Esoterica

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

18 Fresh Estate Pipes
3 Fresh Bill Shalosky Pipes
New Cigars
3 Fresh Doctor's Pipes
120 Fresh Peterson Pipes

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

greenmtnsmoke

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 8, 2018
108
1,413
I was a carton a week cig smoker for over 30 years. When I quit a little over a year ago a carton cost $68. You can find 8oz bags of most of the Esoterica blends for that much on ebay if you put in a little effort, except for the big two. I would rather smoke 8oz of Dunbar or Dorchester a week than any damn cigs. Even spending $100 for a 100g tin of Dark Star is a better deal than a carton of cigs. This is just my opinion and I sure wish I would have discovered Va and VaPer 30 years ago. I will never go back!

 

cohibajoe

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 2, 2018
722
1,165
Branchburg, NJ
I was a carton a week cig smoker for over 30 years. When I quit a little over a year ago a carton cost $68. You can find 8oz bags of most of the Esoterica blends for that much on ebay if you put in a little effort, except for the big two. I would rather smoke 8oz of Dunbar or Dorchester a week than any damn cigs. Even spending $100 for a 100g tin of Dark Star is a better deal than a carton of cigs. This is just my opinion and I sure wish I would have discovered Va and VaPer 30 years ago. I will never go back!

PM on Dorchester...As I said...Some places are receiving Esoterica.

 

gerryp

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 8, 2018
704
2,368
56
Arabi, LA
One of my B&M shops got a shipment recently and I bought a can of Margate. I think it was around 16 or 18 bucks, which is close to what I'd pay online once shipping is added. I was expecting my socks to get knocked off, but they weren't. I like it, I'm not sorry I bought it, but it's not a favorite by a long shot and I probably won't buy that particular blend in the future given the availability and price of better English blends.
The Esoterica prices were more agreeable to me than the fact that one of their other locations had marked up their last tin of Royal Yacht to $22, especially since nobody was in a hurry to buy it. Hell, if I was going to price gouge I would have made it a little more worth my while. Maybe if they had marked it up to 50 it would have sold faster. Either way, 22 isn't that bad considering how much people love Royal Yacht. I think their last tin or Deluxe Navy Rolls was marked up to 25, and it didn't last long.
Right after McClelland announced their closure I bought a can of Frog Morton's Cellar, and I saw people on ebay charging $85+ for it. In that case I'd rather keep mine than sell it. It's a great blend, and enjoying it while I had the opportunity is worth more to me than a $60 profit. I should have bought another tin when my B&M had it though...c'est la vie.

 

hiplainsdrifter

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 8, 2012
977
14
That normal price jump you're talking about has already happened when the company sold the blends to the distributers and tobacconists. What is happening with Esoterica is different.
Nope. How many stages are there in the supply chain of a product? Probably a lot more than two for a bag of Doritos. At least the raw product producer, manufacter, distributor, and retailer. You are saying that if you add one more stage to a supply chain and it suddenly becomes evil. Disrespectful? You disrespected the many members of this forum that sell tobacco for more than they got it for, myself included. Most of these people are very generous and I often see them giving samples etc. away, but just want a good price if they are going to part with a rare item. I am happy to call you out for your disrespect.

 

georgebmcclelland

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 27, 2018
270
24
I guess I'll admit that, in my initial posts on this thread, my language was quite ungentlemanly and regrettable. I'll apologize for that and, though I stand by my opinions, I now feel that perhaps I should have just kept some of those thoughts to myself. I have no stake in the re-sale market, on either side, and was only expressing, rather too crudely, my thoughts on the subject; without taking into account the folks that I was speaking of. I didn't mean to offend and, while I still wholeheartedly disagree with you, I understand why you reacted as you did and hope you'll accept this apology for my poor choice of words.

 

davet

Lifer
May 9, 2015
3,815
330
Estey's Bridge N.B Canada
If someone is stupid enough to pay the ridiculous prices (in my opinion) that's entirely up to them. If someone is offended (their opinion) by the asking price.... don't buy it. It's really that simple. Salty Dogs is a wonderful plug tobacco but I won't pay that kind of money for it, my opinion/choice. :puffy:

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,576
44,693
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Nope. How many stages are there in the supply chain of a product? Probably a lot more than two for a bag of Doritos. At least the raw product producer, manufacter, distributor, and retailer. You are saying that if you add one more stage to a supply chain and it suddenly becomes evil. Disrespectful? You disrespected the many members of this forum that sell tobacco for more than they got it for, myself included. Most of these people are very generous and I often see them giving samples etc. away, but just want a good price if they are going to part with a rare item. I am happy to call you out for your disrespect.
With respect, this is baloney. GoeorgeB, please stop apologizing for having a point of view. Could it have been more objectively expressed? Yeah, maybe, but read these threads and you'll find lots of bluntly expressed points of view.
Aftermarket speculation is not the equivalent of production. Not in any way, not in any shape, not in any form. Speculators are not growing tobacco, curing, aging, or preparing that tobacco to be consumed. Aftermarket speculators are not creating or producing blends. Aftermarket speculators are not designing, fabricating, or maintaining the machinery to produce tobacco blends. They are not creating, nor maintaining facilities for the production of tobacco blends. They are not physically making blends. They don't design, nor manufacture, the containers for those blends. Aftermarket speculators do not distribute blends they created to the marketplace. Aftermarket speculators do not offer those blends to the consumer, where the initial chain ends. They are not the equivalent to producers. Aftermarket speculators are simply opportunistic economic parasites who exist only because there is a willing host. To the extent that they snap up and hoard product they distort the supply chain and the market. They provide no essential service. And all that said, it's not necessarily who they are, it's just what they do. And if buyers weren't willing to pay scalpers' prices, there would be no scalpers.
And you know what? A lot of economic activity is essentially parasitic. But it is NOT the same as manufacturing new product. A lot of investing is parasitic, though not all of it. I do commercial art, which helps in the creation of new product, namely animated and live action films. I also underwrite construction loans and partner in the construction of new housing that creates something that didn't exist before and offers employment to people. But I also invest in funds and do nothing to earn that money except write a check. So to some degree, I engage in economic parasitism. I just don't have the need to pretend that it's something it isn't, or that it's somehow noble.

 

spartacus

Lifer
Nov 7, 2018
1,020
791
Mesa, Arizona
Well, since I started this controversial thread I'll throw my two cents out there. My issue was I had never tried Esoterica. I didn't want to spend $60 a tin on eBay to try something I may not like. Nor did I want to buy ten different tins at once when they came back in to retail stores just to try them.
There have been some generous people on this forum that sent me some samples that allowed me to try different blends to see what I liked and didn't like. There were generous people on this forum that offered to sell me Esoterica at the legit retail prices they paid for it. To all of those people. Thank you!
I am someone who buys and sells on eBay. The only thing Pipe related I have sold on Ebay is a Savinelli pipe that I took a bath on. I do not sell tobacco only because I keep in my cellar and do not want to sell it. All my auctions are to the highest bidder. I started my Savinelli at $6 for an almost new pipe. It sold for what the market would pay for it. Which was $46 on a pipe I paid $120 for. That's what the market said it was worth. Same with tobacco, it's worth what someone will pay for it.
I have an affinity for Frog Morton Cellar. Unfortunately, I wasn't in this hobby when McClelland decided to close. So... I am one of those guys that has paid $65 for a 100G tin on a few occasions. If the price is right I will continue to purchase FMC. That seems to be the only tobacco worth it to me to pay the aftermarket price for.
There are some Esoterica blends that I really really like. Not enough to pay Ebay prices for though. Especially since there is the opportunity to acquire it in the future at normal prices. If it wasn't made anymore I still wouldn't pay aftermarket for it. I know others would and they have that right. Good for them, buy it, smoke it, and enjoy it. As far as those people that don't enjoy the hobby but buy everything they can and sell it for more on eBay; Good for them. If I want it that bad I need to make certain I get it before them. If I don't want to make that sacrifice then I can pay aftermarket for it or try again when it's available.
What is the Honus Wagner Tobacco Card worth. It doesn't matter what I think it's worth. The market says it's worth $2.1 Million Dollars. I'll pass and enjoy my $200 1962 Mickey Mantle card.

 

bent1

Lifer
Jan 9, 2015
1,129
2,978
64
WV
The people responsible for the rush to cellar are the politicians who pass laws to restrain our liberty.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
It is hard for me to believe that anyone who wants to try a tin of Margate, Pembroke, Dunbar, Dorchester, And So to Bed or Tilbury can't find it on line at shops for around $20,max, plus shipping. (I don't consider that a great price, but it is a common one) Any number of lesser known shops such as Country Squire, A Nice Ash, etc.have had tins of some of these blends listed for several hours. Unless you are a Facebook hater, there is an Esoterica group there where in stock alerts to these more obscure shops (and the more prominent etailers, too) are regularly provided. I have to assume that other brick and mortar shops are also the beneficiaries of the seeming increasing frequency and quantity of Esoterica drops of late. If you only want Penzance or Stonehaven, it is a different story, but for the last several months, the other tinned blends have been available at many different places and the listings have been good for hours.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
Unless you are a Facebook hater

There are a few of us on here.
I really don't understand,but whatever. Many people have scored their first ET from those alerts. How bad do you want the product?

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,576
44,693
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I can't say that I matched Ember's price point, but I paid in the mid $30's for my bags and need not buy another shred of it. On line is great if you're willing to stay focused on the hunt, or you can use a phone and make calls. Or you can become a regular customer with a B&M that has no online presence, one that carries Esoterica and get all you want when it's available. There's no need to go to scalpers if you live in the US.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,169
107,867
Or you can become a regular customer with a B&M that has no online presence, one that carries Esoterica and get all you want when it's available. There's no need to go to scalpers if you live in the US.
Bingo

 

3rdguy

Lifer
Aug 29, 2017
3,472
7,293
Iowa
FB for me is a blast. I use a fake name and only have pipe related things on it. I enjoy Pease posting his stuff, heads up on many blends not just Esotericas and made a few friends overseas that allow me access to many blends not being sold here.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
On line is great if you're willing to stay focused on the hunt,
The focus that is required is a fraction of what it was as recently as six months ago. Finding a tin of any ET on line and successfully buying it without it disappearing from your shopping cart used to be a challenge. Not so recently.
@3rdguy, +1

 
Status
Not open for further replies.