Decent Online Retailers in the Western States?

[badbeard]

Hello there! Obligatory "first time posting, long time lurker".
I am in Eugene, OR, and we recently lost our last decent B&M tobacconist "The Briar Shoppe". The only other shop here in town pretty much just carries Lane bulk which for the most part is not my thing(not really into aromatics), and they don't really have an interest in carrying more as they primarily cater to the *other* kind of pipe smoker.
I've ordered from a few of the forum sponsors with good results, but since most are east coast based I am left with a ship time between 5-7 days.. sometimes more which is really irritating and putting a damper on my tobacco acquisition disorder.
That said, are there any reputable online retailers with decent selections of tobaccos that ship out of the western half of the US?
Any input would be appreciated.
Edited by jvnshr: Title capitalization.

 

[cosmicbobo]

Kramer's in Cali. Limited, but personal selection of their blends

 

[badbeard]

Kramer's in Cali. Limited, but personal selection of their blends

Thanks for the reply. I looked, but I don't see any kind of an online store. Hoping for something like Smokingpipes or 4noggins with a wide selection.. which I fear might not exist.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Curious as to why they need to be located in the West, being online and all. I live in CA, and am not aware of any for tobacco products. Kramer has recently started to sell online, but don't think they do it themselves. Happy to be corrected. They are in Beverly Hills.

 

[sablebrush52]

If you look at the menu above the forum your will see a tab for "Pipe Store Locator". Click on that and you will see a menu of states. Click on that and you will see listings for various tobacconists, many of of whom do mail order. There are a couple of stores in Northern California that carry a decent selection. These are not the equivalent of Smokingpipes, Pipes & Cigars, 4Noggins or Cup O Joes, L J Perretie, or Iwan Ries, but they're in the West and they do mail order. Check out their sites to see what they have to offer

 

[badbeard]

Basically, since I have to order everything online it would be nice to have a place close enough where shipping prices to get here in short order wouldn't be quite as high as it is with the Eastern online shops.
Example: I can order USPS priority from pretty much any state west of TX and it gets here in 3 days at most(usually 2 days). For whatever reason shipping costs rise considerably for most of the east coast sellers, and the fastest I've gotten stuff even via USPS priority has been 6 days. I know it's only 3 days, but it would just be a convenience thing for me since I tend to do more frequent smaller orders vs. large ones.
Basically anything west of the Mississippi would probably work, which I have yet find.

 

[badbeard]

If you look at the menu above the forum your will see a tab for "Pipe Store Locator". Click on that and you will see a menu of states. Click on that and you will see listings for various tobacconists, many of of whom do mail order. There are a couple of stores in Northern California that carry a decent selection. These are not the equivalent of Smokingpipes, Pipes & Cigars, 4Noggins or Cup O Joes, L J Perretie, or Iwan Ries, but they're in the West and they do mail order. Check out their sites to see what they have to offer

Thanks for that! For some reason I totally missed that up at the top. I will fish through those and see what I can find.

 

[sablebrush52]

Basically, since I have to order everything online it would be nice to have a place close enough where shipping prices to get here in short order wouldn't be quite as high as it is with the Eastern online shops.
Example: I can order USPS priority from pretty much any state west of TX and it gets here in 3 days at most(usually 2 days). For whatever reason shipping costs rise considerably for most of the east coast sellers, and the fastest I've gotten stuff even via USPS priority has been 6 days. I know it's only 3 days, but it would just be a convenience thing for me since I tend to do more frequent smaller orders vs. large ones.
Basically anything west of the Mississippi would probably work, which I have yet find.

Larger orders will allow you to have some stock to enjoy between orders and these online stores often are less expensive. Also, with orders above $100 there are no shipping costs, though it can take a week or more for your order to arrive. But if cost isn't a factor, then these other B&M's will work very well for you. I order from B&M's when I'm buying difficult to find blends and when having that blend outweighs the extra cost.

 

[tuold]

I've ordered from Payless Cigars & Pipes in Boulder, Colorado and have been pleased with them. Delivery time is half the time it takes from the East Coast stores using UPS Ground.

 

[badbeard]

I've ordered from Payless Cigars & Pipes in Boulder, Colorado and have been pleased with them. Delivery time is half the time it takes from the East Coast stores using UPS Ground.

This is perfect! Thanks so much for that.

 

[jpmcwjr]

OK, then. One online store and several mail order opportunities. Happy Daze!

 

[cosmicbobo]

Kramer's does sell online. At the bottom of the blends page are their prices and ordering info, though they do tell you they are also at smokingpipes.
Postage First Class is available for small orders. 3.99 or so at smoking pipes, P&C, and WV Smokeshop. Larger orders, best bet is a hundred for free ship. P&C, 4Noggins, smokingpipes all have that. They are priority as well. Never waited more than three days from any listed.

 

[sablebrush52]

Smokers Paradise in San Jose has a pretty good selection as does their sister store, Edwards, in Los Altos. Telford's is the home of the Golden Gate Pipe Club and is highly regarded.

 

[cosmicbobo]

Tuold, Just looked at payless. Prices rock. Thanks

 

[mso489]

Pipe smoking seems to be regional. There are pipe smokers everywhere, but not customer-base aggregates. Even between states and regions of states in the East, some areas have pipes in antique stores and flea markets, and others almost never do. I think one of the original stores in the Tinder Box chain was on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, but for some reason that presence didn't carry over online so much. Tinder Box has (or has had) a web site where they sold their blends and house pipes as well as others, but I don't think they've made much of an online push. Pipes and pipe tobacco just haven't taken hold online on the West Coast.

 

[sablebrush52]

The Original Tinderbox Store was on Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica. It was a charming anachronism on a street of high rise towers, a small Fairytale Tudor bldg. The store licensed its name in the early 1970's to create a nationwide string of franchises, but the original store remained its own entity.

It's hard to resist a multi million dollar payday, so five years ago, Ed's granddaughter sold the property with a much reduced 5 year lease. The Tinderbox closed earlier this year after being in business of 90 years.
The Tinderbox will live on as its signature sign is being restored and will become an exhibit at the Museum of Neon Art in Glendale.

 

[badbeard]

Tuold, Just looked at payless. Prices rock. Thanks

Indeed! I already made a test order of some Pirate Kake, Dunhill EMP, and some other various things I needed. They even gave me a complementary tin of Cornell & Diehl Bijou because I registered and account and made an order. Outstanding.
Perhaps I should use the experience to write a review of the service in the Pipe Tobacconists sub-forum?
Thanks again for your help.. everyone! (but mostly tuold because I got free tobacco :D)

 

[mso489]

Sable, great Tinderbox history. Wish I'd visited the Wilshire store on my forays from the ship in homeport at Long Beach to downtown L.A. I did go with a shipmate to watch Wilt play one night.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I am left with a ship time between 5-7 days"
Count your blessings chum, I sometimes have to wait a whole month for my order to arrive...I do live on the other side of the pond however ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[badbeard]

Count your blessings chum, I sometimes have to wait a whole month for my order to arrive...I do live on the other side of the pond however

I can empathize with this. I occasionally enjoy a Swedish snus called "Etan", which we can't get here in the states. I have to order from Sweden, and it can take a similar time period(sometimes longer if customs feels the need to snoop around in my shipment). With that I tend to order a roll at a time to not have to think about it for a while.
With pipe tobacco, I am what a friend calls a "baccy-hopper". I have this neurosis, thinking I have not yet found "the one", so I am left constantly chasing that unicorn smoke. My wife finally reached a point of exasperation, and gave up guilt tripping me about how much pipe tobacco I buy. With all the amazing blends out there, I am almost certain I can keep this up indefinitely.. although my bank account may not endure.