Have You Noticed A Slow Down In Sales/Trading?
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I was being a little tongue in cheek with the comment but I might. Always forget how much space cigars can take up.
I was making a joke more than anything else but the question is hard to answer without getting into macroeconomics
I think it's an individual dance.
When I first started buying tins I tried whatever C&D or Pease tin was on the shelf, then I got a taste for Skiff and went manic trying to buy tons of it, and just assumed all SG blends were unicorns... It was out of stock everywhere so when it came back, I tried to scoop it all up without breaking my budget.
Same for all the other EU blends...
Then I looked around and had 2-8 tins of all the ones I liked or, in some cases, figured I would like but wanted to age.... Between that and a couple of road trips for work, a couple 20% off sales on SP and a few random orders, I figured I was well provisioned for 3-5 years...
I now plan on zeroing in on no more than 11 blends that I just can't live without and buy those when my stocks run low/they are available.
That 11 could easily turn in 33 blends but I have now smoked enough to know that each blending house has one or two that are going to always be in my cellar and a number of others that I am just so-so on. I have left the age of innocence....
When I first started buying tins I tried whatever C&D or Pease tin was on the shelf, then I got a taste for Skiff and went manic trying to buy tons of it, and just assumed all SG blends were unicorns... It was out of stock everywhere so when it came back, I tried to scoop it all up without breaking my budget.
Same for all the other EU blends...
Then I looked around and had 2-8 tins of all the ones I liked or, in some cases, figured I would like but wanted to age.... Between that and a couple of road trips for work, a couple 20% off sales on SP and a few random orders, I figured I was well provisioned for 3-5 years...
I now plan on zeroing in on no more than 11 blends that I just can't live without and buy those when my stocks run low/they are available.
That 11 could easily turn in 33 blends but I have now smoked enough to know that each blending house has one or two that are going to always be in my cellar and a number of others that I am just so-so on. I have left the age of innocence....
I'd only guess it relates to the $65 beef roast and the $9 head of cauliflower. Pipes and tobacco sell on discretionary spending, and discretion is tight right now. It's cyclical. And the debt limit thing. 'Nuff said.
I am not sure why you need more than 1 pipe. You certainly don't require more than 1 blend.
In fact, smoking is not productive toward the state. Better send me all your pipes and tobacco for proper reallocation.
Ali gave me a great deal on them and both are two of his XLs. The billiard has a 3 inch chamber depth!
It's anecdotal but my observation at the Chicago show this weekend was that sales of both pipes and tobacco were strong when the prices were reasonable. There was a table where a couple young guys were selling aged tins at probably 80% of the going rate and their tins were flying off the table. And many artisan pipe makers sold out or came close to it. So what you're seeing on the forums could be a combination of macro economics, seasonal fluctuations, people over-pricing their inventory, and consumers saving up their money for Chicago.
Personally, my sales are up, but they aren't pipe related.
I get that. Economics is way more complicated then people want it to be. Which is totally understandable. It's really not a very pleasant thought when you realize that terrible combination of no one really understands it or has control over it yet it's so easy to mess up. Kind of like you shouldn't ever take pathology classes, you realize how crazy it actually is that nothing has killed all of us yet. How many horrible things come from little tiny things.
There are times here where I want to explain a thing and realize it butts into politics a little too far. Kind of like how sometimes your sleeve just touches something wet and wicks it up.
I know the first half was at someone else. I personally like Kaywoodies and can't stand Scottie Piersel pipes. I mean nothing against them and it's great she's trying something unique but those shanks just look flimsy (doesn't matter that they aren't, kind of like when you watch a movie and you know the guy isn't going to die cause he's at the end of the movie too but you still feel the tension).
For sure. Economics is like a complex max equation. One variable could be wrong or accidentally omitted and you end up with a wrong answer.I get that. Economics is way more complicated then people want it to be. Which is totally understandable. It's really not a very pleasant thought when you realize that terrible combination of no one really understands it or has control over it yet it's so easy to mess up. Kind of like you shouldn't ever take pathology classes, you realize how crazy it actually is that nothing has killed all of us yet. How many horrible things come from little tiny things.
There are times here where I want to explain a thing and realize it butts into politics a little too far. Kind of like how sometimes your sleeve just touches something wet and wicks it up.
I think pipe shows may occasionally cause a dip in sales nationwide, if not worldwide, but over time, I think they stimulate the market rather than depress it. People get together and gin up enthusiasm for pipes, and see new pipes they'd like to own, and it keeps things moving. All of the pipes from pipe shows, and even the pipe tools, remain as little landmarks in my pipe smoking life.
Because of life circumstances, I'm not sure I'd get to pipe shows except that one of them is held up the street, and I can't resist. Also pipes are sold at the state fair, that same venue.
Because of life circumstances, I'm not sure I'd get to pipe shows except that one of them is held up the street, and I can't resist. Also pipes are sold at the state fair, that same venue.
The great thing about the pipe hobby, is it can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want in tougher times to just have a puff…. High end pipes and aged tobacco or the opposite. You want aged tobacco age it yourself, if you have the time. I’ve noticed some good price estates on SP.com, but I generally buy new, so don’t know much about that market.
The other thing is Tinbids, people would rather put things up there hoping to strike gold, there are many tins on that site that are fresh and still trying to get 20 bucks over retail for them. That being said there's a good chance some of if not all of those bags will show up on Tinbids and go for quite a bit more than here netting a profit for the flipper.
and so much of it relies on predicting what people will do. Which seems really easy until you put it into the blender of everything in the world that is happening. I sometimes feel like the most important thing economically governments do is just temper or encourage enthusiasms intentional and otherwise. Like as much as their policies make a difference just how people feel about it does too. Then there is the weird combination of long game and short game with the economy. Honestly I am impressed people can keep it going at all sometimes.
I suspected the same thing after the Chicago show. But I kinda recognized a hiatus leading up to the show too. Perhaps people were saving for the show.