Brick And Mortars

[ithelouniverse]

Does anyone else have a local B & M that charges an outlandish markup? I understand some increase because they need a profit too, and I don't mind paying a little more because I'm getting stuff that day instead of waiting and the expertise is phenomenal, but good God! I'm talking AT LEAST a 100% markup! Double! And it gets worse from there...

 

[captainsousie]

Really depends a lot on where you live. Some states have a tobacco tax of 75-100% or more. My state is pretty low on tobacco taxes so when I do get to a B&M the markup is only about 40-60%. It sort of goes with the territory.

 

[lestrout]

Most B&Ms probably can't get the break for volume orders that the biggies get. Also their turn on the inventory is likely less, and slow turns = real money.
hp

les

 

[mso489]

It is difficult to compare your local pipe shop with online venders. As mentioned, there are local tobacco and

sales taxes. If your local shop is in the city where there is foot traffic and commercially competitive rents,

that's another factor. Some online venders are well out in the country or not in strictly commercial space.

You have to factor in the shipping, which is a significant expense. The nice low price always has that added

shipping cost, unless you are doing large orders with free shipping. However, a precipitous mark-up, where

you stop and say, how can that be? I believe that is a merchant who is hoping for uninformed customers making

impulse purchases, who are not expected to ever be regulars. In this time when even an old atavistic luddite

like me spends a lot of time online, you know the world shops this way. If a pipe shop is staying in business

with obviously cranked up prices, they are laying for young folks and tourists, or fronting for some other business.

 

[eastwoodaudio]

The majority of the local shops around here in the Minneapolis area mark up their tins quite a bit, some as much as 100%. Bulk seems to be marked up significantly less. I definitely buy an ounce or two of bulk whenever I want to sit in the shop and have a smoke.

 

[sfsteves]

Taxes vary wildly from one area to another ... then there is the locale of the store itself ... here in the SF area that makes a substantial difference even after the taxes are done ... a store in downtown SF will have a far greater overhead than one in a suburban location ... I'd be surprised to learn that any B&M was taking undue advantage ... it's just not in their self-interest to do so ...

 

[phred]

There's definitely wide variation in local taxes - I paid a 100% markup in Washington State for a tin of Escudo, but I knew going in that the prices would be a lot higher there. Here in Colorado, the difference seems to be a lot more modest, at least at my B&M - a tin of Frog Morton was only few bucks more than the online prices I'm seeing, and I didn't have to cover shipping. Plus I got to sit right down and gross out a couple of the cigar smokers (who are evidently not Latakia fans... :.

 

[ravkesef]

Frankly, it's not just the brick and mortar pipe shops that have a problem, it's all the small stores that once dotted the American landscape. My father-in-law had a menswear shop that was started by his father, 100 years ago. Try and find a brick-and-mortar menswear shop today. You go to a megastore and pick off the rack where they have 100 suits of the same style and you look for the number that indicates your size. Or you order online from lands end or something of the sort. Corner grocery store, forget it. A brick-and-mortar shop of any sort has one heck of an overhead to deal with – and the pipe shops are caught in the same issue because they face and onerous taxation burden, and the fact that they are dealing with a very small niche market. If any brick-and-mortar pipe shop can stay in business these days without resorting to an overload of cigarettes, cigars, headgear, and what have you, it is somewhere in the category of a miracle.

 

[petes03]

I have several local B&Ms, all of which have mark ups, but I'd say the highest I've seen is probably around 35-40% on any given item. Usually, it's more like 10-20%.

 

[pylorns]

Well Texas tobacco taxes aren't bad as they could be - but something happened recently to the MacBaren tins we have there - 3oz MacBaren lose cut is $25 bucks suddenly.

 

[petes03]

Wow, $25 for 100gr Mac Baren tins!? That's a little ridiculous! Around here they usually go for around $15, even that is a little high, but I don't mind buying one now and then to support local business. I did pay about $21 each for a couple of aged Mac Baren tins in Gatlinburg last year, if they had not been aged tins I wouldn't have paid that much. One was a 7 year old tin of Roll Cake which was well worth the money!

 

[ravkesef]

Pete, where do you live that you have several B&Ms that have reasonable markups?

 

[brdavidson]

Well my local B&M (just outside of Toronto in Canada) supports their business mainly with cigars, its just more profitable. With tobacco taxes being what they are up here (I'd welcome $25 for 100gm as its $35 for 50gm here) they wouldn't survive on pipe tobacco alone. However they are definitely adding to their inventory and have actually wont the local Chamber of Commerce small business of the year for 3 years running in our town! They have a smart marketing strategy, are fantastic people to deal with and they do their best to try to meet all the requests of their regular clientelle. They are also smart enough to operate in a very tiny space to manage the overhead costs well. I think small businesses, if run smartly, can thrive in any circumstances.

 

[petes03]

@ravkesef. I live in Cleveland TN. There are two here in town, Williams Tobacco Shop and Burns Tobacconist. The Burns here in Cleveland doesn't have much, but there's at least two more Burns in Chattanooga which is only a 25 or 30 min drive from here. The main Burns is there, and it's a pretty big shop with a decent selection of tins, but Burns mostly caters to cigar guys.

I live about 1-1/2 hours from Gatlinburg TN, which has a couple of nice B&Ms, Smokey's and The Gatlin-Burlier. I've been going to The Gatlin-Burlier for years, it's a nice shop, but their prices are probably the highest around here.

 

[petes03]

Incidentally, Williams is where I buy most of my pipes. Melvin (the owner) and I have become pretty good friends over the years. He has the best selection of new pipes in the area by far, and his prices are not too bad. He doesn't carry many tins, but he's starting to get more by the week.

 

[crazypipe]

::

 

[anglesey]

Mine charges a bit of a markup, but nothing exceptional. Tobacco tax in the uk is around 89% so they've kind of got to to make it worthwhile. They also sell pipes, cigars, shaving equipment, bongs and metal pipes and that so they're not relying enough on pipe tobacco to bother with massive markup.
Also they've got an online shop, I think one of the most popular in the uk. I personally don't bother with it online cause they insist on a credit card to pay, so I dunno how much that affects it.

 

[ravkesef]

So what is there about Tennessee that allows it to have two quality B&Ms in close proximity, not to mention Uptowns. It's been years since I've had the privilege of setting foot in a really good B&M. There is no question but that the service I receive from our online sponsors has been nothing short of superlative, but…

 

[cosmicfolklore]

B&M's don't have more outrageous pricing percentages. We've been spoiled by outlets, big boxes, and online warehouse distributors. There is no way a B&M has the resources to buy or move as much inventory as these guys, so the deep discounters drive Main Street into a deserted wasteland. When I drive across the country in the summers, I see them.
That said, in Birmingham, we have four B&M pipe shops that I know of, and an RYO on every street corner with huge industrial rolling machine clubs, while selling pipes and codger blends on the side. I set in my favorite B&M smoking my pipe all day today, watching almost about 50 guys come and go. I think that $15-18 for a tin, as opposed to $10-12 a tin online isn't terrible. I'll pay the extra to keep my favorite smoking hole open. Where else can I set, watch a game, meet new pipe smokers, or just work on my laptop while smoking? Plus, most give us open tins to sample blends before we buy, and all of them here allow you to dip into the bulk jars. I also find it interesting that I go several times a week and have yet to find anyone else that had any knowledge of this site, or that they could have tobacco mailed to them. (But, I don't ask about the web outlets in a B&M very loudly, ha ha.) But, I do let everyone know about Brian's show. :D
Yes, we have a treasure here with this site, facebook, and sharing knowledge of online orders, but there is also a world out there apparently full of guys of all ages that enjoy having a place to go and swap stories and talk about anything from art to football to women. That is worth the "regular" B&M prices, IMO. Sure, I buy bulk online to squirrel away for a decade or so. But, for today, I'll sample a few tobaccos and buy the one to smoke today from my favorite hole in the wall. ::

 

[warren]

I believe you've asked the question of the wrong group. Shouldn't you be directing your question to the owner of the brick and mortar you find so offensive?