My First Order From SPC (Pics and questions)

Hey everyone. So I finally placed an order online to get some blends I wouldn't normally find around my area. The order was inspired by the "McClelland Syrian has run out" posts. Having never tried Syrian I told myself I'd rather try it, love it and have it disappear than to have never smoked it at all. Got dinged about $30 for customs, plus some more taxes but still came out cheaper than local tins. I ordered 3 from McClelland: 3 Oaks Syrian, Wilderness and Yenidje Highlander. Also threw in 2 more tins, one Mac Baren Vintage Syrian and one Solani White and Black. Final part of my order was a Missouri Meerschaum Mizzou pipe for my lady (yes she enjoys to smoke with me) as all she currently has is a tiny folding vest pocket pipe handed down to her. Cheap shipping, about 12 days to get here, totally happy with SPC.
My issues are actually with the pipe. It arrived with the stem cracked where it meets the black band, ready to fall off with a gentle tug it looks like. I can only assume it happened during the customs check as there was a sticker noting that the package had been opened and it wasn't repacked or taped very well afterwards (the top of the box was sticking up from the pipe pushing up, probably putting too much pressure on it). The stem was turned as if they had tried to take it out for whatever reason, cracked it, said oops and tossed it back in... Frustrating as it was a gift to my girlfriend and she was really excited. Question is what do I do now, probably just suck it up and order a new stem since they're cheap? I would feel a bit silly complaining and returning a $4 pipe but in the end I guess I am dissatisfied. Haven't looked into stems but I feel like it'll end up being a $10 stem after it's shipped here. Another thing I noticed is there's some orange crusty resin that dripped on the bowl but I assume I can chip it off gently. So in the end what do you all think my best option is? Also since I only plan on opening one tin for now which one would you dive into if this was yours? Hoping to stash 3 Oaks until I can get a tin of the original and have a side by side comparison to indulge my curiosity. Sorry for the life story I just wanted to be thoroughly descriptive, here are the pics ::
Too long, Didn't read - Stem broke during shipping. Return it? Order more stems and deal with shipping? Find a forever stem? Happy to hear any opinions

I felt bad wanting to mention it to the vendor as it was quite clear it was the customs agents fault and not the carelessness of Smoking Pipes. Interesting that it was never labeled "damaged" only "opened" unless it happened after thanks to how it went back into the box. A replacement would be wonderful, even if it was just the stem. Ordering a replacement myself seemed less than optimal as its 75 cents but once I pay shipping I could've gotten two new cobs from the local store (but they only stock Legends). So I would probably wait until my next TAD order which won't be for a while and in the meantime I'd have a sad lady until that order came haha.
Anyways that's enough negativity from me for one day... Leaning towards ripping open the Wilderness. Maybe the Vintage Syrian as I'm all out of Lat heavy blends and I think I read somewhere that this one has the largest dose of it. Thanks guys.

Received an email that they're sending a replacement right away. Absolutely wonderful service, that's how you earn a life-long customer! Thank you for helping me out old bear. I'm usually the guy that orders a coffee with two sugars, get two creams instead and drink it anyways without complaint so this type of thing is new to me :P
I guess in the future I'll be putting pipes and tins in separate orders so they'll be safer. I can't imagine ordering a $200 pipe and having the guys at customs cram it back in roughly because they just had to take it out for a look and couldn't figure out how it was in the box originally.

You guys are right, great service from what seem to be great people. I was also interested to learn that the shipping for one small item like this pipe is only $1.80. Usually to get something to Canada I pay an average of $20-$45 even on smaller lighter orders. Makes me wonder how they're able to offer that, probably can't even get a stamp and envelope for less than $2 these days. :roll:
jpmcwjr I have no idea what it is, looks like the same thing the stem is made out of maybe. Its smooth and hard, might flake off with a razor blade. If the whole pipe was covered with that it might actually look cool haha.
Since I didn't need to return the broken one I might get it a new stem and clean that oompa loompa j--- off and pay it forward to the next guy who needs to build a rotation. There's also a dab of what I think is excess glue at the bottom of the bowl ready to be inhaled so I'll try and get that cleaned out too.