This Just Makes Me Sick

[jmatt]

Thanks - it looks like I haven't posted in seven months. Oops. Life happens, got busy and turned my time elsewhere. Then I got an e-mail saying McClelland was shutting their doors. Well red virginias are the top of my list. I've got no regrets now, having heeded all of the advice and stocked up. I still live in a winter climate so only smoke about half the year. My stash will probably last my lifetime.

 

[jmatt]

I'd consider it if your price isn't too outrageous.

What's the going price? I will DEFINITELY sell at $500 per 8 ounce bag. LOL. Expecting no offers at that price, I will happily smoke it myself.

 

[beefeater33]

My stash will probably last my lifetime.

I hear you, I think mine will outlive me............

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

these individuals that went out and bought specific blends for the whole point of turning around to sell the tobacco on ebay is stupid and they are taking advantage of other pipe smokers.

I have sold tobacco for profit. I have also given lots away. So what does that make me? The "lowest of the low"? "Stupid"?

I guess that depends on you, and why you're selling the tobacco. If you're selling an aged tin of a particular tobacco, and/or a vintage tobacco that is out of production; to give other pipe smokes a chance to try that blend then that's one thing. Sounds like a good opportunity for another pipe smoker at the generosity of another pipe smoker. I have no problem with that especially if the buyer(s) are setting the price by bidding.
What I have a problem with is someone taking advantage of this particular situation, buying up a ton of tobacco for the sole purpose of turning around and selling it on ebay for profit. Especially when starting bids start out at $50 and up for one tin when it could have been bought a week ago for $10 or $17. Buying up a bunch of tins of McClelland tobacco's because you can, while at the same time limiting what others can buy, and then turn around only to sell the tobacco on ebay and screw over other pipe smokers (a second time) makes that person a Giant D-bag! So if that's what you did, then I have no problem calling you or anyone else that did that a Giant D-bag and that person would be the lowest of the low.
Again, buying tobacco for your cellar to enjoy and maybe offering something up to another person (via trade or to sell at a reasonable price) who missed out is one thing. Buying tobacco only to turn around and make a profit is another. I'll let you decide what category you fit into.

 

[sablebrush52]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/McClelland-Frog-Morton-Cellar-100-Grams-Minus-2-Bowls-That-I-Smoked/112853520715?hash=item1a4698114b:g:eSwAAOSwFFpanmrz
Its getting hectic out here

Well, I hope that the guy washed his hands before jarring it. Otherwise it's Frog Bowel Movement.

P.S. - anyone want these 8oz bags of Penzance and Stonehaven I've got lying around?

Nope. I've got all I will possibly need of both.

Wow. I'm amazed most of you are American. Supply and demand. Econ 101. Two weeks ago the supply was never-ending. Today it's gone. Price goes up. Don't you buy stocks hoping the price will go up and you'll sell to someone else someday? Good grief people. It's tobacco - arguably a luxury item. If you want it, and can pay the price, then buy it. And if you don't, don't. I'm shocked at the indignation in this one thread.

Absolutely, but I've made what money I have by helping to create something of value, which is different than what people are complaining about ion this thread. Whether it's the paintings I've done for various film and TV projects or the houses I've partnered in building, I've helped create something of value and been able to offer employment to people. That feels good.
And the other part of this is to refuse to play the game by not buying at scalper prices. That's the other part of Econ 101. In the new economics, something is worth what someone is willing to pay. Don't pay, and it's not worth the money asked. In classical economics the value was set according to the cost and effort of making something. So if $100 for a $17 tin of Frog In A Blender isn't worth the money to you, then don't buy it. It's not like there aren't alternatives.
Besides, it's just tobacco. There's a lot of it.
And I've no objection to someone charging a premium price for a rare or aged tin. That's not something fresh off the shelf, and I've quite happily bought more than a few of those when the asking price made sense to me and walked away when it didn't.

 

[azpipe]

Minus 2 Bowls That I Smoked

LMFAO!!!!!!
that's friggin hilarious

 

[admiral]

It is a free market. There are sellers that list tobacco at ridiculous prices and seems there are schmucks paying that price.

Like it or not that's how it goes
I personally dont like it but ... (I wont be paying for that shit regardless how much I like it)

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

What's the going price? I will DEFINITELY sell at $500 per 8 ounce bag

I'll take fifty pounds. Will you accept PayPal or do I need to send a money order? LOL

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I don't understand the "taking advantage" of thing. If you come upon a stranded driver, in the middle of nowhere, and charge them $500 for a ride to the next town, that's taking advantage. Selling someone a hobby product they don't "need" and willingly decide to purchase is not taking advantage.
If Bill Gates were a pipe smoker and decided to purchase 10 pounds of Penzance for $10,000, he's not being taken advantage of. He'd possibly be delighted. If Bill Gates needed 5 vials of medicine for a life threatening illness that normally sold for $500, and you demanded $50,000 because he is wealthy, that's taking advantage.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

They're taking advantage by the way of buying tobacco that they had no intention of smoking; only to immediately turn around and list it on ebay for a stupid price once it was officially out of stock. By buying so many tins they kept others from getting it at a regular retail price. Example: If Joe Blow buys 100 tins of Frog Morton Cellar; that's potentially 100 people that couldn't buy a tin, and are potentially left without any unless they buy on the secondary market at an inflated price. That's taking advantage. Now I get that its the persons choice to spend the stupid amount of money on a tin of tobacco, but its still taking advantage in my book and those individuals are still Giant D-bags in my book.

 

[beefeater33]

Example: If Joe Blow buys 100 tins of Frog Morton Cellar; that's potentially 100 people that couldn't buy a tin,

So What?? Joe Blow is perfectly allowed to buy what he wants...... this is AMERICA dude.........I don't see the problem...........

I could buy 100 bottles of Pappy van Winkle............

I could buy 100 ounces of gold, ......... that's 100 ounces that would never get to the poor..... your argument is laughable and juvenile......

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

They're taking advantage by the way of buying tobacco that they had no intention of smoking; only to immediately turn around and list it on ebay for a stupid price once it was officially out of stock. By buying so many tins they kept others from getting it at a regular retail price. Example: If Joe Blow buys 100 tins of Frog Morton Cellar; that's potentially 100 people that couldn't buy a tin, and are potentially left without any unless they buy on the secondary market at an inflated price. That's taking advantage. Now I get that its the persons choice to spend the stupid amount of money on a tin of tobacco, but its still taking advantage in my book and those individuals are still Giant D-bags in my book.

You're certainly welcome to your opinion. Those 100 people had several months warning that McClelland was done and didn't buy their tins of Frog Morton then. And there are dozens if not 100's of alternatives to Frog Morton still available at retail prices. I took a quick look at Ebay and i don't see one seller listing 100 tins either. Looks like a few individuals selling a few tins. A number of the tins listed say older dates on them as well.
I'll bet over 5,000 tins of the Frog Morton varieties were sold at retail since Jan 1. I see perhaps 15 to 20 of these listed on Ebay right now. Even if it is 100, we're talking 2%. So in the big picture, it is irrelevant. If someone had purchased 4,000 of those tins with the intent of selling them at a profit, I might think that was a bit sad.
Perhaps it has changed but it used to be that cigar and tobacco retailers set their pricing by keystoning. They essentially marked up their cost 100%. They kind of have a monopoly since the vast majority of us can't buy direct from the manufacturers. I don't see many B&M guys getting wealthy off cigars and tobacco, so it would be unfair to say they're gouging.
The fact is, regardless of the product or service, there are a lot of facets in the supply chain trying to make a profit. These guys selling a few tins on Ebay clearly didn't have a significant impact on the majority of the pipe smokers in the world. And if they need the money so badly they're willing to take the risk of those tins selling, put up with all the eBay and Paypal crap/risk and then package and take the package to the post office, all for a less money than they can buy a quality for, then God Bless them all.

 

[coyja]

I can't feel sorry for anyone that missed out here.

I just came back to pipe smoking in January, paid attention, read the writing on the wall, and started buying up what I liked (or thought I would) of McClellands in small batches of maybe 5 at a time and now I have like 7 lbs of it. It not enough, lol, but its something.

If I hadn't, I just wouldn't be paying the inflated prices and would have moved on by now.

Like hoosierguy says, there were thousands available for a week or two, and alarm bells were blaring, and there were still guys that refused to listen, so thats on them.

 

[derekflint]

Selling my tin of Christmas Cheer for $100

Is certainly your choice, and you picked an 'opportune' time to sell it....( @ 8x the orig. cost ). Hopefully the sucker...I mean.... buyer won't be anyone from this forum....

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I did pick up as much McC VA's as I could afford from the moment people started talking. My kitchen table was loaded with bags of 5100 bulk that I was dragging home from B&M's from as far away as Atlanta and Tennessee. I have enough for quite a few years, but they won't be my every day like they have been. I used to freely spill 5100 onto the carpet as I loaded my pipe, sometimes dumping whole bowls after getting caught in the rain. Now, I am going to only smoke McC's for special occasions, and treat it like a junky treats his powder, carefully making sure never to drop a single grain.

The day I pop my last jar or tin of McC's is going to be a sad day indeed. And, the day will come. The day there is no more of that special flavor. At that point, maybe I would drop $100 on another tin, maybe even $500 if inflation... But, to do it right now... is rather stupid. It's still on the shelves of most B&Ms, even the Briary is still restocking the Froggies and a few of their Latakias. Of course, now that I post this... it'll be gone by noon, ha ha. But, they are out there.
If someone is dropping top dollar on a tin of anything McC right now, they are lazy morons in my opinion. Let them pay that much. They deserve it. They not only had fair warning, but they are just assuming it's all gone without even trying. It's up there with people making a whole new thread about an issue with a company without EVER even picking up the phone and rationally trying to resolve their problem, dumber than a bag of dicks.

 

[elvergun]

I just came back to pipe smoking in January, paid attention, read the writing on the wall, and started buying up what I liked

And what if you had come back to pipe smoking at the end of February, paid attention, and tried to buy what you liked, only to find out that all of your favorite blends had been snatched up by ebay sellers? I bet you would not be so content right now. You would either have to do without those blends or pay up the nose to some dude who "read the writing on the wall" and decided to make a profit by screwing his fellow smokers and breaking the terms and conditions they agreed upon when they created their ebay account. These people are not supposed to sell that tobacco on ebay in the first place.

If someone is dropping top dollar on a tin of anything McC right now, they are lazy morons in my opinion. Let them pay that much. They deserve it. They not only had fair warning

Really? If you don't hang around in forums all day, how were you supposed to get this fair warning? I didn't get an email from SP or P&C or Mike or Mary. Did you?
I got everything I needed because I did hang around pipe forums...but even then, it was not a fair warning...just a bunch of rumors which turned out to be true.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Really? If you don't hang around in forums all day, how were you supposed to get this fair warning? I didn't get an email from SP or P&C or Mike or Mary. Did you?

No, re-read me above. I said that there were still some of these blends on the shelves of B&M's. Maybe not the big wholesaler/vendor websites that sponsor this site, but the small B&M's. At least the ones I have been to lately, especially The Briary that was restocking the other day. Pick up the phone, google search some B&M's ask for shipping, even if you have to pay more for shipping than P&C or SPc, you will get the blends for cheaper than a ebayer.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Is certainly your choice, and you picked an 'opportune' time to sell it....( @ 8x the orig. cost ). Hopefully the sucker...I mean.... buyer won't be anyone from this forum....

That was an example. I haven't ever sold tobacco at above my cost, though I have a bag of 20 year old Penzance that I'd let go for $500......

Regardless, why do you insist that whoever might buy Christmas Cheer for $100 is a sucker? It's likely he has a great deal more disposable income than have you.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Looks like eBay has ended a bunch of auctions. If you are truly sick of the situation, report and complain about the auctions.

 

[coyja]

And what if you had come back to pipe smoking at the end of February, paid attention, and tried to buy what you liked, only to find out that all of your favorite blends had been snatched up by ebay sellers? I bet you would not be so content right now. You would either have to do without those blends or pay up the nose to some dude who "read the writing on the wall" and decided to make a profit by screwing his fellow smokers and breaking the terms and conditions they agreed upon when they created their ebay account. These people are not supposed to sell that tobacco on ebay in the first place.

Yep, thats definitely happening to a minority of guys out there.

Timing is everything in life.
But, I've got no issues with the uncharge happening on a limited commodity.

Our entire economy is based on arbitrage.
Whenever I find something I really enjoy, I learn as much as I can immediately, watch the market, and then try to make informed decisions and buy low and as much as I think I need. (could be anything, motorcycles, sporting goods, etc)
Sometimes I still screw up and overpay for something, but usually I've found I can I sell of part of whatever it is and that its paid for itself and I'm essentially out zero dollars.

Not really making a profit, mind you, but creating a situation where my hobby has paid for itself (and usually that includes passing things along to my friends for free, which I've already done with come of my McC tins).

I've done this with pretty much every hobby/past time I partake in.

I'm gathering there are a fair number of guys that are selling now that are doing just this.
I don't anticipate selling much, if any, of the McC's tins I've gotten, but if I do it will be for a premium and I won't feel an ounce of guilt about it. Timing is everything.