Supposed 'Hard to Find' tobaccos.

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To me pipe pricing and tobacco pricing are two separate things.

And as an aside to prevent anyone else from getting worked up I don't really care how much you do or don't spend on tobacco.

I was curious as to why someone is willing to pay a flippers markup on tobacco considering there are likely hundred of blends that are so close to it in make up.

The $800 pipe thing, ehh if a guy wants one I can certainly understand why he would buy an $800 pipe for $800. I would ask the same question if guys were routinely purchasing $800 pipes for $2400 off of flippers.
 
I sold all my Penzance and Stonehaven that was still bagged to the Chinese last year before Christmas. I bought a real nice Rad Davis and a Larry Roush out of the take. No I don't feel bad. If they wanna pay that much for it, that is there business!
 
Okay. I redact my question... Apparently asking the question 'why' is bad. Forgive me.
 
puros_bran":i3ewc00z said:
Okay. I redact my question... Apparently asking the question 'why' is bad.   Forgive me.
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No harm meant, just telling it like it is!
 
PB you know, they are trying to have the best smoking experience possible. There is a lot of hype with certain tobaccos nowdays. I love me some Christmas Cheer. I have more of it in my cellar than any other blend. I am smoking on a tin right now that is 17 years old. I can't remember how much I gave for it, but I guess it was somewhere around or close to $40.

Is it good? Yeah, it is real good. Got the crystals on it and everything, but is it any better than a 5 or 10 year old tin?

I dunno.........

My guess is, it only gets so good around year 5 or 10 or 15 or 10 or 5.

Just depends on the palate and the wallet I suppose.

Speakin of palates, this 10 year old Bulleit bourbon is kickin a$$ on any 17 year old tobacco. Man, you guys in Kentucky really know how to kick some Scotland a$$!  :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
 
Dutch, I don't touch the stuff anymore, everytime I ever have in the past I've ended up drunk.

And concerning Diageo, at least they have the decency to make their Bulleit Bourbon in Ky.

Oh yeah drink up.. You can rest easy knowing your bourbon is LGBT Community friendly. http://www.diageo.com/en-row/newsmedia/pages/resource.aspx?resourceid=2396

Lol. Because we shall not drink alcohol that represses the sexual urges of anyone. Lol.
 
Just to play off-topic...... :lol!:

puros_bran":3ma1wwxt said:
Like the new avatar.  
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pepesdad1":3ma1wwxt said:
Yeah, Kirk, that avatar is the best one yet.  Says it all.
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Thank you chaps but it's changed again, paying some respects to the BIG Fellah in the Heavens for a while. :heart: :sunny:

I'll switch back to the one you guys mean in a few days maybe, for now I owe some dues for a HUGE kindness from the Lord.
 
Well, I've paid a little for some tins, but they were all out of production. I don't think this is what you are asking, PB, but the reason was that I just wanted it enough to be willing to pay the price. No other rational reason involved. Yes, perhaps I am a fool, but I can live with that. On retrospect, I think most of my costly purchases weren't worth it based on the taste of the blends alone, but I don't regret it because it was the price to pay for a taste of the history of our hobby.

As far as difficult-to-obtain blends, they really aren't that unobtainable, but they do require some leg work. Therefore, so far I have not had the need to pay the higher prices. Speaking of specific blends such as Stonehaven and Pembroke, which are two of my favorite ones, I would pay higher prices if I had to. Currently, I get them for $70/lb. I don't know how much more I would go. I think I would go to at least twice that much, but not much more. Also, I would stop buying Stonehaven before I would Pembroke.
 
A surefire way to guarantee I won't purchase a tobacco is to hype the hell out of it or price gouge. I'm old age crotchety and won't follow the crowd.

I've found lots of great blends since the "favorites" vacated the shelves.

Still, I have no problem with anyone else enjoying the hunt and obtaining their grail.
 
puros_bran":1sta35mx said:
Dutch, I don't touch the stuff anymore, everytime I ever have in the past I've ended up drunk.

And concerning Diageo, at least they have the decency to make their Bulleit Bourbon in Ky.

Oh yeah drink up.. You can rest easy knowing your bourbon is LGBT Community friendly.   http://www.diageo.com/en-row/newsmedia/pages/resource.aspx?resourceid=2396

Lol.  Because we shall not drink alcohol that represses the sexual urges of anyone. Lol.
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PB, the article states that Diageo has been beating off their competition, so I don't suppose we can expect them to be a bunch of hypocrites. :lol:
 
This is going to be unpopular. People will pay for what they perceive is valuable. What I don't understand is why Esoterica or the retailers don't increase the prices to reflect that value. Wine prices especially vary wildly. Even cigars, beer, spirits, etc vary. Tobacco prices aren't all that varied.

This will probably pass. Just as the ammo stupidity will too.
 
Before Esoterica it was Sam Gawith before Sam Gawith it was Dunhill before Dunhill it was... I've been watching it for 10 years or so,   We go through these cycles where tobacco gets 'hard to find'.. Then guys stock up on it, driving prices higher and higher, until the market collapses (by the manufacturer/importer ramping up production)  and the last guys in line are holding $100 tims they can't sell for $10.    I can't point to a specific example but it has to hurt the manufacturer/retailer also. They buy all the base weed, invest in new help, etc because the stuff just disappears off the shelf in seconds regardless of how much they send... And then one day... 500 tins on every shelf, 500 bales of base weed in the shop, a bunch of guys with no work.
 
puros_bran":3cqsrm0g said:
To me pipe pricing and tobacco pricing are two separate things.    

And as an aside to prevent anyone else from getting worked up I don't really care how much you do or don't spend on tobacco.  

I was curious as to why someone is willing to pay a flippers markup on tobacco considering there are likely hundred of blends that are so close to it in make up.  

The $800 pipe thing, ehh if a guy wants one I can certainly understand why he would buy an $800 pipe for $800.  I would ask the same question if guys were routinely purchasing $800 pipes for $2400 off of flippers.
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This. This 1,000 times.

I mean, I guess if you've got the money and want to spend it, rock on. Personally, I'm fine paying up to the $16-18 range for a tin's worth of tobacco if it's a blend I enjoy - $12-15 is the going rate at the local B&Ms, so I'm not paying a hell of a lot for the premium offering (whatever "premium" really means).

Of all of the blends that are nigh upon impossible to find, the only one for which I haven't found a suitable replacement is Stonehaven. There's just something about it that nothing else seems to do. That said, I'm still not paying the over-inflated prices. At those prices, there are enough blends that I enjoy (albeit, for different reasons) that I'll smoke instead.
 
So far I haven't found anything really worth opening my wallet for. The closest I came was spending $80 for a pound of FVF at the height of it's scarcity.

If it came to the point were I couldn't get a decent VA blend, and FVF, Blackwoods Flake, and Hal o the Wynd were all off the market, I would likely be willing to pay a lot more. If all of a sudden the only think on the market was aromatics, I would absolutely be willing to pay $100+ for a 250g box of FVF.

But, as PB said early on, while I'd like some of the stuff that is hard to get right now, there is plenty that is readily accessible to keep me occupied until it comes back around.

For me, the worst part of the whole unobtanium cycle is that I can't bring myself to smoke what I have. I have about a pound of Stone Haven and a few pounds of Penzance that I find myself "saving" for a rainy day.
 
I hear ya Dave. If I had a stash of hard to find blends I'd have a heck of a time convincing myself to enjoy a bowl now and then and would probably end up sitting on 'em too.
 
Dave and RJ, I'm the exact opposite. If I like it, I'm smoking it. Even if it's the last that there will ever be. What's the point in letting it set around unless you are aging it intentionally? I can always find something else I like. I'm an aro smoker but even if they all sold out or got out of my price range I would just find something else. I smoke my pipes to relax, and worrying over a tobacco isn't relaxing to me.

The only thing I've ever let age were a box of Cuban Cigars I brought back from Spain while I was in the Navy. They were so full bodied that I couldn't stand them. I let them age for about 6 years in my humidor that I kept at my Dad's house and they were the best smokes after they aged.

I'm not guaranteed tomorrow so I'm going to enjoy what I have today.
 
Well you're being logical, I'm an engineer so logic is a big part of my profession however that doesn't always spill over into my daily life. :lol!:

Maybe it's because I grew up poor and feel I have to save? I dunno but yeah it doesn't make a lot of sense.

 
The way I look at anything like this... To each his/her own. If you want to save your tobacco that's cool. I just share what I do and why. Not looking to change anyone's habbits. It's all about the enjoyment. Do what makes you happy.
 
puros_bran":squshxnz said:
  A little sensitive Farman??    Not sure what the attitude is about.
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I didn't read his remarks as sensitive or having an attitude, but more along the lines of "That's the beauty of it, to each his own." That was just my take on it.

I knit and will gladly drop $30 on a skein of yarn that will make me one pair of socks. Why? Because I can and because it brings me joy. I could easily buy a package of socks at Walmart for $10. Same thing here.
 
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