Depends on how you look at it. I've got several pounds of 12 year old Penzance that has very little Latakia flavor left. Perfect now for me.
Are Esoterica Blends Sold in Bulk?
- Thread starter Elric
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That is another Delayed Gratification Technique!
I believe this is fairly common practice. I have no problem with it, especially if they limit you to one bag. It lets more people try the blends.
It's far more available at B&Ms than online, and most sell it for far less. I've never paid more than $15/tin or $30/bag.
I was in Palm Springs area this morning and stopped by a well known Tobacco shop (for the first time) On a certain famous drive one city over and right up front was several tins of Esoterica and a big sign stating each customer could only buy 1 item per week, no exceptions! I asked about bags and he said yes and went in the back and brought 4 different blends, Margate, Pembroke Tilbury and Penzance. I voice my surprise that he had any in stock and he stated they almost always had it in stock and credited their "Policy" as the reason. After flipping over the bag of Penzance I soon discovered the real reason the have it in stock. They wanted $96 bucks for the bag Plus tax! I just walked away shaking my head....
It definitely is, but a lot of people don’t live near a B&M so they have to resort to online.
I was just in Palm Springs at a couple of tobacco shops and I’m hoping this wasn’t one of them.
Liberty Tobacco in San Diego has sold Esoterica by the ounce in the past with a limit of 2 or maybe 4 ounces per blend per day. It was a great way to try several of the blends without having to buy a whole bag. It's an excellent shop overall, by the way.
There is little to no pipe tobacco to be found in L.A. I found B&M's that carried Esoterica blends that I like, became a regular mail order customer, by which I mean that I didn't just buy unobtainium and cherry pick, I did my regular business with them, had pleasant phone conversations about whatever came to mind, like I used to do at my local B&M before they gave up on pipes and became exclusively cigars. And along the way, I stocked up on what I like so that I don't have to pursue this stuff ever again and don't have to pay scalper prices. Hoping for unobtainium from an on-line store is like playing the lottery. I like surer bets.
When Esoterica was originally introduced back in the late 1980’s by Steve Richman, a number of shops sold it by the ounce out of jars. I can recall as late as 1999 or 2000 seeing four or five of their blends in a shop in jars. They were priced at a premium to other jarred blends. A Tinderbox in South Carolina sold a blend of Margate with a portion of Blackpool, if memory serves, out of jars.
I need to start playing the lottery. Just scored a bag of Penzance on line this morning. Got another from Smoking Pipes, which I will admit is somewhat lucky.
But I seem to get lucky there a couple of times a year for that, Stone or Peace. If you know the on line sellers patterns, you can go bankrupt buying Esoterica from them, and at sellers like Mars, Smoking Pipes and others, at lower prices than B&M’s around here. Going back through your account history can be very helpful and most on line sellers provide that. Just put some time in to learn the patterns.
Free tip: Smoking Pipes has now fallen into a pattern of posting Esoterica from around 11:30 am EST to maybe a little over an hour from that time. They pretty much always post within a week to ten days of the first appearance of a drop in progress. Eat lunch in.
There is more than one way to skin this cat. And what I do doesn’t really take much time at all.
No bankruptcy here, I just paid the regular retail price. And I no longer have to bother with it because I've got all I'll need, well over 30 lbs of the few blends I like (and that's after giving away pounds of it to friends), and it took no special effort, no watching the online sites, nor charting trends, nor looking to the heavens for portents, sacrificing virgins, or any of that. Just an occasional phone call.
I have only paid more than retail once ($75 for a bag of Dunbar when I first started out. God blended it, I had to have it). Aside from that I currently have about 70 ounces of 14 different Esoterica blends. Almost all acquired online, at retail price, within the last 3 months. All it takes is a little bit of diligence folks. They are out there after they drop.
Sorry that I was out of pipe smoking from 2001 and 2016. . When I last bought Esoterica in 2001 was from a shop in Central Florida that had lost its lease. The owner had a half price deal and 8 ounce bags were $12.50.
The only good that did me was that I had a few left when I started back and sent them to Pipestud who sold them for more money than I ever thought possible, particularly since I had smoked the Penz, Stone, Margate and Dunbar immediately.
Good for you that you don’t have to worry about the chase, But not all of us find your oft repeated reminiscences of how things used to be helpful But your experiences from the past do not translate into your statements that online sites can’t be relied on for HTF tobacco. In fact they are great sources, and their prices beat by a lot the only B&M that is feasible for me to even think about patronizing.
Times change. Glad you have all you want, but how does your repetition of your story help those who want more of this product in today’s world?
Most don’t sell it for less these days. I used to waste my time calling around and with all costs included (many charge local sales taxes and OTP taxes even though they could do some paperwork to avoid those) by the time I got a final drive it off the lot total the best I could do was around $45 a bag. I can get, and have repeatedly, bags from Mars for $31 each plus shipping, which is $8 and is immaterial since I seldom get less than 4 or 5 bags.i pass on any regular bag that won’t come in the door all costs included for under $45. I sure wish I knew the shops that have $30 bags and will ship in 2019, and not the good old days.
I have got notification from Smoking Pipes only twice in the last two and half years
1. I got a notification and purchased Balkan Sobranie In 2017
2. I got a notification for Margate when I was taking a two year break from pipe smoking. I did not buy it. In hindsight that decision was OK - since Margate is much easier to obtain, and have bought some since then
I have never ever got a notification for Penzance In more that TWO years.
1. I got a notification and purchased Balkan Sobranie In 2017
2. I got a notification for Margate when I was taking a two year break from pipe smoking. I did not buy it. In hindsight that decision was OK - since Margate is much easier to obtain, and have bought some since then
I have never ever got a notification for Penzance In more that TWO years.
Don't expect to. Many of the online "etailers" have their regular buddy (aka big spender) customers that almost always get an email, instagram DM, or something of the sort before any of it actually hits the website. They say they don't do this, but they do.
And I have no problem with that. Business is business and regular customers are the highest priority.
@alaskanpiper I believe that is perfectly fine with me. I once scored a very old tin of Penzance from eBay. While I enjoyed it a lot, I can live without it. Many obtainable blends are equally good or better. I still want to smoke some fresh Penzance to compare with the 7 year old Penzance, but that can wait
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