P&C Stock Issues

Honestly, I don't order much from P&C. The random items.

While I am a big believer in supporting Russ when I can, the experience with Smokingpipes.com is always so smooth and hassle free.

 That is a main reason I seldom order from P&C. Also rarely do I go to their web site, because whatever I want is either sold or out of stock. I have had good service from them when I buy a "Gotta Have It!" sale item(like the Big Ben bent Dublin starter kit,and three tobaccos and free shipping for one weekend,$49.99 for everything). Experience has lead me to deal with SP.com for almost all my pipe wants and needs. I've been buying pipes from Blakemar Briars(England) in shapes I really like for about the same or less that used pipes cost other places. Shipping from England does take longer. I have PADS bad!  

    In the mail now....

When I got my biggest bite out of the P&C apple I got their Virginia Gold and Smokers Pride for 55-60 cents an ounce. With Free Shipping I doubt there is any profit there. Selling to buy more stock is one thing. Selling at a loss and not being able to keep resupplying does not bode well. My wife worked at a place that did that and they went out of business eventually.

SP has been seamless, but P&C has more Sutliff Match Brands and a few H&H's to die for. Just wish more places would carry the match. Just the match smokers in this forum would warrant a small stock of it.

As per other thread I went to Boswell's, online, to seek out a few poofy flavors. Hopefully will see them by Thursday.

I've been waiting since June for some Brebbia and Solani blends I wanted to try. Pretty much resigned to the idea that I'll never see them.

Sounds to me like a manufacturing problem.

Now that just bites!

As much as it sucks, think of this: Mostly, when you get free shipping from P&C they pay for shipping several times to complete an order. I would not be so upset  that they are rigid about the order. 

My one blip with SP was they sent 3 2 oz cans instead of 3 8 oz cans. They sent the right stuff immediately and let me keep the 2 oz cans.

It would almost be worth being a tobacco distributor just to make the Sutliff Match blends more accessible

I am not really upset, but it took me about 10 minutes time to find a couple tins that I would like to increase the order with... it took that long because everything I clicked on was listed as backordered. Calling back within 15 minutes time, when the shipment hasn’t left the facility, their operation should allow a person to revise the order in that time with the only way to do so is with a phone call... I am sure that this is not all that irregular. Say....Allowing a one hour delay before it goes to the line isn’t an unreasonable suggestion.

i would love to use P&C more, but all the things i want are frequently out of stock and STAY out of stock for weeks that to save time and frustration i tend to go to SP. I did just buy a new lighter from P&C with some sale tobacco and everything was easy-peasy and came quick. The lighter was a hit at pipe club last night, as it has a soft flame and a torch flame, and since most of the fellows there smoke cigars the idea of a one-lighter fits all was very appealing.

I didn't know about that issue.

Mike, that's the problem when a company jets lawyers decide commercial policy. I've had that discussion with them many times. A very skittish outfit.

They are NOT doing well regardless of what anyone who is a supporter out there on the pipe forums is saying. They've been going under for the better part of the past two years. When is the only indeterminate. I order everything from SP who offer great customer service and who are growing, not going bankrupt and obfuscating the facts.


@charlie: I had a really similar issue with P&C a couple years ago. Ordered almost 2 pounds of tobacco and maybe an accessory or two, and noticed RIGHT as I placed the order that the address had been my old one on my account and it didn't prompt me to change address, so I didn't think to change it from within my P&C account. I figure no big deal, I'll give them an email and start calling them to change the address.

I email. Get the autoresponse. Wait about 20 minutes and email again, and say im starting to call you guys for support as well. Get an email back within plenty of time to change the order about,.. maybe an hour later. Guy says It's already went out for shipping, nothing we can do about it now. Try contacting the person that lives at your old address." That's what he told me, then I got the confirmation that they shipped the package out of their warehouse something close to 24 hours later. So, it was not even BOXED up yet to ship, let alone shipped. Granted, I had the wrong address, but with similar issues with SmokingPIpes I can LITERALLY be talking to someone anytime in mere minutes and the support is phenomenal.

Last order I placed with P&C was half marked out on IN STOCK items. I had placed another order of backorder items so they wouldn't have to keep piecemeal shipping at their expense.

I cannot count they money they could have made off me just by keeping their own brands in stock better.

Fast Forward Today: I placed an order with P&C. No issues with what I ordered, but rather than pay an IN STOCK price on Butternut Burley I ordered two pounds from 4 Noggins. When P&C gets an item back in stock it seems forever that they put the sliding scale on prices. In other words, 3.50 for one ounce. 3.50 for 32 Ounces. I saved 20$ on THEIR product at another store. I now have my cellar where I want it, so this will be a last hurrah with P&C for a while. Not out of anger. Just trying to keep my grey matter intact