Please confirm that you are of legal age to purchase vaping products to access our site.
Some items are no longer available. Your cart has been updated.
This discount code cannot be used in conjunction with other promotional or discounted offer.
Over time, I’ve noticed that many people in the vaping community still fall for fake online stores.
These sites often promote deals that look too good to be true, and unfortunately many people only realize the truth after their money is gone.
I don’t want fans of VAPEPIE — or anyone in the vape community — to experience that.
You can’t monitor the entire internet all the time.
At some point, someone might place an order with their hard-earned money… and never receive anything.
So I decided to put together a quick guide on how to recognize fake vape shops online.
The domain name is usually the first and biggest clue.
Recently, several scam websites have appeared that imitate well-known vape stores by copying their domain name and making small changes.
For people familiar with the original store, the difference may be obvious.
But for newcomers, it can be very easy to miss.
Common tricks include:
Adding “.shop” at the end of the name
Creating product-specific domains such as
A legitimate company normally does not create an entire website just to sell one device.
Another thing to watch for:
Domains hosted under site builders like
Or pages that are simply basic WordPress blog templates
These are often easy to recognize from search results because they still display platform branding.
If something about the URL feels off, trust your instinct and double-check.
A trustworthy online store always provides transparent information.
For German websites, this is usually found in the Impressum (legal notice).
For international stores, look for pages such as:
Legitimate retailers typically include details like:
Fake stores often have:
In many cases, that form is just a way to collect and sell your data.
If the company hides basic information about who they are, that’s a major red flag.
This rule is simple:
If the deal looks unbelievable, it probably is.
Scam websites often advertise:
And claim they have large quantities available at discounted prices.
That alone should make you suspicious.
Everyone in the vaping community knows that limited releases sell out quickly.
If a store claims unlimited stock of something rare, something is likely wrong.
Greed can easily cloud judgment — even when your intuition tells you something doesn’t feel right.
Another clue is the design itself.
Many fake vape shops are built using the same template.
Once you’ve seen a few of them, the similarities become obvious:
These sites are often created quickly, using cheap templates designed for scam operations.
If you’re unsure about a site, it’s always better to:
Even if it’s something you’ve been searching for a long time.
A while ago, I actually fell for one of these fake stores myself.
Looking back, there was one warning sign that should have immediately made me suspicious.
They allowed PayPal payments, but only as a “donation.”
Their explanation was that PayPal doesn’t allow payments for vape devices, but donations were supposedly fine.
Unfortunately, I believed it.
When I later contacted PayPal, they explained that buyer protection does not apply to donations.
In other words — there was nothing they could do.
In the end, the financial loss was small.
But the experience was frustrating.
I had spent hours searching online for a specific part and could only find it on that website. That’s how they got me.
Needless to say, it won’t happen again.
If you're ever unsure about a vape shop online:
And when in doubt, walk away.
Losing a “great deal” is always better than losing your money.
Comment