WHERE TO BUY IN NYC?

[nikhils99]

Hello all, I'm going to be New York in about a month's time and was wondering where I can find Peterson pipes in store. While there were plenty of stores available on search, I'm not sure if they actually have the pipe I'm looking for at their stores. Any help is appreciated.
I'm flying in all the way from India for a business meeting and have a full day free and want to make sure I find this pipe.
Thanks!

 

[condorlover1]

Try The Cigar Inn on 73rd Street and Second Avenue and they have another branch down in the low 70's. You might alway want to try Barclay Rex by 42nd Street and Grand Central.

 

[dryseason91]

A New Yorker friend of mine brought me back a good selection of stuff from De La Concha on (I think) Avenue of the Americas.

 

[rmbittner]

Nikhils:
It might help to know where your meeting is or where you'll be staying in the city. Even with a "full day free," you could spend a fair bit of time just in travel if you're based downtown but want to go pipe hunting on, say, 73rd Street. (The subway is definitely your friend. Don't be afraid of it!)
I'm most familiar with the Midtown area when it comes to shopping/sight-seeing. So I'll also recommend the Barclay-Rex across the street from Grand Central Terminal (which will be easy to get to, no matter where you're staying). I know they carry Dunhills. . . can't recall if I've ever seen Peterson pipes there or not.
Turn left when you leave Barclay-Rex and in a few blocks you'll hit Nat Sherman -- also on 42nd, several blocks west of the Barclay-Rex store, just before you cross 5th Avenue. They may also have Petersons, though I've never looked at their pipes at all.
BTW, you'll sound like a tourist if you call it "Avenue of the Americas." It's 6th Avenue.
Finally, since it sounds like you're looking for a very specific pipe, I'd suggest letting us know what it is. One of us could give the stores a call to see if they have it in stock. Frankly, I think it would be a shame if you spent an entire free day in NYC just looking for a pipe! There is so much to see and do in the city, it would be great if you could get the pipe first thing and then devote the rest of your day to just soaking it all in. (Or, if no one has it in stock, then you could spend your free time just exploring.)
Bob

(Not a New Yorker, but I've visited over two dozen times. . . and I'd love to live there.)

 

[mso489]

I like Nat Sherman and Barclay-Rex, though I'm not sure you're going to get best prices on Petersons in NYC. I'd

try one or two of their house blends and buy the pipe online, where you can quickly compare prices, though

there is always an advantage in seeing the pipe your buying, running a pipe cleaner through it, etc. Good luck.

 

[foggymountain]

I would also suggest Barclay Rex. They have a store on east 42nd st, and probably still have stores on Madison Ave and Downtown near city hall. But you will get a better price online.

 

[foggymountain]

info@barclayrex.com is the place to check if they still have Petersons.

 

[nikhils99]

Thanks everyone! Much appreciated. Barclay-Rex and Nat Shearman seem to be the most popular! Will visit for sure. Unfortunately, most goods, including pipes can't be bought online when being delivered to India because of complex custom rules and taxes. Beside, I wanted to see and get a feel for the pipe before I buy. This will technically be my first real briar. What I have now is some fibry rubbish! but it still smokes like a charm (according to me atleast because I have nothing to compare it against )

 

[lincolnsbark]

I like Nat Sherman and Barclay-Rex, though I'm not sure you're going to get best prices on Petersons in NYC.

I went to both Barclay Rex and Nat Sherman on Sunday and while they are beautiful places to visit they prices are so high they basically price themselves out of the market unless you feel like wasting money. I did buy some bulk tobacco since those prices were only double what they are everywhere else. At Barclay Rex I asked the guy working there how they can have prices so high (HH ODF was $33 compared to 13.25 online before tax in NYC) and his only response was the rent is so high. That doesn't make too much sense to me but I have to assume they make most of their money off of the other products they have or non-pipe-smoker tourists who don't know they are getting ripped off.
Bottom line, fun to visit but real terrible places at Barclay Rex and Nat Sherman. We did also buy this amazing Connecticut Shade Tobacco flavored candle at Nat Sherman's.

 

[romeowood]

If you're bargain shopping, New York City is rarely the place to start looking. If you're comfortable with disposing of a fair portion of your disposable income for the little things that make life enjoyable, then you're in the right place. That's just the cost of living in the greatest city in history. Kind of like buying $10/gallon milk in Hawai'i--if you need to have your Lucky Charms for breakfast on the beach, you gotta pay to play. :wink:
Arre, nikhil bhaiya, kaha bharat se hain? PM de diye.

 

[foggymountain]

It makes sense to buy in a NYC pipe shop only if you run out of something or must see the pipe itself and are not willing to settle for pictures. Yes the rent is very high and someone has to pay it. And there is a 75% tax on tobacco. I have bought a lot of pipes in recent years, all online. One trip to the Dunhill store on Mad Ave demonstrated the folly of buying from B&Ms. I bought two Dunhills online for the price of one in the store. It is not the retailer's fault. The expenses of running a shop in NYC are very high. Eventually all of the pipe shops will probably close or add other merchandise.

 

[neverbend]

I believe that the Barclay Rex location at 42nd street is the old Peterson's store from before the 1990s. That said, I don't know if they carry Peterson and I can't comment on their pricing.

 

[lincolnsbark]

There were a few Peterson's at Barclay Rex.

 

[foggymountain]

Neverbend: yes it is the old Peterson's. But there was never any connection with the pipemaker other than selling their pipes, as well as others. The store was owned by a Mr. Silverman when it was called Peterson's. I worked there one summer when I was in high school. The Madison Ave store around 44th st and the one near City Hall were also Peterson's. It was a fun job. I learned a lot about cigars and pipes.

 

[foggymountain]

Neverbend: yes it is the old Peterson's. But there was never any connection with the pipemaker other than selling their pipes, as well as others. The store was owned by a Mr. Silverman when it was called Peterson's. I worked there one summer when I was in high school. The Madison Ave store around 44th st and the one near City Hall were also Peterson's. It was a fun job. I learned a lot about cigars and pipes.

 

[woodsroad]

A wonderful perspective, Foggy, thank you.

 

[redstar]

When I was in NYC I spent a wonderful hour in Nat Sherman. I always love being sold to and I was in tobacco heaven.
I walked out with a Savinelli, 500g of house blend Virginia, 200 special Nat Sherman menthols and a smile on my face after enjoying a cigar in their front window cigar lounge.
The sales guy who I encountered did his job perfectly and I was a willing customer, especially after three days in New York's hideously restrictive tobacco free environs.
Transit via Dubai and there's a good selection of pipe tobacco you can buy!

 

[ssjones]

Check out the NYC pipe club on the first Tuesday of the month (see related posts here). A few shops bring pipes to sell at the meetings. Hank Saitchi always beings a large inventory of excellent estate pipes.

 

[martiniman]

I was at Barkley Rex near Grand Central last month and they had several Petes.

I picked up a Calabash at about $20 over internet price but is was worth it to pick the exact pipe i wanted with no fills or flaws and support a historic brick and mortar.