Today's blog is a cross-post from the ECR subreddit

January 21, 2019

and it comes from user chucKing. It's specific to the interests of the subreddit but it is good solid advice for anybody who is new to the eLiquid and vaping world in general.  It is copied directly from this post and the only edits made are to censor the swears.  Enjoy! 

It seems that lately, we've had an influx in posts that have very basic misunderstandings about vaping and the world in general. Posts about stuff taking a few days longer to ship than expected/desired. Posts about Chinese vape manufacturers not warrantying mods that are not defective. Posts about online vape shops not responding instantly to remedy $15 juice orders that were slow to ship or had an incorrect item. Posts how a vendor is shit because they won't replace a mod that doesn't turn on when batteries are not in it. I could go on.

So here are a few basics that may help people avoid some heartache:

• Coils and pods are disposable items. Manufacturers are not going to replace or "warranty" a coil or pod because it burned out in "1 or 2 days" or a shorter time than you wanted and expected. Coil life is dependent on the juice you use (sweeteners and VG/PG ratio), settings you use, and how much you vape.
• QC issues with coils and pods are nothing new. Since the first stock coils were released, there have been issues with "dud" coils. This is something that you just have to deal with if you choose to use such products. Things have gotten better over the years, but you can't expect every single coil/pod to be perfect.
  • Edit: I've been informed this may be off-base, and it very well could be. I've never been an avid user of stock coils until the last 6 months when I've gotten into pod systems, and have yet to experience a true "dud" coil/pod. I only meant to refer to rare occasions. If every other coil/pod is f****y, that's not acceptable. Something like 1/10 might be, but that's probably up for debate.
• All mods will show wear and tear after using them. If your paint chips or fades, or the mod gets damaged from you using it, this is not a manufacturing defect and is therefore not the manufacturer's responsibility. Also, a $30 made in China device isn’t going to last forever.
  • As people have brought up, if s****y paint is a trend on a particular mod, it can be indicative of a problem with the paint. But I don't know what a manufacturer can be expected to do in this situation.
• Shipping time is not controlled by online vendors. After they drop it off at USPS, it is USPS's responsibility, not the vendor's. Have some patience. Now if the company does not ship out for a week or longer and/or is not responding to inquiries within a day or so, this is when you can start to blame the vendor.
• S*** happens with online orders. Most online shops probably ship hundreds of items a day, and humans are responsible for packing and shipping. Thus errors happen. Being a prick to customer service reps and bitching about it in online forums is not the proper way to remedy this situation. Again, have some patience... vape vendors are not Amazon.
• It is fairly standard policy for vendors to not accept returns on juice, especially opened bottles. Discounts, replacement bottles, store credit, etc. are acceptable remedies in many cases.

Now I know there are legitimate complaints about vendors and manufacturers. This is not a post stating that all of these companies are perfect. Just a post to let people know that it helps to apply some common sense and basic understanding of the world including that companies are actually made up of people. And that certain complaints are not really valid.

What "basics of vape products" pointers have I forgotten, and what did I get wrong? Discuss.

*Edits - Will try to keep up with any good pointers that people bring up in the comments.

• Paying for faster shipping doesn't mean you're paying for faster processing or fulfillment from the vendor. If you haven't shipped items before, there are a number of different options for speed at which the carrier will deliver the product. This time only applies to the time after the item has actually been shipped.
• Waiting up to, or more than, 48hrs for a email response from vendor/manufacturer is pretty much the norm. A lot of that is first come first serve and many probably receive hundreds of emails. Also, as with most things when dealing with companies, only business days are counted in this timeframe. If you order (or inquire about) something at 6pm on a Friday, Tuesday morning is not "4 days later" - it's only been 1 business day since you ordered/inquired.
• An emergency on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on anyone else's. If you spent your $10 budget on juice 24 hours before you ran out that is no one's fault but yours. Order ahead and order before you're in a tight spot and it won't matter if someone takes 5 days to ship. To add to this, there's a saying "two is one, one is none." Essentially: have a backup for your vape devices. I understand budgets can be tight, but even a $5 cigalike is better than resorting to traditional tobacco products if you lose/break your main device.
• On using re-BUILD-able atomizers; any of those RDA, RTA, thingys that start with an R. The hidden word BUILD infers a certain DIY aspect, user dependency, maybe even some research, then testing and tuning. This is not saying that it is difficult or you have to be an expert to do it. It's easier than ever to succeed with rebuildables, given some due diligence, learning, and practice. But getting a rebuildable is not a ready to use, plug and play, guaranteed to work as expected, finished product where anybody can immediately use with basic common sense or instructions. It's on you to take ownership of the BUILD aspect to reach the endgoal.
• There could probably be a full post on just dealing with Chinese shops like 3FVape, FastTech, etc. and there's plenty of information if you use the search function in /r/ECR but a couple quick items that have been brought up:
  • You should probably only order things that are "in stock" or "ships in 24 hours" or the like - items that say something to the effect of "pre-order" or "ships in X days" are always a gamble as to when they might ship
  • It's usually recommended to use ePacket shipping or equivalent, at least for those in the US. Even then, you should expect about a 2-week wait from the time it ships.
  • Time zones, how do they work? Emailing a Chinese vendor on Friday morning means it's after work Friday there, and Sunday evening (here) is when they get back to work.
• Do research before buying a new atty or tank. Read, read, read. I can't stress this enough, with as many reviewers as there are on YouTube, ECR, and everywhere else, you should have a decent idea of what you're getting yourself into. /r/ECR has a search function and while it's not the best, it is workable. If you just bought an Alien or a Predator last week and are surprised at any QC issues you experience, it's nobody's fault but your own and you probably won't get any sympathies here.
  • One thing to remember is to take reviewers'/users' opinions with a grain of salt. Nearly everything in vaping is subjective and based on personal preference and experience. YMMV, which is why it's good to get information from a variety of sources.
• Lastly and maybe most importantly, try not to be a dick. If you post here and people tell you something you weren't expecting to hear or point the blame at you... Take it like a man. On the other hand if someone posts some real dumb questions or accusations here, try to let them know they're wrong in a civil manner, and maybe even why they're wrong.

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