thoughts from a vape store employee

[pony]

ok folks, working here at a vape shop i see all kinds of people all day long. we get every thing from the novice to the cloud chaser looking for sponsors and everything in between.
i really wish people would stop bringing me their under age kids in here to buy them vape equipment. im not going to sell it to them and im not going to sell it to you if i know beyond a doubt that youre just going to hand it off to the 14 year old. ive had 2 of those today and weve only been open for an hour.
honestly. when they say 'not for those under 18' its not just lip service. we dont want your kids and this is why the antz think we do.
and for the woman who came in with her daughter(16 years old)so she could get stuff to do the 'cool tricks she seen on the internet'....really? of all the possible reasons to pick up the vape to do cool tricks from the internet is probably not one of the better.
the image we get isnt an industry issue but is an industry problem. from its begining the company i work for has declined to sell to minors and we hold to it. if you cant abide by it we'd rather be seen as a prick than be complicit. theres more at risk for us than that one sale.

 

[RMarcusY]

I agree, I only offer to help smokers that are over 21 and know they want to quit the smoking habit.

 

[UncleRJ]

Thanks for telling us about this!

And please,PLEASE stick to you guns on this issue.

Me, I would try to get contact info for the "adult" and report them to the nearest child protection agency!

When I was raising my own children I encouraged them to explore the world.under my supervision.

But enough is enough for Gods sake!

 

[Amir_Wazir]

I don't know about an over-21 policy, but you're definitely doing the right thing by not selling to minors and trying to be diligent about keeping it out of their hands. One of the last times I went to my B&M I saw two guys walking through the parking lot that did not look 18+ to me ( this place is pretty close to a middle school ). I could only hope that they didn't sell them anything.

If I found out a vape shop was knowingly selling to people under 18 they would never be getting another penny of my money and I'd consider spreading that information around as well. Not cool and just stupid in general.

 

[Zamazam]

You never know if the situation is a setup from local authorities in order to bust you and your shop for selling to minors via a shell buyer. I was in a local vape shop when a woman and a teenaged boy came in and tried to buy some vape gear and juice. The owner refused politely and told the woman that she could purchase whatever she wanted, just not with a teenage boy. It was really apparent since the kid was picking out the vape gear. I took a photo of them stealthily. The woman went on a mini tirade berating the owner of the vape shop, he then told her to get out or have the police called and a complaint made for trespassing.

I left a couple minutes after the woman and the boy left the store, I noticed them both sitting in a white Crown Victoria, I took a snap of the car with the plates. The car was a state government vehicle. With this info I went back into the vape shop and showed the photos to the owner. Good God was he pissed off! I emailed him the photo's and he forwarded them to his mailing list which had every vape shop in a 3 county area. Turns out the woman and the boy had tried to buy vape gear at 3 shops in the county that day and were refused each time. It appears that the woman and boy were trying to trap a vape shop into selling to them, a setup from start to finish.

 

[Smoky Blue]

and on the other side of the coin...

I bring my soon to be 15yr old in with me..
not to buy for him, but he can tell you.. vaping is better than smoking..
he is my #1 when i mix juices as he tells me.. Mom, that just plain stinks!
or I get to hear: You can vape that, the smell is so yummy..

but if you ask him, when he is of age, will he vape?
he will tell you, straight up:
I do not smoke now, I will not smoke later.
Since he does not smoke, he says he will not vape either..
not even the zero nic juice.

I am proud of him, for he sees what I go thru and is my cheerleader, so to say..

he is also a big advocate for me, with family and friends..
without him, and my better half, I would never ever be where I am today.

I owe it all to my son.

 

[cherrycakes]

If you want to do cool tricks learn to skateboard!!!

 

[AmandaD]

and on the other side of the coin...

I bring my soon to be 15yr old in with me..
not to buy for him, but he can tell you.. vaping is better than smoking..
he is my #1 when i mix juices as he tells me.. Mom, that just plain stinks!
or I get to hear: You can vape that, the smell is so yummy..

but if you ask him, when he is of age, will he vape?
he will tell you, straight up:
I do not smoke now, I will not smoke later.
Since he does not smoke, he says he will not vape either..
not even the zero nic juice.

I am proud of him, for he sees what I go thru and is my cheerleader, so to say..

he is also a big advocate for me, with family and friends..
without him, and my better half, I would never ever be where I am today.

I owe it all to my son.

Smoky, I have almost the same experience with my 17-year old! She sniffs my mixes to tell me what she thinks, and we've recently found that she can taste them by just popping a tiny big of the concentrated flavor mixes in water!

 

[dantefire]

If she legitimately was a government employee, a harassment suit should be in order. Not only would it end her career, but would draw public awareness as well.

Just sayin... You've got her tags and all. Figuring out her identity would be easy.

D.

 

[pony]

we finished up the day yesterday with a total of 4 attempts to buy for minors. one was a kid who looked about 10 asking why you had to be 18to buy even the 0 nic. i think im just going to start reminding people parent is also a verb.
granted it wasnt a usual day,we dont normally have that many. but it is almost a daily occurance to have at least one. just yesterday was sunday.

 

[OBDave]

If she legitimately was a government employee, a harassment suit should be in order. Not only would it end her career, but would draw public awareness as well.

Just sayin... You've got her tags and all. Figuring out her identity would be easy.

D.

Could have been a sting operation...cops around here hire kids all the time to try and buy beer and/or smokes, or to hit up local residents in a parking lot to do it for them. From what I understand the fines are a great revenue stream for police.

 

[VapedCrusader]

when I was working at my friend's vape shop for a couple weeks.. I couldn't tell you how many Asian folks came in to buy vape gear.. none of them were ex-smokers and they all got 0mg nicotine - a few stated that they were just vaping because it was the 'in thing to do' or their friends were doing it so they decided to try it.. they all had really flashy expensive mods too..

I'm wondering why it's become so popular with the Asian community.. (especially when none seem to have smoked before)

 

[dantefire]

Could have been a sting operation...cops around here hire kids all the time to try and buy beer and/or smokes, or to hit up local residents in a parking lot to do it for them. From what I understand the fines are a great revenue stream for police.

I get it, but in this instance she was verbally assaulted and subsequently harassed. The right lawyer would jump at the chance to make that public.

D.

 

[Smoky Blue]

when I was working at my friend's vape shop for a couple weeks.. I couldn't tell you how many Asian folks came in to buy vape gear.. none of them were ex-smokers and they all got 0mg nicotine - a few stated that they were just vaping because it was the 'in thing to do' or their friends were doing it so they decided to try it.. they all had really flashy expensive mods too..

I'm wondering why it's become so popular with the Asian community.. (especially when none seem to have smoked before)

i don't know bout that.. it is very popular in China and i hear they have the highest tobacco smokers there..
who knows.. weird tho you are getting the non smokers.. had to laugh on that

 

[InMyImage]

In Indiana there are no laws preventing a minor from using or buying vape gear or juice, but every shop we've been to won't even let them through the door because they don't want to risk any potential harassment or issues from the police even without the laws.

The one I spoke to about it also said that they don't want the bad press that would pop up about it causing laws to be demanded by the public.

 

[VapedCrusader]

i don't know bout that.. it is very popular in China and i hear they have the highest tobacco smokers there..
who knows.. weird tho you are getting the non smokers.. had to laugh on that

I'm telling you.. it a majority of them ... they came in packs and almost all of them were non-smokers.. maybe its just a Boston thing? I dunno lol but it was really weird.. a couple of them actually started their own shop a few towns away (its a terribly overpriced place and they have no knowledge about vaping, just looking to cash in on the the popularity of it all)

 

[AdamSenior]

I agree kids under 18 should not be vaping or smoking. But just to throw it out there, I was sold ciggeretes at the age of 14, granted the laws are alot stiffer these days but kids will fund a way let's just not be the ones who help them do it

 

[Smoky Blue]

I'm telling you.. it a majority of them ... they came in packs and almost all of them were non-smokers.. maybe its just a Boston thing? I dunno lol but it was really weird.. a couple of them actually started their own shop a few towns away (its a terribly overpriced place and they have no knowledge about vaping, just looking to cash in on the the popularity of it all)

wow droves *giggles.. Boston thing.. probably.. quick easy bucks.. yeps.. gesh!!
*shakes head.. laughs more..

 

[Zamazam]

Could have been a sting operation...cops around here hire kids all the time to try and buy beer and/or smokes, or to hit up local residents in a parking lot to do it for them. From what I understand the fines are a great revenue stream for police.

My neighbors cousin got stung buying beer for some teenagers. He got a gross misdemeanor and a $2000 fine. Cops are using it as a revenue stream.

 

[Zamazam]

i don't know bout that.. it is very popular in China and i hear they have the highest tobacco smokers there..
who knows.. weird tho you are getting the non smokers.. had to laugh on that

I tried Chinese cigarettes when I was over in China on a bakery equipment seminar 10 years ago. I understand why Chinese folks move to vaping. Those Chinese cigarettes were shit.

 

[Zamazam]

we finished up the day yesterday with a total of 4 attempts to buy for minors. one was a kid who looked about 10 asking why you had to be 18to buy even the 0 nic. i think im just going to start reminding people parent is also a verb.
granted it wasnt a usual day,we dont normally have that many. but it is almost a daily occurance to have at least one. just yesterday was sunday.

Take photo's of the kids and send them to other vape shops. You are in this situation together, share the information and save your butts from legal issues.

 

[Thunderball]

What about the 16 yo that has been smoking 2 years ?

Gonna give them a chance to quit or will you say .. " see ya when your 21"

Curious. A dilemma for sure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[UncleRJ]

we finished up the day yesterday with a total of 4 attempts to buy for minors. one was a kid who looked about 10 asking why you had to be 18to buy even the 0 nic. i think im just going to start reminding people parent is also a verb.
granted it wasnt a usual day,we dont normally have that many. but it is almost a daily occurance to have at least one. just yesterday was sunday.

Record each and every instance.

Then call the cops and ask that they stop harassing you.

 

[Midniteoyl]

If she legitimately was a government employee, a harassment suit should be in order. Not only would it end her career, but would draw public awareness as well.

Just sayin... You've got her tags and all. Figuring out her identity would be easy.

D.

No.. police do it all the time and its not illegal.. Its the same as a fake drug buy or cop who looks like a hooker.

 

[UncleRJ]

No.. police do it all the time and its not illegal.. Its the same as a fake drug buy or cop who looks like a hooker.

I agree but harassment is harassment!

Once or even twice a month is one thing.

This appears to be quite another.

More like a vendetta IMHO.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I agree but harassment is harassment!

Once or even twice a month is one thing.

This appears to be quite another.

More like a vendetta IMHO.

? There are legit ones trying to buy for a minor.. Not ALL are cops looking to bust you.

 

[pony]

? There are legit ones trying to buy for a minor.. Not ALL are cops looking to bust you.

We just dont plan on taking that chance. If they look 18ish or we cant say for certain theyre over 18 we card them. We're sorry if it makes them feel bad but its going to make us feel worse to get busted.

 

[Midniteoyl]

We just dont plan on taking that chance. If they look 18ish or we cant say for certain theyre over 18 we card them. We're sorry if it makes them feel bad but its going to make us feel worse to get busted.

I agree... I was responding to you being 'harassed' by the cops. Some seem to think that every time a minor asks to buy, its actually a bust.

 

[Robert B]

Just curious, is it illegal for an under 18's to buy non-nic products? Personally, if I owned a vape shop, I wouldn't even let under 18's in my shop to avoid any hassle, but is it actually illegal? I can't find any laws that say it is. Here is the Virginia State law explaining the definition of nic related vape products which are illegal to sell to under age persons. It does not include non-nic vape e-juice and hardware products.

"Nicotine vapor product" means any noncombustible product containing nicotine that employs a heating element, power source, electronic circuit, or other electronic, chemical, or mechanical means, regardless of shape or size, that can be used to produce vapor from nicotine in a solution or other form. "Nicotine vapor product" includes any electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, or similar product or device and any cartridge or other container of nicotine in a solution or other form that is intended to be used with or in an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, or similar product or device. "Nicotine vapor product" does not include any product regulated by the FDA under Chapter V (21 U.S.C. § 351 et seq.) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act."

 

[BigNasty]

Get one of those no minors signs the local booze brigade puts out..

 

[BoomStick]

Spot checking businesses that sell age restricted items is understandable. Where the line is that seperates reasonable from harassment is subjective. Before you pick a fight with part of the government, then use lawyers to take it to another part of the government to be settled, make sure the time, energy and resources you would have to commit to it are worth the gamble. Unless its affecting business, I would probably just continue to politely and strictly refuse to do business with minors. The word should get around the community that you guys aren't that kind of place.

 

[Joshua Iles]

I worked in a gas station and the cops and our company spot checked us all the time by sending minors in to buy beer/smokes. However, not once were the authorities dick heads about us saying no. Now little Jimmy pot head would throw a fit cuz he "lost" his id and u wouldn't sell to him. IMHO if the authorities are sending people in and those people are making a scene, disrupting business and interfering with a legit business, I could see that as an issue. However, I would have a lot of ammo if I was gonna go toe to toe with Johnny law.

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[Rin Vapes]

Now that vaping is becoming more and more mainstream, now you'll have all the hipsters doing it. I personally don't care what people choose to do or spend their money on until it effects me. These kids doing it because it's "cool" and the idiots making a scene by blowing vapor in people's faces really pisses me off. It makes vapers look bad and I find myself constantly having to defend the real vapers. The FDA and media give us enough problems.

 

[mike-c]

Now that vaping is becoming more and more mainstream, now you'll have all the hipsters doing it. I personally don't care what people choose to do or spend their money on until it effects me. These kids doing it because it's "cool" and the idiots making a scene by blowing vapor in people's faces really pisses me off. It makes vapers look bad and I find myself constantly having to defend the real vapers. The FDA and media give us enough problems.

Abso-freakin-lutely! It's one thing to chuck huge clouds in a vape shop, at home, or with friends, but to do it in a public restaurant or somewhere like say a post office is just being disrespectful. We vapers need to remember that there are some really uptight people out there that are nit picking at every little thing in their environment. Blowing a huge cloud into the face of a person that is whining about vapers in general may be fun, but all you're really doing in the end is giving them ammunition for their fight. I'm almost certain that the vaping community is under fire because of a few bad seeds chucking clouds in a Wal-Mart, a public restaurant, or something like that.
Don't get me wrong, I get it. It was an amazing feeling to be free to get a nicotine fix without having to step out into a rainstorm. Having said that, it only took a few idiots for us to see lawn darts disappear. Lol

Mad respect to you Pony for not caving on your morals to make a sale! Wish all shop owners would be more like that.

 

[MKPM]

I have known @pony for a LONG time and can vouch that he is a person of very strong and honourable principles. A great friend...even when he and I compete to BUY ALL OF THE THINGS!!