"Out of Stock" Becoming the Norm?

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litup

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 16, 2015
722
2,206
Sacramento, CA
I'm accustomed to seeing "out of stock" next to many of the tobaccos online but while perusing Smokingpipes today I started to get the sense that it's no longer limited to just the usual suspects like Esoterica and Butera. So I used their tobacco locator tool and limited my search to "Tinned Tobacco". There were 1,122 results. I filtered again, this time limiting it to only tinned tobacco products that are in stock and got 851 results. So 24.2% of their tinned products are out of stock right now. That seems really high to me. Knowing that this is a well-run company I'm going to assume that the high percentage is not an oversight but an indication of the rapidly dwindling availability of pipe tobacco.
I plan to revisit this in a month or two and see if the percentage changes much either way. Not that it will accomplish much but as a way to let the data inform my opinion a little more.

 
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Jan 28, 2018
12,953
134,632
66
Sarasota, FL
It was no different this time last year. In fact, it is fairly consistent. Everyone sells out of Fribourg & Treyer, Wessex, Astleys, Rattrays and of course,Esoterica. There are several others suck as former that are out of stock more than they're in. Even when they get in big shipments, they're sold out fairly quick. You have to be quick on the draw.

 
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M

mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast

Guest
I see things I like pop up here and there still. I did start cellaring a few years back when it all started. I don't see things changing much. Slow trickle of some. Although, there's still some good ones that seem to always be in stock. McClelland's closing was a big blow for us all. Gawith's delay has always been periodic but not permanent. Dunhill is dwindling. Esoterica is Esoterica. The flow is the flow and tobacco will always be around.

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
733
All that said above, as well as Peterson tobacco blends going through a transition right now, some discontinued and others not returning until STG resumes distribution of those blends.

 

npod

Lifer
Jun 11, 2017
2,942
1,024
There is a golden VaPer that is rated 3.6 on TR and it flies under the radar. Believe me, there are wonderful blends out there! Most people just follow the group speak and hoard popular blends.

 

trubka2

Lifer
Feb 27, 2019
2,470
21,640
Thanks for the hopeful note, npod. It gets discouraging not getting to try the stuff people are really fired up about. That said, I'm new, so I've never even tasted Dunhill (except their delicious cigarettes back in the 90s) or Esoterica, and I'm pretty much OK with that. It just seems the height of silliness to get a taste for something I won't ever be able to buy without hassles and/or getting gouged for the "buzz factor". So give me the readily available and under-loved any day! The search for them is a great TAD enabler.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
The out-of-stock retail world is a good reason not to get fixated or too fussy about blends. Find a number of brands and blends that seem to be well supplied and distributed, and keep looking for others. Asia has always been a hungry tobacco market. Mao Tse Tung and the leadership cadre on the Long March (it is known that Mao was carried much of the way in a sedan chair by bearers) always had a good supply of cigarettes and cigars. A footnote, was amazed to see an article this week about China having a slump in birthrate, the nation that had the one-child policy.

 

brian64

Lifer
Jan 31, 2011
9,603
14,669
The fact that the name Mao Tse Tung came up 12 posts into this thread can't be a good sign.
Better start thinking about placing another order.

 

d4k23

Can't Leave
Mar 6, 2018
426
672
Texas
As long as the tin is showing on SPs page, they expect it will come back again at some time. They are good at removing things when they know it won't return.

 

cohibajoe

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 2, 2018
722
1,165
Branchburg, NJ
Email alerts help (SP and IR&C for Germain's)...but with Germain's it's Luck when you see it posted. I will sometimes create a thread here but it's the Hoarders I am reminded (PM) to not post. When you find what you like...Buy It!!!

 

anantaandroscoggin

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 9, 2017
647
1,008
70
Greene, Maine, USA
. . . And then there are items like the Decatur Pipe Knife, which all places listing it on their websites seem to have also stated on said pages "OUT OF STOCK" for over a year now.

 

captpat

Lifer
Dec 16, 2014
2,265
12,140
North Carolina
. . . And then there are items like the Decatur Pipe Knife, which all places listing it on their websites seem to have also stated on said pages "OUT OF STOCK" for over a year now.
Exactly, I keep hearing they'll be in stock "any day now" :rofl:

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,625
44,844
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Try B&M's. Yeah, they cost more, but at least you will have the blend you're looking for. And when online purchases are banned, which seems a fairly obvious step in the "death by a thousand cuts" method of eradicating tobacco use, you will need that B&M. Over the years I've found almost zero of my hard-to-find stuff at online stores, maybe 5-8%. Given that the major online stores are being watched 24/7, even with alerts the unobtainium is gone before I can place an order.
Anyway, I have what I want, didn't actually pay more than retail, and don't need to search for anything. Good luck!

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,250
108,355
Anyway, I have what I want, didn't actually pay more than retail, and don't need to search for anything. Good luck!
Absolutely. Online retailers create a sense of lack of availability. My Esoterica bags and Kingfisher tins had dust on them when purchased.

 
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trouttimes

Lifer
Nov 26, 2018
5,169
21,491
Lake Martin, AL
"Out of stock" is the primary reason my cellar keeps growing. I agree with Sable, I'll not pay more than retail. My closest B&M knows my TAD so they call me when something interesting come by.

 
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