In Eskisehir Turkey there are about 4 stem makers,6 box case makers and several meerschaum mines generally everybody gets raw meerschaum from the mines in Sarısu,Turkmentokat, Margı.I am trying to tell you that every carver work with one of those 4 stem makers, one of those 6 box makers and gets raw meerschaum from same villages.Some of the carvers created their online sales many years ago thats why they are well known by the pipe smokers and they have established a stable customer base.
Only way to competition with old ones is price,because of that the newly pipe companies in here have more affordable prices.Old ones not need to reduce their price because they also have so much Chinese whosale customers,they mainly focus to their market.Think it like fashion if Tshirt have Gucci brand logo you could pay 250$ or you could pay 80$ to one with local brand logo.Also it doesn't matter where you get your smooth pipe so much, because smooth pipes always have to carved from best clean (less veiny raw meerschaums).You could carve a skull or figural pipes nearly from every raw meerschaum doesn't need to as clean as ones for smooth ones carver easily give shape or cut off veiny parts while carving the figural ones.Raw meerschaums for smooth pipes are specially seperate by meerschaum miners and every producer pay same price to them.