Supporting Local Shops

[warren]

Indeed. there are a ton of pipe smokers who probably shouldn't be burning up their moneys as it appears they really can't afford the luxury. But, it's a personal choice. Plus, I suppose meaningless drivel about the unfairness of high prices locally assuages some of the guilt. It's somewhat akin to folks who buy a boat and then complain about maintenance costs, fuel prices and etc. There is a reason I insist smoking is a personal and selfish indulgence. But, some smokers think obviously think the retailers should be in the business strictly to support the customer make him happy at their expense. Backwards thinking. The consumer supports, or not, the retailer.

I constantly remind myself that it was my generation which reared many of the younger ones to be self-adsorbed in their thinking. Not all mind you. Just a petty few who do not shrink from voicing their unhappiness when not catered to.

It's so easy to solve the complaint, rethink your choice of vice or avoid shopping locally. It's really that simple to solve your unhappiness, just stop the practices which cause so much angst and discomfort.

 

[AJL67]

Indeed. there are a ton of pipe smokers who probably shouldn't be burning up their moneys as it appears they really can't afford the luxury. But, it's a personal choice. Plus, I suppose meaningless drivel about the unfairness of high prices locally assuages some of the guilt. It's somewhat akin to folks who buy a boat and then complain about maintenance costs, fuel prices and etc. There is a reason I insist smoking is a personal and selfish indulgence. But, some smokers think obviously think the retailers should be in the business strictly to support the customer make him happy at their expense. Backwards thinking. The consumer supports, or not, the retailer.

I constantly remind myself that it was my generation which reared many of the younger ones to be self-adsorbed in their thinking. Not all mind you. Just a petty few who do not shrink from voicing their unhappiness when not catered to.

It's so easy to solve the complaint, rethink your choice of vice or avoid shopping locally. It's really that simple to solve your unhappiness, just stop the practices which cause so much angst and discomfort.

People love to suffer or say they are suffering and play the victim, even if it's the victim of their own choices.

 

[username]

I do buy stuff from where the pipe club meets but thats a 2 hour drive

 

[captainsousie]

Indeed. there are a ton of pipe smokers who probably shouldn't be burning up their moneys as it appears they really can't afford the luxury. But, it's a personal choice. Plus, I suppose meaningless drivel about the unfairness of high prices locally assuages some of the guilt. It's somewhat akin to folks who buy a boat and then complain about maintenance costs, fuel prices and etc. There is a reason I insist smoking is a personal and selfish indulgence. But, some smokers think obviously think the retailers should be in the business strictly to support the customer make him happy at their expense. Backwards thinking. The consumer supports, or not, the retailer.

I constantly remind myself that it was my generation which reared many of the younger ones to be self-adsorbed in their thinking. Not all mind you. Just a petty few who do not shrink from voicing their unhappiness when not catered to.

It's so easy to solve the complaint, rethink your choice of vice or avoid shopping locally. It's really that simple to solve your unhappiness, just stop the practices which cause so much angst and discomfort.

I don't often completely agree with you but I do here. I go to my local B&M about once a week and spend what I can to keep them going. However, they don't have a good selection so I use Internet retailers as well. It's the world we live in now.

 

[AJL67]

y
I do buy stuff from where the pipe club meets but thats a 2 hour drive

When i lived in San Diego i went into Liberty Tobacco a few times, but sadly i didn't really smoke a pipe then, Cuban cigars were flowing like water and dirt cheap, so it was cigars 99.9999% of the time, now i wish i had gone in there more and enjoyed the experience, Nothing around me, a nice cigar lounge but they have mb 6 different tins and a couple house blends, and a case with mb a dozen pipes, mostly Rossi, oh well that's why god invented the internet

 

[jackattack]

Yall are making it sound like people are hammering themselves to crosses because they don't want to pay a huge markup for poor selection and bad service. Who said they were a victim? Who said anything about suffering?

Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill.

 

[warren]

Sorry but, that's how you come across. To me anyways. But, I'd never imagine you hanging from a cross. I miss the analogy I guess.

 

[warren]

Aha! I get it now. Had to think about it though. You consider yourself a martyr.

 

[WhiteCrown]

If you enjoy buying lots of tins without regard for the cost, that's perfectly fine (it's your money) and I completely understand it. I do that with watches, which are definitely more expensive, but the value isn't arbitrarily inflated for the dealer to make more money. And watch dealers in large cities (expensive to operate) only price their product slightly higher, if at all. Watches, especially today, are almost purely a luxury just as tobacco is. A $10,000 watch is worth $10,000. $10,000 worth of locally purchased tobacco could often be worth only $3,333.33.

Its not about "can't afford it", but rather not being stupid with your money. If several watch stores started selling $10,000 watches for $30k, would anyone here think discussing that on a watch forum constitutes being "petty" for "not being catered to"? Nope. Although those types of forums have the same type of snobbery with certain posters trying to make others feel less for not being able to "afford" an Audemars Piguet or Patek. You aren't really that special because you spend $40 instead of $12.50 a tin, and we arent poor because we dont want to.

No wonder one generation raised another so "self-absorbed".

 

[warren]

Yup, we pick and choose where and on what to spend our moneys. I just have a problem with those who make their choices and then want to justify the choice by pointing real or imagined. It's all about the choices. Make it, live with it and stop bitching about it. It's a personal choice man! But, we are getting very circular so, I'm done. (Heavy sigh of relief from the peanut gallery is heard.)

 

[ophiuchus]

Most of the tobacco shops in my neck of the woods sell pipe tobacco for rolling, cobs (not always Missouri Meerschaum), cigars that fit in a narrow display cabinet, vapes and vape paraphernalia, glass pipes and screens … you get the picture, and there’s a place for those kinds of businesses. We do have one tobacco shop that has a walk-in humidor with a respectable selection of sticks kept in the right condition, a display window with a decent selection of briar and even some meerschaum pipes and a growing selection of tobacco meant for traditional pipe smoking.

I’ve largely stopped buying pipes and tobacco … I’ll never get through what I’ve already accumulated. I make a point to stop by there once or twice a month, pick up a couple of their house blends and a tin of something I haven‘t tried yet, pipe cleaners, and racks. I don’t smoke a lot of cigars anymore, but when I do, I pick them up there. Their markup is considerable and they’re not going to survive on my business alone, but it’s worth it to me to participate. There’s some comfort to me that they exist and that they’re not just trying to survive, but are making an effort to enliven this small corner of our culture.

 

[jackattack]

Aha! I get it now. Had to think about it though. You consider yourself a martyr.

You didn't get it. I apologize for not being able to simplify my point for someone of your intellect.

 

[AJL67]

You didn't get it. I apologize for not being able to simplify my point for someone of your intellect.

There are some people that are just trolls, they post comments that are really nothing more than trying to rile people up while pretending it's anything but that, thankfully on the internet you can choose to ignore them. Don't bother to reply i won't see it. I don't feed the trolls.

 

[Dr.Jimmy]

Guys, support the local shops or avoid them because of price. But, avoiding them and complaining about price accomplished nothing other than a satisfying venting I suppose. B&M's have substantial costs which must be covered in their retail price to the consumer. Griping, complaining and such ain't gonna change that. Live with it and either support them or not. But, quit trying to validate your choice not to use them because of their prices. Make your choice and live quietly with it.

If you're unhappy with the service, avoid them. Seems easy enough.

Amen.

 

[AreBee]

I did some research on state taxes to see how Connecticut handles pipe tobacco. We are well known for our high cigarette taxes ($4.35/pack - only NY, DC and three territories are higher) and I was surprised to see so many more states with higher pipe tobacco taxes. Also noticed that in all but a few cases, Pipe Tobacco and roll-your-own are treated the same by states.

STATE System Excise Tax Fact Sheet

An interactive application that presents current and historical state-level data on tobacco use prevention and control.

www.cdc.gov

The table about half-way down is my source.

Question; would you think an online retailer would be subject to the same state taxes as a B&M in the same state? One would think so.

 

[fireground_piper]

Question; would you think an online retailer would be subject to the same state taxes as a B&M in the same state? One would think so.

It’s a mixed bag. Most states, no. Online vendors are only responsible for the state sales tax and not the tobacco excise tax. I do believe some states have started changing this and putting systems in place to collect the excise tax too (I think Hawaii was a recent one).

This is why some online vendors won’t sell to customers within their own state as well……..they’ll have to charge and submit the additional taxes for in state purchases.

 

[khiddy]

At the risk of ruining a very good thing, I have discovered that some B&Ms that sell online are not (yet?) charging other states' excise taxes for out-of-state buyers. This means that those particular vendors' prices are very competitive when buying online, even if their base prices are higher than the big online sellers (all of whom are collecting the excise taxes).

It turns these little B&Ms into tobacco GEICOs, where you can save 15% or more on your TAD.

 

[damacene]

My B&M is owned by some great people. I go in once or twice a month and spend my $35 a tin for Petersons and they hook me up with unicorn turds. Its wonderful. Also bought a few rare and discontinued pipes from them. The premium is worth it.

 

[pappymac]

Indeed. there are a ton of pipe smokers who probably shouldn't be burning up their moneys as it appears they really can't afford the luxury. But, it's a personal choice. Plus, I suppose meaningless drivel about the unfairness of high prices locally assuages some of the guilt. It's somewhat akin to folks who buy a boat and then complain about maintenance costs, fuel prices and etc. There is a reason I insist smoking is a personal and selfish indulgence. But, some smokers think obviously think the retailers should be in the business strictly to support the customer make him happy at their expense. Backwards thinking. The consumer supports, or not, the retailer.

I constantly remind myself that it was my generation which reared many of the younger ones to be self-adsorbed in their thinking. Not all mind you. Just a petty few who do not shrink from voicing their unhappiness when not catered to.

It's so easy to solve the complaint, rethink your choice of vice or avoid shopping locally. It's really that simple to solve your unhappiness, just stop the practices which cause so much angst and discomfort.

I agree with Warren.