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forloveoffreedom

forloveoffreedom

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 29, 2013
132
605
hello all..this is my first post and i want to share an experience i had. i ordered some cigars from cigars.com and although priced a bit high, they were great and packaged very well with free humidifying pillows. the next week i ordered some baccy from cigarsinternational.com for the first time ever calling them...and they already had my name, address and credit card number. wow i said, how is that? well you must have ordered before....nope. so when i received my goods, i noticed they came from the identical location as cigars.com. same company you might ask? they say no, just share the same billing department, same storage facility and apparently have the identical receipt layout. then a few months later, i order from cigarbid.com and voila..all the same again. they will swear that they are all different companies, yet i think maybe walmart is getting into the tobacco world and taking over. just kidding, i think its swedish match who owns them all....just a few billion poorer yet still a huge company in our world. the only reason i rant is because my first order from pipesandcigars.com came today....9 days after i ordered a $105 package (which comes in 2-3 days for the same order with free shipping from 4noggins) and again same spillman dr, bethlehem pa. address and same style receipt. sorry rich, i should have ordered from you but i had to try the anniversary kake. i like to send my money to the guy who not only can blend but also answers the phone and will b.s. for twenty minutes..ie rich at 4noggins. hope im not overstepping my first post rant limit..just late at night and i miss all the local shops we used to have before the big boys came to town.

 
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wnghanglow

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 25, 2012
695
0
Yeah there have been a few posts here it's public knowledge that pipeandcigars was bought out, the man who blends anni kake *russ* was actually moved to a different state because of the buy out!

 
reichenbach

reichenbach

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 5, 2012
552
2
West Park, NY
When I first heard that something had happened, I tried to call the new office in PA. Two separate times I was kept on hold for twenty minutes a pop all the while being reminded that my call was very important to them.

 
05venturer

05venturer

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
1,622
2
Amery,WI
Good morning all, I do realize that P&C is one of many fine sponsors of this site but I also have heard several people that are not pleased with what is going on at P&C, myself included. It may seem small but a certain tobacco that I order has been on backorder for weeks now but the website says they "expect it back in stock in 3-5 day's". I hope this is not a tactic to keep customers waiting to make a purchase instead of shopping around. If it is it did not work for me as I found somewhere else to shop.

 
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wnghanglow

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 25, 2012
695
0
05 I heard from someone on this forum *forgot who* who had a similar issue, he called and p&C told him that they have been loosing orders, got it straightened out quickly though. You might want to try to send an e mail or better yet call.

 
skunk

skunk

Lurker
Oct 21, 2012
32
0
I've always worked with 4noggins. Awesome service, pretty good stock variety, and decent shipping time. Rich is always helpful and makes you feel like an acual person, not simply another client.

 
blendtobac

blendtobac

Lifer
Oct 16, 2009
1,237
213
As with any move, there are going to be some problems. Everything has to be unpacked, catalogued, organized, etc. In addition, to make the move easier, some items were ordered a bit later so they would be delivered to the new address rather than the old one. We understand that this has caused a lot of inconvenience, and I apologize for that. I promise you that our order lines will become much faster (we will have more people available to take your orders than ever before), and that our stock situations will become better, very soon.

If anyone has an order that was lost, we'd like to know so we can take care of it. We had hoped that the transition would go smoothly, but, as they say, "The best laid plans..." There are some long days being put in to get everything straightened out.

To clarify, regardless of ownership, Pipes and Cigars.com is its own entity, with people who are dedicated to the site, and our product selection and other decisions will be made by those people. I have stayed with the company to assure continuity to the best of my ability, and I am working on a bunch of new projects to make the experience better than ever. If I didn't believe that this move was to the benefit of our customers, I would not have made the transition.

If you want to discuss pipes or tobaccos with me, I'm still here to help. Just ask to speak with me or you can email me at russo@pipesandcigars.com and include a number where I can reach you.
Russ

 
lordofthepiperings

lordofthepiperings

Lifer
May 3, 2010
6,441
1,490
Las Vegas, NV
From what I've heard this purchase is only going to be a good thing. The transition might be a little bit of rough waters and I'd give it a few months for all the kinks to get worked out. I definitely wouldn't give up on them because of a transitional period. With Russ staying on board I'm sure it'll all get worked out, it just might not be as smooth or swift as he or the customers had hoped.

 
tslex

tslex

Lifer
Jun 23, 2011
1,482
15
My view is that las cosas cambian and you have to roll with it. Let's be honest, however much we love our hobby, having a tobacco order delayed or even lost isn't really that big a deal. No one NEEDS to get a tin of Ye Olde Pipe Blende (or whatever) in two days. It's not like the guy is late delivering your insulin.
I think I'd probably have approached the announcement process a little differently, but it's not liek these guys conspired to overthrow the government. They did a merger/acquisition/whatever becuase they thought it made sense for their business and they're adjusting. If you're not a stockholder, relax.
As a pipe guy, I'm glad Russ is still doing his thing and I hope that this larger platform will give his excellent and innovative products even more attention.
ETA: And welcome to the forum, Fortheloveoffreedom. A request -- for the love of my aging eyes and for the love of the dignity of the language of Shakespeare, Shaw and Twain: Capital letters? Paragraphs? :D

 
metalheadycigarguy

metalheadycigarguy

Lifer
Apr 26, 2012
3,381
5,582
Washington State
@ forloveoffreedom - I don't see what the problem is with all these companies being merged together? Are you against big companies? Are you concerned that your credit card and personal information is being sold off to other sites? Not to worry. CI is a great company. I've been doing business with them for 4 years and have never had one issue. They have great prices and great customer service. They do good business and will take care of you. Of course there is nothing wrong with helping the mom and pop shops out as well, but don't be afraid to do business with CI or any of their affiliates.

 
javajunkie

javajunkie

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 26, 2013
160
2
I would recommend to anyone who is having a current issue with P&C to EMAIL THEM. Felt a burning desire to place an order with them, due in no small part to the Peter Stokkebye bulk discount they were pushing through April. Six days and no tracking or any form of verification that action was being enacted, si I dropped them a polite inquiry as to where my order was, giving a nod to "transition pains" and all. Within 36 hours, I had both a system email and (as far as I can tell) a personal email, and verification through tracking that my box was en route. And now I have a couple more pounds stashed, thanks to P&C.
CI is a huge retailer of premium tobaccos, owned by a huge monolith dedicated to premium tobaccos. They have a vested interest in not boning this. If you want to support smaller business, cool! Go with some site sponsors who are still independently owned and operated. Even better, go to your local B&M, assuming you have one, and your local taxation rate is not draconian. There will always be options, God willing.

 
F

flmason

Lifer
Oct 8, 2012
1,131
2
I contacted P&C about a pipe they had on their website. The person I spoke with could not answer my question but took my name and number and said I would receive a call back. I waited a week and when I never got a return call, I gave my business to another sponsor.
If a company can not return a call, then I will gladly find a company who will.
While I was waiting the week mentioned above I also called P&C again and asked my questions. So before I bought from another company. I gave them 2 chances.

 
cynyr

cynyr

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 12, 2012
646
113
Tennessee
I really, really want P&C to work out, and Russ' words are reassuring. But damn, Butterut Burley and Angler's Dream out of stock??
Holding on. Calming breaths.

 
misterlowercase

misterlowercase

Lifer
May 31, 2012
4,295
34
I'm expecting great things as well, I think it'll be a positive thing overall.
What I'd really like to see is some of the euro-only blends available over here since P&C now has a mainline direct to STG, btw here's the official STG press release,

http://www.st-group.com/index.php/press-releases/303-acquisition-of-pipe-tobacco-retailer-to-fuel-us-growth
Murray's Warrior Plug says STG right on the pouch, I think they own it outright?

St. Bruno, Capstan, Walnut Flake etc.... and maybe even offer an option to order the My Own Blend series at specified time intervals or something, I know MOB flopped here when Stokkebye tried distribution in 2005-08 or whenever it was, but that whole line has got broad appeal and great potential...not to mention adding the entire range of Orlik stuff, many of which we never see here in the States...
...doing such a thing would place P&C as an "exclusive" retailer and further enhance their already rock-solid reputation.
Russ has gone above and beyond trying to settle rattled nerves and people are still freaking out?
I say expect the best because that'll probably be how it turns out.

 
olewaylon

olewaylon

Can't Leave
Oct 14, 2012
445
0
I have to agree that Russ has been great at keeping a face and voice to the P&C organization through the move. This is obviously why Cigars International kept him on the payroll. I'm sure it is a hard spot for him to be in watching this transition unfold as he sees the company he has worked for and help build take on new ownership, procedure and an almost entirely new staff. I'm sure Russ is striving to keep the company up to its excellent standards that it maintained up until the recent acquisition. Only time will tell if this will be a good move for the consumer, no use in speculating based on a short transition period. I will be holding off for a bit before I place an order with them but will have no reservations about patronizing them just because they have new owners.

 
bigboi

bigboi

Lifer
Nov 12, 2012
1,192
3
LOL @ Dar...HMMM fishy indeed. how did he use ( or ) with our using the shift button. Hmmmmm. Enquiring minds want to know.

 
ravkesef

ravkesef

Lifer
Aug 10, 2010
2,925
9,499
82
Cheshire, CT
We are indeed fortunate to have several online retailers who serve our hobby well, and historically, P&C has been one of them. Will it continue to be so? Absolutely! How do I know this? Russ is still there, and while some of the other names and voices will be missed, the fact that Russ continues to be there is ironclad assurance that P&C will serve its customers as it always has.

 
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