Notice for out of production blends

[WVOldFart]

It seems to me that it would be a benefit to the tobacco companies and to the customers if there would be a notification of when a blend was going out of production. Usually the customer finds out that they no longer can get a blend when they go to purchase some more and find out that they will never get it again. This has happened to me a couple times. Luckily I have enough Match Hines Mixture and Captain Black Copper for several reincarnations, but as you know two rooms of tobacco are better than one. It seems to me that if the company would place a notification on their website that a blend would soon be out of production so the customer should restock their supply one last time, it would satisfy everyone. What thoughts do the forum have on this?

 

[OverMountain]

Agree!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When McClellands went out, for months beforehand people posted that the end was coming, and the OG's on here kept telling people not to believe rumors. They were belittled, and became the butt of jokes... "only believe things when the company actually tells you." And, the posters insisted that the McNeils had told them.

Then one of the forum OG's, Pipestud, came on here and posted that the company was really going out of business, and that the McNeils had told him to post it. Ha ha, so I was setting in the Briary when it was posted, so the owner of the Briary called and talked to Mary, on speaker. She told us that it was silly, they weren't closing. Even after the letter from the McNeil's was posted on here. I questioned the post, and was also belittled.

Two schools of thought... fear that if people know that a product or company will end, people will not buy it... or, if announced some people will buy it all up.

I was in the camp that gassed up the truck and drove to every B&M in the Southeast and bought up all of the 5100 red cake there was to be found. Either way, someone will get left out. So, it doesn't make much of a difference. blame the game, not the playa.

 

[ChonkyTonks]

I recall seeing a story about how @JimInks got the makers of EGR to not kill off that tobacco. If tobacco companies put out an EOL notice for a blend, I wonder how much feedback they would get that could turn that tide and reverse the decision. I know that some blends die out simply because the original ingredients are no longer available, but I wonder how many are simply a matter of not being big sellers.

 

[ThermionicScott]

That would definitely be nice for us customers. I imagine it would be a pain in the ass for the producers. After determining which blends weren't making them money, it would be an extra step for their marketing/customer service/whatever department to take, and then they'd have to field a bunch of "oh, but I liked that blend" emails/social media posts. Now, if a blend is special and has a champion like @JimInks, then the tide can be turned and they'll start making money on it again. But if it's just a handful of people and a blend that wasn't particularly special, then no one would end up happy.

 

[PA Piper Mike]

Yeah, it would be nice if they did give a heads up that a company or blend was coming to an end, however, if it is a popular blend/company, chances are there will be a run on it. I guess that if you have a blend you love, stock up now, so if the day ever comes, you have little to worry about because you are fairly set.

What's the adage? Tobacco will never be cheaper than it is today.

Take advantage of the price and sales of today if you can.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I guess that if you have a blend you love, stock up now, so if the day ever comes, you have little to worry about because you are fairly set.

+100!!!! Don't belittle us for cellaring, and then whine because you didn't buy a lifetime supply of your favorite out of production blends. One more benefit to stocking up is that 10-20 years from now, you will be smoking tobacco that you paid today's prices on, instead of paying whatever inflation or extra taxes were put on it. Tobacco will never be cheaper than it is right now.

 

[PA Piper Mike]

+100!!!! Don't belittle us for cellaring, and then whine because you didn't buy a lifetime supply of your favorite out of production blends. One more benefit to stocking up is that 10-20 years from now, you will be smoking tobacco that you paid today's prices on, instead of paying whatever inflation or extra taxes were put on it. Tobacco will never be cheaper than it is right now.

Amen! I am at a point where I know what I love and when those 15-20% sales pop up, I'll put in an order for a $100 or so (gotta take advantage of that free shipping ) throughout the year. After a while that starts adding up.

Other times when certain limited runs take place, I'll buy 3-5 tins of said run and if I need another $20-40 to get to the threshold, I'll drop in another 8oz of Quiet Nights or SotE Flake. I'd rather spend a little extra and get more tobacco than save it to pay towards shipping.

 

[WVOldFart]

+100!!!! Don't belittle us for cellaring, and then whine because you didn't buy a lifetime supply of your favorite out of production blends. One more benefit to stocking up is that 10-20 years from now, you will be smoking tobacco that you paid today's prices on, instead of paying whatever inflation or extra taxes were put on it. Tobacco will never be cheaper than it is right now.

I have always had a stock pile of my favorite blends so the out of production tobaccos doesn't really effect me. I would imagine that many out of production blends are due to lack of sales, so posting a notification would probably only effect a limited amount of people. It would just be a nice customer service procedure.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I would imagine that many out of production blends are due to lack of sales,

McClelland stopped producing Red Cake for months before they closed, because they could no longer source the exact components that were needed. So, there is always the possibility that a lack of ingredients could be the reason.

 

[Aomalley27]

@cosmicfolklore Small correction/clarification: McC didn’t go out of business; (which implies a closure for financial reasons) but merely closed up shop.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I don't assume or think it is implied when I see an ad for a "going out of business" sale there is any negative financial connotation. Seen it with retirements, seen it with simply moving on, seen it with failure - going out of business means you intend to close, IMO. All sorts of contexts where that phrase is used that don't suggest a business failed or struggled in some way.

 

[WVOldFart]

I don't assume or think it is implied when I see an ad for a "going out of business" sale there is any negative financial connotation. Seen it with retirements, seen it with simply moving on, seen it with failure - going out of business means you intend to close, IMO. All sorts of contexts where that phrase is used that don't suggest a business failed or struggled in some way.

What I am referring to is when a company like Sutliff decides to stop making a certain blend, it is "out of production" when you go to order it. The company hasn't failed or out of business, it is just the blend that they decide not to make anymore.

 

[sablebrush52]

The McClelland closure was one of the best, and worst, kept secrets in the pipe biz. I knew about it months before, but had promised not do tell, and so did many others. They had contacted many of their dealers months in advance, so that the dealers could inform their most devoted customers and allow them to stock up before the speculators, piranhas, and crazies swooped in. Once the news got out, remaining stocks got swallowed up and eBay was full of McClelland at 500% to 1000% mark ups. The milk of human kindness never fails to surprise me.

Around the same time, BAT announced that they would cease to make the Dunhill blends and gave an 18 month window for customers to stock up. Eventually, STG negotiated with BAT to continue making the blends under the Peterson banner, which is what is available today.

Most of the rest of the tobacco business doesn't give a fuck.

 

[woodsroad]

Notification of product line changes serves no useful purpose to the pipe tobacco industry. If it was in any way beneficial to them to tell customers about a discontinued product, they would be doing it already.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yehhh, as I've always said... the one reason I am not loyal to any brands or companies, is because they aren't loyal to us.

 

[Markem]

I agree with @woodsroad. If the company sees an advantage to some strategy, then they are likely to use it.

One way to think about the prior notification strategy:
Once announced, those who do not smoke that blend won’t care but those who do are more likely to both complain and try to change the company’s plans. All this really does is waste company resources dealing with disappointed, and sometimes angry, customers.

 

[mingc]

Fake news.

 

[woodsroad]

News of McClelland's demise had been circulating for years. Mike complained of a bad back. Chronic pain is no joke. He had also made it clear that his blends would not be licensed.

 

[SmokeRings79]

I think that the downside of such an announcement would be that the retailers might be tempted to increase prices or stock in in order to sell at a much higher price through other platforms. The result will be that the same amount of tobacco would be sold at a much higher price, when the retailers make the profits and not the end customers.