Here is what I've been tossing around in my head:
A shop where you can come in and actually mix juice.
There would be clean stations where you could mix with scales
Hundreds of recipes to choose from.
Hundreds of flavours to choose from.
For safety reasons (and probably legal ones) employees would add the nic solution to your specified strength.
Of course you would also sell premade juice. Bottles, caps and rigs etc.
It would be like a youbrew beer or wine place for eJuice.
Is this a horrible idea?
Would you use it?
I think diy-ers are more price sensitive than regular vapers. I mean, one of the factors that pushed people to diy is to save cost (as well as have better flavored juices). One way to overcome this would probably build a local community that serves as your main market too. If you can get them to buy from you instead of online, that'd be great
I agree. I think the advantage to a place like this would be all the crazy flavours you aren't sure about and want to try. I have about 100 flavours right now, but there are still plenty of recipes that I come across that have something I don't yet have... Well you could try those here.
Exactly what /u/penatbater/ is saying.
If you're going to look to keep people coming back, you're going to need an exceptional flavour selection (something perhaps I don't have at home - maybe exotic flavour manufacturers?), maybe some interesting gimmicky toys (I'm looking at you - magnetic stirrer/ultrasonic cleaner folks) that I can play with a bit.
Above all though - if the pricing just doesn't make sense then I can't justify going there. I would maybe drop in once, and scan the flavours that I don't have and get a good read on whether or not I want/need them in my arsenal.
id go to a store for the community, unless they are talking about "recipes"..the "remixed" recipes or the "clone" recipes, because I'm sure that store wouldn't last long due to internet copyright laws lmao
> id go to a store for the community
I'd try it out and probably keep coming back for that alone. Off the internet I've only met a couple of other vapers in my year vaping, but I've never met or heard of anyone else who mixes their own juice. My family and friends act like I've got a bootlegged vape shop in my bedroom, lol.
I dunno though. Where I live I think people are a lot lazier than that, definitely the prospective market you're aiming at. A dedicated DIYer isn't gonna come, so you should be aiming for hobbyists, people who have thought but not yet pulled the trigger and people who just turn up on the day.
I think it could work in a very crowded area because diying is rare.
You get the same price on flavor bottles as you get by ordering them yourself and you go there because you get them instantly, you can see them all in one place and for the community. The shop's revenue comes from buying them in large volumes and from the cheapest sources.
The shop can also get revenue from selling fractions of bottles like 1-2 ml that a person might need for a flavor, these wouldn't add up to the normal price but the costumers save up from not having to buy full volume of flavors they might not like.
Non diyers can go there for custom orders, they might try a flavor and might want a hint more of one of the ingredients. Diying is cheap but for casuals and custom orders the price can be the same and I think the power of choice can be appealing for some.
Clever marketing, place with a market to sell and big capital to bring the prices down to bring in the people.
I would use it, but it's a horrible business idea. The number of people who diy is just too small to support a business.
If this was an addition to a vape shop, it would work, though.
Another thing to keep in mind is the legality of it. Since the employees are adding the nicotine that would make you a manufacturer.
I personally think this would be awesome, also if you just sold the supplies, along with what you’re planning. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve run out of PG/VG and had to wait for more to come in. I like the idea! Good luck!
Yeah I imagine we would also sell all the supplies if you are wanting to do it at home as well. This would also include the flavourings of course. Question though, even if you mix at home, would you use a place like this to mix?
My thinking is that I know the mess that is made. The smell especially is a bit of a deal in my home.
I think going and hanging out for an hour somewhere to mix might be fun... just don't know if there is enough people that would do it.
Price mark-up clearly would be a factor.
I think what would be more likely to draw DIYers out of their dining rooms would be the opportunity to socialize while mixing. Maybe host mixing parties, beginner classes, etc.
In my personal opinion, I love the idea, but I’m a DIY guy, everyone could make their own juice, but 9/10 people I sell to don’t wanna take the time to learn nor do they care they want to grab it and go. Also, location would be a big deal i don’t know where you’re at but the bigger the city I feel like the better your chances. Lastly, pricing would have to make it so much cheaper than vape shops or online stores that they’d be crazy not to go which is (in my opinion) going to be hard. I know some of my guys started buying online (I sell 120ml at 6 Nic for $15) because they were getting 25$ for 240ml of a brand name juice. I can’t compete with that. So to close it out, yes I think the idea is amazing and I’d probably be your number one guy, most people wanna stop in at the vape shop after work spend 30$ for a 60ml bottle and go home and watch Netflix.
Just tossing my thoughts on it. Generally (and so far form the comment) it's a neat idea.
It's just too niche. We are talking vapers who make up a small % as it is, then of that only a smaller % of them DIY, and even smaller than that would be willing or comfortable to come in and do that, and then at that point they might as well do it at home.
Counter idea: Just hold workshops for DIY to help spread it more to other people. Start a group of DIY mixers for swapping and helping each other locally.
DIY shop would be awesome. For me, I would only go there to be social, maybe let people try some mixes. Chances are that cost of getting supplies there would not be nearly as appealing as ordering online (except maybe nicotine though I'm almost done @0.5mg/ml)
Yeah, too niche is what I am afraid of as well really. I live in a large west coast city but I'm not sure even that is big enough. Having a vape shop as well is kinda the idea but there your main source of income is in juice sales. I think ultimately I would be teaching my customers how not to come in and buy juice... after they learn to mix in shop, they would be more likely to go home and do it on their own... yeah...
Seems like a reskin of house juice. I think this concept has already been DIY'd. With the openness of recipe libraries and the increasing availability and diversity of flavor concentrate offerings. I don't think this idea could keep the lights on, let alone get appropriate licenses (in the US at least).
Yes, I would use it. But, as others have stated, ejuice diy-ers may be a thin market for one stationary B&M location. You would probably need to appeal to a broader market. Maybe by selling finished ejuice, mods, attys, or coils. But then you would be a standard vape shop. Not knocking the idea (I've considered it myself), but you'd need to be able to service other folks than diy-ers.
Here in Central Florida, we have a few Totally Wicked stores and they have a mixing counter. It's hardly used for the aforementioned reasons. Most of their customers want to get a flavor and go. I use them for mods, pg, and nic. So for me it's mostly the social aspect.
I like the concept of this, but in reality, the % is too small. I wouldn't go to shop just to mix juice. I go there for conversation and talk about vape stuff. The owner of my B&M mixes and is on ELR/ATF. I don't buy juices there, but I do buy hardware/cotton/services like pay to replace cotton/coils.. or..well, I leave a 5 on the counter before I leave. They also have a huge arcade panel there, and xbox one and ps4 with two big screens. It's 70% hangout, 30% business. There are more folks hanging out then buying stuff, but eh, 5 star in the area, he's doing something right
I think it's a fun idea. But I share the same concerns as others in terms of long-term sustainability. It is a very niche hobby. Even this sub is tiny compared to other Reddit subs.
Some great ideas have been tossed around here such as diy workshops, a gathering place to swap recipes and ideas for flavor combinations, etc. I don't know anyone else that mixes their own juice. I know quite a few that show interest in the hobby, but not enough that they'll actually jump into the rabbit hole with me. Basically I think you have to have a convergence of interests to get into this hobby. Just knowing you can save ridiculous amounts of money isn't enough for most people. Most good mixers are also foodies to some extent, for example. It would be great to network with other mixers face-to-face.
I personally would not mix in a place like you are describing. But that is because I am a territorial shut-in with very specific preferences of how I like things organized! And I also do a lot of mixing very late at night, outside of normal business hours.
But I would definitely love to have a place I could go buy supplies from. So annoying to place a big order, do some mixing, and then realize you are now low on something that you have to wait until you can put together another big order, if you want free shipping, to get. I would stop by a place like that once or twice a week probably to grab that "last" flavor I wish I had ordered! Also carrying more obscure flavors would be a big draw for me. I would probably even attend workshops or recipe exchange clubs on the rare occasion that I actually want to leave my house!
The only downside I can see to this is the whole 'get everything at one place' mentality of a lot of consumers.
People want to go get their coils/cotton and DIY gear at one stop, not go from one store to the next to satisfy their vaping needs for the week/month
So at the very least I'd suplly cotton/coils & kanthal too. Maybe even a station or two where people can come and build their coils, with all the tools provided and some instruction on how to build.