Anyone feel like a good gouging?
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...and it doesn't even come with a surprise inside the tin. :? Try Whiteknight or the bulk Balkan Supreme, they are way better than this swill imposter, anyways. All you are paying for is the name.
Sparks, they do it because they can. So, someone else can sell them at regular price, but the problem is that they'll sell out fast and go months without any inventory. P&C can jack it up and sell slower, but retain inventory for longer, thus making more money in the long run. Someone will always pay for it, they always do. It's capitalism.
Wow... I do like Balkans, and I've yet to try that one, but for that price I'd much rather just order a few tins of something I have tried and enjoy. Like McClelland Blue Mountain (I prefer the original name and will always call it that one because I'm stubborn and I don't like change) or Hearth and Home Black House, or perhaps Lane Crown Achievement. I'm sorry but I can't justify spending that much for something I've not tried before, regardless of how popular it might be.
This could just be them fishing for the optimum price. Using basic supply and demand formulas, they seem to be the only place with supply (since SP sold there's out in minutes at normal pricing) at least at the moment. They keep it at $34.95 for a while. If it sells out in 4 months their profit is fantastic. If it doesn't sell they lower the price until it sells. Its not like they don't have stock room for it.
Could be a typo, could be P&C not wanting to miss out on the $ that is being made in the speculative pipe tobacco market. The only reason for P&C to stay out of the speculative market is the bad taste it leaves in customer's mouths. And those are the mouths that you count on for the majority of your advertising.
Funny thing: We'll scoff at (or gladly buy from) someone on eBay selling a "rare" tin, with no negative repercussions for that seller. Hell, we'll even thank the guy for letting us pay $240 for a half pound of Stonehaven. But if an established business, with a great deal more overhead than the eBay guy, seeks the market price, we denigrate them. Remember, P&C is not a social services agency. It is (hopefully) not a non-profit. They are able to offer up some honkin' good deals from time to time because they are a well-run and savvy business. Of course, none of that matters if your customers are pissed off because the perceive you as an opportunist out to fleece your clients.
I find it all interesting and amusing.
Funny thing: We'll scoff at (or gladly buy from) someone on eBay selling a "rare" tin, with no negative repercussions for that seller. Hell, we'll even thank the guy for letting us pay $240 for a half pound of Stonehaven. But if an established business, with a great deal more overhead than the eBay guy, seeks the market price, we denigrate them. Remember, P&C is not a social services agency. It is (hopefully) not a non-profit. They are able to offer up some honkin' good deals from time to time because they are a well-run and savvy business. Of course, none of that matters if your customers are pissed off because the perceive you as an opportunist out to fleece your clients.
I find it all interesting and amusing.
I'm with woodsroad. Those who want to spend that kind of cash on rare items are free to do so. The rest of us find our delights in two-buck-per-ounce Balkan Supreme. As a consumer I don't feel abused.... just amused.
Coalsmoke I disagree. Yes, the price on the Balkan Sobranie is nuts, but it hasn't changed in some time. I've bought a lot of bulk and tin at P&C this year because their prices were best at the time. You just have to shop around because no one store is going to be lowest on everything at one time. I've cost myself money several times by not checking around better.
tinner 8)
edit.... tuold is right on.
tinner 8)
edit.... tuold is right on.
The term "gouging" is only appropriate when the commodity is essential, and seller has a monopoly on it. In a free-will exchange, "gouging" is irrelevant. Example: If you sell a tin on eBay and get 2x your purchase price, did you just gouge the buyer?
Most of the time, you don't see the machinations that bring about market price. And many times, there is collusion (price-fixing) to give the consumer a nice, clean front. The market is dynamic. We gladly take the bargains that this brings us. We're just seeing the workings of a system that has proven itself to be just a little bit better than the alternatives.
Most of the time, you don't see the machinations that bring about market price. And many times, there is collusion (price-fixing) to give the consumer a nice, clean front. The market is dynamic. We gladly take the bargains that this brings us. We're just seeing the workings of a system that has proven itself to be just a little bit better than the alternatives.
Coalsmoke,
You think P&C is overpriced??? I find they have some of the best PRICES out there. For example:
P&C Brigham Klondike Gold
SP Brigham Klondike Gold
This was just a small example that I knew off of the top of my head. I am sure SP has prices on stuff that is cheaper than P&C. I do admit that SP usually has more availability on tobacco and I will pay $1 more for something that I can get than just look at a picture of something that is cheaper.
You think P&C is overpriced??? I find they have some of the best PRICES out there. For example:
P&C Brigham Klondike Gold
SP Brigham Klondike Gold
This was just a small example that I knew off of the top of my head. I am sure SP has prices on stuff that is cheaper than P&C. I do admit that SP usually has more availability on tobacco and I will pay $1 more for something that I can get than just look at a picture of something that is cheaper.
They've done this in the past when they're out of stock. When it's in stock the price returns to normal. Keeps your attention, don't it?
Sorry but I have to disagree, for me it is an opportunistic overcharge.
gouge
gouj/Submit
verb
gerund or present participle: gouging
1.
make (a groove, hole, or indentation) with or as if with a gouge.
"the channel had been gouged out by the ebbing water"
synonyms: scoop, hollow, excavate; More
make a rough hole or indentation in (a surface), especially so as to mar or disfigure it.
"he had wielded the blade inexpertly, gouging the grass in several places"
cut or force something out roughly or brutally.
"one of his eyes had been gouged out"
2.
NORTH AMERICANinformal
overcharge
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