My Experience with Exclusive Baki Distributor TuWon Meerschaum on AliExpress

[MarcosEZLN]

I figured this deserved its own post in case anyone has been looking into Baki pipes. 12 days ago I ordered a Baki from TuWon Meerschaum on AliExpress and while it was a good chunk of money I was pretty excited:



Within a couple days I came across a thread on this forum from someone who had ordered (and ultimately received) this exact pipe in 2020. Same picture, same item number, and he believed the pattern of the cumberland swirl was a match as well. After about a week with no shipping updates I messaged the store just to ask if the pipe was actually in stock and if it would be shipping soon. Ultimately I messaged them 4 or 5 times in the subsequent days and received no response. The messages still show as unread in our chat log, though the app shows the seller as having been recently active. I even tracked down a different user who'd had better luck communicating by email and he forwarded me a couple addresses to try. The email I sent also went unanswered.

Today the time limit for the pipe to ship expired and my order has been refunded. Obviously the exact pipe I ordered couldn't possibly have been in stock as someone else has been enjoying it for years. Oddly, though, "my" pipe did go out of stock just after I ordered it, suggesting the inventory management is automated. I can't imagine what kind of glitch would cause it to be still listed as available after it was ordered 2 years ago but show it as sold right after I bought it.

In any case, no one from this store ever communicated with me and the money I thought I spent was just in limbo for a couple weeks. I do still want to order a Baki, but I'm not exactly thrilled with TuWon's complete lack of communication and they're the only game in town. If it's a one man show I hope the guy is doing ok, but I'm not eager to try my luck again and order a different pipe. I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone has been on the fence and finds it helpful.

 

[brooklynpiper]

Love the cumberland and worksmanship I've seen in Baki's pipes but I've been following your misfortunes and won't be looking to order one.

Interesting what Embers says about the tight draw too.

 

[captpat]

I stopped looking at Baki pipes when he moved to Aliexpress — seemed sketchy to me.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

I stopped looking at Baki pipes when he moved to Aliexpress — seemed sketchy to me.

I've heard from multiple people who ordered successfully from this vendor, and many more who've used AliExpress with no problems. My money got refunded to me quickly, so I'm not so much sketched out as pretty confused. After my order being refunded the pipe in question is marked as back in stock, which makes me not trust any of the other "available" listings as accurate. I'm still eager to pick up a Baki, but my concern now is that TuWon Meerschaum has become a ghost ship. There doesn't seem to be anyone looking after things.

 

[camaguey]

I stopped looking at Baki pipes when he moved to Aliexpress — seemed sketchy to me.

So do i.

 

[jerry]

I am a big fan of Baki. I bought maybe four or five of them from Deniz Ural … but I also bought a few on EBay. So … you might want to have a saved search on EBay. Baki pipes do occasionally show up there.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

I am a big fan of Baki. I bought maybe four or five of them from Deniz Ural … but I also bought a few on EBay. So … you might want to have a saved search on EBay. Baki pipes do occasionally show up there.

That seems like my best bet at this point, thanks. I've had an eye out on eBay for a while but the scarcity of Bakis is what prompted me to find who's retailing them directly these days.

 

[NC TX ID pipeman]

I was watching Baki pipes on aliexpress for about 1.5 months every day..about 2 weeks ago last time.it seemed none of the pipes got sold during that time...I wanted to buy one but it seems something is weird about this site...The Calabash was sold about last week is no longer there... I think Baki did a mistake to shut down his US distributor but who knows....Having the only dealer in China with reputation going down hill will not help him any...

 

[isaac]

The problem is, they are selling pipes before it hits the site. I had reached out and was sent an email with about twenty pipes. I was told out of the fresh twenty, ten were already presold.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

The problem is, they are selling pipes before it hits the site. I had reached out and was sent an email with about twenty pipes. I was told out of the fresh twenty, ten were already presold.

I wouldn't really even mind them selling pipes before they list them on the site; that seems like their prerogative as a vendor. I just can't understand why they're showing pipes as available that sold years ago, and totally ghosting people who order them. Maybe they do more business outside of their AliExpress page and they've started ignoring it. Who knows.

Just out of curiosity, when you say you reached out and were sent an email, what means had you used to contact them?

 

[isaac]

I wouldn't really even mind them selling pipes before they list them on the site; that seems like their prerogative as a vendor. I just can't understand why they're showing pipes as available that sold years ago, and totally ghosting people who order them. Maybe they do more business outside of their AliExpress page and they've started ignoring it. Who knows.

Just out of curiosity, when you say you reached out and were sent an email, what means had you used to contact them?

I had used the chat function. They usually would respond within a day. I did reach out about a month ago, and it is still marked as unread.

 

[paulfg]

I successfully bought 2 pipes a couple of years ago from this vendor,but I have to say the communication was virtually non existent taking days for a response.
And if I remember correctly had one of the pipes I first chose was out of stock even though showing available on the site.
I had to choose something else
I too dont think it does Bakri any favours with this seller as sole agent.

 

[isaac]

I too dont think it does Bakri any favours with this seller as sole agent.

Im not sure about that. Seems like his Asian market is thriving. If they basically sell out before hitting the site, did he really go wrong? In the end, he is still moving pipes. Its just not to use common users.

 

[paulfg]

Im not sure about that. Seems like his Asian market is thriving. If they basically sell out before hitting the site, did he really go wrong? In the end, he is still moving pipes. Its just not to use common users.

well I guess yes,if he is selling all he can produce to that market then he is fine,doesnt matter that he wont sell many to the west due to the said problem

 

[PipeIT]

Well Turkey is Asia & Europe, so it seems for whatever reasons, he decided to stick to Turkey’s Asian roots, otherwise, if you want to sell primarily targeted at a Western Market, you aren’t selling on Aliexpress or Alibaba, or someone has misinformed him, into thinking/believing, that as an eCommerce site, that he’s online, and it’s fine.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Thinking about it now, has anyone had a successful experience since the pandemic?

I had always felt like they were a one-man operation over there. Given the stringent lockdown rules over there in China, I wonder how much that's affected the way they can do business.

 

[MarcosEZLN]

As an update, I finally received a reply from TuWun Meerschaum (I misspelled in my title) to my messages:

"hello,my friend. am so sorry for delays response."
"it was limited send the parcel because of the pandemic control"

That was a few days ago, however, and doesn't speak at all to the fact that the exact pipe I ordered couldn't possibly have been in stock. None of my follow-up questions about the pipe's availability have been read yet, but I'll keep updating as I get more information.

 

[isaac]

As an update, I finally received a reply from TuWun Meerschaum (I misspelled in my title) to my messages:

"hello,my friend. am so sorry for delays response."
"it was limited send the parcel because of the pandemic control"

That was a few days ago, however, and doesn't speak at all to the fact that the exact pipe I ordered couldn't possibly have been in stock. None of my follow-up questions about the pipe's availability have been read yet, but I'll keep updating as I get more information.

At least you made a friend

 

[AJL67]

As an update, I finally received a reply from TuWun Meerschaum (I misspelled in my title) to my messages:

"hello,my friend. am so sorry for delays response."
"it was limited send the parcel because of the pandemic control"

That was a few days ago, however, and doesn't speak at all to the fact that the exact pipe I ordered couldn't possibly have been in stock. None of my follow-up questions about the pipe's availability have been read yet, but I'll keep updating as I get more information.

You go now. Di-di mau. Very well quality. You like. No complain.

 

[cigrmaster]

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.