Whelans Smoke Shop

Seriously pissed off here. They begged for cash (rather than credit) only to find out I couldn’t return 8 boxes of cigars I never opened. Now I can see if this was returned the next day, but it wasn’t. I literally walked out spoke to my friend and walked back in to tell them she only wanted 2 boxes and not the whole carton.
So the worst part, is not that I couldn’t return the cigars, but the guy flat out lied to my face. Telling me his manager said there is a no refund policy, so when I asked to speak to the manager he disappears into a back room comes back after a few minutes to tell me the manager isn’t there and was never there, but the policy does not change.
So moral of the story, DO NOT PAY CASH. At least with a credit card I could have stopped the payment and left everything I bought there. Gave them over $ 240 worth of business to have them lie and become increasingly rude. I don’t think so!

Amazing selection, knowledgeable staff, deep and good vibes. To the next 100 yrs, Whelans, live. Thank you, guys.

Alex was awesome! He took his time answering all of our questions and gave us his best recommendations. They have an excellent selection to pick from with a great price point. Great experience! Highly recommend! Thanks Alex!

The store sold me an e-​cigarette with a completely dead battery. When I brought it in to return it, they replaced it with another. The replacement, however, also had a completely dead battery. When I brought it back the next day, the guy working at the counter refused to replace the faulty product and accused me of lying about the dead battery.
If you shop here, I highly recommend using a credit card so that if they try to scam you, you can take the dispute to the credit card company. I did that and received a refund.
The person behind the counter who assisted me was unhelpful and perpetually angry, and the shop is overpriced to begin with. I highly recommend avoiding Whelans and making the trip south on telegraph to any number of better stores with lower prices.

Always excellent service here, for cigarettes, cigarette holders, vapes, and lighters. My preferred smoke shop in Berkeley, by far. Kal is always helpful, and I get personalized service from him.

Whelans is a great place with great employees. They have a wide variety of glass, cigars, vapes and gifts that no other smoke shop can compare to. The employees are very personable and knowledgeable, and they will also work with the customer to find the right price for any item.

Today was my first time coming to this place & I don’t think I would purchase my hookah sets from anywhere else ever again! I was referred by someone who said this place could give me a good deal.
I drove from Daly City, and even though parking was a bit tough since it’s right across from UC Berkeley, it was worth it. Immediately as I walked in I was greeted by Mike, and I think his mood put me into a better mood than I initially was coming in.
He brought down about 6 – 8 hookah sets for me to look at –no complaints about me being so picky either! He seemed to be happy with his job or at least just happy helping people out. I chose a beautiful set finally, and he was able to give me an AMAZING deal. I paid $ 180 for my last hookah set (ONLY), but today I paid about $ 160, which included the set, cleaning supplies, a plastic hose, shisha, and coals!
I am incredibly happy with the experience at this smoke shop, and it was definitely worth the drive to Berkeley!
Sidenote: try their homemade shisha! they all smell pretty good & the selection is awesome.
THANKS AGAIN MIKE! :)

We popped into this shop on a whim to grab some vape juice. I know this shop is not geared towards vaping, which most likely explains our experience.
We asked the person behind the counter if they had certain flavors which he gave a lackluster «no» too, not even suggesting different flavors that might be similar.
They didn’t have tastings for the vape juice, which really means you are just choosing vape juice based off smell and what the bottle looks like.
The cherry on top was the juice ended up costing 15 dollars for a small bottle, even though it was on the clearance shelf! The man ringing us up also didn’t mention if we checked into Unilocal we would get 50 percent off clearance juices.
This might be a great shop for other smoking items, but I would avoid it for vape juices.

I have been coming here for years and absolutely love this shop. Like most places, if you’re not a dick you’ll probably find that everyone here is very helpful and I’ve personally never had a negative experience here.
I walked in today to buy a vape to help me quit smoking. I had no idea what I was looking at or what I wanted. Zach went over the different options I had and explained the pro’s and cons of each and even answered the thousand questions I had before patiently opening 60 different flavors for me so I could smell every single one before finally settling on some magical fruity (low nicotine) flavors.
That’s when I noticed the «clearance jar» of all the vape juice options I didn’t even know I had and at the point I started to feel bad for the guy that he was stuck helping me with so many serious life decisions. For $ 130 I walked out with a really nice set up with a fancy digital display and more options than I’ll ever need, some organic cotton filter tank (so I feel better about the artificial flavors in my vegetable glycerine) and 6 different flavors. I could have cheaped out and saved $ 70 but I wanted a good quality reliable vape so I don’t drunkenly buy cigarettes when a $ 30 vape stops working.
When I got home I noticed that my 50w iStick wouldn’t charge. They were very upfront that the units do not have warrantees so I gave them a call and they had me come back in to exchange for a new one. See how that works? If you’re a nice guy you’ll get hooked up.
OH and I’m never smoking another cigarette in my life.

Super overpriced in cigarettes and no discounts on cartons. Gas stations literally have better prices by a couple of dollars per pack. No thank you.

Overpriced. Came in just for 3 coned raw papers and it cost me more than 3 dollars. Never coming here again. They’re usually approximately 2 packs of 3 cones for 3 dollars. Go somewhere else.

Pushy customer service after I said I might come back: «You don’t wanna pay for it now? Come on talk to me.»
They also lied and said that the herb grinder they were trying to sell me was stainless steel. After researching online I found out it was actually aluminum, which is far less desirable for a grinder.
As I originally suspected, it’s better to buy online.

I don’t understand some of the negative reviews here.
About the bad:
Yes, I may be biased because I’ve been coming here for 5+ years, but I’ve spent tons of time in the shop. If you have a leaky e-​cig cartridge and you wait a week to talk to the manager about it, then of course you’re going to have a problem getting it resolved. If you buy Chinese replicas, stay silent for a week, and then complain, then you’re the one who needs a negative review – not the shop. As for uninformed staff, I don’t know what that user was talking about either. There are tons of different products all with varying prices, that are for RETAIL sale in the shop. This place isn’t Amazon selling toilet paper at wholesale pricing. Employees come and go; you can’t expect every one to know exactly what price is for every little item. My god, even I get lost at the amount of products they have in this small shop. New products are flowing in constantly. It’s a smoke shop, not a JC Penney. I’ve seen people come back with problems and be helped appropriately. I’ve also seen people – who seem like they’re scheming for personal benefit – come by and try to get redemption for their broken pipe/​or product and be turned away. You get what you pay for, and 99 out 100 times that I shop here, I get just that. So if you buy a $ 15 ecig cartridge, it starts to fail after 24 hours, and you don’t do anything about it and then get mad, then that is not the shop’s fault. If you buy such a Chinese $ 15 cartridge anywhere else, it’s going to be the same hit or miss. Trust me, I’ve spent hours at a time there. I’ve heard and seen it all haha.
About the good:
I’ve been coming to this shop for years and never had a problem. The staff are all great. I’ve bought a very wide-​range of products from this shop and I can barely mention any negative experiences. The only negative experience I’ve ever had was either a leaky e-​cig cartridge or a chipped bowl piece. If you point it out to them in-​store or talk to them right after buying it, they will honor it. Good business, good people, great glass and smoking products.
I definitely recommend Whelans.

My wife and I stopped in today for a whole new vape set up… They were helpful and took the time to help us and made sure she got wanted and needed.

I stopped by Whelans last weekend to pick up a few pipes and was really happy with their selection. Really beautiful pieces in a range of prices. And, it was all made better with the Christmas sale they had going on. Big discounts, amazing selection, and lots to choose from. I was a very happy shopper!
The only negative I can say about the experience is the lack of lighting. If they were to install track lighting above the cases, it would be much easier to see the detail work in the beautiful pipes.
I will definitely be back!

I actually came across this place by accident, I guess you could say. I originally was trying to find a smoke shop that sold Tangiers shisha. After spending time online, I came across a list of places that supposedly sold it. Since driving to Berkeley and finding parking would have taken me 35 minutes or more, I called to make sure that the smoke shop did indeed sell it. I called Big Al’s first, only to find out that they didn’t carry the brand. However, they directed me to Whelans and provided me with their number, so I called and spoke with the owner. He explained to me that they too did not carry Tangiers, but did have their own house blends. I decided to give it a try.
When I walked in, I was fascinated by the amount of glass pipes, bubblers, water bongs, and other smoking paraphernalia that they had. They had a massive selection and even had a clearance section. The workers there were very attentive, patient, and helpful, and after explaining to them that it was my first time there, they really took their time to ask me questions about the type/​flavor of shisha I was looking for. They also let me smell the ones I was interested in as well as made suggestions on flavors I might like. I thought they had a pretty decent deal too. $ 5.99 for a container or 4 for $ 20. Their house blends are pretty good, and honestly my favorite in the Bay Area so far. I would like to come back and really take my time to look at all that they have to offer. So, I will be sure to swing by the next time I’m in Berkeley.

I was in need of a new glass spoon and was tired of the same old same old at the Mighty Quinn in San Rafael. First of all, Whelan’s clean and inviting store presents to you it’s vast selection in an organized and well-​lit store. Zack, who assisted me, was very friendly and happy to show me everything outside of the case. When I found something I liked, Zack even suggested a case in a color of my choice. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ service that I’ve never seen the like of in a smoke shop before. For whatever your glass, paper, or various other recreational smoking needs, Whelan’s seems eager to have you leave a satisfied customer.

A lot of cool selections. I went in recently for the first time and it first all the choices were overwhelming. The guy behind the counter promptly asked if I needed help finding anything and pulled out several pieces for me to view until I had made my choice. He never rushed me or seemed annoyed. He even asked what color case I wanted for my pipe. Needless to say the product can be really pricey but it is an investment and you are buying a functional piece of art. I will be back for any future smoking needs! Thank you so much to the man who helped me, I am sorry I didn’t catch your name.

This has been my ONE and ONLY smoke shop. All the guys have an amazing vibe and will always help you find what you’re looking for. Nick is our guy though — he is descriptive, totally knows his stuff, and will make sure you leave the store happy.
Totally recommend this place over any around!

I’ll admit, this is foreign territory but I was enticed by an awesome 50% off Unilocal check-​in deal and decided to pick out a gift.
Zack was very helpful and patient while I browsed the shop and even threw in a cute case for the same deal.
Thanks for making it quick and easy (that’s what she said?). You guys are boss.