Estervals: Is The Party Over?

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Jan 28, 2018
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Sarasota, FL
Whether its USPS or US Customs or both that is/are to blame, the fact is that packages were being returned to Germany with no opportunity for the intended recipient to intervene. Estervals is as much in the dark as to how or why this happens as we seem to be.

As an aside, I will say that I was kind of disappointed with a tin of Director's Cut that I received last year.

Some have reported the newer version of Directors Cut had changed by substitute DFK for Perique. The blend certainly benefits from age.
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,820
45,492
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I have to disagree with the first paragraph. US Customs will return packages to the sender either at their discretion or, as has been the case with some Estervals orders as well as nasal snuff orders, on the order of the USPS. There have been numerous cases of this recently - I myself watched a package of snuff make it all the way to my local PO, only to be returned once I inquired about it. It made it all the way back to a PO on the Isle of Man, where I believe it still sits to this day.
I spoke with a US Customs agent when my Estervals order suddenly got sent back to Germany. US Customs was not involved at all. She also explained that US Customs does not order anything to be shipped back, nor does US Customs ship anything back. They have no authority to do that, nor do they have any budget to pay for doing that. They seize and hold until a dispute is settled, or send to auction, or destroy if the dispute is not settled.
The action was taken by USPS, in my case because the package was "inadequately addressed" according to the USPS tracking data. Whether that was because of a bad printing job by Estervals, or the inability of the overburdened and inadequately maintained "readers" at the USPS I haven't a clue. The USPS has been nothing but an increasing shambles for several years now.

But US Customs doesn't ship things back, according to US Customs.
 

Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,820
40-60$ shipped from overseas is exorbitant...? Tell me how. Shippers in different countries have to deal with their local postal/package services, and Govt. regulations.
I guess my idea of exorbitant is just relative to what Ive paid before to have packages shipped from Europe and arrive in 3 days for half of what they charged to arrive in 4 weeks. If $50 is what it actually cost them then fair enough.
 

Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,820
You think THAT'S expensive? One of my friends, who does a lot of business with Germany told me that Esterval's could have used DHL for door to door, but that would have run about $140.

What they did worked for several years and then it didn't. Problems were definitely on the rise in 2019. They might have been happening earlier for all I know. My Estervals shipments were all smooth sailing in 2018 and earlier.
But to be honest, the last batch of HU blends that I bought were disappointing.

K&K, who blends for Hans, had started substituting cheaper components in these blends as well as skimping on the cocoa and Malawi that went into Makhuwa, such that they didn't much resemble what I have bought earlier, certainly not what I had bought directly from HU in 2016.

So while it's kind of a shame, the blends that I had grown to love just weren't being produced in the same manner and so far as my palate was concerned, were no longer in existence. Hans confirmed that Director's Cut was not the same when he tried a more recent batch.

I'll live with what I have, and I hope that the kilo of Director's Cut that I bought in 2018 will eventually settle into something worth smoking.
I bought some Makhuwa and Directors Cut from them in late 2019. I thought they were decent blends but didn't quite understand all the rave reviews at the time.
 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,106
It seems to me that the onus placed on tobacco by the medical community is at the heart of all shipping
constraints, else why aren't shipments of other goods similarly impacted? That community has linked with governments to rid the world of the scourge that is tobacco. Their data tells them that tobacco in any form and by whatever use is harmful if not deadly. A differential analysis based on cigarettes vs, cigars and pipes either has not been done or has been obviated by the data they have.

They have come to the rescue of a public hoodwinked by advertising and the formidable power of Big Tobacco. I have often wondering why, in the face of demonstrable evil, that the federal government, claiming such, does not by fiat shut down Big Tobacco, the Mafia, towing companies, Big Pharma and insurance companies.

Ahh, but in the next breath they would have to shut themselves down, as they partner in economic crime.
Greedy m*therf*cking wretches!
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,820
45,492
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
I bought some Makhuwa and Directors Cut from them in late 2019. I thought they were decent blends but didn't quite understand all the rave reviews at the time.
If you ever get an opportunity to try HU blends from 2016 or earlier you'll be surprised at how much different they were. They're OK now, they were GREAT then. K&K produces a lot of blends under different names, and differences in other blends, like Rattray's, have been mentioned here. I'm glad that I heeded the message and cellared before some of my favorite blends got K&K'd.
There's a blessing for me in this. I'm not so nearly tempted to buy anything that K&K now produces. And Estervals being available or not doesn't matter to me one bit.
 

greeneyes

Lifer
Jun 5, 2018
2,153
12,261
I've emailed them in an attempt to explain the situation re: offering a FedEx option. I'm not sure it will make much of a difference, frankly, as they've had a fairly obstinate attitude toward my emails in the past. We'll see.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,149
7,612
Terra Firma
I spoke with a US Customs agent when my Estervals order suddenly got sent back to Germany. US Customs was not involved at all. She also explained that US Customs does not order anything to be shipped back, nor does US Customs ship anything back. They have no authority to do that, nor do they have any budget to pay for doing that. They seize and hold until a dispute is settled, or send to auction, or destroy if the dispute is not settled.
The action was taken by USPS, in my case because the package was "inadequately addressed" according to the USPS tracking data. Whether that was because of a bad printing job by Estervals, or the inability of the overburdened and inadequately maintained "readers" at the USPS I haven't a clue. The USPS has been nothing but an increasing shambles for several years now.

But US Customs doesn't ship things back, according to US Customs.
Fully understand, however that's the story USPS is feeding people. I went so far as to file a complaint with US CBP, specifically letting them know that USPS is throwing them under the bus. At the very least, it could start a conversation between the two agencies, right? Pfffff, I live in a fantasy world.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,820
45,492
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Fully understand, however that's the story USPS is feeding people.
Correct. It's a story that USPS is feeding people. USPS is responsible, not Customs. BTW, when I spoke with the Customs Agent about this she went to GREAT pains to avoid directly saying that is was a USPS made up story. She wouldn't comment in any way about the USPS. She simply took me through the reasons why Customs was not involved, which also included my pulling up the USPS tracking data and looking at it while on the phone with her.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,149
7,612
Terra Firma
Correct. It's a story that USPS is feeding people. USPS is responsible, not Customs. BTW, when I spoke with the Customs Agent about this she went to GREAT pains to avoid directly saying that is was a USPS made up story. She wouldn't comment in any way about the USPS. She simply took me through the reasons why Customs was not involved, which also included my pulling up the USPS tracking data and looking at it while on the phone with her.
Same experience when I spoke with them. Could it be that USPS agents have a little authority and are abusing it, perhaps to the detriment of local law and international treaties?
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,820
45,492
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Same experience when I spoke with them. Could it be that USPS agents have a little authority and are abusing it, perhaps to the detriment of local law and international treaties?
I have no idea. I have no idea if anyone was experiencing the same issues with packages from other companies, or was all of this Esterval's specific. It's a mysteriously fragrant filling wrapped inside an enigmatic tortilla.

In any event the guillotine has landed and Germany is lopped off.
 

pantsBoots

Lifer
Jul 21, 2020
2,149
7,612
Terra Firma
I have no idea. I have no idea if anyone was experiencing the same issues with packages from other companies, or was all of this Esterval's specific. It's a mysteriously fragrant filling wrapped inside an enigmatic tortilla.

In any event the guillotine has landed and Germany is lopped off.
It has been occurring with assorted tobacco products from various countries, as reported across several forums I am on.
 
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sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,820
45,492
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
It has been occurring with assorted tobacco products from various countries, as reported across several forums I am on.
That's interesting. It's hard to make too much of anecdotal claims, but if all true, it certainly suggests that some sort of policy has been set with regard to consumer purchases of tobaccos from foreign vendors. This might have more to do with increased restrictions on importing tobacco in line with some of what I was reading on FDA Deeming related timelines.

Oh well, Germany kaput!
 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
61,407
567,457
Some have reported the newer version of Directors Cut had changed by substitute DFK for Perique. The blend certainly benefits from age.
Actually both were always present. Originally, the DFK was a condiment and the perique had a higher standing in the mix. Now, it's the reverse. When I apprised Hans of the situation, he was surprised and unaware of the change. I suggested he smoke some of the old stuff, and compare it with the new. He did, and had to agree with me. He also told me that DC was selling better than ever, so I imagine nothing will change.
 
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