Are you Happy with Dried Out Tobacco in a Trade?
- Thread starter Big John Shea
- Start date
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
Site Sponsors
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor
- Status
If I was under the impression it was a sealed, uncompromised tin I was getting and agreed upon, you bet I'd ask for a refund.
Last edited:
I wouldn’t be happy but I wouldn’t expect compensation. It’s a 20 year old tin. Nobody can guarantee that a tin that old will be dry or not.
There's ways to get a very good idea if it is still sealed. Shake the tin is a pretty reliable way.
I wouldn’t expect it unless the other guys intentionally deceived me.
A 20 year old tin is luck of the draw. As long as no intentional deception was involved I would just deal with it.
That doesn’t sound very hypothetical to me.
It's 20 years old. Unless the seal was broken, I would just rehydrate it and not care.
At 20 years I'd be more interested in the collectible value versus smokability. Latakia at that age will have mostly fallen flat and oxygen exposure will quickly degrade the contents.
Comes with the territory. I will be disappointed, but it's the chance I took.
If you going to play in this sandbox, know what you're getting into. With "vintage" tobacco the possibility that the container has been compromised is always there.
Of course I wouldn't be happy, but you pays yer money and yer takes yer chances. Same in a trade done in good faith.
No.
Aged tins are always a gamble. If you play the game enough, you’re gonna get some that are compromised.
It always sucks, but its just part of the gamble. I promise you, if whoever sent it to you hasn’t had it happen to them, at some point they will. And one day you’ll send someone a tin that’ll be a bust.
It just happens. Like fluke plays in a football game or the dealer drawing 21 on his seventh card. Just gotta suck it up, move on, and count on the fact that fate will pay you back at some point.
In this community, it’s damn near a sure bet that it will.
Aged tins are always a gamble. If you play the game enough, you’re gonna get some that are compromised.
It always sucks, but its just part of the gamble. I promise you, if whoever sent it to you hasn’t had it happen to them, at some point they will. And one day you’ll send someone a tin that’ll be a bust.
It just happens. Like fluke plays in a football game or the dealer drawing 21 on his seventh card. Just gotta suck it up, move on, and count on the fact that fate will pay you back at some point.
In this community, it’s damn near a sure bet that it will.
^^^^^ This
Caveat emptor
Even if the tins have been stored in “ideal conditions” seal failure can happen.
Or worse, have a fungal issue
and also news flash 20 years is a gamble period. Even if it's in as pristine condition as possible aging might not have improved it or might have gone well past peak performance.
As all the above, no guarantees with aged tobacco. The 'shake test' doesn't really guarantee anything. You said the tin was sealed, so how would the person who traded it know the quality of the tobacco? Chalk it up to experience.
Cutter top tins are more likely to still be sealed, but even they can have tiny rust spots (even hidden behind labels).
And as others have said, even if the seal is still good, the contents might not be. All you can guarantee with aged tobacco is that it's old, not that it's any good.
The one thing I slightly disagree with is the point about Latakia. Latakia blends do lose a bit of their oomph, but aged Latakia blends can still be wonderful in their own right, they just take on a different character. You definitely shouldn't expect a fresh 'Lat-bomb' from an aged tin.
Edited to add: you can always try rehydration. It has very mixed results, but can have pretty good results. Also, oxygen is your enemy with old tobacco, smoke it fairly quickly once opened (to be honest, I regularly keep it around for months, and although it does lose something in that first couple of days, it's still good).
Cutter top tins are more likely to still be sealed, but even they can have tiny rust spots (even hidden behind labels).
And as others have said, even if the seal is still good, the contents might not be. All you can guarantee with aged tobacco is that it's old, not that it's any good.
The one thing I slightly disagree with is the point about Latakia. Latakia blends do lose a bit of their oomph, but aged Latakia blends can still be wonderful in their own right, they just take on a different character. You definitely shouldn't expect a fresh 'Lat-bomb' from an aged tin.
Edited to add: you can always try rehydration. It has very mixed results, but can have pretty good results. Also, oxygen is your enemy with old tobacco, smoke it fairly quickly once opened (to be honest, I regularly keep it around for months, and although it does lose something in that first couple of days, it's still good).
Last edited:
How would you know? There would be no way to know whether or not another person originally suspected the tin was compromised.
TBH, I'm very surprised by how complacent people would be with the idea that they may have just been cheated. Most of these responses above indicate that you are completely fine with getting screwed out of your own high value aged tin.
Seems to defy common sense...
It appears, hypothetically, that you’ve jumped to the conclusion that there’s malice aforethought.
It’s like going to a casino and getting angry because you lost money.
It’s like going to a casino and getting angry because you lost money.
I'm not sure that I agree with your comparison. I go to a casino, I expect to loose money. They're not in the business of making an equal trade with you.
I honestly don't think that the other person in my "hypothetical" had any true malice intended, but they also aren't owning their end of the deal, and there is no way to know for sure that they didn't intend to let go of a questionable tin.
In my mind what it comes down to is this, if people in the pipe community can't trust one another, then let's all just go ahead and drop the "brother" of the leaf act.
I honestly don't think that the other person in my "hypothetical" had any true malice intended, but they also aren't owning their end of the deal, and there is no way to know for sure that they didn't intend to let go of a questionable tin.
In my mind what it comes down to is this, if people in the pipe community can't trust one another, then let's all just go ahead and drop the "brother" of the leaf act.
The tin was sealed. How could the other bloke have known the tobacco was useless? Unless he opened it and has a resealing machine. Or maybe he has an MRI machine lying around in the garage and he uses that to scan old tobaccos, keeping the good and unloading the bad. I think you're being a bit cynical, there is no way he could know the tobacco was bad. It was just bad luck, every poster so far has said so.
It sucks but Im with the crowd opinion on this one. Sometimes the bear eats you. Yet another reason to add to the list of reasons I dont hunt vintage tobacco. Have you mentioned it to the other party? Perhaps they will want to even the playing field. I think thats an important addition to this story.
- Status