Selling Valuable Cellared Tobacco

[pcfdave]

Not contesting the current prices in the tobacco for sale listings, but definitely a high rollers market. I also am old enough to know what you ask for isn't necessarily what you get. But it got me thinking of an interesting conundrum where if you sit long enough on stuff, it may become so valuable you can't get what it's "worth" or what you are asking for it. I currently don't have anything in that category but was wondering what those who did have tobacco's sitting in your cellar for decades that could command a high amount of money but you can't find a market for it because it becomes so expensive. Make sense? Any thoughts is appreciated in advance. Cheers!

 

[sablebrush52]

That's an interesting question, but how are values set? Generally not by sellers, but by buyers.

A seller can claim his asset is worth anything he decides it is. Doesn't make it so, except in his mind. Buyers will ultimately decide what a product or service is worth, and that may be a wealthy niche or a lower priced but broader based market.

Tobaccos sitting for years or decades doesn't guarantee demand. Brand recognition is a bigger factor.

After McClelland closed up shop their blends were selling for 3 to 5 times retail withing weeks. Now it can be 10 times retail for certain blends. Esoterica can be brand new and sell for 10x retail or more if it's Penzance or Stonehaven, slightly more if it's older. The market isn't discriminating in that way, but more importantly, there IS a market.

On the other hand, a decades old tub of some barely remembered OTC isn't going to get the same price because it's not a "star" blend.

 

[FLDRD]

I suspect that would be a highly unique, rare % of individuals who might have that problem. If one finds oneself in that scenario, it can be sold for less than that perceived "value", but likely still at a "profit" for ones troubles of collecting and storing; or one could smoke it!

 

[Doctor Chopper]

I vote smoke it. Cellaring for profit seems pretty tough to make it worthwhile.

 

[simong]

I smoke all of my aged & discontinued blends. That’s what they’re there for, to be smoked & enjoyed.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I don't make an investment of it, I cellared it to stay ahead of rising costs to have tobacco when I could no longer afford it. I just smoke it.

 

[geoffs]

it may become so valuable you can't get what it's "worth" or what you are asking for it

It's only worth what someone's willing to pay for it.

 

[timt]

I can play mind games with myself sometimes, it's a knack of mine. I tend to smoke out of what I have jarred more than my tins, just in case I decide to retire from pipe smoking, or take an unexpected dirt nap. The tins will be more desirable for someone to buy and easier to get rid of and I've got more than enough of my favorite blends jarred to keep me satisfied for years and years. So, that's my only money angle in all of this.

There's that single tin of Penzance I've been sitting on for a few years that I'm curious to try but can't keep from believing it'd probably be more appreciated by someone else... for a "small" fee. I should just smoke it, and then bitch about it.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

Or... You could host a Penzance night with your fellow Sconnie's!

 

[AJL67]

Agree with above, anything for sale is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

Personally i wouldn't post things for sale on here for 'tinbid' prices but that's just me and I probably would miss out on selling things for that reason, i think of this as my home pipe board and not out to try and get 600 for a bag for fresh penzance.. there are other places to do that.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Or... You could host a Penzance night with your fellow Sconnie's!

I split up four bags a few years ago and sent the contents to members here.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

What kills me, isn't that some guys are asking a whole lot for their cellar'd tobaccos, but that it just eats some guys up to no end that these guys are asking so much.

 

[timt]

Or... You could host a Penzance night with your fellow Sconnie's!

Had to look that up. My daughter goes to UW in Madison, so technically I'm not a Sconnie, just my avatar and my daughter during school. But, that would be Minnesota nice of me if I did that.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

I don't make an investment of it, I cellared it to stay ahead of rising costs to have tobacco when I could no longer afford it. I just smoke it.

This is my position. I have been preparing for years for when the day comes when tobacco just gets ridiculous expensive or unobtainable. Having said that, I've got a decent amount of McClelland in the cellar. Seeing how much these tins are selling for does occasionally give me pause.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Investing money now in pipe tobacco with the intent as a long term investment is not likely a great decision. If you bought a lot of tobacco and happen to have a surplus that's old, selling it at the current market price can yield a decent profit compared to what you paid for it. But if you actually analyzed the time cost of money, the cost of storage space, your time involved and the time/cost of shipping, still isn't that lucrative. The primary exception to that would be if you had a bunch of unicorns like Esoterica, McClelland, etc. that sold for less than $20 per tin and now may sell for $100 to $125 per tin. Or more.

Keep in mind though, most people aren't willing to pay a significant premium for some of the best aged tobacco. Try selling 5 to 10 year old tins of F&T CVP, MB HH Pure Virginia, etc.. I would smoke these any day all day before I'd pop a tin of Esoterica. However, in general, people are going to pay the high dollars more for the ability to brag to their friends than to actually enjoy a fine tobacco to smoke.

 

[pantsBoots]

You just sell it for less than "market" if you really want the cash, or you smoke it if it's something you enjoy.

I experienced something similar when I got into pipes 3 short years ago. I took to pipes and found myself sitting on quite a few aged boxes of Havana cigars just when the covid supply issues were hitting that market. I funded the building of a nice pipe tobacco cellar over the next 12 months by letting some of those boxes go. Sure, I could've let the boxes sit for sale a little longer until a more lavish hand made the purchase, but I was already making a profit off my original price and wanted the funds sooner rather than later. It felt like a win. Of course, I could've cleared between $100-400 more per box if I had waited until today....

 

[kcghost]

You should only sell when it is selling for is more than the enjoyment you are getting out of it. Then take a look at how you are going to sell it. This is tricky, if you sell it through eBay or the forum you will have to handle the shipping of it yourself. That is a huge PITA, but you do make more money that way. If you decide you don't want to do that then Steve Fallon is the only game in town. It is a nice option, but he charges significantly more. There are other choices, but they are much the same.

 

[sablebrush52]

I split up four bags a few years ago and sent the contents to members here.

I did something similar with Stonehaven for a few years. I would divide a bag into 1 oz portions and mail it out to people who had no luck with finding it. This was before the market for Esoterica blends got toxic, with retailers asking customers to jump through hoops, selling their shipments off to secondary market brokers at a steep mark up, of just plain gouging. I know it's their business how they handle their allotment, but it speaks volumes to me about how they view their customers.

Last year was a real eye opener. It's crazy out there. I'm glad that I bought when it was still relatively sane.

 

[sablebrush52]

You should only sell when it is selling for is more than the enjoyment you are getting out of it. Then take a look at how you are going to sell it. This is tricky, if you sell it through eBay or the forum you will have to handle the shipping of it yourself. That is a huge PITA, but you do make more money that way. If you decide you don't want to do that then Steve Fallon is the only game in town. It is a nice option, but he charges significantly more. There are other choices, but they are much the same.

You can't sell through eBay, and if you try to run that blockade you run the risk of it being seized and destroyed, with the money being returned to the buyer.

 

[kcghost]

Christ what was I thinking about. Yes, forget eBay that would be a disaster for you.