Steven Books House of Calabash - No Email Response

[PipeIT]

Does anyone know if they are still operating business as usual? Not that I’ve ever done business with them in the past.

I recently learned of him, found his/their website, I know he passed away in 2017, so I didn’t think it would be effecting business at the moment.

I sent them an email a few weeks ago to inquire if they might offer 1 ounce sizes and never received a reply back, then I sent them another email still no reply.

I’d love to try these blends if they offered a 1 ounce size, but when a company doesn’t reply to emails, and then sells at these sizes and prices, what’s a person supposed to think... hmm ?

Anyone know anything?

Home | Steven Books House of Calabash

stevenbookshouseofcalabash.square.site

 

[troutface]

I know that's too rich for my blood. I mean really, $484 a pound ? Good work if you can get it I suppose.

 

[ChuckMijo]

That’s absolutely nuts 500 dollars for a pound of tobacco. I checked out the site. Idk

 

[PipeIT]

Well as I just told Alex.jr over his 4Noggins post, an order 1 week later still not processed and no email response, that with my background in IT, this is a Red Flag, to move on, cancel and go somewhere else.

For now as a PC Geek and IT Tech, I say the same thing here, no email replies, time to move on.

If you run an online eCommerce business, you need to respond promptly within 1-2 business days, and my Geek Ass says, 3 days is not acceptable to make people wait.

I’ve waited over 2 weeks! ?

P.S. Technology has ‘Email Auto Responders’, something has come up, email replies will be delayed, then you CREATE and SEND out an AUTO REPLY!

SORRY NO EXCUSES ACCEPTED!

 

[Jaylotw]

Here’s the first line on their website, verbatim:

All orders are fleshly blened​

 

[ChuckMijo]

All orders are fleshly blened​

Fleshly blened are way more expensive. Now I understand. You jumped over a land mine. Be glad you didn’t hear back

 

[PipeIT]

I know about the Freshly Blended, but selling 1 ounce sizes should not be out of the question.

Buy more pay less, 2 ounces sell for $35 as an example, then sell 1 ounce for $20, etc.... It’s not like you still can’t make money.

I’m also talking about a company that doesn’t reply in a proper professional timely manner too, besides costs.

 

[mingc]

Steve's daughter announced on Facebook that she was going to keep the business going, but I don't know if she got much beyond keeping the website up. And, as you may know, the last Facebook post was a year ago. I also suspect, but don't know for sure, that the prices reflect Oregon's tobacco excise tax of 65% of wholesale.

 

[sablebrush52]

With prices like this, they probably went tits up.

 

[anotherbob]

I am going to say nope no way. If they're charging that much then they don't want their product in the grubby hands of people who aren't looking for money to burn.

 

[PipeIT]

Steve's daughter announced on Facebook that she was going to keep the business going, but I don't know if she got much beyond keeping the website up. And, as you may know, the last Facebook post was a year ago. I also suspect, but don't know for sure, that the prices reflect Oregon's tobacco excise tax of 65% of wholesale.

Good point, I’m trying to remember if I saw their Facebook.

Seems pretty quiet and dead for now, unless anyone has placed an order and can report on that...

 

[Chasing Embers]

 

[mingc]

View attachment 62756View attachment 62757

Yeah, they closed the B&M when Steve passed. His daughter was trying to keep the web business open.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Yeah, they closed the B&M when Steve passed. His daughter was trying to keep the web business open.

Outlook looks kind of bleak. Need a physical location to support a virtual one.

 

[Ahi Ka]

House of calabash kinda sounds like a reggae roots band from down under

 

[Chasing Embers]

House of calabash kinda sounds like a reggae roots band from down under

Kiwi-stafarians?

 

[jerry]

Well, I loved Steve Books’ blends, pricey as they were, and always had interesting conversations with him. I’m not confident doing business with his daughter (nothing against her, personally).

 

[Infantry23]

Website has a copyright of 2021 so ?‍

 

[logs]

From my understanding House of Calabash was famous for Steven Books use of only rare vintage leaf (as in 20 years or older). That was the reason for the crazy steep prices. The leaf was rarer than most anything McClelland, Mac Baren, or Esoterica could offer and none of the blends required further aging. Presumably his daughter continued the same practice but who knows.

I never got to try any but sounds interesting.

 

[mingc]

From my understanding House of Calabash was famous for Steven Books use of only rare vintage leaf (as in 20 years or older). That was the reason for the crazy steep prices. The leaf was rarer than most anything McClelland, Mac Baren, or Esoterica could offer and none of the blends required further aging. Presumably his daughter continued the same practice but who knows.

I never got to try any but sounds interesting.

Steve was always very generous with his aged blends. Every other time I saw him he'd hand me a 2 oz or so sample of something saying there's x year old leaf in there. But I was always a Lakeland and English blends kind of guy, so I never really bought any significant amount of Steve's aged blends. And I never saw him really advertise them either. It was all word of mouth, transacted on a personal level. When he opened his B&M, I saw some of his aged stash, kept in 5 gallon lidded buckets. I don't know how much there was of it or how much is left, if any.