McClelland Tobacco Still Going Up

[pappymac]

Penzance sucks! :mrgreen:

Yeah? Well I wouldn't waste a match of Black Frigate!
As for the original post, I see nothing wrong in investing in rare tobaccos and then selling for a large profit down the line. People do it with antiques, classic cars, rare wines etc. all the time.
I have a 100 gram tin of Frog Morton Cellar locked away as well as a variety of other McClelland and Dunhill blends. They are locked away because if I ever find the key, I won't be able to resist smoking them.

 

[chilly65]

I didn't buy tobacco as an investment. Since 1995 I have just bought too much. I have about 1400 tins, mostly McClelland. I have been selling off tins here and there for several years, way before the closing of McClelland was announced. As it turns out, buying tobacco has been a better investment than gold, silver, or the stock market. I am just amazed how much prices on McClelland have continued to climb.
As far as gouging, I will sell at whatever the market is paying. Tobacco is not a necessity, so if people want to pay big bucks for it, as they do with pipes, watches, wine, artwork, etc, I do not intend to give my stuff away.

 

[rmpeeps]

I have to agree with Mike. I bought way too much also, and after seeing what the sold tins realized, my wife told me I should have bought another cargo trailer full of McClellands back in the early 2Ks. After 32 years of marriage I’ve just about trained her to think right.

 

[mityahicks]

Sales is a job, as is tobacco prospecting. For me this is my hobby and escape, and I make enough money at my job. I have some mcc tins I intend to smoke I payed retail for.
It is nice to see our hobby has such value to people. If I very decide to exit the hobby, I'm glad there is a market for my stash.

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

As far as gouging, I will sell at whatever the market is paying. Tobacco is not a necessity, so if people want to pay big bucks for it, as they do with pipes, watches, wine, artwork, etc, I do not intend to give my stuff away.

And I, for one, don't blame you one bit. Pipe smoking is not a necessity. It is a luxury for people to be able to afford to buy nice pipes and good tobacco to smoke in them. So if no one likes it, they can go pound sand and move along. Just don't buy it. If I was in the market for something like that to smoke and I had smoked it before and I loved it and wanted some to mark a special occasion, or even had the money to burn, I'd buy it and not give a second thought.

 

[briarbuck]

I just sold a can of Margate to an African King for $40,000,000 (because he needed to get his family wealth out of his country).

I gave him my checking account number. I am rich!!!
PS: I think the word "Gouge" hit a nerve. There's only one way I know of interpreting that word. Just sayin...

 

[robcapp]

I am just amazed how much prices on McClelland have continued to climb.

It will be interesting to see how much higher they go. I wonder at what point the price stabilizes. Is it possible the current price is not sustainable?

Apologies again for the inference in my first post, Mike Unintentional and poorly worded on my part.

Way to keep him honest

Ummmm, I think you'll find, if you read all but one post in isolation, that I don't at all need to be kept honest.

 

[sablebrush52]

I am just amazed how much prices on McClelland have continued to climb.

That's a little bit of a simplification. Right after McClelland closed, prices on everything McClelland exploded across the board. After several months a number of the blends dropped by about 30% and have stayed there. It's the star blends that have remained high, or crept higher.

Is it possible the current price is not sustainable?

There are a lot of factors at play, but at the heart is supply vs demand. People will smoke their treasured purchases, and in 5 to 10 years there will be a lot less of it around, so that's one part of the supply side. On the other hand, a lot of McClelland hoarders will be croaking out and their cellars will be coming on the market, so that also affects supply.
Demand is an unknown. It's possible that demand will be less, not more, or that laws will be enacted to restrict the private sale of tobacco on the aftermarket.
Some of the long time McClelland holders think there is going to be a bonanza in about five to ten years, making these prices seem like the bargain of the century. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong. Stick around and find out.

 

[xingpao]

I think some McClelland blends will remain low and some will do very well in the coming years. Some of the blends have a pretty good following but were generally under the radar and people buy as much as they can find.
Xmas cheer and anniversary stuff, the orientals and green can virginias don't seem to have enough legs to me. The syrian lat blends and things like pebblecut and honeydew seem to have a hardcore following and there doesn't seem to be as many tins floating around.
I could be wrong, wrong, wrong, however, but at $100 for a 3.53 ounce tin, it just doesn't seem reasonable that in 5 years people will be shelling out $200 plus. Not for most of it anyway.

 

[sablebrush52]

Xmas cheer and anniversary stuff, the orientals and green can virginias don't seem to have enough legs to me.

The Christmas cheers have a very strong following and McClelland's reds were among their top sellers. The 40th was a small release, only lasting one year, amounting to 20,000 tins in total. A drop in the bucket compared to Dark Star, Blackwoods Flake, and others which were released year after year. The McClellandheads I've spoken with think that the 40th will eventually become a sky high treasure. But nobody really knows. It could all become landfill.

Personally I don't much care as I bought it to smoke it. But having 30+ tins of McCrainie's isn't exactly a bad thing.