Old Goat
Administrator
I walked into Vapeking the other day looking for a decent RTA for a buddy visiting from China. Simple enough, right? It used to be the kind of shop where you could walk in, pick up a solid rebuildable, maybe chat about coils or grab a few spools of wire. I’ve bought plenty of gear there over the years — tanks, mods, wire, tools, the works.
So imagine my surprise when I ask the guy what RTAs they have, and he looks me dead in the eye and says:
“We don’t sell RTAs or RDAs anymore. Only pods and disposables.”
Excuse me? Vapeking? KING? Of what, exactly — bubblegum grape banana blast disposables?
I nearly choked on my own beard.
Apparently, this is where we are now. A vape shop — one that built its rep selling real gear — has turned into a convenience store for throwaway plastic. And it gets worse.
My mate ends up buying the last Dead Rabbit RTA they had, hidden behind the counter like it’s contraband. Then the sales guy, bless his clueless soul, asks me to build it for him.
“I want to see how it’s done,” he says.
You work here, mate. You should already know.
But hey, this Old Goat doesn’t walk away from a challenge. So there I am, at the counter, building this thing with stock coils and half the tools I needed. I was hoping to show off one of my own coil sets — let my buddy see what quality looks like. Instead, he’s stuck with the included-in-the-box coils for now. At least he’ll get to compare when he finally puts mine in and realises what flavour's supposed to taste like.
And yeah, I know I’m picking on Vapeking right now — because that’s where this circus happened — but let’s not pretend this isn’t happening everywhere. They’re just the first domino to fall. The rest of the shops? They’re lining up right behind.
Why? Because selling disposables is easy. No education needed. No support. Just push the candy-flavoured junk across the counter and swipe the card. And when it dies, sell them another.
No wick, no wire, no brain required.
It’s not about the customer anymore. It’s not about helping someone quit smoking and discover a new hobby. It’s not about teaching people how to build or explaining why their cotton keeps burning.
It’s about margins. It’s about volume. It’s about treating vaping like it’s chewing gum.
And here's the part that really burns my wick: these shops used to stand for something. They were part of the community. Now they’re just chasing the easiest buck they can find — even if it means killing the soul of the scene that made them in the first place.
If this keeps up, we’re screwed. No more decent gear on the shelves. No more rebuildables. No more parts or spares. We’ll be stuck importing tanks, wire, and tools from overseas, praying they clear customs and don’t bankrupt us on shipping.
But you know what? I still believe there are a few real shops left. The ones that still stock O-rings and Ni80. The ones where the staff actually vape something they built. The ones that don’t look at you funny when you ask for a dual-coil RDA.
Support those shops. Find them. Stick with them. Because they’re all we’ve got left.
And to the rest? Go ahead. Keep peddling your glow-in-the-dark, cherry-cola-ice landfill.
Just don’t call yourself a vape shop.
This Old Goat will be over here with his coils and cotton, keeping the flame alive.
So imagine my surprise when I ask the guy what RTAs they have, and he looks me dead in the eye and says:
“We don’t sell RTAs or RDAs anymore. Only pods and disposables.”
Excuse me? Vapeking? KING? Of what, exactly — bubblegum grape banana blast disposables?
I nearly choked on my own beard.
Apparently, this is where we are now. A vape shop — one that built its rep selling real gear — has turned into a convenience store for throwaway plastic. And it gets worse.
My mate ends up buying the last Dead Rabbit RTA they had, hidden behind the counter like it’s contraband. Then the sales guy, bless his clueless soul, asks me to build it for him.
“I want to see how it’s done,” he says.
You work here, mate. You should already know.
But hey, this Old Goat doesn’t walk away from a challenge. So there I am, at the counter, building this thing with stock coils and half the tools I needed. I was hoping to show off one of my own coil sets — let my buddy see what quality looks like. Instead, he’s stuck with the included-in-the-box coils for now. At least he’ll get to compare when he finally puts mine in and realises what flavour's supposed to taste like.
And yeah, I know I’m picking on Vapeking right now — because that’s where this circus happened — but let’s not pretend this isn’t happening everywhere. They’re just the first domino to fall. The rest of the shops? They’re lining up right behind.
Why? Because selling disposables is easy. No education needed. No support. Just push the candy-flavoured junk across the counter and swipe the card. And when it dies, sell them another.
No wick, no wire, no brain required.
It’s not about the customer anymore. It’s not about helping someone quit smoking and discover a new hobby. It’s not about teaching people how to build or explaining why their cotton keeps burning.
It’s about margins. It’s about volume. It’s about treating vaping like it’s chewing gum.
And here's the part that really burns my wick: these shops used to stand for something. They were part of the community. Now they’re just chasing the easiest buck they can find — even if it means killing the soul of the scene that made them in the first place.
If this keeps up, we’re screwed. No more decent gear on the shelves. No more rebuildables. No more parts or spares. We’ll be stuck importing tanks, wire, and tools from overseas, praying they clear customs and don’t bankrupt us on shipping.
But you know what? I still believe there are a few real shops left. The ones that still stock O-rings and Ni80. The ones where the staff actually vape something they built. The ones that don’t look at you funny when you ask for a dual-coil RDA.
Support those shops. Find them. Stick with them. Because they’re all we’ve got left.
And to the rest? Go ahead. Keep peddling your glow-in-the-dark, cherry-cola-ice landfill.
Just don’t call yourself a vape shop.
This Old Goat will be over here with his coils and cotton, keeping the flame alive.
