Question for debate

[PipeIT]

I wanna drink Dom and drive Lamborghini's every day...

My station in life doesn't allow that; UNFAIR!!!

Oh well, sucks to be me I guess...

Well, you could always save up and buy one bottle of Dom, and rent a Lamborghini for the day, to at least say, you’ve been there done that.

 

[craig61a]

Well, you could always save up and buy one bottle of Dom, and rent a Lamborghini for the day, to at least say, you’ve been there done that.

Precisely - just as I could save up and buy a bag of Eso...

 

[prairiedruid]

Pipestud works for the sellers, if he doesn't provide value the sellers will go somewhere else. Is he supposed to charge less, costing the seller money, because someone feels the price is too high?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

A seller, who controls a market, can indeed set the price. Such has happened many times over the centuriess. , Steel, coke, railroad fees, the price of grain.meat and such have often been totally controlled by owners. Not a good thing nor, necessarily a bad occurrance, depending on the goal of the people who have a corner on some market. Usually not good for the general population though. Sometimes though, such cornering stimulates economic growth and may create the stimulus to improve manufacturing methods (improved/newly invented production tools, improved marketing, etc.) TMI I'm sure. My apologies.

That's true when there's a monopoly. Hardly the case here.

 

[Ahi Ka]

Precisely - just as I could save up and buy a bag of Eso...

I’d take pretty much anything in those stacked plastic tubs of yours than esoterica any day of the week.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Has PipeStud and/or 4 Noggins collectively lost their shit with prices and artificially inflating the tobaccos market or are we as pipe smokers to blame to actually paying these bat shit crazy prices to them ?
Case in point
Germain's Esoterica Stonehaven 8oz bag - Year 2021 - https://www.pipestud.com/product/tobacco-tins/germains-esoterica-stonehaven-8oz-bag-year-2021/
https://4noggins.com/collections/co...fflehead-gawith-hoggarth-rum-flake-8oz-2002-c

Debate....

Pretty disappointing in several ways, but fun to rant and type without a filter I guess.

Clearly not "artificial" - I don't think you know what that means but doesn't apply to what Steve does. Buy it or don't buy it.

If it sells, it was priced appropriately --- and it sold very, very quickly.

 

[Arthur Frayn]

About five years ago. I took a trip to my local B&M. Mostly a cigar shop. On the pipe tobacco shelf, he had 2 tins of Margate and 2 off to bed and one of Stonehaven. They were $12 each. I didnt know about the unicorn turd thing but I had heard that these were tasty. So bought them. On the way home, I cracked open the Margate. TBH, its an english of good quality. Nothing magical about it, IMHO. There are many bulk blends available right now at 'normal prices'.

There is so much hype right now.

Best to put one's focus there. Only buy blends you like. There are so many great one out there. Enjoy the smoke and the pipes you have.

 

[Arthur Frayn]

 

[Epip Oc'Cabot]

As an old codger…. I can say I remember fondly scraping together enough money to go down to the local pharmacy as a young kid, and “a bit” nervously buying a pouch of Sir Walter Raleigh “for my Dad”. I believe it was less than a buck, and contained about two ounces. I am sure the fellow behind the counter knew it wasn’t really “for my Dad” because of my nervousness and not really looking at him.

I had been used to “borrowing” pinches (or more if I though it would go unnoticed) of my Dad’s SWR for quite a while, but had grown impatient for him to open the unopened pound can he had in the kitchen cupboard. He had jam packed his tobacco pouch so full that he wouldn’t open the new can for a few days at least.

So… the prices mentioned by the OP…. too rich for my blood. But, for those that can afford it and would like it…. no problem.

To this day, 90% of my pipe time is spent with SWR or Prince Albert. I guess I am not a “connoisseur” of the “finer” things. But… I do like my pipe tobacco….just in a more budget friendly fashion.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

Enjoy the smoke and the pipes you have.

^^^^This is sound advice and will help one live a happier life.

 

[rmbittner]

I don’t understand why discussions of this sort always seem to end with people disparaging the blends themselves.

I happen to love the Esotericas I’ve smoked and find them to be extraordinary blends deserving of their reputation. I certainly understand why others may not agree. But I don’t think I’ve seen any other blender’s work disparaged here in the same way that people seem to enjoy attacking Esoterica—and mostly for something that has nothing to do with the company or the actual blends in the tins/bags.

 

[burleybreath]

I don’t understand why discussions of this sort always seem to end with people disparaging the blends themselves.

I happen to love the Esotericas I’ve smoked and find them to be extraordinary blends deserving of their reputation. I certainly understand why others may not agree. But I don’t think I’ve seen any other blender’s work disparaged here in the same way that people seem to enjoy attacking Esoterica—and mostly for something that has nothing to do with the company or the actual blends in the tins/bags.

So how many pounds are you sitting on for future sale? [Joke...heh.]

 

[telescopes]

Honestly, there are some amazing blends out there. The focus on the hard to get blends is a bit of idiocy. If anyone truly believes a hard to get blend is worth the extra dollars, versus simply getting a comparable blend that is readily available, well, then it was never about the smoke. There are so many reasonable alternatives to Penzance and Stonehaven. And from what I am tasting they are just as delicious.

 

[sasquatch]

Yup. People fighting over Penzance and I'd rather have Commonwealth. Or Old Ironsides. Special stuff is fun, but good stuff is easy to come by.

 

[craig61a]

UNFAIR!!!

 

[Chasing Embers]

deserving of their reputation.

That reputation came from a couple of missed shipments in the mid 2000s when smokers started screaming that the sky was falling more so than the quality of the tobacco itself.

 

[sablebrush52]

Esoterica, Esoterica, Esoterica...

A seemingly endless topic for conversation. First people were complaining because they couldn't buy it at the handful of on line stores because it sold out to hoarders in nanoseconds. Never mind that the stuff was sitting on shelves in B&M's for weeks and weeks.

Now people are complaining because the prices on the secondary market are 400% to 1000% of retail. Smokers created the frenzy by mythologizing the blends. Then the frenzy created competition for the blends, as well as a cottage industry in scooping up bags from the neglected B&Ms for a much better return than stocks, resulting in high prices for these blends. You succeeded, beyond your wildest nightmares, at creating this monster. And you're still not satisfied? Sheesh!

Through all this I, and a great many others, bought bags of the Esoterica blends that we liked to smoke, and smoked them, never paying more than retail. And, we shared how we did it. I stopped buying the stuff in 2019, except for a couple of bags of Dunbar in 2020, as I had enough for my use. I'm glad that I bought what I did, when I did, especially since some of the Virginias have been swapped out and the blends are not of the quality of their earlier product. Those 2021 bags of Dunbar are crap.

I wouldn't pay retail for the new stuff.

So how about this. Instead of outrage, harbor an attitude of smug superiority over the dummies paying these prices for inferior versions because they're buying a label instead of the contents. You will be relieved of any and all angst and sleep better at night. Isn't that better?

 

[kcghost]

We answered this question a few times already. If a manufacturer is capable of getting a huge price for a tobacco, I have no problem with it. And I don't see why you are objecting to it. I think if I was pipestud who is only reselling tobacco for other people I would be more than a little angry with you. If you don't want to pay it, then don't the buy thing in question. No one being forced to buy the tobacco.
Excuse my bluntness but if you don't understand the difference in the original cost of something versus perceived value you are a lost cause.

 

[craig61a]

Well, that pretty much sums ‘er all up. And it was a pretty good story, too. Parts anyway. I didn’t much like people ragging on Pipestud though… But then I happen to know there’s more Esoterica on the way. I guess that's the way the whole durned human comedy keeps perpetuatin' itself down through the generations. Westward the wagons, across the sands of time until we - ah, look at me. I'm ramblin' again…



P.S. Until a few weeks down the road when somebody opens yet another thread on Esoterica, etal and the injustice of tobacco prices on the secondary market…

 

[JOHN72]

From dust we came and to dust we shall return.