I found these threads before I made my first purchase and as a result have never even been to the P&C site. I don’t even know if they ship to my area. I am very glad for the gents griping on the internet to warn others.
Latest Pipes & Cigars Debacle
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I've never had any major problems with P&C, but I will agree and say that sometimes their packaging in not up to par. I have not recieved anything damaged as of yet, but I can easily see how it can happen. One thing I have noticed that is rather disconcerting is that they do seem to be out of stock on various items an awful lot. Even sometimes items they are actively advertising are not available. That's just poor coordination between their marketing and their inventory control and it can be a little frustrating.
Lately I have been ordering more from other vendors like SmokingPipes.com. Their products are about the same and they have more of the items I tend to use in stock. Their packaging is superior and shipping times are a little better. I think their website is superior for ease of use as well. Also their varity of estate pipes is better.
But that doesn't mean I am dissatisfied with P&C or will stop patronizing them. I generally toggle back and forth between the two.
Lately I have been ordering more from other vendors like SmokingPipes.com. Their products are about the same and they have more of the items I tend to use in stock. Their packaging is superior and shipping times are a little better. I think their website is superior for ease of use as well. Also their varity of estate pipes is better.
But that doesn't mean I am dissatisfied with P&C or will stop patronizing them. I generally toggle back and forth between the two.
I have found Tobacco Pipes to be the best with similar quality service from Smoking Pipes. Though smaller, I've made quite a few purchases from Watch City Cigars and Iwan Ries. A few from Peretti. And Estervals and Pfeifendepot in Germany. The performance and customer service from all of those is FAR superior to that of P&C. I've purchased thousands of dollars from P&C but no more. Enough is enough. The most powerful vote is the one you place with your wallet. Losing my business won't put them under but from the responses on this thread and others, they're clearly not gaining market share with their horrible service.
To paraphrase Mark Twain or Oscar Wilde or whichever witty person said it first, "Quitting P&C is easy. I've done it several times." So many bad experiences left me saying "never again" but then they'd put up a sale that was just too good to balk at and I ordered from them again.
I had an order with P&C about a year ago that was pending for about a week. I called and canceled the order. The order wasn't anything special, just some easy to obtain tins. I still order from them on occasion.
Tobacco Pipes to me has the best customer service, never have a problem and always the quickest shipping. It seems that I always get my order within 3-4 days. My last order was made on a Friday and arrived at my door on Tuesday.
What I like about Smoking Pipes is that the pipe you see is the pipe you receive. If I like a particular pipe because I like the swirl/coloring in the stem, then I'm going to receive that pipe. Also, they have a great selection of estates.
I'll order from P&C when they have a sale that I'm interested in.
Tobacco Pipes to me has the best customer service, never have a problem and always the quickest shipping. It seems that I always get my order within 3-4 days. My last order was made on a Friday and arrived at my door on Tuesday.
What I like about Smoking Pipes is that the pipe you see is the pipe you receive. If I like a particular pipe because I like the swirl/coloring in the stem, then I'm going to receive that pipe. Also, they have a great selection of estates.
I'll order from P&C when they have a sale that I'm interested in.
Since 2007, I have been hospitalized 7 times for a total of 33 days. On one occasion, the treating specialist told my primary care physician that I wasn’t going to make it. Another time, I was convinced that I wouldn’t. Waiting 7-10 days for pipe tobacco? Dented tins? BFD. Relax. Smoke a pipe while you are on hold to customer service.
I've personally found many of the Pipes and Cigars customer support team to be condescending, as if they're going out of their way to do you a favor. You're treated like a number, not as a human being. One hand does not know what the other is doing. There is a tangle of confusion and miscommunication behind the curtain that boggles the mind. Whether an item is 'in stock' or 'out of stock' depends entirely upon whom you speak to. Fortunately many of the Hearth & Home and Russ tobaccos are now available at other retailers. The only other tobaccos that they carry that I have any interest in, Gawith Hoggarth and Samuel Gawith, are perennially out of stock.
I ordered 20 tins of Dunhill Three Year Matured that they had on sale for $7.99 on Halloween. It still shows as in stock. And my order is still in processing status. I sent them a message inquiring what was going on two days ago. No response yet.
I pretty much wrote them off after a screwup early this year, but got suckered in on Dunhill sale.
I’ll probably call on Monday to see if they can ship it within a few days or cancel the order.
Then I’m absolutely done with them. I don’t care if have a sale on Stonehaven bags for $ 4.99... They are apparently too dysfunctional to run a business.
Out...
I pretty much wrote them off after a screwup early this year, but got suckered in on Dunhill sale.
I’ll probably call on Monday to see if they can ship it within a few days or cancel the order.
Then I’m absolutely done with them. I don’t care if have a sale on Stonehaven bags for $ 4.99... They are apparently too dysfunctional to run a business.
Out...
I only go to P&C for the in house Hearth & Homes blends. Everything else goes to Tobacco Pipes or Smoking Pipes. Mostly the latter. The P&C website seems to always show the most interesting things advertised in their mailI gs being backordered or otherwise unavailable. The thing I like about SP is that the exact pipe I see online is the exact one I’m buying. And I can filter my search to only things that are currently available.
M
Merton
Guest
I think it is fair to say that P&C is not in the same league as Smokingpipes on any level (quality and breadth of new pipes and brands, tobacco brands offered and certainly the estate department). My experience certainly has been that P&C's target customer are fairly new and new pipe smokers. Mostly they sell factory pipes and non-premium tobacco's. However, their sales and discounts sometimes provide bargains. I once purchased a new castello sea rock calabash from them for around $200.00 using the discount word. I almost think that they forgot to exclude the few higher end pipes they carry from the sale. In any event, their accuracy in shipping is not great and, as far as my experience has been, not remotely close to the level of service provided by SP.
Every hobby out there seems to need a whipping boy where, periodically, a minor inconvenience in service to a forum member turns into a torches and pitchforks “me too” thread. This turns into a feedback loop of sorts with statements of moral outrage.
It’s a pisser when orders get fouled up, lost or stock sells out but it’s pipe tobacco, nothing critical.
No affiliation of any kind with any vendor
It’s a pisser when orders get fouled up, lost or stock sells out but it’s pipe tobacco, nothing critical.
No affiliation of any kind with any vendor
Waiting two weeks, after a vendor charged your card, to find out your order can't be filled is more than a minor inconvenience. Not life changing for sure. In the past year, I've probably had around 100 orders fulfilled online if you add Amazon to the mix and other vendors. This is the only one this happened with. P&C stands out from everyone else and not in a good way.
P&C's main issue seems to be updating their inventory. Several times I've purchased big lots of bulk tobacco that is supposedly 'in stock' only to find out several days (or weeks) later that they've been backordered.
Some of the P&C exclusive blends are great, but their inventory/fulfillment system needs an overhaul if they intend to keep their customers.
Some of the P&C exclusive blends are great, but their inventory/fulfillment system needs an overhaul if they intend to keep their customers.
Being a burley fan, you would probably love Angler's Dream.
I hate how they do that. I hate it because it adds one more kink to the supply line. And if either your local post office or ups team are good at passing the buck then your package isn't going to be handled with care.
Ha, someone's been paying attention. That's one of your mainstays, isn't it? Looks to be 'in stock' but I never know with P&C.. guess I've grown a little wary of them.
You buy from them often, don't you? Have you had any bad experiences?
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Someone else has been paying attention. ?
I've had a banged tin here and there. The 2017 IPSD sale was bad and got double charged for an order but got double compensation in store credit as an apology. That incident caused them to revamp their shipping department and no issues since.
To their credit- the company does seem to have some integrity when it comes to righting their wrongs..
I'll continue to buy tobacco from them with caution; they have too many exclusive blends for me to stay away. On your recommendation, I'll pick up an oz or two of angler's dream in my next shipment.
Of course I'm paying attention. You're one of the few people so far who have openly engaged me in conversation and I appreciate your opinion.
I spend a lot there, as I do the other sites mentioned. Only bad time I experienced was the Esoterica drop a few months back. They ended up calling me about 3 weeks later and gave me pick of the litter on a fresh drop, limited to 1 item. I ended up with Peacehaven or Stonehaven, cant remember which.
When I do order I make sure it is in stock, so far I have not had one issue if it shows stocked. I get the impression they have more stock then is listed, they just do not get it added into the system in quick fashion. Hands down they are the cheapest on certain blends if you catch a sale but I also understand that means squat if it never shows up.
Also, SP’s offers regular customers a little discount on pipes with your bronze, gold levels whatever they are. Little gimicky IMO but its better then a hole in the head. COJ’s also has a reward program that is probably the better of the 2. Wouldn’t hurt P&C’s image to start something up, anything would help. Along with timely inventory managment, responding to emails in 24 hours and dropping the Surepost option and just doing USPS or UPS all the way like the other sites do.
Oh and quit sending those stupid $200 wine discount cards!!!
When I do order I make sure it is in stock, so far I have not had one issue if it shows stocked. I get the impression they have more stock then is listed, they just do not get it added into the system in quick fashion. Hands down they are the cheapest on certain blends if you catch a sale but I also understand that means squat if it never shows up.
Also, SP’s offers regular customers a little discount on pipes with your bronze, gold levels whatever they are. Little gimicky IMO but its better then a hole in the head. COJ’s also has a reward program that is probably the better of the 2. Wouldn’t hurt P&C’s image to start something up, anything would help. Along with timely inventory managment, responding to emails in 24 hours and dropping the Surepost option and just doing USPS or UPS all the way like the other sites do.
Oh and quit sending those stupid $200 wine discount cards!!!
I can't order from p&c here in Canada. SP.com gets a large percentage of my orders because they offer the cheapest shipping by far
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