C&D Price Increases Coming Soon?

[davet]

Peck thanks for the heads-up and Ted, thanks for the clarification. Stock up my friends it's never going to get any cheaper. Just imagine paying what we do north of the border. One of the guys I'm working with is from Alberta and was quite happy with the prices here until I showed him the Smokingpipes website.

 

[fnord]

What Cobguy said?
"Mac Baren, McClelland, C&D, GL Pease ... it does not matter who is raising their current prices or why.

The bottom line is that tobacco will NEVER get any cheaper ... stock up!"
This man walks in truth and light.
Why not pay ten bucks today for something that will cost fifteen or twenty bucks in ten years?
Fnord

 

[deathmetal]

From one of my favorite tobacco distros:

Cornell & Diehl/G.L. Pease Tin Prices Go Up Everywhere Nov. 1st
Simple announcement today. Cornell & Diehl has instituted a MAP (minimum advertised price) that is going into effect this Sunday, Nov. 1st. Suggested retail prices are actually going down, but there will be a minimum price that retailers must charge, so the net effect with be a slight increase in prices.
This means that Cornell & Diehl prices are going up, everywhere, on every site. You may remember a similar situation with Mac Baren and Sutliff Tins earlier this year. The C&D price will not be going up as much as that.
This includes the other blends C&D makes, such as G.L. Pease, Castello, etc.
This does not apply to bulk tobacco prices.

My guess: this is a response to the continuing decline in value of American currency.

 

[stanlaurel]

I had a 20%-off coupon so I grabbed a half-pound of Black Frigate before the price goes up.

 

[bigpond]

The interesting thing about this is that a lot of folks have found the quality of C&D produced items has gone down recently, particularly in blends that contain a good portion of VA leaf. Add to this the QC issues (i.e. mold) and the factory floor "blending" as shown in the union square video. MAP is always bad for consumers and add an additional and unnecessary hurdle for vendors. Is Laudisi going to actively pursue vendors via litigation that offer discounts that bring prices below MAP? There are always workarounds, but again, this is a hurdle to jump.
Lower quality, higher price and a corporation hostile to vendors? Overall a big boo at Laudisi.

 

[gloucesterman]

I'm wondering if this trend isn't a move to protect the smaller B&M market which at present is all but non-competitive when compared to the big on-line retailers. It will certainly have the effect of closing the gap. The net here is the big guys will no longer be able to sell at low prices. The small guys didn't do that anyway. When you calculate in shipping costs the gap closes even further. It would appear the big tobacco companies are trying to stabilize what has been a shrinking portion of their market. This move doesn't have any impact on their wholesale pricing so why is it becoming a trend? Likely a move to make the B&M market more competitive and preserve a shrinking wholesale customer base.

 

[aristokles]

As much as I dislike seeing increases for any reason I can understand the use of a MAP agreement here.
First, if said agreement involves (as all I am familiar with in other industries) the ADVERTISED price - which would include e-tailing- it does protect the B&M, especially those w/o online sales. Only one of the B&M's in Pittsburgh region's 6 or 7 which carry C&D products has an online store. By the way, it is in those non-etailer stores that one finds the largest C&D selection.
Second, this involves, again if a standard MAP, published price minimums. Nothing prevents a retailer from actually selling an item for less (that would be illegal). So, the B&Ms are protected and can market on a level playing field, or even better on a face-to-face, in store only special.
Given that Laudisi has the unenviable position of being the manufacturer, distributor, and A retailer (both B&M and e-tailer) all at the same time (ignoring moot corporate distinctions), this MAP program seems a good solution for them and ALL their customers: other retailers and us.

 

[bigpond]

Setting a minimum advertised price (MAP) doesn't protect retailers small or large because those same vendors can still sell the product at whatever price they wish so long as the advertised rate does not dip below that set by the distributor. Additionally, B&M shops are mostly under-patronized anyway because of the tax they must apply to purchases. Increasing flat rates doesn't help.

 

[deathmetal]

Additionally, B&M shops are mostly under-patronized anyway because of the tax they must apply to purchases.

I think we should not forget this one.
What is killing local B&Ms? Local taxes. End of story.
Call your representatives -- oh wait, democracy doesn't work. So sorry.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm not sure what can repair the damages that Laudsi/smokingpipes has done with their relationship to many B&Ms. But, it is a mortal sin to mention smokingpipes in many B&Ms. My favorite B&M doesn't carry the brands represented by Laudsi, because the product doesn't move, when the customers can always get a much better deal online. Sure, almost all brands can be gotten for s better price point online, but Laudsi makes it so that all of their exclusive brands are sold at almost the same price retail and wholesale. I've had the same issue with several product vendors in jewelry. If a wholesale vendor cuts the same deal I get to my customers, I drop the product line. Sure, we get a better deal from smokingpipes, but it hurts the B&Ms and eventually it hurts the brand. B&Ms is ground zero for many of us. It's where we get to try new blends first. We get to talk to vendors as they come in the stores, and it's where ultimately I make my tithing to keep my lounge open. If C&D and GLP are not on the shelves, we have to solely rely on online marketing for those products. And, 99% of B&M customers are not on this forum, nor do they follow C&D and GLP blog posts. Most are just guys who buy their stuff and tend to other matters, where smoking is just a thing they do. So, these brands don't reach these guys, which makes up a bulk of the market.
On this forum, we are in an illusion that WE make up the body of pipe smokers, which just isn't true in reality. I hang out with guys almost everyday that soley buy from B&Ms and have only have a vague notion of what this forum is like. In what I see and discuss in my circles of pipe friends, we are only 1%, which may or may not correlate with forum statistics, but it is a huge market that does not even know about C&D and GLP because it's not on the shelves, because the B&M sees Laudsi as an unfair distributor
Sure, sure, I buy most of my tobaccos online. So, I am aware. And, I would hate to pay more also. But, without B&Ms in areas like this, the hobby as a whole loses.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ok, I see the flaw in what I posted. I should have elaborated on B&Ms that also carry an online presence to explain how price discourages sales, verses customers who only buy in the B&M. Sorry. But, you get the jist.

 

[deathmetal]

Good analysis, Cosmic, but this doesn't change the fact that a $10 tin online will be $15-21 locally.

 

[buroak]

Once they have made that decision, consumers can decide whether it will impact their buying decision or not.

Yep, my buying decision has been affected: P&C's End of Summer Sale plus their %20 discount coupon mean I will not be affected by a C&D or Pease price rise for quite some time.

On this forum, we are in an illusion that WE make up the body of pipe smokers, which just isn't true in reality.

Amen. When my local club meets I see some chaps perusing the hosting B&M's shelves, making their selection, and dropping $15-$20 on a tin, all seemingly without any awareness of the far lower prices at online retailers. At first I thought they were just supporting the club's hosts, but I am no longer confident that that is the case.

...we are only 1%...

Careful, Cosmic, referring to ourselves as the %1 may result in protests by angry liberal arts majors and other disaffected sorts.

 

[deathmetal]

When my local club meets I see some chaps perusing the hosting B&M's shelves, making their selection, and dropping $15-$20 on a tin, all seemingly without any awareness of the far lower prices at online retailers.

Back when I was new to pipe smoking, I thought about investigating online. But fighting my way through the mass of spam and data to find what was right seemed daunting. Instead, it was down to Walgreen's for another tasty bag of Golden Burley. For people who are not "hobbyists," or fascinated by the pipe and its process, utility rules over all else and that 100% markup is worth the lack of added time investment in winnowing the gold from the crap online.

 

[jmatt]

I'm fortunate to have a spectacular brick & mortar reasonably close by. Their prices are definitely higher than any of the online stores. And I have to pay sales tax. But the moment I walk in the door I realize I'm "consuming" something.
1) I get to see all of the pipes in person in 3D that I can only see pictures of online.

2) I can hold and inspect the pipes. Check the draft hole, feel the weight and balance, etc.

3) I can see hundreds of tins of tobacco live and in person. I notice blends that I night not have noticed lately online. (Last time I was there, three tins of Penzance were on the shelf).

4) I get to talk to a live human in person

5) When I buy a tin or more, there's instant gratification - smell it now. Smoke it now.
For these benefits, rather than be a free-loader, I make a purchase - every time. The extra I pay? Well that's their compensation for providing items #1 - #5 above.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

. . .see some chaps . . .

If you are in a B&M and see chaps then you may not be in a B&M at all; especially if the chaps have a cut out for each butt cheek.

 

[deathmetal]

That's a BSDM, not a B&M. But they're fun anyway. And it's a good place to get your draft hole checked...
Our big B&M in town is a haughty, expensive, inconvenient place. I shop the periphery instead.