Setting up a vape shop, got a question for you guys.

[norwichvaper78]

For me parking Is key, no parking I'm going elsewhere or online.

 

[monstermash]

I visited one of my local vape stores recently with a view to buying what I wanted/needed and as a fairly advanced and fully invested vaper that also buys 98% of stuff online here's the questions I asked and the answers I got-

Do you sell any decent budget juices - no
Do you sell any 100ml juices - no
Do you sell any concentrates - no
Do you sell any VG or PG - no
Do you have any mech mods - no
Do you sell any kind of tools for rebuildables - no
Do you sell any ohm meters - no
Do you have any temp control wires - no
Do you have any dry herb atomisers - no
Do you sell any squonkers - no
Do you have any batteries or chargers - no

Make of that what you will and good luck with the venture.

What springs to mind is how many parking spaces do you have near your shop?

 

[bergkamp]

I visited one of my local vape stores recently with a view to buying what I wanted/needed and as a fairly advanced and fully invested vaper that also buys 98% of stuff online here's the questions I asked and the answers I got-

Do you sell any decent budget juices - no
Do you sell any 100ml juices - no
Do you sell any concentrates - no
Do you sell any VG or PG - no
Do you have any mech mods - no
Do you sell any kind of tools for rebuildables - no
Do you sell any ohm meters - no
Do you have any temp control wires - no
Do you have any dry herb atomisers - no
Do you sell any squonkers - no
Do you have any batteries or chargers - no

Make of that what you will and good luck with the venture.

What springs to mind is how many parking spaces do you have near your shop?

what exactly do they stock then ???? they could set up in a phone box by the sound of it

 

[Addymk2]

I visited one of my local vape stores recently with a view to buying what I wanted/needed and as a fairly advanced and fully invested vaper that also buys 98% of stuff online here's the questions I asked and the answers I got-

Do you sell any decent budget juices - no
Do you sell any 100ml juices - no
Do you sell any concentrates - no
Do you sell any VG or PG - no
Do you have any mech mods - no
Do you sell any kind of tools for rebuildables - no
Do you sell any ohm meters - no
Do you have any temp control wires - no
Do you have any dry herb atomisers - no
Do you sell any squonkers - no
Do you have any batteries or chargers - no

Make of that what you will and good luck with the venture.

What springs to mind is how many parking spaces do you have near your shop?

No one will be able to sell 100ml bottles soon.

Evolution Vaping could be worth a look, theyre online retail does well and the shops always busy when I've swung by and it's relatively out of the way. They seem to be doing alright

 

[niknax]

@WelshVapes Well whatever you decide good luck with the new venture.

Personally I don't use bnms anymore unless am retailling with them.
I am going to echo what other people have said about bad quality of stock, selections available and general lack of knowledge about products when I go in. I went through a phase of supporting my local shops last year, but honestly after horrific juices, and limited options I soon abandoned it.

If you do decide a vape shop is the furture then please don't be a generic one, hire someone who has a wide knowledge based on many aspects of vaping such as juice mixing, coil building, safety and equipment that is available, not someone who is just interested in flogging the most expensive piece of kit that doesn't suit the users needs. Stock decent batteries, safe chargers, pre made coils such as claptons for people who are just starting to get into building on their own decks, one of the bnms close to where I live had a nasty habit of selling rebuildable decks to men and women who have arthritis and wouldn't know where to begin to maintain their own set up, as a result i now do an unofficial coffee morning once a week at my local cafe, all the more mature vaping ladies that ive met at the bingo come on down and I will coil and wick their tanks for them while they tell me all the latest scandals about marge and the fella she met off the tinterweb.
Vape shops are never manically busy from my experience so having someone behind the counter who can show a customer how to build on their device, what settings work best for them depending on the type of smoker they were ie air flow and juice strength ect would be a big help to a newbie. Maybe even hosting your own coiling and coffee mornings similar to mine if it's an option. With the TPD coming into effect one of my main fears is that it will impact the ease of switching from smoking to vaping, so showing people options and ways they can maintain their own equipment and juice will ensure you still have a wide customer base even after the hammer drops

Have a range on one shots for those who diy (to save having hundreds of conentrates knocking around) pg, vg or at least the info at hand as to where they can buy them. If you build a sense of community around your shop people will respect and repay that with loyalty and money in the till, plus parking.... huge plus point in my book

 

[Tworrs]

My only question is, what is your motivation behind opening a vaping shop?
As you have a few businesses already, is this just another business venture?
I have found that without passion for the product being sold, any business is likely to be mediocre in success.

 

[city461]

Car parking and its free and outside the shop then youve got a chance as you have a big foot print passing...

 

[Nero]

I honestly don't know that parking over being in a town centre would be beneficial to getting a new customer through the door for the very first time, essentially you are asking someone who probably sees the shop as they drive past to either turn around to come back to it, or make a point of stopping next time they pass. if you are in a town and someone is walking they have a much better chance of going oh I've got a few minutes I'll just pop in quick. sure parking is convenient once you have a reputation, it will help you to keep regular customers, particularly if it's on a regular commuter route and you're happy to open an hour earlier than most shops and/ or stay an hour or two later so that people can grab supplies when they're passing anyway. Either can be successful, there's a few b&m s I use, I travel further than the half a dozen closest to me to get to one in another town, because I find them friendly helpful etc and they carry a wide variety of stock. they carry import juices, but they also carry a wide variety of UK juices at decent prices. they get what they can get at good prices aswell as having a staple regular stock of the most popular stuff, and when they get something they promote it, pretty much just on their Facebook page, and phone app. they don't have parking. the range and knowledge and willingness to share their knowledge is what keeps me going back to them. their prices are OK to good for a shop, but not as good as some Internet retailers. and they will still share their knowledge even if you don't buy from them. There's a core of regulars who are equally friendly and helpful and normally at least one of them in the shop, so it's obviously not just me that feels this way, people are always there to share knowledge and the community is what makes it a good shop. people will happily be passing mods around for other people to try their builds or juices, or just try a mod in the hand. that went on long, but yeah that's what keeps me going back to them, also never any pressure to buy.

 

[cheltenham cat]

There is a relatively well known B+M on an industrial estate not far from me(less than a mile) it seems to have plenty of custom lots of gear and juice etc It also has a good online presence from what I can tell....... sadly in my experience it seems largely staffed by tossers so I dont go in

 

[SirLugg]

sadly in my experience it seems largely staffed by tossers so I dont go in

Unfortunately that's my impression of 80% of B and M's.
Well trained, knowledgeable, friendly, approachable staff is key. Without them you'd just be a never will be, regardless of the logistics and sales projections.