How to avoid bad Vape Retailers and Poor Quality Vape Products

At Vapora we do the utmost to ensure all of our products are priced as competitively as possible still maintaining the best quality vape products in the market. We also pride ourselves on providing the best service we can, to ensure you have the support you need to make the switch from smoking to vaping and not go back. Unfortunately, the Vape Industry has become somewhat of a magnet for dishonest business people who are looking to rip off naive and particularly new vapers, to make a quick buck. Over the years we have heard hundreds of horror stories at Vapora from vapers who have purchased from these dishonest vape retailers. So we’ve put together this guide to help you avoid these rip off merchants and the dodgy products they pedal.

1. Find a proper Vape Shop.

By a proper Vape Shop, we mean a shop that only sells Vape Products. It doesn’t have to be Vapora as long as it’s a proper vape shop. There is a heap of Tobacconists, Sex Shops, Bong Shops & Convenience stores that sell vape products now, some of these retailers are doing the right thing and selling decent products at decent prices, however, from what we have seen the majority of these types of retailers that are selling vape products are charging way more than proper vape shops do. Also a lot of these types of retailers will sell substandard products from no-name brands. Sometimes this is not a deliberate effort by these stores to rip people off. It may be just the case they don’t actually know much about vaping and don’t know how to tell good products & brands from the duds. This lack of knowledge means that these stores often can’t guide you through how to use and maintain whatever you buy and also more generally just support you and offer advice through the process of making the switch from smoking to vaping. Unfortunately going to a proper vape shop doesn’t completely rule out the possibility you will be taken for a ride as we do know of a couple of vape shops that operate in a highly dishonest manner. Luckily, these shops are few and far between and most proper vape shops in Melbourne and Australia are doing their absolute best to give vapers the best deals they can on the best products they can get hold of.

2. Do your research.

This one is particularly important for those vapers who don’t have an accessible local vape shop. If you are buying online once you’ve found the product you want, make sure to have a look around to ensure it isn’t priced much cheaper somewhere else. Now, this does sound pretty simple and should be a must when purchasing anything online these days, however, we have heard countless instances of vapers who have been ripped off and then continued to be ripped off all because they didn’t look around to compare prices and see that they were quite obviously being ripped off.

3. Verify the authenticity of your products.

All vape hardware and most e-liquids will have some sort of scratch and check or QR code to verify that what you have bought is the real deal. So make sure to check that what you have bought is authentic and not a knock off. If you have been sold an imitation product don’t hesitate to take it back and demand a refund and then take your business to an honest vape retailer.
Visit VaporaVape Shop online for the best varieties of e-liquids and vape juice in Melbourne, Australia.

4. Don’t buy nicotine liquids from any Australian retailer.

It is illegal to sell or supply nicotine e-liquid in Australia. The only way nicotine products can be legally acquired in Australia is if they are purchased from a pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription or if imported from overseas for personal use. If you want to vape with nicotine liquids but aren’t sure how to go about it, we have a helpful guide here. Now with that said there are currently hundreds of retailers selling nicotine e-liquids under the counter across Australia. We strongly recommend staying well away from these retailers, first of all, there is a serious fine and even the potential for a criminal conviction if you are caught illegally purchasing nicotine, obviously, these penalties apply to the retailer as well. These penalties vary from state to state but usually exceed $10,000 so not the kind of thing you want to risk being on the receiving end of. Then there are the issues of quality and price usually retailers selling under the counter nicotine will go and get the cheapest e-liquids they can find compromising on quality and then charging exorbitant amounts to try and offset the risk they are taking by breaking the law. Some retailers will make up an excuse to try and get around the fact that it is illegal to sell nicotine by telling you lies. We know of one vape retailer who runs a store out of his house in the outer bayside suburbs of Melbourne who tells his customers “I’m selling you the juice but the nicotine I have added is a gift which makes it legal” or he has even told some customers that he was able to purchase a licence to sell nicotine from the state government don’t listen to nonsense like this there is no legal way to sell nicotine in Australia unless you are a pharmacist.

5. If you do feel you have been ripped off then let people know about it!

Now to be clear we do urge restraint before giving bad online feedback and we always say make sure to contact the retailer and see if it is something that they can rectify before you go online and start dishing out negative reviews. This is also the best course of action to get your issues resolved as retailers will usually be more willing to work with you if you haven’t already damaged their reputation. But if you do feel you have been genuinely ripped off and the retailer has not taken your complaints seriously and not made any attempts to find a solution then let people know. Giving online reviews can help alert potential new vapers to dodgy retailers and help them avoid being ripped off.

6. Get involved in the vape community

There are some great online communities -particularly VapeFam Australia on Facebook. These groups are usually packed with vapers who are more than happy to help you with any questions you might have with vaping. And also usually you can find somebody that knows who the reputable retailers are in your local area.

If you follow all these steps you should make yourself impossible to be taken for a ride by dishonest vape retailers.

And lastly, it is up to the Australian vape community to root out these dodgy retailers or at least force them to operate in an honest matter. Best Vape Starter Kit think the best way to make this happen is by educating vapers and starving these dishonest swindlers of new potential victims.