My Experience with Exclusive Baki Distributor TuWon Meerschaum on AliExpress

[AJL67]

I think this guy has only a basic handle of the English language. He may barely understand the emails he gets. It could also be that he is making more from the Asian market and could care less about the U.S.

I personally would never do business with this guy. Maybe just find another maker. IMP is well liked by many people and are simple to get.

Asian market is definitely the focus of the tobacco world in general now. Billions of consumers. More than 50% of all Habanos production has been sold in the Asian market since 2020 and most of that is directly in china.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

I think this guy has only a basic handle of the English language. He may barely understand the emails he gets. It could also be that he is making more from the Asian market and could care less about the U.S.

I personally would never do business with this guy. Maybe just find another maker. IMP is well liked by many people and are simple to get.

I believe all communication is auto-translated by the app, so I suspect my messages to him read just as poorly. At this point my interest in doing business with this store is two fold: I have a morbid curiosity about what I would receive if he sends me the pipe I ordered, given that I know someone else has had that exact pipe for a couple years, and I do still want a Baki, preferably new.

I read a good amount about different premium meerschaum brands and the most consistent praise I could find was for Baki. Altinay, Tekin, IMP, and SRV all had good feedback, but Baki had the fewest detractors and the most effusive praise of any. My thinking now is that worst case scenario he sends me a similar pipe (I'm wondering if he just has Baki make a lookalike when a pipe is ordered) and I contest the order based on his claim that all pictures are exact item pictures. More likely he never gets back to me, but we'll see.

 

[5star]

Thanks for this thread. I think it’s saved me money, time, & hassles. Ive learned from past experiences (involving products other than pipes - there’s a few horror stories ) not to want something so badly that good sense is thrown out entirely. Good luck with your search.

 

[cigrmaster]

I believe all communication is auto-translated by the app, so I suspect my messages to him read just as poorly. At this point my interest in doing business with this store is two fold: I have a morbid curiosity about what I would receive if he sends me the pipe I ordered, given that I know someone else has had that exact pipe for a couple years, and I do still want a Baki, preferably new.

I read a good amount about different premium meerschaum brands and the most consistent praise I could find was for Baki. Altinay, Tekin, IMP, and SRV all had good feedback, but Baki had the fewest detractors and the most effusive praise of any. My thinking now is that worst case scenario he sends me a similar pipe (I'm wondering if he just has Baki make a lookalike when a pipe is ordered) and I contest the order based on his claim that all pictures are exact item pictures. More likely he never gets back to me, but we'll see.

I get it, you have an obsession with Baki and will go through hell to get one. I was the same way with my favorite artisan pipe makers and I would not settle for less. As long as you use a credit card or paypal, you can always dispute the charge and be made whole.

I wish you good luck in your hunt.

I

 

[MarcosEZLN]

Ok, I've decided to post my final update here as I think I'm done hoping this store will work out. I did eventually receive some more responses from TuWun Meerschaum but they're not much help. Here's the full exchange:

7/15 Me: I'm attempting again to contact anyone at this store. I've sent multiple messages and even emailed trying to ask if there's a problem with my order but don't know if anyone has received my messages. Please contact me.

7/19 TuWun: hello,my friend. am so sorry for delays response. It was limited send the parcel because of the pandemic control.

7/19 Me: I wondered if that might be the case. Is the pipe I had ordered still available? I would like to reorder the pipe but I'll wait to hear from you. If it's still available please let me know.

7/23 TuWun: sorry again. the aliexpress app seems some problem. Can not get your message in time. Have checked the pipe which you order, but it had been sold out in China market. sorry again. The stock must be syncronized manually.

7/23 Me: That pipe still shows as in stock when I browse your store. Please let me know when you have synchronized your stock, as l'd prefer to shop only pipes that are actually available. Thank you.

They haven't responded since then, and that pipe is still available to be ordered. I know that things might be very chaotic in China with the strict lockdowns, but I don't understand taking several days to respond to messages and I absolutely can't get on board with leaving out of stock items available for days on end after you realize they're unavailable. Unless I hear otherwise from another source I'm considering this store out of commission for orders, which is a bummer. Feel free to try your luck but don't get your hopes up that you'll actually receive anything you order

 

[AJL67]

Thanks for this thread. I think it’s saved me money, time, & hassles. Ive learned from past experiences (involving products other than pipes - there’s a few horror stories ) not to want something so badly that good sense is thrown out entirely. Good luck with your search.

Certainly seems to apply here ?

 

[PipeIT]

Well, hopefully this is just bad business, like any thing can go wrong at times anywhere.

I just messaged today, to find out about a pipe supposedly in stock, lets see how this goes, I hope it does, and I’ll keep us all posted.

P.S. One thing that seems really odd, is what appears to be the Merchant, in the photos, he covers his face with an animated face, rhetorically speaking, why would you cover your face like this. hmm

 

[Chasing Embers]

why would you cover your face like this.

Anonymity

Game developer Yoko Taro has never revealed his face even in the wake of the success of his Drakengard and Nier titles.



Graphic novelist Shirow Masamune wouldn't reveal his face for years though he was renowned for such series as Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed, and many others. Do most of us not do the same with profile avatars?

 

[PipeIT]

I understand, it’s just that he should of simply cropped himself out of the photo to have a more professional image displayed for e-commerce.

This isn’t professional in online business.

Anyhow, no worries, I just hope I get a timely reply is all, and that’s 24-48 hours.

 

[Chasing Embers]

This isn’t professional in online business.

Few things are in the tobacco trade.