Dab Rigs vs. Concentrate Vaporizers: Retailer Strategy & Upsell Guide

If you want to make more money with your smoke shop, then you’ll have to have a greater understanding of not just what products you have on the shelves, but how they directly compare and contrast with each other.

That’s why today we’re putting Concentrate Vaporizers vs. Dab Rigs in order to give you a definitive rundown on what each offers, how they differ from each other, and how you can best sell both to your customer base.

While dab rigs and concentrate vaporizers are here to vaporize wax materials, how they do so and what they offer shoppers on the day to day are vastly different. As a result understanding the intricacies of both is paramount to maximizing sales and building market authority.

Follow along with this brand new entry to the Got Vape Wholesale product comparison series, where we put the best smoke shop releases head to head, giving you the knowledge you need to become an absolute sales assassin, instead of playing a perpetual game of catch up.

Keep reading to make your smoke shop the definitive dabbing hub in your community, providing shoppers with access to all of the best dab rigs and concentrate vaporizers, all with the expert information to make sure shoppers picks fit like a glove.

Table of Contents:

Dab Rigs vs. Concentrate Vaporizers Quick Guide
What Is A Dab Rig?
What Is A Concentrate Vaporizer?
Dab Rig vs. Concentrate Vaporizer
1. Price
2. Control
3. Convenience
Dab Rig vs. Concentrate Vape: Which Is Best For Customers
How To Upsell From a Dab Rig To An E-Rig
Dominate The Concentrate Market

Dab Rigs vs. Concentrate Vaporizers Quick Guide

What Is A Dab Rig?

Starting with a bit of old school cool that still retains its signature bite decades later, we have the world of butane torch powered dab rigs. Made from sturdy materials like borosilicate glass and featuring heavy duty bangers, dab rigs are patient zero for the rise of concentrate dabbing.

With unlimited reusability and no batteries to be found, dab rigs are very much the analog tech of concentrates. Reliable to use, grounded in operation, and completely devoid of modern complications – dab rigs have a legion of fans and are consistently a top seller across the country.

Dab rigs work by utilizing a banger (quartz, ceramic, ect.), water filtration, and a butane torch in order to provide on demand dabs without waiting. Shoppers simply heat their banger with the torch, drop in their concentrates, and it’s off to the races.

No slowdown, no complexity, only the fiercest of dabs delivered with raw potency. That there is the elevator pitch for dab rigs and a big reason why they have remained popular in the face of technologically advanced concentrate vaporizers.

Just like watching a vinyl record spin instead of streaming, dab rigs are able to tap into our primal needs for tangible access and as a result are an incredibly important type of glassware to have on the shelves in your smoke shop.

Available in a variety of sizes and designs, dab rigs are the tried and true method of concentrate vaping that’s able to appeal to a wide swath of customers. With instant access and raw potency, dab rigs are more than able to compete with their more advanced battery powered counterparts.

What Is A Concentrate Vaporizer?

Fast forwarding to the present day and we have the advent of concentrate vaporizers providing shoppers with a diverse ecosystem of choices ranging from compact wax pens, all the way to the most advanced e-rigs on the market.

Concentrate vaporizers flip the script on dab rigs by ditching the butane powered torch for more refined battery powered operation. This makes for all-in-one experiences, cutting down on the overall kit size and providing customers a streamlined method of dabbing.

As opposed to heating their banger and then dropping in wax, with concentrate vaporizers they will first load the materials and then heat their chamber. This makes for a stress free method of dabbing, allowing for easier indoor relaxation and more refined accessibility options.

By removing the more intimidating aspects of dabbing (aka the butane torch flame burning at thousands of degrees), concentrate vaporizers are able to appeal to an entirely different swath of customers who were previously scared off by these more intense elements.

This has coincided with the precipitous rise of concentrate vaping over the past few years, with concentrate vaporizers opening up the genre to a massive market of both new and returning shoppers alike.

Existing dab rig enjoyers jumped at having the opportunity to enjoy simpler sessions and new customers suddenly found themselves able to enjoy concentrates in a manner that actually fits their preferences.

Thus the best e-rigs and wax pens on the market are able to provide professional ease of access to cater to shopper needs ranging from medical dosing, all the way to recreational enjoyment.

With a massive market footprint and high-demand, concentrate vaporizers are one of the most important categories you want to have in stock and ready to go for shoppers at all times.

Dab Rig vs. Concentrate Vaporizer

While it may be easy to reduce the question of dab rigs vs. concentrate vaporizers to the difference between The Flintstones and The Jetsons, there’s a little bit more to the equation than Hanna-Barbera can handle.

Now we’re not saying this comparison is entirely wrong, just it misses out on the fact that even amidst a deluge of rapidly evolving tech and battery powered advancements, many consumers are choosing to return to their “primordial” roots to enter their stoned age on their own terms – instead of being stuck there.

Despite a whole world of improvements and modern tech, a significant number of shoppers are still choosing dab rigs ahead of concentrate vaporizers. As a result, we are going to explain the key areas that have led to each remaining popular, despite their massive differences.

This way when it comes time to direct your customers to the right choice, you’ll be able to preach directly to the choir and clearly explain to shoppers what the stakes are with each of the available options.

To make this easy for you to replicate, below we’ve broken down the differences between dab rigs vs. concentrates into categories including pricing, user convenience, consumer control, and overall portability.

1. Price

First and foremost, the biggest real life difference between dab rigs and concentrate vaporizers is the overall pricing. Dab rigs in general cost far less than concentrate vaporizers, as they lack the expensive battery components that drive e-rigs and wax pens up in price.

• Dab Rigs: The cheapest option available. Made out of materials like glass, dab rigs are the OG’s of dabbing and are thus perfect for budget shopper access.
• Concentrate Vaporizers: More pricey. With internal batteries, ceramic chambers, and advanced programming the sky is the limit on cost.

This means that for a customer focused solely on the cheapest way to enjoy their concentrates, dab rigs are going to be the more attractive option. With no moving parts and only requiring a butane torch / dab tool to get going, costs are able to be brought to an absolute minimum.

Now if the customer is dead set on having battery power or is opposed to the intensity of butane torch, then we recommend sticking with wax pens opposed to e-rigs, as these are the smaller, more affordable choice available for concentrate vaporizers.

While some dab rigs can get very expensive, there are few and far between. The vast majority of dab rigs will be far cheaper than a comparable concentrate vaporizer, even when you factor in the additional accessories they require.

Thus just like economy seating on the airplane vs. first class, dab rigs are able to get customers to the same exact place as the more expensive concentrate vaporizers, all for a fraction of the overall cost.

As a result of this demand, having both dab rigs and concentrate vaporizers available side by side is the best way to build a comprehensive pricing ladder, able to cast as wide a net as possible for greater sales and consistent profits.

2. Control

Once their price range has been set, the next factor shoppers will consider is the overall level of control offered by dab rigs vs. concentrate vaporizers when it comes down to their actual day to day dabbing.

• Dab Rigs: Torch powered heated leads to eyeballing measurements, unless a pricey aftermarket temperature reader is purchased.
• Concentrate Vaporizers: Offer instantaneous control with real time temperature control allowing for complete and utter session control.

A key element of the appeal to concentrate dabbing is the wide spectrum of available vapor depending on how high or low the temperature is. Lower temperatures deliver more flavor and smoothness, while higher temperatures deliver more potency with harsher overall clouds.

Thus being able to manipulate the temperature at which your dabbing is a key aspect of the dab rig vs. concentrate vaporizer argument. For some customers being able to dial things in to specific degrees is essential, while for others it’s not much more than a passing thought.

Concentrate vaporizers have internal sensors that are able to provide laser specific temperature readings, allowing shoppers to carefully and reliably enjoy their wax materials at the exact level of heat they want.

Dab rigs on the other hand have none of these trappings and instead rely on the shopper eyeballing things, making educated guesses as to when their banger is at the correct temperature, and hoping for the best.

Note: Specific temperature readers do exist for dab rig bangers, allowing customers to spend more and achieve more precision with their sessions.

Accessories like the Octave Terp Timer Temperature Reader For Dab Nails provide a great secondary purchase at your smoke shop and are worth having for dabbers looking to upgrade their dab rig with a little bit of modern magic.

Despite this, for the vast majority of shoppers dab rigs will represent the more free form option, while concentrate vaporizers offer consistent reliability without the need of additional accessory purchases.

3. Convenience

Rounding out the dab rig vs concentrate vaporizer picture, we have the ultimate deal breaker for customers: overall convenience.

• Dab Rigs: All shoppers need is a torch and a tool to enjoy their concentrates as long as they want.
• Concentrate Vaporizers: Customers are limited by battery capacity, but are rewarded with a suite of quality of life features that make dabbing easier.

While simple in theory, because of the fact hundreds of thousands of customers across the country rely on their dabs for daily relaxation, medication, and every other need in between – ease of use is at the forefront of purchasing decisions.

Here concentrate vaporizers offer the popular take on convenience, with features like OLED screens, haptic feedback, and bluetooth control allowing for a level of precision control that’s simply not possible with dab rigs.

With just a few clicks on their phone, customers can operate market leading vaporizers like the Puffco Peak Pro Concentrate Vaporizer with 3DXL Atomizer and exercise complete and utter control over their sessions in mere seconds.

On the flip side of things, dab rigs offer a more traditional take on convenience. If the customer has butane in their torch, they’re all ready to get dabbing. No batteries to charge or settings to adjust, it’s simply heat, dab, and enjoy.

If the customer is more into analog classic control, then point them towards a dab rig. If they instead want to run their sessions from their phone, then concentrate vaporizers are going to be the best choice.

Dab Rig vs. Concentrate Vape: Which Is Best For Customers

As you can see, when it comes to dab rigs vs. concentrate vaporizers, this isn’t so much a grudge match, as it is a friendly rivalry that provides you the perfect one-two-punch to maximize your sales.

To narrow in on what types of smoke shop customers each of the two options works best with, we’ve provided you with some rapid fire bullet points on how to effectively pitch both concentrate vaporizers and dab rigs to shoppers.

Concentrate Vaporizer Pitch:

• Precision temperature control
• Reliable consistency with every puff
• All in one dabbing
• Guided session access
• Rechargeable experiences

Dab Rig Pitch:

• Fast torch powered control
• Affordable cost effective choices
• Instant dabbing access
• Grab-n-go enjoyment
• Zero batteries to charge

It’s important to remember that neither choice exists in a vacuum, with both concentrate vaporizers and dab rigs always staring across at each other offering shoppers the siren song of “what if I chose the other…”.

That’s why you want to make sure you pitch the entire ecosystem, instead of just focusing in on one or the other. If the shopper is interested in dab rigs, explain their benefits vs. concentrate vaporizers and vice versa.

By making your pitch cognizant of the other option, aka referencing dab rigs when talking about a concentrate vaporizer, you make the shopper feel like they are firmly in control of exactly how their purchase plays out.

With everything on the table and alternatives obscured, this will give customers the confidence to finally pull the trigger on their purchase and make a decision they can feel good about for years to come.

How To Upsell From a Dab Rig To An E-Rig

Putting everything we’ve gone over today into the blender, we have the ultimate goal of knowing when and how to upsell from a dab rig to a concentrate vaporizer. This distinction will help you maximize margins, all while improving shoppers’ experience in your store.

This way you’ll be able to know exactly when you should go for the upsell and when instead you should double down your dab rig pitch, creating effective bundles catered to individual customer profiles to improve overall sell through rates.

In terms of knowing when you should go for the upsell, there are a few clear green lights that show customers at the very least are open to learning about what the concentrate vaporizer upgrade has to offer them.

Whether you land the sale that day or simply plant the seed for a future purchase, correctly upselling a customer is one of the most effective (and direct) methods of increasing your average order value.

When To Upsell A Concentrated Vaporizer:

• The customer is looking for the “best” experience
• They indicate they intend to vape daily
• They already have a dab rig
• The shopper expresses interest in more precise control

Almost more important than when to upsell, we have the opposite side of the coin with when you really shouldn’t attempt to upsell. This can at best annoy the shopper and at worst lose you the entire sale.

That’s why it’s incredibly important to try to upsell sparingly, so you don’t come off too much like a “sales” vibe and end up scaring off people who we’re already about to spend money in your smoke shop.

Plus if someone isn’t looking to over spend and suddenly you break out the upsell pitch it can come across as condescending. You never want to put down the alternative, as you never know if that’s what they want or even already have. So remember to be cautious, or at the very least not oblivious to this reality.

When Not To Upsell A Concentrate Vaporizer:

• The consumer is on a budget
• The customer indicates they are in a rush
• They are a beginner / first timer
• They indicate they don’t like vaporizers

While some of these may seem obvious, a lot of the time you can end up doing these faux pas by accident and without even realizing it. Thus always check yourself and don’t just apply the same blanket pitch as a one size fits all approach.

Now once you’ve got the timing down, the game moves on what to say in order to upsell a shopper from a dab rig to a concentrate vaporizer in your smoke shop. While a delicate tight rope to walk, thanks to the power of modern tech it’s entirely manageable.

How To Upsell:

• Focus on how concentrate vaporizers save money in the long term
• Explain how the increased customization actually works
• Talk about how much time they’ll save dabbing
• Able to be brought along easier
• All in one power

Got Vape Crew Tip: The most effective smoke shop owners are those that share their wealth of knowledge with employees and take the time to ensure they are properly educated not just on products, but on how to actually sell them.

That’s why we recommend going over these upselling tactics with your employees, this way you’re all on the same page and able to maximize sales even when you’re not directly behind the counter.

Dominate The Concentrate Market

With the dust settled between dab rigs vs. concentrate vaporizers finally settling, there lies only one clear winner… you and your smoke shop.

At the end of the day more choice and direct competition simply results in better products and more chances for you to lane a sale. That’s why we recommend using dab rigs and concentrate vaporizers in conjunction, as opposed to separating them entirely.

Representing the full scale of concentrate enjoyment, dab rigs and concentrate vapes provide your smoke shop the chance to appeal to shoppers of all preferences, maxing out your potential sales in the process.

Have any more questions for the Crew? Take a look through the Got Vape Wholesale Resource Center for more in depth guides breaking down new releases, smart plays, and how you can take your smoke shop to the next level.

Interested in putting this article into action? Take advantage of top wholesale dab rig and concentrate vaporizer brands including Wulf, Puffco, and more – all available right now for bulk discounts only at Got Vape Wholesale.