Price Gouging Esoterica Tobaccos...

[PeterD]

...OK...I get the fact that Esoterica Tobaccos are in short supply...what I don't get nor approve, is that several retailers take extreme advantage of what supply they have...I was looking to buy some "Brighton" and what I would normally pay for 8 oz. is about $24.00. P&C as well as The Pipe Guys are charging $49.99 and $35.90 respectively.

"Supply & Demand" is one thing..."Price Gouging" is quite another...I know this is my "rant"...but as business goes, I would think a retailer would want to "foster fairness and equity" which would create far better long term sales...

 

[Puff Daddy]

To be fair, we don't know what the distributor is charging them for it.

 

[RDPipes]

...OK...I get the fact that Esoterica Tobaccos are in short supply...what I don't get nor approve, is that several retailers take extreme advantage of what supply they have...I was looking to buy some "Brighton" and what I would normally pay for 8 oz. is about $24.00. P&C as well as The Pipe Guys are charging $49.99 and $35.90 respectively.

"Supply & Demand" is one thing..."Price Gouging" is quite another...I know this is my "rant"...but as business goes, I would think a retailer would want to "foster fairness and equity" which would create far better long term sales...

I agree Peter, and we as consumers shouldn't do business with anyone that treats
there customers this way. There is only one reason for this and it's greed, I hope they
can take there money to hell with them.

 

[Carlos]

Puff Daddy beat me to the punch. And he's very right. I suspect we will just about always have an Esoterica prices thread running. The last big one is on page 3. I think there were a couple smaller ones.

 

[Richard Burley]

Pooooor babies!...sob! My heart goes out to youse!

 

[beardedbassguy]

Threads like this make me glad I smoke Aros irate:

 

[d4klutz]

If you think P&C is bad, check out ebay for stonehaven. I saw some buy it now for $200 the other day! That is price gouging. I paid $35 for 8oz of Stonehaven when I was in Denver last month. I thought it was a good deal. I do think that $50 for 8oz is a bit of price gouging, just like $35 for a 1.76 oz of Balkan Sobraine is. But, as much as I disagree with the pricing, it is not illegal. It is just immoral. Morality cannot be legislated. I just chose another retailer.

 

[RDPipes]

Richard, And that is why we as a country will never stop government and or big business
from treating us as sheep because none of us will ever stick together to do what really needs to be done. The attitude is, "Well it's not hurting me so why should I care?" When we all know what there doing is wrong, no matter how you look at it. Of course there are some I think must be brain washed to think what they do.
If people would stick together and boycott establishments that gouge pricing there wouldn't be any cause they couldn't sell there product or enough of it to make it worth while.
That goes for government also, if just 75% of the population stood up and said "We aint taking this anymore!" and really did something about it, I'm sure things would improve.
But, that'll never happen because of self-centeredness and greed.That's all I have to say.

 

[monbla256]

...OK...I get the fact that Esoterica Tobaccos are in short supply...what I don't get nor approve, is that several retailers take extreme advantage of what supply they have...I was looking to buy some "Brighton" and what I would normally pay for 8 oz. is about $24.00. P&C as well as The Pipe Guys are charging $49.99 and $35.90 respectively.

"Supply & Demand" is one thing..."Price Gouging" is quite another...I know this is my "rant"...but as business goes, I would think a retailer would want to "foster fairness and equity" which would create far better long term sales...

This is why there is ketchup !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[RDPipes]

...OK...I get the fact that Esoterica Tobaccos are in short supply...what I don't get nor approve, is that several retailers take extreme advantage of what supply they have...I was looking to buy some "Brighton" and what I would normally pay for 8 oz. is about $24.00. P&C as well as The Pipe Guys are charging $49.99 and $35.90 respectively.

"Supply & Demand" is one thing..."Price Gouging" is quite another...I know this is my "rant"...but as business goes, I would think a retailer would want to "foster fairness and equity" which would create far better long term sales...

This is why there is ketchup !! :twisted: :twisted:

When they start gouging Ketchup, what will you say? :scratch:

 

[Richard Burley]

Why should anyone sell X commodity for less than they can get for it? I don't get it. The Esoterica blends are underpriced. If you want the price to come down and the availability to increase, stop buying the crap. I did, and I can't say I miss it. It just ain't that good.

 

[monbla256]

...OK...I get the fact that Esoterica Tobaccos are in short supply...what I don't get nor approve, is that several retailers take extreme advantage of what supply they have...I was looking to buy some "Brighton" and what I would normally pay for 8 oz. is about $24.00. P&C as well as The Pipe Guys are charging $49.99 and $35.90 respectively.

"Supply & Demand" is one thing..."Price Gouging" is quite another...I know this is my "rant"...but as business goes, I would think a retailer would want to "foster fairness and equity" which would create far better long term sales...

This is why there is ketchup !! :twisted: :twisted:

When they start gouging Ketchup, what will you say? :scratch:

As a supporter of Capitolism, which is based on Greed, I can find no fault with 'em! From an ETHICAL point of view I don't agree but the two are mutually un compatable!! :twisted: :twisted: In answer to your question, if I want ketchup I pay what it costs. That's life ! Onward Thru the Fog ! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[Dutch]

I do enjoy Penzance when I get the opportunity. However, we have so many quality tobaccos to choose from. Produced from reputable blenders who bend over backwards and go the extra mile in producing probably the best variety of tobaccos ever available to pipe smokers.

The more I think about the situation, the less it concerns me.

 

[idbowman]

To be fair, we don't know what the distributor is charging them for it.

Yep yep yep. Esoterica is a brand known for it's high demand and similarly high prices. I would have to imagine that the manufacturers and distributors are keenly aware of this, and leverage that demand to create high profits on their end (if they're not, they need a new business advisor).

The blender takes its profit when it sells it to the distributor.
The distributor has to increase the cost to the retailer to cover its own expenses and make its own profit.
The retailer has to increase the cost to the customer to cover what it pays the distributor and still find profit.

If I had to guess, I'd think that P&C (and everyone else) is realizing a similar (perhaps slightly greater) profit margin (%) on the Esotericas as other tinned/pouched blends...the difference is that all of the other built in costs drive the retail pricing up, otherwise it's not worth selling.


Anyone expecting any tobacco product (let alone a brand with Esoterica's reputation, demand, and cult following) to be some sort of a loss-leader is fooling themselves.

 

[Simple Man]

To be fair, we don't know what the distributor is charging them for it.

Yep yep yep.  Esoterica is a brand known for it's high demand and similarly high prices.  I would have to imagine that the manufacturers and distributors are keenly aware of this, and leverage that demand to create high profits on their end (if they're not, they need a new business advisor).

The blender takes its profit when it sells it to the distributor.
The distributor has to increase the cost to the retailer to cover its own expenses and make its own profit.
The retailer has to increase the cost to the customer to cover what it pays the distributor and still find profit.

If I had to guess, I'd think that P&C (and everyone else) is realizing a similar (perhaps slightly greater) profit margin (%) on the Esotericas as other tinned/pouched blends...the difference is that all of the other built in costs drive the retail pricing up, otherwise it's not worth selling.


Anyone expecting any tobacco product (let alone a brand with Esoterica's reputation, demand, and cult following) to be some sort of a loss-leader is fooling themselves.

I haven't got a horse in this race, as, as far as I can recall, I've never had any Esoterica tobacco, and at this point, am not actively seeking to buy any. But Ian, no offense, but your argument would only make sense to me if all of the retailers were charging this high premium when they get Penzance and Stonehaven in stock, but they are not. Recently when Iwan Ries had it and I think it was Milan also, they charged the average price for quality tinned tobacco, nothing like what P&C is charging. So if it's the fact that P&C is paying so much more for it, somebody needs to get on the horn and find out why.

Like I said, I don't care at this point as it's not a priority on my list. I do buy from P&C, because the tobaccos and pipes I've wanted from them have been priced reasonably and their service, for me anyway, has been stellar.

But, I reckon this argument will be going on for quite some time. :lol:

 

[JimInks]

I talked to several retailers about this a few months back when the price gouging started. They all told me that every vendor pays the same price for Esoterica products. So the excuse that different vendors pay different prices is untrue. If they tell you otherwise, they are not being honest.

 

[idbowman]

Just to clarify, no one has told me anything about the prices they pay - I'd hate for anyone to read my post thinking I'd been given info from the retailers, and assume that makes them dishonest (in light of Jim's research).

As it turns out, it seems I'm wrong here. That said, I guess it goes back to the usual "if someone will pay for it..." argument.

 

[JimInks]

Just to clarify, no one has told me anything about the prices they pay - I'd hate for anyone to read my post thinking I'd been given info from the retailers, and assume that makes them dishonest (in light of Jim's research).

As it turns out, it seems I'm wrong here.  That said, I guess it goes back to the usual "if someone will pay for it..." argument.

I understood where you were coming from. I originally posted my comment some time back when all this started, and your post gave me the impetus to repeat what I had learned from back then.

 

[RDPipes]

After reading many of the post here it seems I'm also correct.
There's a definite "If it don't affect me, I don't care attitude!"
So, don't anyone dare complain about anything that they could have fixed
by sticking together and doing something about it. And that about covers most
everything that is complained about here in one way or another.

 

[puros_bran]

What would you have us do Commander Cart? Boycott Esoterica? Well I haven't bought any of their product in 5 years...
Boycott Pipesandcigars? Never ordered from them..
Who else do I need to boycott?? Cause I'm tellin ya I have this down pat.

All I know is when I said 'guys quit supporting this nonsense' everyone got pissed at me... I quit saying saying 'guys quit supporting this nonsense' and I'm still wrong somehow.