Smoking Pipes price increase.

[mngslvs]

I keep a close eye on the British and Italian estates on SP. Haven’t found anything in a while that interested me. So I foolishly looked at the new pipes, Italian. Fell in love with a certain Castello kkkk. Damn thing wouldn’t leave me alone. Now I have bought it. Do I need any more pipes? A fool and his money are soon parted…….
Anyway, appropo this thread, what surprised me was how low the price was relative to other Castellos I’ve seen over the years. Go figure. Effing Gorgeous pipe too……

 

[Hillcrest]

I think that following option should be removed from the forum. Its not necessary anyway. Maybe the next time they upgrade the program they can change it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I think that following option should be removed from the forum. Its not necessary anyway. Maybe the next time they upgrade the program they can change it.

Or at least have the option of disabling it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

what surprised me was how low the price was relative to other Castellos I’ve seen over the years. Go figure. Effing Gorgeous pipe too……

Like the giant mountain lion meerschaum I got that was less than most of the IMP pipes. Sometimes they have pipes that slip under the radar, you just have to keep your eyes open.

 

[Hillcrest]

Or at least have the option of disabling it.

Agreed. I just checked my profile settings. Now I can only see who I am following (no one on principle) but I used to be able to see who was following me but that option is now gone.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Agreed. I just checked my profile settings. Now I can only see who I am following (no one on principle) but I used to be able to see who was following me but that option is now gone.

Go to profile and click about.

 

[Swiss Army Knife]

Effing Gorgeous pipe too……

Well go on then, show it off!

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Specifically, I was watching a particular pipe, which wasn't cheap, even with my VIP discount. Took another look a few days/weeks later, whadya know? It was marked up on my account at the regular Joe Public price, on my login account, exclusive of my VIP discount. So basically, an originally listed pipe @ USD 616.25, now listed at USD725.00, is now USD616.25 with VIP discount membership @ 15%.
I find this a little strange.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I don't think that there is any conspiracy to shaft customers, nor do I think that they are gouging. The dollar just isn't buying as much as it did. If you had an opportunity to buy a pipe for cheaper, yesterday, you should have taken it. One thing is absolutely certain, things will never be cheaper than they are today. Pull that trigger if you want something, because it will definitely go up at some point.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

I don't think that there is any conspiracy to shaft customers, nor do I think that they are gouging. The dollar just isn't buying as much as it did. If you had an opportunity to buy a pipe for cheaper, yesterday, you should have taken it. One thing is absolutely certain, things will never be cheaper than they are today. Pull that trigger if you want something, because it will definitely go up at some point.

Oh, I hear you Cosmic. I certainly don't think SP are trying to shaft any or their customers.
I think that you're on to something with the decline of the dollar.

 

[mso489]

I'm not sure the price structure at SP is higher than other places. They have the policy of photographing individual pipes and removing a pipe every time it's sold, fairly promptly. I think that marketing makes them tend toward higher end products. They certainly handle a lot of moderately priced pipes like Rossi and Ropp and many others. But I think they tend toward artisan and higher end factory pipes to justify the extra cost of handling them individually, and also being meticulous with descriptions of estate pipes. Also, they are famous for extra good customer relations, so that costs money. In this particular case, the saying applies, you get what you pay for.

Other sites specialize in more moderately priced pipes and still handle them with honesty and accuracy.

 

[Nevaditude]

Well, I know the Euro is waaaay down compared to where it was valued.
It is now an even 1 to 1 with the USD. Perhaps, Euro makers are charging more to keep ahead of costs hitting them in two directions?

 

[PipeIT]

One thing I know is Tabaccheriacorti sells Bay Denmark pipes cheaper. Luca deals exclusively with Mike too. I also bought a Bay pipe, shipped for free. I’ve also seen many times lower Castello prices. Luca also goes to Castello all the time and hand picks out the pipes personally.

Even if you had to pay for shipping, I’ve seen deals at Tabaccheriacorti that can still save you hundreds.

No disrespect to SPC, but Luca is a great guy, and so is Tabaccheriacorti, that should get more support as a company, they’re also a small B&M mom and pop shop.

SPC - $400

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/mike-sebastian-bay/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=503430

Tabaccheriacorti - $278.69 Euro = $277.73 + $20-25 shipping (Ask for free shipping)

Pipe Mike Bay Hobo Poker Rusticated - Tabaccheria Corti Lecco - Online Shop

Pipe Mike Bay Hobo Poker Rusticated

tabaccheriacorti.com

 

[briarfoxx]

One thing I know is Tabaccheriacorti sells Bay Denmark pipes cheaper. Luca deals exclusively with Mike too. I also bought a Bay pipe, shipped for free. I’ve also seen many times lower Castello prices. Luca also goes to Castello all the time and hand picks out the pipes personally.

Even if you had to pay for shipping, I’ve seen deals at Tabaccheriacorti that can still save you hundreds.

No disrespect to SPC, but Luca is a great guy, and so is Tabaccheriacorti, that should get more support as a company, they’re also a small B&M mom and pop shop.

SPC - $400

View attachment 165267

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/mike-sebastian-bay/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=503430

View attachment 165268

Tabaccheriacorti - $278.69 Euro = $277.73 + $20-25 shipping (Ask for free shipping)

Pipe Mike Bay Hobo Poker Rusticated - Tabaccheria Corti Lecco - Online Shop

Pipe Mike Bay Hobo Poker Rusticated

tabaccheriacorti.com

I wonder if some of the price difference (I say “some” because ~$100 off including shipping is huge!) could be due to USD vs. Euro market pricing. I recently noticed during the Peterson PoTY release that SP Eu was cheaper than SPC for the exact same models.

For example, a Peterson Natural Spigot 87 is currently $345.60 USD on SPC, while the exact same model is €307.31 ($306.24 USD) on SP Eu (both with the 10% off discount—the “original” MSRP prices are confusingly even wider apart).

SPC:


SP Eu:

 

[PipeIT]

Again, seriously no disrespect to SPC!

I do know, because I’ve been doing this for a few years, if you want a foreign brand pipe, buy it from the country it’s made in, or go directly to the smaller foreign carvers.

I do know this works for the Italian, French and Danish pipes. I’m not certain about Irish shops in Ireland selling Petes cheaper.

Regardless of the fluctuation in currency, economy, etc., overall the EU has a lower cost and price of living than in the USA, this is the reason why. While it is true prices can be expensive on various things, overall it’s less. It’s only more expensive in certain places.

Bottom line, all of the EU is not as or more expensive than the US, only certain places are, and even in the expensive EU countries, go to the outskirts and it’s as cheap, if not cheaper than the US.

 

[Servant King]

Not surprised at all. All fiat currencies eventually suffer the same fate:



No reason to think the US dollar would fare any differently. I do believe this observation is at the heart of the buy-it-now-while-it's-cheap philosophy that pervades this forum (and for good reason).

 

[PipeIT]

As many believe, struggling to survive will only get worse in the future, which might cause many to lower prices just to be able to sell, because people will not be able to afford.

If things get to out of hand, rhetorically speaking of, who’s going to be able to buy, supposedly only that 1% of the wealthy, and with the pipe world being such a Niche Market, hmm

When I stepped back into the pipe world, I was floored at the prices of pipes, what a lot are selling for.

This makes me wonder about those new stepping in for the first time, seeing how expensive pipe smoking can be, if many have turned and walked away, because of the high prices out there.

 

[brian64]

No reason to think the US dollar would fare any differently.

It has fared differently because it has been the world's reserve currency, which has enabled us to export our inflation...but that is in the process of coming to an end.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I've seen prices increase on some brands recently, for example Tsuge "The Tasting" pipes were $60 last year and now they're $80.

 

[craig61a]

I've seen prices increase on most brands for the last 30 years...