Al Pascia

[peckinpahhombre]

I ordered a pipe from Al Pascia late Friday. I received it by fedex yesterday afternoon. That's 3 business days to ship from Milan, Italy to Ontario, Canada.
Was I impressed? Absolutely. And the customer communication was second to none.
This was the first time I have bought something from Al Pascia and it certainly won't be the last thing I buy from them.
There are more than a few online vendors who should study what these guys do and try to emulate them, because I was blown away by the level of service.
And what did the shipping cost me? The equivalent of US$13. Wow.

 

[tokerpipes]

So um...that's nice and all but where is the pipe? Some of us are under the assumption if it really happened we need a pic...plus I need a little pipe porn. It's been a little slow at my house. Lol.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Exact same pipe that Fish got. Here: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/tsuge-tankard-50-smokes-report

 

[tokerpipes]

Ahhhh. Good pipe porn. Nice looking pipe too. Very classy/ elegant. I would smoke that at a dinner party for sure.

 

[lumberjakpipester]

I ordered a Tsuge bamboo from Al Pascia last month and while the delivery was indeed super quick, I was greeted at the door by an outrageous "Brokerage fee" from fedex, certainly not a pleasant experience.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Yeah, their fee is around $20 plus whatever taxes you owe, but it is what it is I guess - UPS is almost as ugly

 

[thesmokindragon]

Al Pascia is an outstanding dealer. I have shopped with them several times...every single time has been fantastic ::

 

[alexl]

I did not understood what you wrote about customer communication. It was good?

 

[peckinpahhombre]

yes - second to none - means the best

 

[alexl]

second to none - means the best

I thought it's the worst, something like 0+1 from 10
You taught me some English, now to bisiness: maybe you know if they can send by regular mail and not UPS/Fedex?

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I don't know Alexi. Fedex was the only option that they gave me here in Canada.

 

[alexl]

Thank you.

As a rule, Italians know thing or two about customer relations. They are not square.
My name is Alex, btw.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Sorry Alex - I see now it says Alexl not Alexi

 

[cigrmaster]

peck, nice score, hope it smokes great for you.

 

[lumberjakpipester]

I believe you can get it sent regular Italian parcel service, but you have to pay the V.A.T of 20% even if you live outside of Europe.

 

[foggymountain]

Alpascia is my favorite pipe dealer. The manager, Leonardo Sportelli, is very customer service oriented, the pipes they get are often better than the selection of the same brands that we get in the USA* and it's next day delivery from Milan to NYC. My only criticism is that they should offer UPS delivery as well. Fedex is a nightmare on the route where I live. *This is an interesting phenomenon, but very real. The Europeans keep the finer things for sale in Europe. They think that we Americans can appreciate guns, sex and loud music, but not the subtler things in life. I suppose we have given them adequate reason for this with our guns, wars and violent films.

 

[shutterbug]

I like their selection...some great pipes and some great pipe makers; however, with the quick delivery it comes at a cost. Fedex's brokerage fees plus getting dinged with duty makes the price point a bit too high for my liking. Consider that I maybe pay duty/GST on a tenth of the packages that come to my door from smokingpipes or any other e-tailer, ordering from the US makes more sense to me. As much as I don't want to sound cheap, it adds up. I want to order from them, but my wallet says wait until the e-tailers in the US have the model I'm looking for, and gamble with no taxes/duty @ $15 delivery cost, and on the off chance, duty, GST, and delivery.

It is nail biting to have to wait for three weeks though I will admit...

 

[troutface]

I just got that Poul Hansen lovat from them a few weeks ago. They shipped it on a Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon it was in Denver. Paid the $13 for shipping and didn't have any extra brokerage fees or taxes. Maybe I got lucky ?

 

[rickpal14]

Troutface

I think that it's our friends to the North that are dealing with their overzealous Revenue/Taxation brethren......

 

[lumberjakpipester]

+1 to what rothnh said, but I have to say the costumer service, and the packaging are both impeccable, you really feel pampered. And even if they do have really gorgeous pipes, I probably won't be buying from them unless I see something that makes me fall off my chair.