SP Cornell & Diehl Tins a Deal

[mso489]

I don't plan to buy five tins for the twenty percent off on the smokingpipes.com sale, although I'm tempted. But whether you're on the TAD trail or not, it's worth a waltz through the C&D tinned blend pages. What an amazing array. I encountered my old friend (my tin is still aging) "Riverboat Gambler", and I suspect mine is improving by the minute. C&D is surely the burley blend leader. They make some sophisticated and refined blends with burley, and many other nuanced blends without burley as well. And of course, they make a nice selection of bulk blends, but these are not on sale, I don't think. I also reviewed the constituent leaf of Burley Flake #1, another I have in the bull-pen. Meantime, I'm enjoying a bowl of C&D Billy Budd, bought in bulk, in a Gianni smooth bent billiard.

 

[agnosticpipe]

Ahh, I succumbed to the sale. Had to get a couple of more tins of Black Frigate, and a few of their save it for 10 yrs. cakes. I'm hoping I live long enough, might have to try it early.

 

[Chasing Embers]

That was me Orley. Initially got twenty tins of Black Frigate, and just went back and grabbed ten tins of Speakeasy Navy Blend.

 

[wyfbane]

I spent as much as I could on that sale. I listed my loot in the other thread. I haven't had Black Frigate so while I know I will regret not buying more, I don't regret it YET.
The others I have tried and liked, even Crooner and Haunted Bookshop.
Speaking of regret and things I need to save for: I need to get 5 more pounds of SPC Plum Pudding in the cellar. None of the SPC Baccys will survive the deeming, btw.

 

[bluegrasspipe]

After all these posts, I am beginning to regret not adding a black frigate or two to the P&C order. I still haven't tried it. I did however, pick up a plum pudding special reserve..

 

[aristokles]

Is this another smokingpipes.com/C&D price increase "announced" via a "sale"? The tactic is getting tedious if so.

 

[thesillyoldbear]

Is this another smokingpipes.com/C&D price increase "announced" via a "sale"? The tactic is getting tedious if so.

No. Not only is it not the case this time, but that's never been the case inasmuch as that's not a marketing tactic we employ. The last time we raised prices on C&D tins was in August last year, and that was only to comply with our distributor's minimum advertised pricing policy.

 

[aristokles]

Thanks for your correction, even if it seems a bit incestuous given common ownership of the entities involved. :wink:

 

[tedswearingen]

@aristokles—I'm not sure that 'incestuous' is quite the right word—the implication being there's something unwholesome about the way our companies conduct business with one another. But to be clear, Laudisi Distribution Group, the US distributor of C&D, GL Pease, and Savinelli Pipes (and other things) rolled out an MAP policy late last summer because, in large part, retailers besides Smokingpipes.com asked for it.
By the way, I dig your profile pic; very 'The Most Interesting Man in the World'. 8)

 

[fitzy]

I was going to take advantage of this sale but I had just ordered 11 tins of Black Frigate from P&C as part of their 25% off sale.

Is this another smokingpipes.com/C&D price increase "announced" via a "sale"? The tactic is getting tedious if so.

Hmm never heard of such a thing before. I'm glad TSOB replied to that comment and set things straight.

 

[mso489]

I decided not to partake, but I keep composing a list of blends in my head. TAD.

 

[woodsroad]

Minimum Advertised Pricing is a protectionist practice, intended to keep retail pricing from dropping into a death spiral due to a price war. Of course retailers ask for it, it protects their margins against low-price sellers. Once there is downward pressure on retail prices, the shit rolls up hill to the distributor and manufacturer with pressure to lower wholesale prices. As long as there isn't industry-wide collusion on pricing, MAP helps keep a company and it's product lines healthy, and that benefits consumers, who are still free to not buy the product, if they feel that the MAP is set too high.
But I have to agree with aristokles. It is disingenuous for C&D to blame their distributor for MAP-induced price increases when in fact they are one and the same company. Just own up to the price increase, everyone here sees it for what it is and will either accept it or not. To obfuscate over it just makes you look less than honest.

 

[Chasing Embers]

C&D has multiple bulk and tin sells per year. Nothing indicative of a price increase.

 

[woodsroad]

I didn't say that this sale was a harbinger for a price increase. I am referring to the MAP-induced increase last August..

 

[Chasing Embers]

I know. Just didn't want to terrify any of the new guys.

 

[mcitinner1]

That MAP stuff is going over my curly gray noggin, and I don't much care anyway. I just want to have an occasional nice sale, and have a chance to get some Stonehenge on Friday... Yep

 

[tedswearingen]

@woodsroad—Nobody blamed anything on a distributor. Dude suggested Smokingpipes could have raised prices to offset a promotion. Didn't happen. Adam said our distributor (LDG; which is us, which we don't pretend isn't) deployed MAP last year, which in some retail instances increased prices—it did raise prices at Smokingpipes. Why did we (LDG) do that? Lots of reasons. But mostly because it was being called for by retailers served by LDG.

 

[perdurabo]

When Smokingpipes.com buys a Newspaper and starts throwing their Political Ideology around I'll start to use words like "incestuous". Other than that I think the merger has been great for the companies involved and the pipe smoking community, regardless of how prices may Increase or decrease.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Except for the fact that Black Frigate is no longer available in a one pound brick.

 

[woodsroad]

@woodsroad—Nobody blamed anything on a distributor.

"The last time we raised prices on C&D tins was in August last year, and that was only to comply with our distributor's minimum advertised pricing policy."
Otherwise, we're in agreement. I didn't concur with or echo the notion of a price increase to offset a promotion.