Does a Esoterica/Germains Backorder Really Get Fulfilled?

Congratulations! Considering how much they're charging for it, it's the least that they can do.

Considering how much they're charging for it, it's the least that they can do.

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I got multiple tins of Germains last week from them for $9.90 a piece,and yes, the 49.95 they charged for the bag of Penzance they sold me was a tad high at $49.95, but I bet a California brick and mortar would charge at least that. I think that is about what you would pay for any Esoterica bag if you walked into Iwan Ries and had to pay the Illinois OTP tax And the $34.95 per bag that they charged me for one bag each of the six other blends I wanted is competitive with just about anywhere. Free shipping, here in 3 days. All of it.
And it is no surprise to me that they fill backorders. Last year, before they instituted the one bag per customer policy, they filled an order for 4 bags of Dunbar that had been pending for 3 or 4 months. Not to mention countless McClelland bulk backorders that I had pending using various stacked codes.
But hey, snark on.

...an... :wink:

Interesting. Pipesandcigars.com (P&C) refused to backorder a tin of Penzance for me, even when I specifically asked them to.
I "purchased" a tin of Penzance after Cohiba posted a notification here on the forum that it was in stock. The 2 oz tin was shown as being "in stock" but apparently P&C's computer system was not fast enough to keep up with the speed of the orders, and Penzance had sold out. Of course that's understandable, so I asked that they backorder it and send it whenever more is in stock, and let them know that I don't mind waiting. Their response was that they do not generally back order items for longer than six months, and they did not expect a restock within that timeframe.
I told them that I thought it was bad customer service, and that the proper way to handle the debacle is to backorder it and send me one whenever it might be available. They still refused to backorder it. P&C was my go-to online seller, and I've moved to Smoking Pipes since then. I understand the same thing might happen with Smoking Pipes at some point, but so far everything has been smooth sailing there. That experience at P&C soured my view of them a bit, and of course I'll still order from them when they've got something I want that isn't available elsewhere, but they are no longer my preferred vendor.

But hey, snark on.

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You can bet any bricks you want, and I've generally beat their prices through B&M's that I use. Now, it's immaterial since I've stocked up all I'm likely to need.

BTW, I don't know where you get your pricing from, because that's not what they're quoting, and my reference is purely about Penzance.
https://www.pipesandcigars.com/p/esoterica-penzance-pipe-tobacco/1472714/
It's not a bad price, all things considered, but it's not the least expensive either.

@Lawdog, Smoking Pipes doesn't take backorders on Esoterica at all AFAIK. Why the PC on line system sometimes allows them and sometimes does not is a mystery, but if the system takes it, my experience is that it gets filled.
And Mars, Smoking Pipes and Pipes and Cigars beat the brick and mortars that I have been able to find on bag prices of Esoterica. I have purchased from 4 of them this year, and with taxes and shipping, they have averaged $10 higher a bag, in the mid $40's. The closest thing I have to a local B&M is around $40 with tax.
I, too, have "enough" Esoterica, but not all I want after the McClelland experience, and the vast majority of it has come from etailers.

I ordered a tin of Pelican from Pipes and Cigars a month or two ago. It was listed as "in stock" when I ordered it but I later received an email saying that it was an error and was in fact not available. I responded to the email asking of I could backorder the tin and received absolutely no response whatsoever. I understand that things happen and don't hold a grudge against them for a simple inventory error but completely ignoring my email response did leave a sour taste in my mouth. I probably will shop there again someday but only after trying to find what I want on other sites with better customer service first.

I should add that P&C offered me a discount on my next order equal to the price of the tin of Pelican that I could not buy. This was a stand-up move on their part and the effort to make the situation right was very much appreciated.
Also, this is my 100th post. Hooray!

Why the PC on line system sometimes allows them and sometimes does not is a mystery

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I'll solve that mystery for you. On items that would create many more backorders than products we expect to receive, those items are marked in our system as Backorder-Off, which is why it says Out of Stock rather than Backordered. If we allowed backorders on items like Esoterica or Germain, we would never have any to put on our site.
Russ

I buy most of my tobacco from P&C and have almost always received back-ordered tobacco within a month or so. I can only recall one time that I did not receive something I ordered and, on that occasion, I was told right away that it was no longer available.
I have also always gotten good support from P&C's staff. They are knowledgeable and helpful, and P&C's prices are usually very competitive. Lately, I've started ordering from other merchants to get some things P&C doesn't carry. Tht's my only complaint about P&C -- they don't carry some of the less popular brands.

@blendtobak, makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.

Thanks for the explanation.

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My pleasure. We also do that for most pipes because there's always the possibility the a maker will discontinue the line and we would have unfillable backorders which are a nightmare.
Russ

Perhaps you (Russ) can tell me when you are going to have the pound boxes of HH Burley Flake that I have been waiting for 3 months for...any idea would be helpful....and thanks if you decide to answer this question from one of your customers.