Has Anyone Purchased from Altinok Meerschaums?

[cjgoh]

Well, after having made a 'come back' on pipe smoking & threw away my cigarettes, I've gradually warmed up to smoking Meers for all the good that has been said about them. So, I went and purchased one from Altinok on the 8th of February, 2013. I was informed that the pipe will have to be carved from scratch, and may take a month before they ship. But meantime, I have come across quite a few horror stories about purchasing Meers from Turkey Online Retailers. To date it is almost a month since the order was placed, and I can't help feeling somewhat apprehensive.

 

[admin]

 

[admin]

I am reluctant to dig this up again, but it would be impolite of me to post my sarcastic photo without an explanation - especially to a new member.
This topic has been discussed several times. Here's the last one -
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/storient-or-altinok-meerschaum

 

[brewshooter]

It is likely your pipe will ship in the next few weeks. There are a lot of problems with various meerschaum dealers, but many people have received pipes with no issues. My Altinook took a good month or more to carve and I didn't hear anything about it until I got the notice it was shipped.

 

[brian64]

@Groundhog Day pic: :rofl:

 

[rmbittner]

I haven't bought an Altinok, but I have purchase a non-branded meerschaum from a Turkish supplier via eBay. It arrived in less than a month, exactly as described.
So that probably isn't the least bit helpful.
To the OP, though, I will say that February 8 isn't "almost a month." It's not even three weeks yet.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

I ordered an Altinook LVC pipe just a few weeks ago. It was in stock and arrived in two weeks. It went very smoothly and the pipe was as I expected. Not a single complaint.
Not to say you necessarily won't have an issue, but if I was Altinook and I was witnessing the bad press Storient is getting on forums like this (and don't kid yourself, I am sure they troll these forums), I would be on my absolute best behaviour and try to go above and beyond the call of duty to make people happy. That's what I would do - it's just common sense - but as Mark Twain famously said, the problem with common sense is that it's not common. Good luck.

 

[flyguy]

...and Mr. Altinook is a member of this forum!

 

[cjgoh]

Oops... Looks like I've waded into a 'tacky' topic. But hey thanks guys for the assurance, as do look forward to another Meer. as the first one I got was intended for display only.

 

[admin]

No biggie man. Don't worry about it. Thanks for signing up and posting. Welcome to PipesMagazine.com.