Does It Matter?

[HyOnLyph]

Hello all, I've looked through some of the posts and find some discussion about USA made vs. China made e-cigs. I see how to tell which is which and that many people think that USA made are better. In general though, I don't see why. I understand that the juice is different and China juice may have additional contaminants. So OK, I'll avoid Chinese juice and carts. But what about the equipment.

Some of you may be aware that my wife and I have a home for women. We have picked up a few 510 kits in an effort to give our smokers an alternative. (by the way... I mentioned ecigs to a friend of mine who bought one immediately. In a few days, He's already stopped coughing and has completely lost that stale smoke odor. He is really excited and His wife has asthma and she is so grateful)

Back on topic.... Is there any real difference in the 510 Chinese vs USA. Prices vary so much ($49 to $120 for the same kit) that it's hard to make a determination as to one product being better than another.

For me, getting the best deal for the money makes a difference.

Thanks

[VapOrDie]

Well depending on where you live there's always the customs issue but for me customer support is the biggest reason to buy in the U.S. You might be able to get it cheaper overseas but if there's anything wrong with it you're pretty much screwed as far as I know. Plus you're going to pay a lot more for shipping and I'm sure it's a loooong wait for an order.

[VegasVapor]

Hi HyOnLyph. I'm not sure if you know, but all e-cig equipment are made in China. Even products from USA suppliers come from China, with the exception of the USA made custom mods. The benefit of ordering from a USA supplier is the customer service. If you have any issues, you're much more likely to get taken care of right away. There are China suppliers that are said to have good customer service as well, but you have to deal with long wait time and cost on shipping if you needed to send something back. Not to mention there's a possibility of your order being held at customs. I have personally ordered from heaven-gifts.com and have had no issues. I ordered my first 510 kit from them along with spare atomizers in bulk. All products worked great and I never had to return anything.

[HyOnLyph]

Hi HyOnLyph. I'm not sure if you know, but all e-cig equipment are made in China. Even products from USA suppliers come from China, with the exception of the USA made custom mods. The benefit of ordering from a USA supplier is the customer service. If you have any issues, you're much more likely to get taken care of right away. There are China suppliers that are said to have good customer service as well, but you have to deal with long wait time and cost on shipping if you needed to send something back. Not to mention there's a possibility of your order being held at customs. I have personally ordered from heaven-gifts.com and have had no issues. I ordered my first 510 kit from them along with spare atomizers in bulk. All products worked great and I never had to return anything.

Thanks for the reply... I guess that is where I'm confused. Some local vendors, SmokeStik for example, swear their product is Made in the USA. Of course the numbering is different but they look just like the 510.

Currently I'm dealing with a great guy (WordUp) for my 510 and accessories. Customer service is impeccable. And the price is right. But it seems that some people are very pro-American made and I just couldn't understand the difference. I understand about the juice.

If some products are custom made in the USA, then it would probably be hard to find any consistency and interchangeability among manufacturers. Maybe I misunderstood. Maybe the Chinese models are the "real deal". I appreciate your input.

Edited April 6, 2010 by HyOnLyph

[snubber]

Hello...there really is no need to buy straight from China unless you are going to buy in large bulk. But then you run the risk of customs and a much larger shipping charge. Almost everything except mods come from China and either repackaged or rebranded.

You will not go wrong if you find a good vendor with a good customer rating.

[HyOnLyph]

Hi HyOnLyph. I'm not sure if you know, but all e-cig equipment are made in China. Even products from USA suppliers come from China, with the exception of the USA made custom mods. The benefit of ordering from a USA supplier is the customer service. If you have any issues, you're much more likely to get taken care of right away. There are China suppliers that are said to have good customer service as well, but you have to deal with long wait time and cost on shipping if you needed to send something back. Not to mention there's a possibility of your order being held at customs. I have personally ordered from heaven-gifts.com and have had no issues. I ordered my first 510 kit from them along with spare atomizers in bulk. All products worked great and I never had to return anything.

Thanks, I'm not thinking about buying from china. Just wondering about Chinese vs. USA products. I'm currently buying from WordUp... Joye510. WordUp has been great.

[HyOnLyph]

I guess my post was confusing. I'm not interested in buying from china. Just wondering about chinese made vs. usa made products. Sorry for the confusion.

[jmhester]

This is a discussion that has been going on for awhile now. I'll be honest and say I've had bad and good of both. The quality control in China doesn't seem to be that great but neither does the USA. "Handmade" doesn't mean high quality. To have a good product you must have a defined process with a repeatable result. From my experience, the USA makers don't have this or any testing process for that matter.

As for customer service, I've found that very much lacking in the USA products. Of course, it's non-existant in the Chinese stuff. But the China stuff is so cheap, most of the vendors will just send you a new one and forget about it. Not so with the USA makers I've dealt with. Plus, the USA stuff is way more expensive to you the consumer.

So in my personal opinion, you take your chances either way. Watch all the video reviews on a product you are thinking about buying. We are going to tell you the truth with no bias. That's about the best way to decide.

[Brian]

I think all atomizers are made in China. When you're talking about a 510, the atty is made in China. Any of the regular 510 starter kits are made in China. If you're looking at an American made battery mod for the 510, the attomizer is still made in China.

[mcquinn]

I agree all the atomisers that you have access to come from china ,most of the batteries for the mods come from china.I would imagine the quality control for the Chinese liquid would be more stringent as they are dealing with export legal issues where someone mixing things in the garage or basement doesn't have to deal with all that.I have vaped some really tasty domestic liquids so I am not knocking them I just am pretty sure to export you have to have what ever is required .Someone posted a video of one of the Chinese manufacturers facility where this supplier gets his liquid from and it was immaculate.As far as the mods go it is like anything else the inexpensive ones do what they are designed to do and if you can afford to upgrade therer are a lot of fine choices out there.

[Brian]

Someone posted a video of one of the Chinese manufacturers facility where this supplier gets his liquid from and it was immaculate.As far as the mods go it is like anything else the inexpensive ones do what they are designed to do and if you can afford to upgrade therer are a lot of fine choices out there.

You know, I've been thinking about that vid. In China, you can only video what they want you to see. Of course it's going to be immaculate in the vid, but I'm not sure it's a "real" representation of what's going on. I'm a bit skeptical.

[FTJoe]

You know, I've been thinking about that vid. In China, you can only video what they want you to see. Of course it's going to be immaculate in the vid, but I'm not sure it's a "real" representation of what's going on. I'm a bit skeptical.

I thought it was Christopher and I made a snide comment that maybe all the face masks and gloves were to prevent them from touching the toxic crap we were getting from them. Was meant as a joke, but...

[mcquinn]

That is your right to be skeptical.I know for a fact that Wal-Mart keeps a very close eye on quality issues especially after the embarasments of a few years ago and most of these food and pharmaceutical companies in China are trying to win big Wal-Mart like contracts so they are pretty well on top of things.Almost all of the major manufacturers are outsourcing things to these companies and the naked kids in the sweatshop image you have is not quite accurate.

[FTJoe]

That is your right to be skeptical.I know for a fact that Wal-Mart keeps a very close eye on quality issues especially after the embarasments of a few years ago and most of these food and pharmaceutical companies in China are trying to win big Wal-Mart like contracts so they are pretty well on top of things.Almost all of the major manufacturers are outsourcing things to these companies and the naked kids in the sweatshop image you have is not quite accurate.

Oh I know - but it wasn't long ago when our pets were dropping dead from pet food and two brothers were executed for tainted baby formula. In china you don't always get executed for doing something wrong, sometimes just for getting caught by the world. But I agree, they are generally trying for the image. And they have proven it by switching to cadmium in the kids toys from lead. <sarcasm> ;-)

[mcquinn]

In our early industrial years when everybody had a job we burnt a lot of coal ,and used a lot toxic chemicals and we used asbestos and so on and so on.Now that we are as enlightened as we are no one has a job and not too many people are wlling to risk creating them.All of the bad things that happened then were a very small portion of the overall industrial boom and I suppose China as big as it is will have a few mistakes but if you put it in perspective.I am no big fan of outsourcing but it is here to stay so we need to learn to live with it.

[HyOnLyph]

Oh I know - but it wasn't long ago when our pets were dropping dead from pet food and two brothers were executed for tainted baby formula. In china you don't always get executed for doing something wrong, sometimes just for getting caught by the world. But I agree, they are generally trying for the image. And they have proven it by switching to cadmium in the kids toys from lead. <sarcasm> ;-)

{Big smile} Sounds like we're getting a little off topic. But secretly I know you guys have been talking to my wife and are trying to get me all riled up aren't you? Guess we better start a topic on the condition of the world as we know it. ;o) Or... just take another puff of that passthrough sitting by your computer.

Edited April 7, 2010 by HyOnLyph

[VapeFiend]

Hey what's up HyOnLyph, just want to say that in my experience, the customer service makes a huge difference. You should try to find a supplier close to you because it saves on shipping costs and time, and you'll find that most, if not all of the people you deal with here are very friendly. I was exclusive to a Chinese supplier when I first started a few weeks ago, and now I'm dealing with all sorts of grief. If the parts are all from the same source, then it just becomes a matter of who you want to deal with. I say check out the supplier reviews before settling on a decision

[freeroller]

Agree with VapeFiend, find someone who can get the items to you quickly and reliably.

[Kragax]

There is a USA manufactuer(sp) in Cleveland that makes a good product. But they dont offer a manual battery. I looked at them but went with a 510 instead because acrts were more avaliable. theres are a bit different. There is always a drawback someplace. I use a Vyper mod now with 510 attys but I have quite a few of them and Im buying more. This was mainly to get the extra battery life. You will find Chinese quality will improve like the japanese did over time.

[Sivlar]

I understand that the juice is different and China juice may have additional contaminants. So OK, I'll avoid Chinese juice and carts.

I was not aware there is any e-juice that is made, from scratch, in the USA. I was always told the base Nicotine juice all comes from China and those juices claiming to be "made in the USA" are really only "mixed in the USA". While you are getting a lot of different unique flavors mixes from US based companies, they still get all the base non-flavored nictotine juice from China.

That worries me a bit, since China is notorious for contaminating just about everything consumable, but we don't have much choice. Until a chem lab or pharmaceutical company that can make the base liquid is setup. I don't think that will happen anytime soon though since the FDA is all about banning these things.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Sivlar