New Jersey retailer’s look at search data finds cost and waste nudging shoppers toward 510-thread hardware they can keep.
For years the disposable vape has been the easy default: cheap, stocked at the corner store, and ready to use without any setup. New analysis of US search data suggests a growing number of vapers are starting to question that default and look instead for hardware they can refill.
The findings come from Discount Vape Pen, a New Jersey online vaping retailer that specializes in refillable 510-thread cartridge batteries. Its analysis found that the search term “510 thread battery” now draws roughly 30,500 clicks a month in the United States, slightly ahead of “disposable vape” at about 29,500. Interest in the reusable option is up around 20% since 2021, while disposable searches have dropped about 36% from their 2022 peak.
The appeal of refillable hardware tends to come down to two things: what it costs over time and what it leaves behind. A 510-thread battery is bought once and used for months. A disposable is finished after a few hundred puffs and then thrown away, battery and all. “Most people try a disposable first because it is simple, and there is nothing wrong with that,” said James Smith, head of vaping community at Discount Vape Pen. “But once they have replaced it a few times, the questions start. Why am I buying this again, and why am I throwing a battery in the bin every week? That is usually when they go looking for something refillable.”
The low price of disposables has helped them spread. Research from Truth Initiative found that disposable e-cigarettes fell in price by close to 70% between 2017 and 2022, and that their price per milligram of nicotine is now about 3.7 times lower than in prefilled cartridge products. That cheap entry point, the company says, is also what hides the running cost of repeat purchases.
There is an environmental side too. Every disposable is a small electronic device with a sealed lithium battery, sent to landfill once the e-liquid runs out.
For all that, disposables remain the bigger seller. Figures compiled by the CDC Foundation show they accounted for 58.1% of US e-cigarette units sold by mid-2024, up from about 26% in early 2020. Discount Vape Pen notes that disposables will be around for a long time yet.
Still, the company believes search interest is an early indicator worth watching. “What shows up in search usually shows up at the checkout later,” Smith said. “The direction right now is toward refillable, lower-waste hardware.”
Whether shoppers carry that interest all the way to a purchase is still uncertain. But the search trail hints that the throwaway era may not have the runway many assumed.