Why are Dunhill pipes so expensive?

[lohengrin]

Wife: "Why do men piss by the side of the road?"

Me: "Because they can
Same answer of Simon Le Bon when they asked him why popstars married top models!
Everybody knows, more or less, how the brands's promotion and succes work, so I think that underneath the real question is: are Dunhill worth the price?

Common people cannot deeply understand it, that's why they trust brands. Even pipemakers and car makers and so on cannot know all the manufacturing secrets of other companies, but can understand a lot and still they avoid the dangerous road to criticize who makes the same work.

I am just an hobby pipemaker and I am starting to understand something and talkng with people in the businness I'm starting to understand something else.

The result is what stated above: brands that reached success with special products don't need now (it is clear they have to keep ability in marketing and organization)to manufacture as special items as before to keep the same level price.

 

[jvnshr]

Wait you're just going to add more questions with no answers?!?

Didn't they answer to the question? Here is another question to your question

 

[iamn8]

Actually Warren, I've seen TONS of ads for Patek. They spend a lot on advertising as well as MAJOR sponsorships. Also, Dunhill tobacco separated from accessories/clothes didn't they? They cruise solely on history and reputation, nothing else.

 

[bigpond]

Demand>Supply

 

[perdurabo]

Demand>Supply as good a reason as any.
Someone needs to try to makes some dough over in the old country. Have you heard about the taxes....damn, among other things.

 

[bigpond]

Someone needs to try to makes some dough over in the old country. Have you heard about the taxes....damn, among other things.

Make sense.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I may be wrong about this, but isn't one of the reasons that Northern Briars are made on a barge/boat studio to get around some of the taxes or expenses associated with making pipes in England proper? It seems like I heard this at the B&M.

Of course taxes or fees doesn't explain the whole price tag, but it may explain why pipes made in England are generally more expensive than Danish or Italian factory pipes.

 

[bigpond]

Corporate taxes are lower in England than in Italy. So is the individual tax burden. Upshall would have been a better example, comparatively, of a modern Brit made pipe than Dunhill. If you compare a Peterson to a Dunhill of the same price you'll usually find a significant gap in quality despite the fact that there is a massive tax advantage to Peterson. Terrible example, I know, yet it has been true in my experience.
Taking it out of the realm of the factory pipe, Brit pipes tend to be less expensive than Italian and have more in common with American carver scene, Compare Asquith to Herbaugh for example. Or Compare Asquith again to any of the Greek carvers via SPC.
Dunhill costs what Dunhill does because people are willing to pay their prices. What is irksome to me is that the the US distributor adds a hefty premium and the pipes are less expensive to buy Internationally and import yourself than to buy from a US dealer.

 

[okiescout]

"One word: brand."
Bingo, Peck!

 

[deathmetal]

Common people cannot deeply understand it, that's why they trust brands.

Brand value is one of the concepts that few understand, including how shipping a garbage product can damage brand identity.

 

[perdurabo]

Makes sense big pond. Good to know. I'll jump in a jet and fly over to The UK to get My Dunhill. Just another reason to go back to the old country.

 

[seacaptain]

Makes sense big pond. Good to know. I'll jump in a jet and fly over to The UK to get My Dunhill. Just another reason to go back to the old country.

You don't want to go back there. Trust me. They actually put fried eggs on hamburgers. Which, may not seem quite so bad, until you realize they're sunny side up. Nothing like egg yolk dripping down your chin during your cheeseburger experience.
Most of our ancestors left there for religious and/or personal freedom. Mine left because of the food.

 

[jchaplick]

I have a couple Dunhills. They smoke great, absolutely fantastic. They are one of the few brain pipes I own that smoke as consistently well as my cobs.....HA!

 

[warren]

Dunhill! The pipe for the brain! What part of the body do you smoke the cobs for? He asked hesitatingly.

 

[jchaplick]

If you're asking hesitantly, you already know the answer....
(how many cob jokes do you think I can make before getting in trouble?)

 

[foggymountain]

guyrox: 110 Dunhills

 

[buroak]

it's the Cadillac of pipes.
Harsh.

Why are Dunhill pipes so expensive?
Because when the machine at Dr. Grabow that cuts out the spade shape malfunctions and starts cutting out white dots, it is expensive to repair.

These made my day.

 

[ssjones]

.....Dunhills are the real deal, always have been, and you can buy a brand new one.

Well said Mike. And, you can get that new pipe in almost any shape, Group size and finish.

 

[cigrmaster]

I have owned 2 new Bruyere's and 2 estate Dunhill's in the past and none of them smoked as good as any of my No American artisan pipes or any of my Italian or Danish pipes. None of my Dunhill's smoked as good as these other British pipes I have owned in the past, Willmer, Upshall, Ferndown, Lane Era Charatans. Now taking into the price of the Dunhill's they really were not a good value for my smoking tastes(luckily I paid 50% below cos, and sold them for a tidy profit). I was not a fan of the stems, or the fact they were not cool and dry smokers. There are so many people who love their Dunhill's for smoking and collecting. I totally get the collecting part as they are so easy to keep track of, smoking wise, I am not so sure as to why they are so popular, but who am I too judge. We all like so many different aspects to why a pipe smokes well for each individual that trying to figure it out could take a lifetime.
The cache that people get when they own a Dunhill is such that they may be willing to put up with lesser smoking properties just to say they own a Dunhill. My 2 Willmers that I have owned blow the DUnhill away smoking wise but who the hell has ever heard of Willmer? I honestly believe that every pipe smoker should have tried at least one Dunhill in their smoking careers so that they can say they have experienced one aqnd know how they smoke, just as I think said pipe smoker shoud have also tried a Castello.
One thing is for sure, smoking a legendary brand like a Dunhill or a Castello can never be a bad thing.

 

[brudnod]

I own ONE Dunhill. It inherited it from my grandfather. Never smoke it because it offends me that a massed produced pipe would cost so much. Just not worth the price.