Online Retailers for Canadian Pipe Smokers?

[pipenscotch]

So as a Canadian, I have to endure some of the most backwards and ridiculous taxes when buying my tobacco. As I'm sure many of you know, or have experienced, a 50g tin of tobacco on average costs me around $32-37 when bought at a local shop.
I've ordered from smokingpipes.com before, but my package was dinged at the border, and I ended up paying more for the taxes than I did for the tobacco.
I've heard good things about pipesandcigars.com, but I've heard the best customer service (for those afflicted by horrendous tobacco tax) comes from 4noggins.com
So have any of you Canadians out there ordered from 4noggins.com, and have recommendations? Or is there another online retailer out there that can provide better service?
pipenscotch

 

[damnyak]

Hey Pipescotch, I am new to ordering from the US as well, from my "studying" 4 noggins had a fairly high shipping cost to Canada, I've ordered from smokingpipes.com shipipng is reasonable, and got through no tax or duty, I ordered 200g. I have also ordered from Boswell's. Dan was super helpful again I ordered 7 0z, which is is about 200g and it came through without getting dinged. I don't know why? I know buying tobacco here is insane, and stuff going through the boarder whether it gets hit or not baffles me. I have even ordered $400 hiking boots and I didn't get hit.. I think its just luck of the draw my friend!

 

[bigvan]

Pipes2smoke.com is located in Toronto. Pipes are a bit more high end, but their Compton's line of tobacco is first rate. Give it a shot!

 

[damnyak]

Bigvan, went to check out the Pipes2smoke website, and it states..."No Canadian sales accepted - as per Section 13.(1) of the Federal Regulations governing the sale of tobacco in Canada."
Seems kind of moot? No?

 

[nsfisher]

A Canadian based Company that won't ship to Canada, now that makes alot of sense.

 

[bigvan]

Sorry about that... I had no idea.

 

[ghost]

I've had great service through 4noggins. You can choose different shipping methods at different costs, if you can wait awhile it's not very expensive. (Note- I said "if you can wait"...) :wink: I've done the expensive shipping option, and it was extremely quick to arrive here in Ottawa. I do the second option now, so it's slower but you still get a tracking number.
I'd really prefer to support the local B+M's, and I still purchase from them occasionally, but as noted above the prices are so unreasonable compared to online. (Edit- it's not their fault, of course...) Even with shipping charges, I find I'm still ahead of the game.
"A Canadian based Company that won't ship to Canada, now that makes alot of sense."
Only in Canada, eh?

 

[nsfisher]

Yes I do agree, 4noggins is my favorite. I deal with them exclusivly now.

 

[steyrshrek]

I'm in Ontario and I've bought all my tobacco from the the states, my last pound got hit with duty, but even with shipping, duty and tax added it was still half the price of local B&M prices.
It's also the first of 16lbs that I've had to pay duties and taxes on.
Samuel Gawith goes for $26/50g plus HST thats $29.38/50g
I paid 90.50 for 500 grams of FVF including shipping and exchange, duty and HST at the border were $50.22 thats $140.72 or $14.07/50 grams.

 

[barkar]

Because here in Canada there are different tax rates on tobacco depending on province so shipping between provinces is a problem also I do believe its against the law to mail tobacco sales within Canada so that is likely why the Canadian store only ships to USA.

 

[santi]

I'm in BC, we just had ANOTHER hike on tobacco, starting April 1st 2018.
"During yesterday’s provincial budget announcement, the BC NDP announced another tax increase on tobacco beginning on April 1, 2018. The tax rate on cigarettes will rise from 24.7 cents to 27.5 cents per cigarette, which is equivalent to a hike from $49.40 to $55 per carton of 200 cigarettes.
The increase is forecast to generate an additional $95 million for the provincial government for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which will grow BC’s tobacco tax revenues to a total of $825 million per year.
This will be the second tax hike on tobacco in BC in six months, with tax rates on cigarettes going up on October 1, 2017 from 23.9 cents to 24.7 cents per cigarette.
All of this is on top of other taxes, including the federal and provincial sales taxes and the federal excise tax. The average combined taxation in Canada on cigarettes is about 70% of the retail price."
This quote just mentions cigarettes but pipe tobacco (ALL forms of tobacco) is included as well. Up to $10 more per tin at my local tobacconists. Unreal. Pipe community, feel my pain! Pray for me. And for a consistently custom/duty-free online shipping source.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Tobacco in Canada is dead. People should all just stop buying tobacco (from within Canada, you can get a lot of Tax Free cigars in one trip) and wait 10 years for public opinion to open up to the idea of recreational tobacco again.

 

[coldsmoke]

I use the following stores in order of preference:
4Noggins.com

CupoJoes.com

Smokingpipes.com

Tobaccopipes.com

 

[briarblues]

Rant beginning now ....... I also live in BC. There used to be 8 ( yes eight ) true pipe shops in the Vancouver area. Between tobacco taxes, anti smoking laws, and land lords not wanting tobacco selling stores on their properties, there is only one shop in Vancouver. City Cigar, which as the name suggests is a cigar shop, but also has an excellent selection of pipes, and pipe tobaccos. FWIW including some McClelland's for anyone willing to pay CDN / BC prices. Around $52.00 per 50 gram tin.
To acquire a tobacco retailers license in BC ( last time I checked ) was a $40,000.00 CDN ( per year ) cost. A wholesalers license was $100,000.00 per year cost. As a retailer you must license or are restricted, by the license, on the size/s quantities you are permitted to sell. So depending on the license you may be limited to selling quantities less than 8 oz, in a single purchase. These figures are from about a decade ago, when I was seriously looking at retailing / wholesaling GLP tobaccos for Canada.
I suspect pipes2smoke is under similar restrictions, being in Ontario. Plus they ( Maxim ) would need to collect and submit exacting records of all he sold within Canada. For all non Ontario sales he would be required to submit the tobacco taxes for each region he sold to. That alone is a huge undertaking. He would also be required to have an Ontario tobacco retailers license and if it's as costly as BC, that ends that pretty quickly.
I cannot say for other provinces, BUT in BC, we may not smoke in a pipe / cigar shop. The shop may not allow clients to touch tobacco products. The shop may not legally give a client a free sample of any tobacco product. So no offering even a single bowl / cigar to a good client. `
The days of the cordial pipe shop, in which one may sit, enjoy a bowl and chat with staff are gone in BC.
On a side note ... according to our federal governments records .... only 14% of the population smokes. They acquired these numbers through calculation of tobacco tax collection. As I do not buy my tobacco in Canada, I am not counted as a smoker. I know of very few Canadian pipe smokers that purchase their tobacco in Canada!
Rant off......
Regards

Michael J. Glukler - who will now go back into his cave, light his pipe, and gripe about tobacco prices in BC!!!

 

[mikethompson]

Thanks for the insight Michael!
Virtually all of the Canadian pipe smokers I've met on this forum buy their tins from the states and not from local brick and mortars or online sources. Its simply too expensive. Now I've seen behind the curtain and know how expensive it is for retailers too.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Apparently, Americans are doing something very right, how comes, all consumer goods, prices on fuel, cars, and groceries are all cheaper than anywhere else in the western world' I find that phenomenal and really interesting,

 

[9mmpuffer]

The first pouch of tobacco I bought, 24 years ago, was Brigham Buttered Rum. I can't remember what I paid but it was also the last tobacco I ever bought in Canada. I live in Ontario. As a sidenote, it wasn't a very good tobacco.
In my opinion, our gov't is stupid because pipe smokers just find better alternatives. I take advantage of the 200 gram duty free limit per person, any time we travel to the USA, or my family travels to the USA. It's simple, just ship 8 tins to wherever I'm staying and bring them back tax free!
There are also a few online shops in the USA that will send you what you want and accomodate you.
It's just too easy to find alternatives. All Canada did was kill local business, but, Canada is great at killing business, we are almost experts at it. We live in a global world and if things aren't fair, people find a way to make them fair.
I understand why Maxim didn't sell to Canadians (I believe he stopped selling period now), it's not worth the hassle and it's illegal to mail tobacco products in Canada. Why bother when there are 390 million people, 90 miles south, that are willing to buy.
I have a business that sells things online. Even though I'm based out of Ontario, 85% of sales go to USA and international. It's actually cheaper for me to send a parcel to Hawaii, or Alaska, that it is to send a parcel to my next door neighbor, that's how silly Canada is.
Canada was a really great country years ago. Now it's less great. It's still better than most (to quote Johnny Miller), but we are slowly killing it. Yes, we have healthcare, which I love and which is pretty great, but it's become a country that is un-affordable to live. Housing prices are stupid, taxes are stupid, energy prices are stupid, cost of living is stupid. Pipe tobacco, lucky, is easy to deal with. The guy who makes $100K a year and thinks he has a great job, has a much harder time when the average stick-built house in need of massive renovation costs a million dollars plus... Rant off.

 

[olkofri]

Can you bring more than 200 grams when going outside the country? Apparently the duty regulations specify we can bring in up to 5 (five) units of tobacco products, and 200 g of manufactured tobacco is only 1 (one) unit.
I'll be travelling to Europe within a month, God willing, and I plan on bringing in as much pipe toby and cigars as I can. But guess I should ask you fellow travelling pipers first, lest I run into a situation at the customs till.

 

[bassbug]

Straight from the horse's mouth (or, as I prefer to refer to our government, the horse's ass)
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/declare-eng.html#_s8b4

 

[loneredtree]

I read the above link. What is a tobacco stick? Sounds like rope. If so, how long is a stick? How heavy? Sounds like a loop hole..Which I doubt. :crazy: