But wow... I got 40% of on Cobblestone today. 20 tins for under 200 bucks. Just sayin'
Say Whatcha Want About STG...
- Thread starter jbfrady
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Those are Kopp blends if I remember correctly. That’s a crazy good deal though. They aren’t talked about much, but people say they’re really good burley blends.
this is true, but the site (cupojoes) is STG, as was the recipient of my PayPal purchase
Not to be that guy but yeah, that's cause cup'o and tobaccopipes are being chucked on the scrap heap lol. They're probably fire-selling inventory off so that when they combine them both into Pipes & Cigars in the next couple months that they won't even have to pay someone a few extra bucks to drive the spare inventory back to Bethlehem.
Big monopoly logic... it's cheaper to give the $80 million dollar plane to the Taliban instead of filling it with a few grand worth of JP-8 and flying it to Saudi Arabia...
Even if that's the case, it's only partially so. They didn't lose a cent by running the sale because even if there isn't a full 40% of markup at the regular price, the inventory was included in the purchase of these businesses.Not to be that guy but yeah, that's cause cup'o and tobaccopipes are being chucked on the scrap heap lol. They're probably fire-selling inventory off so that when they combine them both into Pipes & Cigars in the next couple months that they won't even have to pay someone a few extra bucks to drive the spare inventory back to Bethlehem.
Big monopoly logic... it's cheaper to give the $80 million dollar plane to the Taliban instead of filling it with a few grand worth of JP-8 and flying it to Saudi Arabia...
It's more likely a market test to see how much people pay attention to these businesses. Both cupojoes and tobaccopipes.com are running 12 days of Christmas sales while each of them is running different offers. It's a legitimately good idea. Beyond that, it's probably to counteract the quasi boycott against them.
Boycott? The vast numbers of pipe smokers don’t care and that would include PM smokers. Beyond a few posters who weren’t purchasing their tobacco anyway from STG, there is no boycott.
Hence my calling it a quasi boycott. It was encouraged on the radio show a few weeks back.
I get it. I just don’t believe it will have any impact. Smokers are going to smoke and for most, price and accessibility drive their decision-making. In order for a boycott to actualize, it must have enough numbers to impact economics. STG is factoring in economies of scale that will render most pipe smoking decisions by individuals irrelevant. They have the products that the majority of pipe smokers want and have made a decision not to compete in boutique blends. And isn’t a boycott if you aren’t buying from them what they don’t offer.
I can’t imagine not purchasing BCA or Lane RLP-6 or PS Nugant - all blends necessary for my own private blends. They made it clear that blending Perique and blending Latakia are sold by others and this isn’t their gig and won’t be selling those blends. - adios Sutliff. Lane and Peter Styokkebe tobaccos remain unaffected. Why would anyone who already smokes these blends give them up?
Cut off the nose to spite the face is about what sums it up.
One of the dudes from STG was on here yesterday giving us information and answering questions but the fucking thread got shut down because people went off topic and started arguing. Shame.
I'll still by STG products in the future, I just think it's sad to see Sutliff shutting down their factory. It was only when I heard the news that STG were taking over that I found out that Sutliff were the oldest pipe tobacco manufacturers in the US. They've been going since 1849 and it's sad to see that all come to an end and that the hard working people their are losing their jobs just before Christmas.
That's obviously an unfortunate consequence, but I think it's the result of the market they've participated in. They competed heavily in the good-for-the-money market and most consumers don't understand that it's the toughest space.
In order to put out a bulk blend cheaply, you have to acquire the leaf in extreme quantities, which takes a lot of capital. And the problem with the final product is... sure, it's affordable, but it's slow to move. The capital sits illiquid in a mass of inventory (plus the cost of warehousing) and if the market shifts and the consumers find something even cheaper, then they'll buy less and at some point, the great deal has no profit.
It's like wine. 9 in every 10 bottles sold clock in at ten bucks or less, so people open wineries expecting to dominate that market. But by the time you get the costs down far enough, you've sunk all your money into the product and so unless it sells, you have no cash.
Yeah, I don't know the ins and outs of how the business works. I understand STG are a business and they're answerable to their shareholders. Shutting down Sutliff obviously makes business sense to them. I don't have anything against STG and i'll still buy their products.
I'm just sad to see the oldest blending house in the US have to shut down. All that history coming to an end. Then you've got the workers - some of whom have worked there decades - losing their jobs. All that tobacco blending skill and craft going to waste. It's just a shame, that's all.
The announcement of the Sutliff factory was made recently to the workers. However, I was under the impression the factory is still operating until early 2025.
It is but "early 2025" starts 6 weeks from now lol. If they're looking to shut down by the end of the 1st quarter that means we have a couple more months of production if we're lucky. And that doesn't necessarily mean production of all the different blends they offer at once. Some may already be gone. And what's even more, this is assuming a standard calender financial year. These days many public companies started their 1st quarter of FY2025 in October of 2024. If that's the case the factory will probably shutter within the next 2-4 weeks.
Enjoy it. All it is is looting the corpse of TP and CupofJoe.