Where are all these five-year-old threads coming from? I've been on Forums for years and never seen the like of it. So, what's wrong with Yello-Boles? It's a great old brand. What is wrong with them is an over-concentration on their Brylon pipes, which however well they may sell, are not well respected in the pipe smoking community (or if they are, please refer me to this cohort of Brylon-loving pipe smokers). And secondly, what is wrong with Yello-Boles is their under-production and under-distribution of their briar pipes. Their Checker briar pipes and other briar models are good serviceable pipes, but when you find them offered new, they sell fast and then disappear seemingly forever. So in short, Yello-Bole is struggling, and relying too much on Brylon pipes, which are not especially good smokers, in my opinion.