What are you paying for your favorite juice?

[Christopher]

Hi Folks, 

I'd like to get some feedback from the community on what you usually pay for your favorite eliquid. We're going through our liquids and working with vendors to bring prices down and your feedback will greatly help! Please include price and what ML size you usually pick up. (Also Online or B&M) 

[Adversarious1]

My favorite juices come from a bottle of PG, a bottle of VG, some flavoring and some nic base with a TLC thrown in.

Wait a minute...who am I kidding?  There's no TLC.  

In all seriousness though, the majority of the juices I vape that I don't make come from a local B&M that makes their own.  They are more of a juice shop with some vape supplies for sale rather than a vape shop with a few juices for sale.  They sell in 35ml. 60ml and 120ml.  Prices are $10, $18 and $30 respectively.  I usually grab the 120ml if they have one of my flavors in stock as it's the most bang for my buck unless they have 35s on sale, otherwise I get the 35ml.  Never the 60ml because that is the highest cost per ml.  Not that $18 for 60ml of eliquid is a lot of money...lol.  

Completely unrelated to the topic, but as an interesting aside since I'm mentioning their bottle sizes, I have had friends look at me questioningly over the 35ml bottles vs. 30ml thinking I was mistaken.  Nope, I'm not.  The owner of the store/company explained it to me once upon a time.  When he first started doing DIY eliquids he would mix it a liter at a time and share with friends.  Some wanted it in 120ml, some wanted 60ml and some wanted 30ml.  He found when using 30ml bottles, he always ended up with a few ml left over.  By bumping the small bottles up to 35ml rather than 30ml he was able to get 4x120ml, 4x60ml and 8x35ml per liter with none left over.  After he started his business he stuck with that formula and has continued selling in 35ml bottles.

[Squid]

Local B&M is $5.99 for 10ml or 3 for $15.99 of 50/50 juice that they white label. The juice they mix on site is $15.99 for 30ml or 3 for $45.00. 70vg/30pg. I use both types.

My favorite juices, I can't get any more, were around $42.00 for 120ml depending on the mix. Plus around $6.00 shipping per order. I usually ordered 4 to 6 bottles at a time.

[Jeffb]

$15 for 30 ml

[jasonculp]

$43.95 for 120ml

[Christopher]

Prices have really really come down over the last year. I'm currently going through our e liquid inventory in the VT store (not just the VT brand) to see if we can't get our Wholesalers to come down and pass that through to the online and retail store. 

Also seems like larger bottle options should be available 

Keep it coming this helps greatly

[Edna]

I pay between $7.50 and $21.50 depending on the size bottle (30 to 120ml) but I've been making my own since the deeming regs came out. The two places I really liked were crazy with their ID verification (TX is strict anyway)  but I did notice they sent out an email this week stating that they're losing so many customers that they're finding a different way to do it.(they wanted the last 4 of social security # plus picture ID). I let them know that there's no way I'd be that stupid to give out that sort of personal information because it's an invitation for ID theft and they lost a customer.

I have a local shop that sells their flavors in concentrates so you can mix your own and I bought some of those while I'm in the learning process (just so I have something decent to vape)  They're priced anywhere from $3.80 for 10ml to $23.99 for 250 ml. I really like a couple of the flavors  and am going to get the 250ml's to keep on hand instead of trying to replicate the flavor. (I know lazy)

Edited August 31, 2016 by Edna
clumsy fingers-extra letter

[Tam]

Online, 125 ml bottle for $35.00, take $7.00 off from 20% off coupon, add $6.80 for shipping...   

Edited August 31, 2016 by Tam

[Bebop]

I pay on line roughly $15 for 50ml. Not my favorite but very vapable and part of my regular routine. But I do love my premium juices (and premium prices does not always mean great juice). I pay around $19 - $22 for 30mls on occasion but these are known stellar juices (to me) and sometimes very worth it.

 

sometimes I miss the good old diacetyl days haha. Juice has never been the same since everybody went psycho over diacetyl. 

[Squid]

7 hours ago, Christopher said:

Prices have really really come down over the last year. I'm currently going through our e liquid inventory in the VT store (not just the VT brand) to see if we can't get our Wholesalers to come down and pass that through to the online and retail store. 

Also seems like larger bottle options should be available 

Keep it coming this helps greatly

Chris,

Maybe a sample pack of the 6 VT flavors, 5-10ml bottles? $30ish at 5ml bottles, maybe $50ish for 10ml? (kind of guessing on the pricing) I have ordered juices based on recommendations that turned out not so great and some that I instantly loved, but the ones that I really didn't like seemed like a waste. There were more dislikes than likes. I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for good juice if I know I like it. I would rather spend $5 on a 5ml sample bottle and find out I don't like it than $15 on 30ml and not like it. Not sure how the deeming Regs affect the bottle sizes.

And yes bigger bottles, 120 or 250ml would be great for sales IMO especially since the TFV8 seems to be a big hit, and it's a juice hog from what I have read. More product with less packaging should allow for some volume discount in price too.

And IMHO, ditch the dropper bottles for the VT brand, or at least offer a choice. I am sure the droppers are great for those that drip, but filling a tank like the Starre (not easy to fill with the dropper due to design), or a subtank plus (huge volume taking many "dip into bottle, squeeze, release, pull out of bottle, squeeze into tank) cycles is, for a lack of better wording, time consuming and can be messy. I would much rather the standard plastic bottles with the little pressed in tips. Or the york caps on the bigger bottles.

[Christopher]

Great suggestions. And we actually have some 2ml sample shots that are being made now. (Includes all Black Label Flavors) They're pretty cool looking actually. They'll fetch for bottom dollar in the store and will allow you try the whole line for practically nothing

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[bcartervol98]

$35 for 125ml. My wife and I use the same flavor from ECblends but different PG/VG configurations. I use 60vg40pg and she uses 80pg/60vg. Usually order 500ml a pop.

[Edna]

3 hours ago, Christopher said:

Great suggestions. And we actually have some 2ml sample shots that are being made now. (Includes all Black Label Flavors) They're pretty cool looking actually. They'll fetch for bottom dollar in the store and will allow you try the whole line for practically nothing

Sent from my SM-G930T using The Vapor Talk mobile app
 

 

YAY!

I've been wanting to try the King Of Churn! It sounds good.

[Earthling789]

When I use to buy locally, my favorite shop sells (after tax) 30ml for $11, 60ml for $20, and their premium brands (like Mad Alchemist, Suicide Bunny, etc.) generally run $22-30 for a 30ml bottle.  I use to buy 240ml at a time, every four or five weeks, and would spend $64-80 every trip in the door, depending on coupons, sales, or earned loyalty points .  I made a recent trip into the shop to pick-up a door-prize, and I checked out their juice prices... they've not changed since I started vaping, but at least they offer 120ml bottles now for $35 (house brand, single-flavor stuff, but only in 80/20 PG/VG).

When I bought online, my costs would range from $7-15 per 30ml, without bulk discounts or coupons.  Shipping is the real drag for online juice purchases... you have to buy ~ 240ml minimum to really break-even for prices.   Many of the "basic" juices I would buy online, after shipping was added in, it was just as cheap (or cheaper) to buy it locally.... unless of course I was buying a couple dozen bottles or had a coupon code

Which is why I started DIY... for the cost of two months worth of juices locally, I can buy supplies to make 6-10 months of what I want.

Now, I DIY, and mix what I like, how I like, when I want... and have saved hundreds of dollars (probably more than $1500) over the past couple of years!

[smacksy]

340ml of juice for under $40 including shipping from Verde Valley Vapes

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[Christopher]

Unbelievable. It's really amazing to me just how cheap some eliquid is. The 15 range for 30ml sounds about right. But 40 for 340ml makes me wonder why/how it's so cheap. (Not knocking it by the way!!) I have a phone call with Roger this evening to discuss lowering the price of the black label. I think a good chunk of it comes from the fact we're almost TPD compliant and the facility is ISO certified. (Trying to make up those costs) but there is wiggle room to bring it down. (I hate charge more if we can charge less!) 

At any rate the feedback has been invaluable and I realize we're probably at the top end of pricing. There are many thing we can do to bring the price down (plastic rather than glass, different drippers things of that nature) 

[smacksy]

Unbelievable. It's really amazing to me just how cheap some eliquid is. The 15 range for 30ml sounds about right. But 40 for 340ml makes me wonder why/how it's so cheap. (Not knocking it by the way!!) I have a phone call with Roger this evening to discuss lowering the price of the black label. I think a good chunk of it comes from the fact we're almost TPD compliant and the facility is ISO certified. (Trying to make up those costs) but there is wiggle room to bring it down. (I hate charge more if we can charge less!) 

At any rate the feedback has been invaluable and I realize we're probably at the top end of pricing. There are many thing we can do to bring the price down (plastic rather than glass, different drippers things of that nature) 

If I spend over $25 at VVV I get free juice..In this case I spent $32 on a 240ml bottle and got a 100ml free..this is a juice only online site...they deal in volume so that's probly why their prices are so good! And the juice is topnotch!, Lol

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[Christopher]

So ideally then, what would you like to see Black Label 30ML go for? It's quite expensive to produce (we're getting ready to post certifications tomorrow which I'm stoked about) We might have to change out our bottles, toppers and things of that nature (I'm not going to sacrafice the quality of the liquid itself) but there's always room to work the supply chain etc to bring down the price. 

I also think we can likely bring in 100ml bottles no problem (along with the samples so there isn't the risk of purchasing a large batch you don't like) 

[Adversarious1]

30 minutes ago, Christopher said:

So ideally then, what would you like to see Black Label 30ML go for? It's quite expensive to produce (we're getting ready to post certifications tomorrow which I'm stoked about) We might have to change out our bottles, toppers and things of that nature (I'm not going to sacrafice the quality of the liquid itself) but there's always room to work the supply chain etc to bring down the price. 

I also think we can likely bring in 100ml bottles no problem (along with the samples so there isn't the risk of purchasing a large batch you don't like) 

My 2 cents with my "business" hat on, but also with some consumer based experience...

Having vaped Eden's Empire already and getting ready to vape Crown Jewels (with plans of trying the rest of the line in the not too distant future), I would put Black Label up there with the likes of the "top shelf" brands such as ANML, Cosmic Fog, Charlie Noble and others.  I consider it a premium e-liquid and as a consumer I would expect it to be priced as such.  I think a regular price of $19.99 is a fair price for it.  B&M's have overhead beyond just rent and would likely charge more to offset those costs.  

For premium e-liquids I like to follow my beer/booze philosophy: I drink Miller Lite or Jack Daniels for quantity, but I drink Guinness or Woodford Reserve for quality.  With e-liquids, I do vape my own or I vape a local house blend for quantity, but every once in a while I need that quality.  That isn't to say my "quantity" choices aren't any good.  If they weren't I wouldn't vape them.  But I can definitely tell the difference between a local house blend vs. a premium e-liquid.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Adversarious1

[Christopher]

Much appreciated. I cringe at the idea of watering down the Black Label liquids (I actually I just wouldn't do it to be honest) and believe it is indeed a premium line. Additionally certification puts our money where are mouths are. (Will post up on each flavor page shortly)

[Christopher]

By the way, as promised earlier in this thread (though slightly off topic) Here are the Vapor Talk Black Label eliquids certifications: 

 

[cany]

When I was buying juice it was made up at the B&M I went too  I had them mix what I liked and it was $32 for 50ML  spending over $60 a week on juice is what got me into DIY

[Earthling789]

Like @Adversarious1 I don't mind paying more for premium/quality...  I'll pay $60+ for a good bottle of Scotch for relaxing and sipping, but a $20 bottle of Jameson is perfectly fine for "poker night".  The same holds true for my juices... I'll drop a few bucks for something top-shelf, for my personal pleasure/enjoyment.  That being said, I wouldn't lower the price of Black Label to match prices of low-quality house-brands, just to be competitive... people do expect to pay more for quality, and gladly will pay more if the quality is true quality (not perceived quality).  Now, would I buy more of it, if it were $15/30ml, compared to $30/30ml?  Umm, YEAH!  But I also wouldn't be pushed away or "looking for alternatives" if it were $20/30ml either...

[Christopher]

Thanks It's currently up at $15 /30ml and we're watching to see how it affects the sales. We've also talked to our bottle supplier to see what other options we have (that glass can really affect the cost though I hate the plastic as I think it affects the taste personally..) 

[Adversarious1]

1 hour ago, Christopher said:

Thanks It's currently up at $15 /30ml and we're watching to see how it affects the sales. We've also talked to our bottle supplier to see what other options we have (that glass can really affect the cost though I hate the plastic as I think it affects the taste personally..) 

I agree on on plastic affecting the taste.  It's one thing to transfer liquid from a glass bottle to a 10ml or 15ml needle bottle for "on the go" moments.  It's something else entirely to bottle it, ship it and store it in plastic bottles for a longer period of time.  To use another beer philosophy, "Never drink anything out of an aluminum can that also comes in a bottle.  Never drink anything out of a glass bottle that also comes in a keg."  I use the same philosophy with eliquids - never vape anything from a plastic bottle if it is available in a glass bottle.

In my opinion, the difference in price isn't worth the potential sacrifice in quality.  In larger volumes I have seen glass bottles for about $0.30 each and plastic for $0.22 each.  That includes child resistant dropper caps for the glass bottles and child resistant/tamper proof caps for the plastic bottles.  If I have to pay $0.10 more for a 30ml bottle of eliquid because it comes in a glass bottle, so be it.  But I also clean and re-use/recycle my glass bottles for other purposes (such as mixing paints for airbrushing), so ultimately that extra fee is worth it to me.