Discontinued Purple-Days Vaporizer

the ob said:

I really debated chiming in here as I know how these types of sensitive issues can get out of hand whenever people feel a personal connection to a product like the PD.

I finally decided I just have to get this off my chest.

When I first joined FC, I became intrigued with getting a PD. it had such a loyal following and people were so fond of them. I placed a order even though it would be months before I received one. It was the same time that the kit was being released and decided since that would only take weeks, I would go that route instead. I ordered and waited.

During this time I spent a lot of time on FC. I began to take notice of some things that started to really bother me.

First, Tom seems to spend a lot of time on this site which while nice that he was interacting with his customers, seems to be odd considering that he had a huge backload of products to build. The thing that bothered me is that he took the money up front. It would be different if he did not charge first, but that was not the case. I can't think of very many things I would pay for and wait months for while the person spent most of their days online. I have ordered custom items before and they never take as long as this product does. Normally I either pay nothing or just a deposit.

Second, he would frequently take shots at the competing builders. He would Chime into their threads and generally just bash their products. What is interesting is that the other "log" builders all seemed to take the high road and not participate in this immature behavior. This made me start to look into finding a competing product. I found at the time that I could buy a vape that would be built quickly and paid for just before shipping. This seemed to be a better route for me. Plus I did not have to do all the work myself. I actually thought they were even additions of things like catch screens that I thought made them superior.

Third, I was a little put off by the photo contest ploys. I am all for marketing yourself, but this seemed to be a way to keep the thread at the top and once again I personally thought that the time should have been spent building the products that your customers had already paid for.

I understand that he built a really loyal following and that you all feel strongly about Tom and the product that he provided. I guess I just think you can now purchase superior products by people who actually care about their customers by providing Excellent customer service.

I think now that the curtain has been pushed aside, you might just find that you can actually get a better product with speedy delivery and people who stands behind it. You just might find that you are better off now.

I know I am probably going to get a ton of crap for this. It is just my opinion. I just think if you think about the whole situation, you just might see my points make sense.

Sorry if there are errors in this post. I'm typing on a iPad which is a pain in the ass.

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Lip465 said:

And it's really sad that people are okay with them leaving.

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baurman said:

WTF TOM AND PAMMY JUST QUITTING?? IS the Purple Days harmful? Lead in the Purple Days? Something bad must have happened... What happened. They are just disappearing all US mail returned? Something bad has happened......

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So, about the pictures Tom posted in his farewell. Tom/Purple Days is the snake surrounded by the mongooses? That's the way it comes across when you consider the second picture which states he is surrounded by assholes. If this is correct then he should have thought it out a little better before equating himself with a snake. Maybe I've watched too much riki tiki tavi but aren't mongooses the good guys? In the real world, aren't mongooses used to keep the snakes away? Hmm, it's interesting when people reveal how they actually see themselves...

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Lowfront I'm sure many on this forum would agree with your opinion that the PD is/was the "best vape ever". I own two, but the PD is only my 3rd favorite log vape model -- I'm much more fond of Rick's Rockzap and Alan's Toasty Top. And I'm very much looking forward to trying out the 'Dog. So I wouldn't despair, and those who missed out on the PD really didn't miss out on much given the existence of IMO better, more available, and (in some cases) cheaper log vapes from innovators who will be sticking around for a while.

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Pcpvapors said:

Woah woah woah, "rip-off copy cat PD builders"? You mean individual companies who put there own spin on the Eterra? I understand your upset about Tom closing doors but there's no need to slander other well respected companies who are in full support of this forum.

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OKcomputer said:

The unit itself seems indestructible, but what about the tubes? One of my three was already chewed up by my sister-in-law's dog, leaving me with two functional tubes. If I manage to break/lose the tubes, I'm left with a non-functional unit instead of a way to replace the tubes.

I can deal without a warranty, but it would be nice to be able to stock up on a bunch of tubes now so we're not SOL down the road.

I'm confused by the whole situation. One minute, everything seems great w/ T&P taking a much-deserved X-mas vacation, and the next minute, this. T&P offered excellent customer service, which was undoubtedly a factor in the decisions of many PD buyers. Now, that service is totally gone, along with warranties and the ability to purchase necessities like tubes.

Perhaps some individuals created drama (I didn't see it). However, it seems like 95%+ of the FC PD community was hugely in support of the product, which drove sales quite handily I'm sure. How many of the orders in the past 3-6 months would have been placed had people known that the company would be dead before the new year?

I know Tom said he wouldn't reconsider, but he won't even take my money now for a set of three replacement tubes? Why? For a company with some of the best customer service I've ever experienced, it seems the least they could've done would be to say - "Hey. We're closing our doors in two weeks. Vaporizers have been discontinued, but we're offloading stock of buzz butter and tubes, so place your orders now or forever hold your peace."

I have no doubt that these drastic decisions were totally warranted if Tom says they were, but why alienate hundreds (thousands? surely there are buyers/lurkers who don't post on FC) of happy, paying customers whose word-of-mouth and online (free) advertising has largely led to the success of your company?

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Pcpvapors said:

I didn't mean to come off as attacking what you said in any matter I just thought it could of been better phrased so it didn't put all logs under that catagory. Thank you though for being more specific.

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OKcomputer said:

One question, though: you can choose between a stainless steel or brass tip. The SS tip is for post 9/12/11 aromazaps, while the brass tip is for pre 9/12/11 aromazaps. I'm assuming the SS tip would be most appropriate for the PD, but I'm not sure. Thoughts?

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