Smoke Theory - Smoke And convenience store — Local services in Red Bank

I have been going here since they opened for all of my vaping needs. At first, I would go in and out quickly with the things that I needed such as new cartridges or new vaporizer. First, I later found out that they were selling me the vaporizers for double what I was buying them for in Ocean Twp. Which was whatever, Red Bank rent is impossible, and I can just get my pods in here when I needed them. But the last time I visited the shop, I was sold old product. Two packages of pods, $40+, that were old, discolored (trust me when I say if it is discolored, it tastes awful), and the pods were all leaking -- which would destroy my vaporizer. Although I should have known they were old -- because the company changed the packaging almost 6 months ago. When I went back in, to at the very least exchange the old pods for newer ones or get a rain-check for when they ordered some -- although the employee was very nice and accommodating, he informed me there was nothing they could do, even though they clearly sold me bad product. He tried to help by calling the owner. I could hear the owner yelling over the phone that they don't give refunds, I insisted I only wanted a rain-check. She told him that I could exchange the two I bought for the last two they had on the shelf... which were also old, leaking, and discolored. Basically, she said I was s.o.l. I had already been hesitant to go back here before that day, now I am certain I will...

Staff were great, helpful and knowledgeable. I have been assisted by both Abe and Sal in recent months. However, the glassware carried by Smoke Theory has proven both unreliable and risky. Cheap Chinese manufactured glass is a staple of the shop’s shelves. And with the (likely) upcoming legalization of marijuana, More corporate, trustworthy, and user friendly head-shops will make ones like this obsolete, and run them into the ground.

Another issue I have with Smoke Theory is the way they’ve decided to handle the ever growing “Juul Flavor Ban Epidemic”. Smoke Theory still has stock of many of the sought after flavors that you can no longer find on shelves at your local 7/11 or Wawa but decided it was acceptable to charge up to $38 a package for the most popular flavor Mango, with continuous inflated but descending prices in order of popularity. Even the Juul Mint flavor which can still be purchased at corner stores for $14 a pack has been raised to around $20-$22 a pack, if memory serves correct.

Overall, I think Smoke Theory could benefit from trying to cater more to its customers and less to its pockets. After all, better products mean better customers, and you’ve already got the right people...

The prices at this place are phenomenal. The smaller pipes and vape stuff is about what you'd see most places, still the cheapest in red bank. The larger pieces however, like water pipes, are priced WAY lower than I've seen anywhere else, literally half the price I usually see. A 16 inch water pipe with an ice catcher and perc, was $35. Which easily goes for 2x-3x that price anywhere else. The very large pieces, which I would usually see go for $200-$450, are like $70-$150 here. The guy I dealt with was very helpful and knowledgeable, and was able to answer all my tank based and Juul vape questions. When I bought my Juul he gave me all my options, and the different prices, and pod options. This place is wonderful and I really hope they stick around, especially because they're open 7 days a week and they are noticeably cheaper than the other smoke...