Scarcity Fads?

Wait a minute- pipe tobacco marketing? What's that? No, seriously, if marketing had anything to do with it, Captain Black would be perpetually sold out, chased by a rabid pack of crazy pipe smokers. From what I have seen, shortages are driven by two factors: Low production (e.g Esoterica blends, which are made by only a few employees of a tiny company), and reputation. Reputation is the tricky part. Whether by word of mouth or through forums and the like, people get wind that a particular blend is mighty tasty. Then, everyone decides they need to try it. Then it is sold out everywhere. Then, when it becomes available, the people who liked it to begin with stockpile as much as they can get their hands on. The thing is, reputation will wax and wane. Two years ago, Gawith Full Virginia Flake was very sought after and often sold out. Today, you can find it everywhere. The blend didn't change, it was great and it still is great. What changed was people's perception of it. It is no longer hailed as THE straight Virginia blend.

+1 hiplainsdrifter. That sums it all up nicely.

The good thing about not being able to find the hot blends is that it forces you to go elsewhere to find blends that are just as good if not better. I don't care if I can't find the latest and greatest. Chasing those "popular" blends holds no interest for me. So carry on fellow pipers and if you find it I hope you enjoy it.

Pipefish, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Esoterica blends became cheaper and more available in a few years. The hoarders (like me) will hit a wall where they have all they need in their cellar. Also, because of their mystique, blends like Penzance are hyped up to the point where a new user could only be disappointed. It's just tobacco. That said, I surely enjoyed my bowl of 3 year old Penzance at dawn on this white Christmas!

The thing is, reputation will wax and wane. Two years ago, Gawith Full Virginia Flake was very sought after and often sold out. Today, you can find it everywhere. The blend didn't change, it was great and it still is great. What changed was people's perception of it. It is no longer hailed as THE straight Virginia blend.

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I think Full Virginia Flake is indeed still THE straight Virginia blend, for those who don't care for the sweet toppings that the Germans ruin, er, flavor, their blends with.
When it was sold out, it wasn't due to hype. It was due to a flood that wiped out inventories. There was a shortage on the supply side. I'm not sure demand changed all that much. Eventually, Sam Gawith caught up with their production, and now it's available everywhere again. Thankfully.

"Some posters have mentioned that Esoterica blends were easily available at one time--I wonder if those days might return? "
They were and yes those days will return..highplainsdrifter is spot on

"I think I saw a post in another thread that mentioned Escudo and Haddo's Delight were once "high demand" tobaccos that were difficult to find."
Escudo actually went out of production for a short period..
Late 1952 Cope Bros & Co was bought by Gallaher. Tobaccoreviews.com says the date was 1936 and I have noooo idea where that comes from.. They manufactured Escudo until 1994 when it was discontinued worldwide. Gallaher claimed that the costs of making it for a smaller and declining market were too high. Behind the scenes Danish company A&C Petersen was negotiating for the trademark, original equipment (!) and recipe in which they succeeded in 1997. At first they re-introduced it to Denmark only with Danish language tins. Later in 1999 A&C Petersen started shipping Escudo to the USA again to the delight of the pipe-smokers there
https://dutchpipesmoker.wordpress.com/tag/escudo-navy-deluxe/
Hard to imagine given its now one of the top selling tins and has been for years and years..

At various points over the last year both Escudo and FVF have been hard to get, and though I'm somewhat new here, these last few months have been the first time I've ever seen St. James Flake readily available.

I think Smokingpipes had it in twice for no more than a week at a time last summer.