Got offered a job today

[OBDave]

So this was kind of interesting...stopped in at China Freight to waste some time and add to my free flashlight collection (which was capped at 11, the lady finally stamped my coupon so I can't use it again - back to collecting tape measures until they start giving away multimeters again). After scoring a $4 toolbox to house my DIY flavors that had outgrown their previous home, I decided to pop into a "cash-n-carry" store next door, not being familiar with what I'd find and being 20 minutes or so early for a meeting with clients across town.

Well, inside the guy has a bunch of stuff that seems geared toward liquor store/gas station owners - cases of 5 Hour Energy, silly novelty lighters, resale-marked cigs, glass pipes for the wacky tabacky...and a vape station setup with thousands of bottles of cheap crap juice and a handful of mods.

I get to checking out his selection - all clones, a lot of stuff like knockoff Egos and iSticks stamped with his own logo, and the owner comes up and starts chatting - offers me a rip off his fake iStick with an Atlantis. I explain that I'm not big on the Atlantis wicking material (a polite way to say I'm not big on my mouth touching a drip tip another dude's mouth just came off of), and he's intrigued. I explain that I've recently bought a Subtank due to the OCC heads versus the questionable material in the original Atlantis heads, ask him about his "custom" iStick and seem surprised when he tells me it only measures volts, not watts. I mention a few Chinese wholesale vendors, assuming he'd be familiar, but it sounds like he's very limited in his channels overseas.

At this point guy asks me what I do for a living - tell him I'm in real estate and that I have a side gig as a columnist at a local alt-weekly magazine, because that's the kind of shit I spout off when I try to sound impressive. He tells me it's too bad, because he's ready to turn over his e-cig business to me on the spot based on the schooling I've just given him.

It really is too bad, because this would be my dream job, but I'm doubting that I could make a living that supports my family off of vaping at this point. Then he drags me over to his juice bar...

OMFG this shit is horrible - it appears he's got a guy in here that's mixing 30-40% Capellas and Flavors West (I see the bottles lying around under the counter) with some sort of indiscernible PG/VG blend, somehow adding a heavy alcohol tinge to every bottle he has that isn't overpowered by a vanilla scent. At this point I learn that he's distributing to dozens, if not hundreds, of local gas stations and liquor stores in the region.

I offer to consult with him to get his shit up to snuff, and offer to bring in a few of my own flavors for him to try out, he gladly accepts. Got a few of my incredibly simple shake-and-vape recipes in sample batches mixed up, planning to deliver tomorrow. The sad thing is that I've actually found much (muchmuchmuch) better recipes in the DIY forums here, but the random crap I've pulled out of my own ass in the last few months is still much better than what he's apparently selling by the truckload, and I haven't asked for permission/royalty arrangements to share anything that the VU folks have shared with me, so I'm keeping that all strictly under wraps.

Anyway, this has already well surpassed tl;dr territory, but any opinions on how to react to my situation are much appreciated, as are DMs saying "I'd be glad to share my recipes for XXX attribution and/or XXX licensing fee" or "Don't you ever mix with my recipe again, you little shit!" I promise I'll respect everyone's wishes regardless - not a money thing for me as I already have 3 paying jobs, just a new avenue to be a vape evangelist...

 

[Browncoat]

Mixing e-liquid is the easy part. The two hardest components are coming up with good recipes and finding distribution channels...which sounds like you have both.

If someone is posting recipes on the internet, then in my opinion, it's a free-for-all. If they wanted to license or sell them, there are avenues to do that. I'm sure someone from the Screwball Ethics Committee(tm) will be along shortly to tell me I'm wrong, but there really doesn't seem to be a realistic alternative answer here.

Sounds like you stumbled across a potential gold mine. Have at it.

 

[Slicknic]

He tells me it's too bad, because he's ready to turn over his e-cig business to me on the spot based on the schooling I've just given him.

If it were worth a darn, it wouldn't be discarded, IMO. Perhaps though, he'd rather buy and sell things than produce and sell?
Keep your head about you and don't be taken for a ride.

 

[Whiskey]

OBD, sounds like that shop owner needs all the help he can get, Grats on the new project, hopefully the dude will learn something about vaping from you in the process.

 

[OBDave]

Mixing e-liquid is the easy part. The two hardest components are coming up with good recipes and finding distribution channels...which sounds like you have both.

If someone is posting recipes on the internet, then in my opinion, it's a free-for-all. If they wanted to license or sell them, there are avenues to do that. I'm sure someone from the Screwball Ethics Committee(tm) will be along shortly to tell me I'm wrong, but there really doesn't seem to be a realistic alternative answer here.

Sounds like you stumbled across a potential gold mine. Have at it.

I'd consider myself a "screwball ethics committee" member, if one existed and if its purpose was to condemn people who took recipes that the creators explicitly state are for non-commercial use and used them commercially. If I'm not making serious deviations from someone else's recipe and they've asked that the original not be sold, I'm not selling it.

That said, this is gas station juice - I've already got a couple recipes that are 100% from-scratch that will beat the pants off of what guy has.

If it were worth a darn, it wouldn't be discarded, IMO. Perhaps though, he'd rather buy and sell things than produce and sell?
Keep your head about you and don't be taken for a ride.

Vaping isn't really his business - I get the feeling he's getting into it because his customers are asking for product and because he vapes himself rather than because he wants to become a full-fledged vape shop. That said, he seemed to take a genuine interest in improving his knowledge and his shop, so if I can help him out a bit I think he'd be able to pass that knowledge along to some of the mostly-clueless people who are selling the product, and hopefully putting something of a little higher quality in a first-time user's hands makes it more likely they'll stick with it...

 

[Joshua Iles]

Fwiw whatever brand juice Walmart uses (Haas or something if I remember correctly) is like ass flavored pina colada, or coffee etc. That's awesome that you're possibly able to help get gas stations etc set up with some good juice. I only brought up the Walmart thing because I'm sure their stuff is mass produced and all garbage, wish they could take a page out of the book u seem to be starting here and figure out some stuff that is decent. Sorry I thread jacked a little. Looks like this may end up helping a lot of people by getting them a better quality juice than the stuff most of these convenience store liquids. I know here 711s in okc (not part of 711 corporate btw, I used to work for them, they just use the name), anyway, they are now selling lots of juices and some basic ego / ce4/Stardust blister kits. So it is becoming much more common for gas stations etc to at least be trying to get people vaping. Hope this all works out and folks in your area will get something they can enjoy.

 

[efektt]

I couldnt even imagine what 40% flavorwest tastes like... probably like MBV. :-[

 

[OBDave]

I couldnt even imagine what 40% flavorwest tastes like... probably like MBV. :-[

I used to frequent a local B&M that only sold their house line - it was decent, but guy told me they were reformulating to "improve" the quality. Conversation went something like:

Guy: Yeah, now we're going to be adding 40 percent flavor!

Me: You mean 40% PG? That seems a little high if you're catering mostly to drippers.

Guy: Nah man, flavor! 40% flavor!

Me: 40%? Really?

Guy: Mad flavor, brah!

Wife went in and picked up a bottle of plain peach juice the next week. I think she still has 25ml of the 30 sitting on our dresser...if she ever decides she wants peach anytime soon I'll just cut it with the 10/90 nic base I keep on hand...