premises.

Trying flavours is important too. A rack of clearos filled with every flavour you sell (in zero nic to keep costs down), along with a supply of driptip 'condoms' will give people the chance to sample and compare.

Similarly, being able to handle hardware rather than gaze at it through glass, and a knowledgeable enthusiastic seller, will encourage sales.

People walking past or perhaps nervously considering their first visit need to be able to look in through the windows and see a relaxed, community-type environment rather than the intimidating high-tech of (for example) a high-end camera shop.

Whatever you decide, good luck !

[GunJack]

One thing I would mention zeldamum.... be very careful ove signs !!

To explain - we have a UK Vapers in town, and a CrystalClear Vapours near where I work. The thing in common?? Virtually all of the shop windows are covered in signs, so you can't see into them!! It's all vey well proclaiming the cost savings etc. but you can't see past these into the shop...might as well be a sex shop, IYSWIM. Yes, make it clear it's good and all, but let people see inside

It'll also help reduce the lighting bill

[zeldamum]

Ahead of you on that one GunJack

If you click the link below you will see my current shop and the lack of signs can't stand too many, sometimes i do feel like I am working in a goldfish bowl with the large windows, but people can see right into the shop.

www.google.co.uk/maps/place/The+Tutu+Shop/@50.206344,-5.285167,3a,75y,192.29h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sl9O16Z-0Zcb5JoEsQ7THgw!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x486b207298b0f9a7:0xe7bf3ae08ea9a75e!6m1!1e1

Another good about my shop is I don't pay rent on it, it is part owned by myself and my ex. Also no business rates as they are heavily reduced to the extent I don't have to pay any.

Bad part, no where near the footfall of the high street, but it does mean I can sell vaping gear cheaper.


ETA:- Don't know why the link didn't all high light, copy and paste it into your browser.

[Super-Shiny]

You even have a post box right outside, double bonus.......All i can say is if your heart tells you it's right then go for it, you won't know until you try.

[zeldamum]

And a bus stop. People come into the shop to shelter from the rain

I also have card machine and all that type of thing in place.

In fact the only thing I don't have is stock.

Thank you everyone who has posted, views are still more than welcome.

[BrenD]

I'll come and lurk from time to time whatever you do, but what spikus said about knowledgeable staff is the way forward and I expect it would set you apart from anything else in the area. Why would I want to spend £40 on a VV3 from the B&M in Plymouth I moan about a fair bit, when the staff always use eGos and don't seem to know about much else? It would be an easy assumption to make that buying whatever the staff were using would be the way forward. Then again they charge £25 for a blister pack and between £38 and £43 for a single eGo starter kit, so no wonder they try to push them!

That aside, it's all about the juice for me. We all know about sites like Smoke Rainbow, Joose Juice and various other places you can get samples/small bottles of good liquid for a reasonable price, but I only discovered most of them through recommendations on AAE-C. None of my colleagues who vape knew any better than £5 10ml bottles of Hangsen from said B&M and I expect the same would be true of most of the walk-ins you'll get. Even going by Google alone, there is so much out there that the choice could be confusing for a noob. Get the juice right and with the sampling you plan to offer, people might not feel the need to look elsewhere. Throw in some premium juices and you'll keep those of us who vape for a hobby happy too. There are any number of pricey juices that I'd love to try, Gins Addiction being top of my hitlist, but £12+ p&p is a lot to drop on a juice I can't sample beforehand and I'm far too lazy to go out of my way for a post office to trade/sell the bottle if I don't like it.

On a purely selfish and not at all helpful note, stocking Nautilus heads would make me a happy bunny

[OneDay]

Apr 1, 2014 11:28:25 GMT zeldamum said:

And a bus stop. People come into the shop to shelter from the rain

Get some flyers printed off and hand them to each person you see smoking at the bus stop

[BrenD]

I'm a muppet, I always forget things in posts like that.

If and when the time comes to take the coffee side of things a little more seriously, and fingers crossed that it does, you could do a lot worse than getting in touch with Origin. I can't vouch for the quality of their barista training, but the cafes they supply always have decent gear and their coffee is top notch. They are based in Helston which is an extra bonus.