C'Mon Smokingpipes.com!!!! Get With It

[cosmicfolklore]

We've said it before, but we would love to have more tobacco to sell and we always order more than we end up getting. There's a lot of factors in the supply chain, but it's generally just because everyone is selling more tobacco collectively than we were several years ago. Some things (Gawith Hoggarth & Co.) were in short supply due to a change in distribution AND massive increase in demand. The first shipment that Laudisi Distribution received was huge, but it wasn't enough to meet the demand after such a long absence.

Other brands (Wessex, Rattray's, McConnell's) are in a similar position, and it just takes time for a bunch of tobacco to arrive by sea, which has been made worse by general transit issues caused by the pandemic that have affected most industries. It takes longer to get here, so it's out of stock longer, and more people are looking for it all the time...

Everyone is making more tobacco than they did ten years ago; it's not a supply issue as much as it's a demand issue. And I can't speak for any of these tobacco manufacturers, but I'm sure that they can't just make as much as they have a demand for overnight. That's how products end up changing, really, and no one wants that. I've seen a similar trend in Scotch whisky and American whiskey over the last ten years. Many more folks are "into" it now, and it takes time for barrels you laid down a few years ago to be ready. Or, they start selling 6 year-old bourbon for 20% more than people used to pay for their 10 year-old juice...

It's unfortunate, but signing up for In Stock Notifications is the way to go. Now, if there's really something you've been looking for, shoot me a message and I'll see if I can help. I should also add that while we do wish we had more of all of these tobaccos, there's very little aside from Esoterica and (last year) Gawith Hoggarth & Co. that hasn't come in regularly. They just sell out so quickly, even with per-order limits in place.

Thank you,
I’ve been filling my shopping cart with whatever swag is 10th and 11th wave on my list, and then deleting it, because I’m just not finding what I really want. It’s all great tobacco, just not my heart’s desire.

It’s all ya’lls fault. Forums bringing in more and more pipe smokers, and forecasting doom on the supply. Ha ha! Go smoke cigars and let us find the shelves full and the pipes full once again!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Maybe it's just me, bit were I SP, I'd rather you quietly purchase a few orders elsewhere than trash me on a major website for lack of inventory. Not to bruise your ego but SP could probably survive at least thru the end of the year if you started making accounts elsewhere. I think you were just in the mood to bitch about something.

Wow, you have a hair trigger on your “trashing” detector. I was practically nosing deeply into the brown there. You were the one telling me to go look elsewhere. You quitter!! Ha ha!

Besides, Mr. Ireland responded, or did you miss that?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Wow, you have a hair trigger on your “trashing” detector. I was practically nosing deeply into the brown there. You were the one telling me to go look elsewhere. You quitter!! Ha ha!

Love you Michael. Occasionally, I think you need to be the bustee instead of the buster.

 

[sandollars]

Wow, you have a hair trigger on your “trashing” detector. I was practically nosing deeply into the brown there. You were the one telling me to go look elsewhere. You quitter!! Ha ha!

Besides, Mr. Ireland responded, or did you miss that?

Cosmic is just misunderstood...

 

[shaneireland]

Thank you,
I’ve been filling my shopping cart with whatever swag is 10th and 11th wave on my list, and then deleting it, because I’m just not finding what I really want. It’s all great tobacco, just not my heart’s desire.

It’s all ya’lls fault. Forums bringing in more and more pipe smokers, and forecasting doom on the supply. Ha ha! Go smoke cigars and let us find the shelves full and the pipes full once again!

It really can be discouraging, I get that for sure.

Scottish Flake is my favorite tobacco. Do you know how many tins I've been able to add to the cellar in the last year? Four. Four tins. We have a daily limit of 2 tins and it's never around for longer than a day, and sometimes I miss out altogether by the time I go to place an order.

Anyhow, if you let me know what your wildest dreams would look like, I'll see if I can help

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Love you Michael. Occasionally, I think you need to be the bustee instead of the buster.

I can enjoy taking a good punch here and there. But, when your punches are as pretty as mine, you just can’t help yourself. It’s just hard being humble.

 

[PipeIT]

Scottish Flake is my favorite tobacco.

McConnell Scottish Flake? ?

If so, how does McConnell Scottish Cake compare to the Flake?

P.S. Didn’t mean to derail the topic.

 

[swilford]

I’ve got guesses too, but speculation rarely gets anything done. It would be nice if the suppliers gave it to us straight. Is this a supply problem that is temporary... or permanent? Or is this just demand?

Shane beat me to the punch on part of this, but I wanted to answer the C&D part, speaking for C&D:

We grew capacity at C&D by about 20% in 2020, while sales grew by 37%. We actually started 2020 with a pretty good inventory cushion. By the end of the year, that cushion was pretty much gone and we were in stockout territory again.

We're working on expanding capacity still and expect to grow output by at least 20% again in 2021. That's probably not fast enough to keep up with demand growth, but it's about as fast as we can grow output without cutting corners or risking compromising the quality of what we produce.

Fortunately, on C&D, excepting weird situations (where we temporarily can't get a varietal we use for something), the stockouts aren't consistently the same products, so it should remedy itself for whatever is on your list.

You mentioned Habana Daydream. It's available in 2oz and 8oz tins right now and should be back in stock in bulk in the coming weeks.

Sykes

 

[opus777]

Habana Daydream is on my “buy the shit out of it” list.

Don’t understand if it’s on your “buy the shit out of it’ list why you don’t buy the tins!!!

 

[shermnatman]

Anyhow, if you let me know what your wildest dreams would look like, I'll see if I can help

I don't know about @cosmicfolklore 's wild dreams; and not sure I want to know: no... wait... I am sure I don't want to know!

However,

@shaneireland , what can you tell us about the situation with Middleton?

Most online retailers have been out of Prince Albert 1.5oz pouches and 14oz tubs for the last 3 months. Now, Carter Hall has recently entered into the same zone. The Middleton Rep assured me on 3 different occasions that the rumors that Middleton products, except Black & Mild, are being discontinued are false; and, the only change is that 14oz tubs of PA and CH will no longer be shipping into California.

And yet, some online retailer have just this week changed the active status of these products from "back ordered" with a re-stock on the horizon, to the no relief on the horizon status of "out of stock"; which to me reads as though we are moving in the wrong direction.

I know you cannot speak for any online retailer than Smoking Pipes, but something is not jibing here correctly between what is being said, and what we are seeing.

What is your understanding of the Middleton situation?

Finally know the straight-dope on Middleton would be my wildest dream.

Thanks,
Sherm Natman

 

[shaneireland]

I don't know about @cosmicfolklore 's wild dreams; and not sure I want to know: no... wait... I am sure I don't want to know!

However,

@shaneireland , what can you tell us about the situation with Middleton?

Most online retailers have been out of Prince Albert 1.5oz pouches and 14oz tubs for the last 3 months. Now, Carter Hall has recently entered into the same zone. The Middleton Rep assured me on 3 different occasions that the rumors that Middleton products, except Black & Mild, are being discontinued are false; and, the only change is that 14oz tubs of PA and CH will no longer be shipping into California.

And yet, some online retailer have just this week changed the active status of these products from "back ordered" with a re-stock on the horizon, to the no relief on the horizon status of "out of stock"; which to me reads as though we are moving in the wrong direction.

I know you cannot speak for any online retailer than Smoking Pipes, but something is not jibing here correctly between what is being said, and what we are seeing.

What is your understanding of the Middleton situation?

Finally know the straight-dope on Middleton would be my wildest dream.

Thanks,
Sherm Natman

I’ve heard a few things, but nothing conclusive and not for some weeks, other than we haven’t received any. Give me a bit of time to see what we can find out and I’ll report back.

FWIW, if we’re out of stock and we have been informed that a given product has been discontinued, you won’t see it on the website. The fact that we haven’t marked these as discontinued in our system tells me that our guys are being told that we can expect more, or at least we haven’t been told definitively that it won’t be back. I’m sure that’s also true for other retailers.

 

[shaneireland]

McConnell Scottish Flake? ?

If so, how does McConnell Scottish Cake compare to the Flake?

P.S. Didn’t mean to derail the topic.

They’re certainly “related,” but the Flake is more balanced, IMHO. I find it to be a better all-day smoke, to my taste.

My taste aside, the Cake is slightly more full, spicier, less sweet; it seems to have a higher percentage of both Perique and Kentucky. The flake is sweeter and has a more tangy character, with just a touch of “spice.” They’re pretty comparable in terms of strength.

 

[JimInks]

I’ve heard a few things, but nothing conclusive and not for some weeks, other than we haven’t received any. Give me a bit of time to see what we can find out and I’ll report back.

FWIW, if we’re out of stock and we have been informed that a given product has been discontinued, you won’t see it on the website. The fact that we haven’t marked these as discontinued in our system tells me that our guys are being told that we can expect more, or at least we haven’t been told definitively that it won’t be back. I’m sure that’s also true for other retailers.

JR's Cigars told me it was discontinued. I asked how she knew. She her bosses told her.

 

[anotherbob]

We've said it before, but we would love to have more tobacco to sell and we always order more than we end up getting. There's a lot of factors in the supply chain, but it's generally just because everyone is selling more tobacco collectively than we were several years ago. Some things (Gawith Hoggarth & Co.) were in short supply due to a change in distribution AND massive increase in demand. The first shipment that Laudisi Distribution received was huge, but it wasn't enough to meet the demand after such a long absence.

Other brands (Wessex, Rattray's, McConnell's) are in a similar position, and it just takes time for a bunch of tobacco to arrive by sea, which has been made worse by general transit issues caused by the pandemic that have affected most industries. It takes longer to get here, so it's out of stock longer, and more people are looking for it all the time...

Everyone is making more tobacco than they did ten years ago; it's not a supply issue as much as it's a demand issue. And I can't speak for any of these tobacco manufacturers, but I'm sure that they can't just make as much as they have a demand for overnight. That's how products end up changing, really, and no one wants that. I've seen a similar trend in Scotch whisky and American whiskey over the last ten years. Many more folks are "into" it now, and it takes time for barrels you laid down a few years ago to be ready. Or, they start selling 6 year-old bourbon for 20% more than people used to pay for their 10 year-old juice...

It's unfortunate, but signing up for In Stock Notifications is the way to go. Now, if there's really something you've been looking for, shoot me a message and I'll see if I can help. I should also add that while we do wish we had more of all of these tobaccos, there's very little aside from Esoterica and (last year) Gawith Hoggarth & Co. that hasn't come in regularly. They just sell out so quickly, even with per-order limits in place.

so you're saying my theory that while less people are smoking in general there are more people getting very serious about pipes and cigars. I just want to make sure I read that right. That said yeah it's hard to account for an increase in demand right now for any activity people haven't had the time to get into until now.

 

[anotherbob]

Love you Michael. Occasionally, I think you need to be the bustee instead of the buster.

I agree can you imagine how insufferable he'd be if no one ever gave him guff?

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I’ve wondered if the supply has been drying up. It’s not just fancy stuff. How long can you be out of something like Carter Hall?

And here I thought my constant praise for Carter Hall had created a band of fanatics on the same level as Stonehaven.
Maybe there's just a global tobacco shortage as regulations restrict supply at the same time as everyone sitting at home with nothing to do tries smoking a Cob for the first time.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

You can probably get all you want by ordering from China.

I am counting on it.
If I ever manage to make it that far and start a business in China, one of my first goals will be to have that 55 gallon drum of Carter Hall in the office.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I agree can you imagine how insufferable he'd be if no one ever gave him guff?

I can, I've met and smoked with Michael multiple times. Despite his online persona, he's actually a pretty good guy.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

With a few blends like Habana and a few other C&D blends, I just prefer bulk. I devoured a pound of fresh Daydream and the Virginia Flake over the summer. Just kept grabbing fistfuls out of the bag. I've got a substantial celler, and usually I prefer tins. But, sometimes I just want that barnyard fresh, unique smoking experience... then other times I want a ten year old tin of J.S. Terrantez Madeira. The mood has been hitting me.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I can, I've met and smoked with Michael multiple times. Despite his online persona, he's actually a pretty good guy.

Well... I had to explain the black eye and stitches to Mrs. Cosmic. But, overall I had a great time.