A serious question, I’m in the UK, I’ve been ‘selling’ my own brand of e-liquid now for a while as a kind of hobby / second income, I’ve been vaping for a few years, and was considering taking it a step further to maybe becoming a legitimate business, I am still hearing of people starting their own retail shops even now and I can’t help but think it’s just financial suicide with the TPD now in force and what’s going to happen next year. I just can’t see how these shops can survive with the ridiculous laws looming over them, so I would really appreciate any advice, views on the subject from people in the same boat as me or people in the process of starting out, or even people that already own their own vape business etc, I totally agree that the industry needs regulation but not to the degree that it can’t become a viable business idea for the normal average person?
@Pugs1970 I’ll give you a break and get the convo brewing. The biggest financial risk would be signing a lease on a Brick & Mortar location. As we watch US vape businesses close down you would be hard pressed to get folks here to encourage you to start up and providing legal advice creates liability
I would imagine a bloke who casually sells a few bottles of juice to his friends might discover he has more friends as B&Ms close. Not sure how the Queen feels about all that, but you may find you’re right where you put yourself (purposefully vague).
Visit some local shops and ask about how they feel about their future without telling them about yours. You’ll get better anecdotal advice from the source with a little finesse …while you try some juices and buy a 30ml. Hey the Wheels of Progress must be greased …but be the wheel not the other
Cheers!
That’s great advice, thanks man 
incidentally I posted the exact same post on ECF forum and subsequently got banned for it 
they are like the Gestapo of forums, so I really do appreciate the advice man lol
Either they need some new moderators, or the site op has lost his mind. =(
Nothing in that post that should even warrant a warning, much less a ban. What a shame. That place used to be a really great resource. But every time I read another one of these “incident reports” I can’t help but feel sorry for the good folks that remain.
oddly enough, it’s the same moderator that collared me every time I posted on there, every SINGLE thread I created wasn’t in the right place, or didn’t have the right content etc. same one. everytime.
I would think it would be a bit risky at the moment, purely because we don’t actually know what the end result will be with the tdp.
If your managing to sell some of your juice locally, keep going with that until we know better.
I think there going to make it as hard as possible to be able to meet all the criteria needed to be able to sell your juice. And i think there will be a lot of closures still to come.
But what ever you decide to do, i wish you all the best in your endeavours.
That’s a positive note. One bad apple is easily cured.
As for the original topic (sorry about getting sidetracked btw) being that I’m in the USA, I definitely share @BoDarc’s sentiments. I’d not put a dime into things until I was certain of the overall outlook. Word of mouth will probably support more than you could handle if you were to travel a certain path, but that brings potentially serious issues of it’s own.
I’m one that prefers solid ground when it comes to where the rubber meets the road.
Either way, I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide. =)
Lol. Talk about timing! GMTA!
Just shows our willingness to help. 
Thanks you 
@Pugs1970 if you think you have good products that will sell and delight your customers and if you have a solid business plan, then you should take the leap of faith and start your business. Regulations will always be there, in my opinion they should not cause harm to new businesses if you comply and work your market well.
I too live in the UK, south of England, Berkshire. Some of the shops we have around here are totally rubbish. Also the online retailers are mostly unhelpful or have no information to specific questions. One of the main reasons I started to make my own juice is because of lack of support from retailers, they don’t even know their own products well!
Wish you the very best if you do start off.
Thanks!
really appreciate the comments. It’s a dream at the moment, just one of those dreams that won’t leave me, My liquids seem to be very popular, I have the brand (Steampugs) the web domains, the email address’s, professional labels etc…just seems like the next logical step and if it wasn’t for the TPD I more than likely would of taken the plunge by now, but like any new business venture I can’t afford it to fail if I put in. I think I will more than likely stay as I am for now, like has already been (loosely) mentioned I could make a killing on the hush if all goes south for the retail vape side of things, I have dipped my toe in the proverbial waters…and the water is a bit chilly at present I think 
The UK is actually the best country in the EU for vaping ATM. Loads of questions here in the house of lords.
To me, the vape shop owners need to pool resources to save their own butts. Might need 10 small shop owners to clear regulatory issues but where theres a will, theres a way!
Just watched that all the way through. What a great find, well done sister.
Yay for the uk. 
And no, your not all moving over to England, this is my island. 
Start underground, perfect your range of flavours / hardware, research everything and be ready cause UK might just back us vape fiends in the name of science if anything.
There’s a petition going for you too, looks interesting!
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/122770
So did I, a few of them actually vaped themselves. Who would have thought! 
I wouldn’t dare!
