Spinfuel – Do you get a sense of where e-cigarette laws are heading in Las Vegas?
PSV: I am living at my store every day so maybe I am just being an optimist. But it is growing so fast I think vaping will be the new norm. I see people all the time in the car or wherever vaping now. The more of us there are, the harder it is going to be to ban it. I honestly think they will be the standard in the future.
Spinfuel – Obviously e-cigarettes are becoming more and more popular all over the world, and Vegas are certainly no exception. However, Las Vegas has always been more accepting of smokers since smoking and gambling go hand in hand, at least with many gamblers. It would make sense that the casino owners would fight hard to allow e-cigarettes in their casinos because of all the smoking restrictions. Are they generally supportive of e-cigarettes or have they chosen to give in and allow the government to ban them in the same way they do tobacco products?
PSV: -There is still a lot of ignorance about what eCigs are. But, it is getting better; several casinos have approached us about our product. They are not “pushing eCigs” yet, but I think they will in the future. They know they exist now.
Spinfuel – You are building a new brick and mortar store in Vegas, your second establishment. How is that coming along? Can you tell anything about it? Is it going to be a satellite type store or will be a bigger one?
PSV: -Having a 3-story eCigs shop is cool but the Jacuzzi is what I am most excited about. .. Only kidding, not yet at least! It is going to be much larger than our store now for the retail customer. The second store will just be retail, no offices or production so we will have a lot more room for hardware, education etc. We are really looking forward to it. We have a lot of new projects going and really cool new plans for brick and mortar stores that have not been done here.
Spinfuel – How are customers experiencing different e-liquids you offer? Do you allow them to try out a flavor before buying it? How do you do accomplish that? I’ve heard some stores prefill 510 and 808 cartomizers with various flavors and give them to customers to try if they show an interest in a particular flavor, others hand out small 3ml bottles or sell them for a nominal fee, how does Pink Spot Vapors introduce customers to new flavors?
PSV: We sell so many Ego C Twist Kits each day that we thought it was best to have our customer’s sample on the Ego C Twist with the CE4 that comes with the kit. People are skeptical in general when it comes to this. They gum, patch, acupuncture they all do not work for the most part and I do not want to sample people on something they are not buying. I think they trust what it is more when they sample the flavors on what they are buying. Speaking about “new” customers of course.
Spinfuel – What makes a Pink Spot Vapors store different than the competition in Las Vegas and Phoenix? What is it about PSV that brings people in the door, and keep them returning?
PSV: -I touched on that a bit. We do not make sales. The sale is done when the customer walks in the door. They want an eCig; they just do not know what it is. We work hard on communicating with the customer to get the right hardware if it is the size factor of the eRoll or the convenience of a big battery mod with a big tank for a truck driver. Everyone has something that will work perfect for them if you get them the right hardware and the right eJuice. We do not sell knock offs or do any shortcuts to make that extra dollar on one sale. We think that if we really create a Vaper and change each person’s life that comes in, they will come back and bring friends. And they do. It’s all about pushing for the highest success rate for new Vapers. We are continuing to add new hardware and accessories and of course new flavors to keep our PSV family members happy and growing with vaping moving forward.
Spinfuel – Do your stores stock your complete line of e-Liquids or just the top 20-25? Do you mix e-Liquids in the store, a sort of “while you wait” thing, or can someone place an order and come back in an hour like the old One-Hour Photo Processing stores of the 80’s and 90’s?
PSV: We make every flavor at our store now and will custom create blends too. We make the orders when the customers come in the store. A lot of people like to customize nic levels, pg/vg ratios or have custom messages on their labels which we do for free. That separates us from most other stores that have pre-bottled offerings. Our customers call ahead quite often so we can have orders ready for them when they come in as well.
Spinfuel – Regarding the hardware you sell in your stores; is there any demand for higher end products, rebuildable atomizers, high end APV’s, things like that? Do you think that might change down the road?
PSV: It is growing with time. We are definitely adding a lot of higher end hardware now. We still will keep it simple for the new people for sure but we have to keep up with demand even though we are a juice company.
Spinfuel – You have a wonderful collection of photos of the Vegas location on your website. PINK SPOT VAPORS It looks to be a fabulous place to come and explore the world of vaping. Do you have many customers come in and just hang out in the “living room” environment you’ve set up?
PSV: We get people that hang out all day! Many of them have opened up stores now lol. I am a juice company so I do not care at all about “competition” as long as they are educating and doing it the right way. I know it is just MY opinion, but putting knock off hardware that breaks fast and cheap quality juice in a new customers hands is just going to lead that person to say “Vaping does not work”. I know this industry; I know my customers try other companies. Most come back, but that is just part of the business. I know if the other companies in Las Vegas do it the right way, eventually, they will try my eJuice. I just hate to think that people are turning away people from the industry just to make a faster buck.
Spinfuel – The photos reveal much about your Vegas store. You seem to stock hundreds of products, but at the same time the store looks inviting, fun, almost a “must see” attraction for people visiting Vegas. Who designed this store and how will the new store compare? Will the new store maintain the same motif?
PSV: Not sure if she would appreciate me saying so, but my sister designed the store. She does not like to take credit, but she has an amazing talent for design. She is planning on living in Vegas for a few months getting the second store together and I know from what we have discussed it will be amazing. I am really fortunate to have really talented people around me in every aspect of my life.
Spinfuel – You’ve added many new signature products to your line up. Your Pink Spot Pawn’s are gorgeous. They are so popular you restrict customers to purchasing only 2 on the website. Do the brick and mortar stores have the same restriction?
PSV: I hate to put a restriction on them, but I just do not have control over how many I get. I get a couple hundred at a time and the first shipment I had I sold out in a couple hours. I want everyone that wants one to have a shot at getting one. That is why I put the restriction. People were buying 100 at a time the first time we got them so now I regulate them. I would rather all our PSV family members get one than someone get a business opportunity re selling them.
Spinfuel – So how many flavors do you offer now? Which one if the newest flavor and how is it going over with your customers?
PSV: -We have so many that are in development. I have 2 new ones that will be “launching next” Surf Rider and Strawburst”. The most popular flavor in the storefront of the latest releases is the “Happy Ending” everyone has their own take on it. To me it tastes like fun fetti. But, I get 10 different takes on it each day. I love it though. Everyone has his or her own take on a flavor and everyone is right. Pretty cool. My favorite of the latest creations is the Banana Nut Bread I think. It really does taste better than actual banana nut bread lol. I love it.
Spinfuel – Has there been any changes to your recipes as far as where the ingredients are “sourced”?
PSV: -No changes. We still have the same sources and do not add anything to our juice other than the Pharma grade nic, US food grade PG/VG and food grade flavorings. It has been our standard since we started.
