I enjoy the many vape websites scattered around the Internet, but I’ve always wondered what it would be like if one those vape shops were right here in my town. My brother in-law mentioned to me a couple of weeks back that a new vape shop has set up shop just around the corner and that really got my attention. Now don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t just abandon my favorite vendors online, but seeing a vape shop here and actually experiencing a togetherness in person, it really hit home.
I haven’t ever been to a meet and I’ve never hung out with (in person) a fellow vaper other than the ones I’ve converted to e-cigarettes myself. I knew visiting the store would be a great experience, but my town is very small and I’m not sure how the outsiders would react to it. Would the locals ignore it, will they be interested or will many of them flock to it just like many of us did. Those are the questions I ponder, but it was time to find out. I woke up this morning and drove a couple of miles to the True Vapor store. On top of the building was a huge sign displaying the name, then a huge banner sitting to the left of the building saying “Electronic Cigarettes, Try before you buy!”. – A few other small signs were planted in the grass saying things like “Electronic Cigarettes” and “Vapor”. My first impression was exciting and it some what felt like a home for my hobby.
After parking, I made my way into the building, a glass display case to my right, a table with a computer to my left and directly in front of me, a small e-cigarette bar as well as another being to the left of it. There was a mixture between an office looking atmosphere to an elegant bar setup. It looked very nice and professional. At the two bars sat two wooden stools each and on top of the bar was an e-liquid menu along with a bowl which housed many silicone covers for you to place on the EGO-T mouthpiece that’s used to sample e-liquid. immediately after entering the store, I was asked if they could help me with anything, then followed with asking me if I would like to try a flavor on the menu. I felt invited and in a vapers heaven.
After speaking with the owner and her husband, which is a popular lawyer in our city, I asked him if he’s ever thought about carrying mods. (By the way, the only device they sell in the vapor shop is EGO-T’s.) – His response was “I only sell the EGO-T’s because as this is a new thing around here, I want to introduce these interest smokers to the tank system, which requires little maintenance and it works great.”
The downside to this vape shop was that they didn’t offer any type of accessories for their customers to learn more and explore the world of vaping. As of right now, all they know about electronic cigarettes is the EGO-T. Another thing which really isn’t a downside to the shop, but more of something I was hoping to see was a lounge area. I asked them if they were planning to do something like a lounge area where you could go to the store, sit on a nice comfortable chair and vape while talking to other vapers. They told me that they didn’t plan to do anything like that. 🙁
Disappointed on no lounge? – Yes, but extremely excited to know that others in my area is learning about these amazing devices. Maybe this is a sign for me to start organizing a meet? – How would I go about that? – This for me is a sign of hope, a calling to reassure us that we are on the right path and aside from all the bans we hear about in the news, a bright side to the world of vaping.
I’ve learned today that this shop is now charging over $13 for a 10ml bottle of China made e-liquid. That’s a no no in my book. I definitely wouldn’t recommend purchasing from this ‘local’ shop.