Cellaring for the First Time.

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unadoptedlamp

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 19, 2014
742
1,368
I would caution that you not add anything to your "cellar" with the notion that you are putting away money or are somehow making an investment that you will cash in on later. If you treat it as something purely for your own personal use and have a realistic grasp of how much you want to actually smoke, then you'll be on the right track, I suspect.

I see this excess hoarding (and it is genuine hoarding, not collecting) crop up in the forums from time to time and I think it is a state of mind that will get people in trouble if they are counting on it in any way as a reserve cash fund. Tobacco is a terrible investment choice! Terrible...

I would only put away what you can realistically smoke (or want to smoke) in a lifetime. Some people go absolutely bonkers, while telling themselves that they'll either cash out on a profit or worse, leave it to their kids.

I've been guilty of this and put away too much tobacco myself. I sold off a bunch of it because it was ridiculous to have so much. Just silly, and taking up space. Even though it was mostly aged, and high quality blends that are hard to get, AND I was selling them at cost or less just to get rid of them, it was still a pain in the ass. Most people just want a tin, or a small bag, or a little of this, a little of that. It cost me money to get rid of the tobacco I didn't want. And in that case, we're only talking about several pounds. Not dozens of pounds.

You will notice that some blends fetch very high prices in some places if they are hard to get or discontinued. This strategy is not effective if you have 100 tins of something that is "rare". Trying to sell those 100 tins is very hard indeed, because it's no longer that rare anymore. There is a limited market of people willing to pay very high prices for tins. You will quickly saturate the market and then it's not worth a damn anymore.

Or at least not worth your trouble, I would wager. I feel sorry for the children of some members who will be forced to part out endless orders of 1 or 3 tins of tobacco to claw back the thousands they've been "given" in a will of tobacco! Ha! They'll likely just toss it in the trash. It's just not worth he hassle.

Most pipe smokers are frugal. Cheap, even. Follow some of the "for sale" threads and you will soon see.

Just something to consider. No doubt some will disagree, but I just don't see it as a wise investment, if that idea EVER crosses your mind as you gaze upon your stash. That ain't no investment... I think that's just a tacked on excuse to the very real psychological issue of hoarding.

Of course, that doesn't mean everyone with a massive collection is a hoarder. Some will actually smoke it all! Or die trying. But I would say that hoarding, rather than collecting, is the dominate theme, for whatever reason. Careful about some of the advice you get there.

They're enablers!
 

biz

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 7, 2020
149
391
Florida
I'm not hoarding anything. I bought a few extra ounces for years down the line. I smoke maybe a pound a year. So me hoarding is laughable.
 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
I smoke over 10 pounds a year. I like a nice variety and I prefer to smoke only aged tobacco. The price I paid for most of my cellar is much less than prices were back in 2012. When I saw the demand of S. Gawith flakes that are some of my favorites, I went deep so I won't ever have to worry about running out. Other blends that I really enjoy I thought might also run out but I knew for sure the prices were going up. For instance, take Mac Baren Old DarK Fired. When I bought it in 2012, I bought 65 3.5oz. tins. Prices were either 9.99 or 10.99. Check the prices today and those numbers are much different

One of my favorite flakes Brigham Klondike Gold was discontinued and it happened in just a day and I had no forward notice. Luckily it was a favorite and had loaded up and never have to worry about running out. Most of my favorite flakes are all in short supply and I have plenty of each. I It took two rocks to my head to finally figure this shit out.

First was when the original Three Nuns went bye bye and I had 2 tins left, now only one. Then all of a sudden Orlik Dark Strong went out with no notice and I was pissed at myself. Out of the clear blue the Orlik Dark Strong came back so I got a test tin, loved it and ordered 100 tins. That will last a while as I have kept buying aged tins for awhile.

If you find something that really makes your hair stand up smoke a test tin and if you still love it cellar the piss out of it. I don't know how the pipe tobacco works that much. I just know better cellar deep if you find a real winner.
 

JoeKemp

Lurker
Jan 17, 2020
29
84
Brooklyn, NY
I recommend that you develop a way to track what's in your cellar, a spreadsheet will do as will several web-based solutions. I've found that it has helped to avoid purchasing blends that I already had in abundance or to review periodically for blends that I have yet to try. I also track whether a particular blend is a candidate for re-purchase as well as the few that are banned.
I made a spreadsheet to track what tins/jars I have and what's opened. I also track when I bought it. So far I have 175 pounds
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,139
7,555
Terra Firma
Things may change, but I toyed around with a spreadsheet during my cigar-buying hayday, but found I like the element of surprise in discovering something I had forgotten about, plus I also have a pretty good photographic memory, so the surprises are few and far between. I'm going off the "I hit the lottery" mindset for pipe tobacco. How many kilos of FVF do I have? I don't know, but I know I should grab more.
 

Pipewizard420

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 28, 2020
241
507
I have also been beefing up my cellar with a little here & there. Hit a few local b&m smoke shops the other day and found 3 pouches of Prince Albert Cherry Vanilla which was a present surprise since it's been disco times for years and always wanted to try it. With even the OTC blends being jeopardized and all this "PC" crap about smoking I think every pipe smoker should cellar at least a little bit.
 

biz

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 7, 2020
149
391
Florida
Things may change, but I toyed around with a spreadsheet during my cigar-buying hayday, but found I like the element of surprise in discovering something I had forgotten about, plus I also have a pretty good photographic memory, so the surprises are few and far between. I'm going off the "I hit the lottery" mindset for pipe tobacco. How many kilos of FVF do I have? I don't know, but I know I should grab more.
Element of surprise is priceless. I totally agree, I am practically crying because I am laughing so hard. Your statement is so true. I feel the same when i find cheese, or beer in the fridge.
 
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