"Out of Stock" Becoming the Norm?

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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
If the online retailer will email you when they restock, that's best. If you still want it, you can order it, if not, not. I assume online retailers know that, over all, they lose business when things go out of stock. Some will order and wait; some will ask for an email and may or may not buy later; and many will just shrug and move on. Mostly, you don't sell products you don't have.

 

mordy18

Can't Leave
Mar 12, 2019
381
1,369
Northern New Jersey
As a new guy, pipe tobacco seems awfully cheap to me, compared to cigars. Granted, there is a lot of labor that goes into rolling a premium cigar that is absent with pipe tobacco, and there is a lot of marketing cost with cigars that is absent in pipe tobacco, but still, a $10 50g tin of premium pipe tobacco will result in a cost of $0.30 a smoke roughly? That's pretty inexpensive. A decent cigar will be $5-6 minimum. So doesn't cost people too much to hoard.

 
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litup

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 16, 2015
722
2,206
Sacramento, CA
It's been about 5 1/2 months since I first calculated the out-of-stock rate of tins at SPC so I thought I'd update it as of today because I was curious. As of now, they have 1,106 tins listed and 844 are in stock. That means that 23.6% of their tins are out of stock which is slightly lower than the 24.2% percentage back in March.

So things aren't getting worse. Not yet anyway.
 
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alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,348
42,247
Alaska
I get it though. They want you to know that they do carry the blends so that when they come in you know you can buy them there. But it is does harsh the ol' TAD buzz that's for sure.
 

craig61a

Lifer
Apr 29, 2017
5,767
47,571
Minnesota USA
Up until a couple years ago, much of the stuff that was listed was in stock; and it may have sat on a vendors shelf for some time.

Now there’s more demand, more people In the hobby, more boards posting drops, etc. and volumes are probably greater to take advantage of free shipping. And the whole FDA thing looming.
 

litup

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 16, 2015
722
2,206
Sacramento, CA
Yeah, I definitely agree that people cellaring blends with a frenzy has to be one of the prime factors in the unavailability of many blends.
 

hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,006
20,750
Chicago
It's because of all these doomsday hoarders who order 20 tins of stuff they've probably never even tried. SMDH


That and the profitters. I refuse to fund someone else's pipe smoking by buying overpriced tobacco so the upside is I get to try new blends and have discovered some wonderful new ones!
 
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mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
To a degree, the out-of-stock syndrome seems to apply to pipes as well. The concept seems to be you will be emailed or come back to check on the coveted pipes. It makes the retail sites more cumbersome. For those in a mood to window-shop, it may be just as well. If you are after a particular pipe, soon, it can be annoying. Some sites post faded/dimmed photos of the sold pipes, to give you an idea of what might be available in the future without getting your hopes up.
 

logs

Lifer
Apr 28, 2019
1,873
5,069
Now there’s more demand, more people In the hobby

Is this true? Have the total number of pipes smokers actually increased substancially in the last decade? That's not what I've seen. I work at a college and am surrounded by young people all the time. Many of them smoke, but it's all vaping and weed. Even if some young pipe smokers have come into the market, I don't buy the idea that they're contributing to shortages in Esoterica, Wessex, Gawith, Rattray, and Germaine. If anything new smokers are going for Cult Blood, Hobbit Weed, and the lastest greatest aromatic. They don't want old man tobacco, at least not in the US. In the Asia market perhaps it's true, I can't say. In the US, I'd say panic hoarding is the far more likely suspect. The biggest change I've seen in the last decade is the number of pipe smokers who have started cellaring who never did before.
 
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seanv

Lifer
Mar 22, 2018
2,958
10,405
Canada
Cellar wide and cellar deep. You never know when the next order may arrive. With the looming doomsday date fast approaching, there may only be one or two more “drops” of esoterica or gawith left. But again, who knows. Maybe not much will change.
???
 
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jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,570
27,079
Carmel Valley, CA
Certainly some blends are getting hyped demand due to a number of factors, internet being the prime mover and shaker. But I doubt there's much of an increase, if at all, in number of pipe smokers or tons of tobacco moved.
 
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logs

Lifer
Apr 28, 2019
1,873
5,069
C&D, whatever else you might say about them, seems to be the exception. There's no doubt they've grown and are one of the few pipe tobacco manufacturers who seem to have made the most out of the volatility of the current market. After all, what happens when hoarders want to buy Rattrays and Gawith but miss out on the drop? C&D is there always with something new to tempt them.

What other company has introduced so many new blends at a time when it seems like the last thing to do? From a conventional marketing standpoint it looks crazy and reckless, but taking into account the kind of panic buying people do nowadays where they drop $200-$300 on tins in a single purchase, by that standard it starts to make sense to always have some new "limited release" blend designed for cellaring that sucks up a portion of that money. C&D doesn't have the prestige of the famous English blending houses, but it turns out they don't have to. Not when you have smokers wringing their hands and repeating "cellar wide and deep" like it's the end of days.
 
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irishearl

Lifer
Aug 2, 2016
2,146
3,762
Kansas
Have never cellared and never will for financial reasons. Have always only bought bulk and only enough at a time for 4-6 weeks. Frankly, even if I had the funds now to grab a ton, wouldn't do it for fear of wasting $ in that, while I hope to have another 20 years of life, am at an age when I may not be promised tomorrow.
 
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