I frankly as a User Experience guy is not liking lots of the new features of the website. Some things are just too hidden and have become cumbersome for a new user. For me personally, its a good upgrade.
Sept 2015 Smokingpipes.com Upgrade
- Thread starter frozenchurchwarden
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SmokingPipes.com Updates
Watch for Updates Twice a Week
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I do not like the new site, at all, and it will impact the frequency I visit. Too much stuff going on, too hard to get at what I'm interested in, seems a mess UI wise. I work in tech and am sure I qualify as a hipster - this isn't the opinion of an elderly gent 
Same here, it looks more of a busy blog than an ecommerce website. They need to hire me to solve their UX issues. I just demand a 120k a year salary
I don't like changes, but I'll put up with them for the right price. It's good to support sponsors of PipesMagazine.com
Haven't been there for awhile as I haven't purchased any tobacco, much less a new pipe in months now so I'll have to check it out. What really irks me to no end, albeit this has nothing whatsoever to do with SP, is when comments, feedback, questions, etc. can only be done through a Twitter or Facebook account. Neither of which I'd join if you paid me.
Hopefully it takes more than working in tech to qualify one as a hipster. I do not think it can be done with external definitions. Hipster ultimately reflects internal motivations, e.g. Do you smoke a pipe because you think it makes you look cool/ironic/contrarian/iconoclastic, or because you enjoy it or believe in it?
I am wary of all things hipster, but would never support a pogrom against them. Here's the definitive resource:
I admit to finding my way around the site a little. What makes me happiest, if it could be called that, are echoes and resemblances to the old site, functions that seem direct and helpful. I still feel things aren't quite as accessible, and I find there is more clutter and distraction that seems to defeat the shopping process. It used to be, when you clicked on an interesting pipe, all the specs came right up with the picture; how helpful. Now you have to click again. Is that necessary? The site still feels slightly and not so slightly elusive, like I am chasing something I may or may not find. Before, there was no chasing to it. You wanted it, boom, there it was. I'll see how the learning curve goes, but I think they should keep tweaking to see if the customers sound any happier. I wonder how sales are going; I don't think they'll ever tell.
I don't visit the site enough to know what's new or not, but I'm bumping this thread to mention that SP has a sale on till the end of Sept. on C&D Bulk blends. 20% off.
In addition to 'hosting' our October Pax tobacco crawl featuring G.L.Pease blends, I figured out a way to buy enough for 'free' shipping. :wink:
In addition to 'hosting' our October Pax tobacco crawl featuring G.L.Pease blends, I figured out a way to buy enough for 'free' shipping. :wink:
I just realized that without a short history of previous updates, and without updates being listed by date, and with the "fresh" pipes listing on the homepage being somewhat randomized, it's nearly impossible to tell when they've updated.
Maybe it's an equalizer of sorts but I might just start checking the day after rather than day-of since there's no way to tell if you're wasting your time or not.
At this point it might be best to indicate the launch of each update with a blog post.
And then we would have a regular motivation to look at the blog.
And if they want to improve the experience you could even write a small article with a general description of each update along with some "featured pipes" that have unusual characteristics.
Maybe it's an equalizer of sorts but I might just start checking the day after rather than day-of since there's no way to tell if you're wasting your time or not.
At this point it might be best to indicate the launch of each update with a blog post.
And then we would have a regular motivation to look at the blog.
And if they want to improve the experience you could even write a small article with a general description of each update along with some "featured pipes" that have unusual characteristics.
It's amazing what some people think constitutes a "hipster"...
The new site design has almost no redeeming qualities. Alas, I won't buy from P&C on principal so I'll get used to it...reluctantly.
The new site design has almost no redeeming qualities. Alas, I won't buy from P&C on principal so I'll get used to it...reluctantly.
frozenchurchwarden,
I do believe that the Updates in Fresh Estates includes the new ones since the last update and those new in the last update (but not including those from the previous one shown as new therein). Whew...
I do believe that the Updates in Fresh Estates includes the new ones since the last update and those new in the last update (but not including those from the previous one shown as new therein). Whew...
General comment:
Since my initial observations, mostly negative, I now see Tag options in searches under Fresh and Estate Pipes which closely, if not readily apparently, mirror the old site's functioning.
I thought it fair to so state the improvement by way of return to original functionality.
Since my initial observations, mostly negative, I now see Tag options in searches under Fresh and Estate Pipes which closely, if not readily apparently, mirror the old site's functioning.
I thought it fair to so state the improvement by way of return to original functionality.
So full disclosure, I work for a competitor of SPC. And here's my take:
They had to update the site. For those of you who don't work in ecommerce, we live and die by search engine rankings and some of their old setup was hurting their rankings. Also, web design is CONSTANTLY changing. A site needs to be totally overhauled at least every 3 years to stay current (and maybe more often than that). Change is always tough for the people who are used to the old way, but I think they are seeing immediate rankings benefit which had to be at least part of the intent.
The functionality does seem to be a little lacking, but that's the hardest part to get right in testing. Willing to bet it will improve dramatically over time.
Reddit is a hostile place filled with trolls. Guess only a very certain type of male is welcome there and the rest of us are left scratching our heads.
Yes, hipsters are annoying in some ways, but we have a lot to thank them for. Much of the new crop of American carvers would not survive without them and I can think of more than a few pipe tobacco companies that have a lot to thank them for too. I hate skinny jeans and pretentious behavior as much as the next person (see comments on Reddit experience), but I'd have a hard time kicking hipsters out of the pipe club. Let's face it, lots of pipe smokers are pretentious about certain things: the pipe you smoke, the inferiority of those of us who smoke Aromatics, women who smoke pipes, etc. If we kicked out the hipsters for being pretentious about beards, jeans and cocktails we'd have to kick out almost everyone. Can't we all just get along?! :nana:
Providing a streamline ecommerce shopping experience isn't easy, but I think SPC is trying and will probably keep getting better. And their advocacy for the pipe community helps us all. Even folks like me who directly compete with them.
They had to update the site. For those of you who don't work in ecommerce, we live and die by search engine rankings and some of their old setup was hurting their rankings. Also, web design is CONSTANTLY changing. A site needs to be totally overhauled at least every 3 years to stay current (and maybe more often than that). Change is always tough for the people who are used to the old way, but I think they are seeing immediate rankings benefit which had to be at least part of the intent.
The functionality does seem to be a little lacking, but that's the hardest part to get right in testing. Willing to bet it will improve dramatically over time.
Reddit is a hostile place filled with trolls. Guess only a very certain type of male is welcome there and the rest of us are left scratching our heads.
Yes, hipsters are annoying in some ways, but we have a lot to thank them for. Much of the new crop of American carvers would not survive without them and I can think of more than a few pipe tobacco companies that have a lot to thank them for too. I hate skinny jeans and pretentious behavior as much as the next person (see comments on Reddit experience), but I'd have a hard time kicking hipsters out of the pipe club. Let's face it, lots of pipe smokers are pretentious about certain things: the pipe you smoke, the inferiority of those of us who smoke Aromatics, women who smoke pipes, etc. If we kicked out the hipsters for being pretentious about beards, jeans and cocktails we'd have to kick out almost everyone. Can't we all just get along?! :nana:
Providing a streamline ecommerce shopping experience isn't easy, but I think SPC is trying and will probably keep getting better. And their advocacy for the pipe community helps us all. Even folks like me who directly compete with them.
Just curious, who does the ranking?
Can you explain this for us old guys, we tend to stick with something if it's working.
I'm not disagreeing with you just curious, and thanks for your input.
That has to be one of the more arrogant posts you have made, and you have put a couple of doozies out there. But please, keep sharing your narrow opinion with us.
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