# A Market Opportunity



## KnickKnack (Aug 20, 2008)

There are often threads along the lines of "What sells at craft fairs?", "What can I make easily and sell for mega-bucks?" etc etc

*I* think what I'm about to describe is a big opportunity to make money - at fairs, mail-order, and with strategic partnerships with vendors.
*No*, there's no pdf to pay for, no DVD to pay for - it's just an idea I hope someone will make millions from - do with it, or do nothing with it, as you will. (Oh, and if you do make a lot of money - drop me a line and a picture of your creations so I can smile)

About 6 months ago I basically gave up smoking in favour of vaping. I'm not going to discuss pros and cons etc, but it's a simple fact that more and more people *are* vaping - this month 3 shops even opened up in Lisbon, selling vaping supplies (almost opposite each other - go figure), and more and more spring up on the internet almost daily.
I personally don't like the "cigarette" like ones, I prefer ones based on what I'm going to call the eGo battery…










Although it comes in different lengths (lasting different amounts of time), there are 10s of millions of them in use today, and they all have the same diameter - around 14mm.

Really, it's supposed to sit upright when not in use, but, here's the thing, the range of items available for keeping it upright is dire. Worse than dire, I'd say. Most shops have nothing. Most internet shops have nothing, or tiny crappy, horrible plasticy rubbery things like this…










If you do an image search on google - like this - you'll see what I mean.

There's the odd "nice" one, but not really nice.

So I made a prototype for me, and one for her…



















Yes, they really are as crappy as they seem - a 15mm hole in a bit of pine.
And I've been using them (and so has the wife), and another one in the 'shop, for the last 6 months.

I have more vape stuff now, and yesterday I made this one…










I could have posted it as a project, but it took me about an hour, and, if I'd written this blurb along with it, it might have got a lot of favourites and thereby become dish of the day, thereby depriving a worthy piece of woodworking (this isn't, trust me) of the acolade.

If I'd seen a nicely made, functional little thing (3 batteries catered for is enough), for say, 10 euros at a craft fair I'd have bought it. And I never buy anything at craft fairs, let alone anything made of wood.

The finishing section of my spiel…


Nicely made ones are hard, even impossible to come by.
They're so easy to make, and wood combination possibilities and designs are almost endless.
They'd make an excellent gift for someone who knows someone who vapes (that's the verb, by the way).
The "person who has everything" does *not* have one of these.
You can combine some vape-stick (my terminology) parking spots with a pencil holder, business card holder, lamp - all the things you already have on the desk.
If you have a local vape shop, I bet they'd offer your things for sale, and I bet at the right price they'd sell them.
I'm sure some of the web sites would love to offer these things - once you have your kit, you *need* somewhere to put it, and a lot of people actually quite like a bit of style - see some of the batteries you can get (which are still 14mm diameter).
Look at the availability of pipe stands - yet I'm sure more people have an eGo battery than a pipe.

As I say - I think it's a good idea, and I intend to make a much nicer one for myself one day, but whether to risk those few inches of offcuts/scrap on making one is up to you.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

I quit Cold Turkey over 14 years ago… and dunt need a substitute…

*BUT,* this just MAY be a good idea to help those having problems doing what I did…

*Anything to help one to STOP smoking tobacco, should SELL BIG TIME,* as long as it doesn't cause NEW problems.


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## jmartel (Jul 6, 2012)

Given that Marijuana is legal in Washington and Colorado now, stuff for that industry will be going crazy. Pipes and such are selling like mad here.


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## HowardInToronto (Sep 27, 2013)

Knick Knack -

You just proved my point - find out what people in a market you know intimately or will research deeply need or want. Think markets. Not products.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Howard


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

You might be onto something here Knick. I do have to say, I have Joe beat. After being a 3-pack a day/Marlboro man, I gave it up cold turkey over turkey (Thanksgiving) weekend in 1985. So glad I did. Not bashing the smokers out there, but, you really should quit. You'd feel so much better, and your house/car/clothes/etc., would have that smoky scent.


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## shopdog (Nov 9, 2008)

KK,

I'm gonna make me a couple.
Thanks…


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## JohnZappulla (Aug 15, 2011)

Knick Knack,

The entire e-cig / Vape craze is exploding all over the USA. Forbes says that it is over $1 billion in the US already and will jump to $15 billion within 2 years, and Bloomberg estimates that by 2047, vaping,(using an e-cig), will surpass regular cigarettes, (I think that will happen within 10 years).

*Vaping accessories made from wood is already a big business, *but stores can not get enough and are usually sold out.

For those interested, buy your vape gear at a vape store or online. The blu and Njoy do not give a true representation of what it is really about.

42 years smoking 1 pack a day, I bought my 1st setup for about $25.00 in October 2013. I have not smoked a regular cigarette since that day. No smoke, no ashes, no flame, NO smell on my clothes, no nicotine stained teeth or fingers. I can vape in the car, in my house, (I never smoked regular cigs in the house because of the smell) and I travel 3 nights a week staying in hotel rooms where I can now vape instead of having to go outside. And, I can vape in my shop, even when I do finishing work. 
The news is coming out with all these reports of liquid nicotine being a neurotoxin and a killer. What they don't tell you is that when we buy the "juice" to vape, *it is NOT pure nicotine*. Matter of fact the juice comes in nicotine strengths from 0% to 2.4%. Most are about .6% to 1.2%. We are talking about 10 drops to a 10ml bottle. So the juice is highly diluted. No one I know mixes their own juice as a bottle of liquid nicotine costs about $200. And at $6.00 for a bottle of pre-mixed juice that lasts all week, it is not financially feasible to invest in nicotine.
And I only buy my juice in child-proof caps, the same caps medicine comes in.
But, like any product, like liquor or even regular cigarettes, you must be diligent in keeping it out of the hands of kids! When my kids were little, I child proofed the cabinets that contained household cleaners and my medicine cabinet with childproof locks.
I am all in favor for any laws that keeps these products out of the hands of those under 18 years old. All the stores here in Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa will not sell to minors, most will not even allow minors into the store. All the different flavors are for the enjoyment of vaping, not to entice kids to try it. Just like all the flavors of wine coolers.

Well, the point of my post was to say that this is HUGE business. Anything and everything you can think of is selling out in stores and on-line. Your holder is great! I have seen them that will accommodate bigger units and more items, retailing for about $40 and it is nothing more that 1 board foot of lumber with different sized blind and through holes. Even clam shell cases, (the ones we make for fountain pens only longer), made of wood are a big seller. If you are the type of woodworker that sells at fairs and markets, do not miss out on this opportunity. Stop at a vape store and check out the products to see what will sell. Most have testers of all their flavors, (I only like the straight tobacco flavors), so you can even try out the whole vaping experience. 
Every store I have been in are privately owned, so you can speak directly to the owner(s). Ask them what they would be i*nterested made from wood.* They will tell you.
The latest product are *laser engraved wood wraps* for the battery part. The stores can not keep them in stock for more than a few days. What I have found out about us that do vape, we realize that we are saving on average $1,800 per year by switching from buying cigarettes to vaping. So we are much more open to purchasing products like the wood stand and other accessories.


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