Type “vape store near me” into a search box and you are in good company; it is among the questions vapers ask most. Yelp data put the count of vape shops and lounges in the United States at more than 10,591 in 2016, yet plenty of them are young businesses, far less familiar than long-established tobacco shops. This guide covers why a local shop is worth finding and how to track one down.
What a dedicated vape shop offers
A vape shop sells vapor products and little else: e-liquid, vape mods and the parts that go with them. Cigarettes, pipes and bongs are not part of the range. Tobacco shops frequently stock some vape items too, but for them it is a sideline, not a specialty.
Going in person has benefits a website cannot match:
- You can look over new e-juice flavors before choosing.
- New hardware is there to handle and inspect yourself.
- Other vapers are around to talk to, and many shops set aside a lounge for sitting and socializing.
Three ways to search
Shops keep opening around the country, so locating one keeps getting easier. Cities have a much denser spread of them than suburbs or rural towns.
Search engines and Yelp
Begin where most searches begin. Try phrases such as “vape stores near me” or “closest vape shop to my location” and read through what comes back. Expect some noise: listings can be out of date, and some hits turn out to be head shops or tobacco shops with only a handful of vape products. Even so, you end up with names and addresses. A quick phone call confirms whether the place is still open and whether it really is a vape shop.
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Nearly every business now runs social accounts and an online community for its local customers. Repeat your searches there and narrow them to your city or state. A shop’s profile shows you its atmosphere and the kind of crowd it draws, and it is a place to read what customers say or post a question before you visit.
Store locator sites
Some websites exist to map vape retailers by zip code. Vapetrotter.com is a popular example. Its directory is worldwide and covers specialty vape shops along with smoke shops, gas stations and convenience stores that carry vaping products, which is useful on the road. User ratings on the listings help you pick between locations.
Where online stores fit in
A local lounge gives you a personal experience that a web store does not. Online shops are still worth using for comparison: when a juice at the local counter catches your interest, you can look it up online and see how the cost compares.
If you have another question after reading this, contact us.