Tinned vs bulk

I cellar both. I usually only buy tin tobacco when it's on sale. Like when P&C had Dunhill for $6.99 last December. I cellared about 80 tins. I just bide my time and look for deals.

I prefer bulk tobaccos whenever possible, and if you are going to stock up, now is the time to do it. There is no better time than the present.

For newer smokers, decide what you like (e.g. Virginas, Va/Pers, Va/Per/Bur, Latakia, Aromatics, etc) and cellar blends that match your flavor profile. Id go as far to say that you should cellar blends even if you havent tried them, provided they match your flavor profile and are well rated.

You really cant go wrong cellaring LBF or similar blends no matter what your tastes are.

I agree with the folks above. Just figure out what you like and cellar it, whether tin or bulk, as prices will only continue to go up from here. I favor tins, but I focus on those offered in 1/2 pound or 1 pound quantity (Cornel & Diehl, GL Pease and MacBaren HH, mostly flakes). But I do have an assortment of 2 oz tins as I happen to have accumulated these over past years. If you buy in bulk, though, I expect the tobacco comes in plastic bags. You ought to immediately transfer those tobaccos to mason jars. Good luck.
Note, 2 oz tins is a good and cheaper method to taste a variety of tobaccos and figure out what you like. 

The only advantage to bulk is it's less expensive. If there are a couple bulks you really dig, go very deep. I have multiple pounds of McClelland #5100 and #2015 jarred. I'd probably be fine if that was all I had on hand to smoke, especially since they are all between five and twelve years old now - Finest Kind.

The question becomes the 500 + tins on hand? Total overkill on my part, TAD maximus. The McClelland/McCranie red Vas I have on hand would also probably be sufficient to get me to the next phase if my bulk winded up in the dumpster.

My advice is stick to the tins, cellar deep and narrow.

If you really like a blend, buy it (and soon). I'm budget conscious too, but when looking at prices here, stateside, I remind myself what Canadian, European, and other world pipers are paying.

   I have a buddy that lives in Australia. The average price for a good tin 1.5 .oz is roughly $59.00. I’d definitely grow my own leaf!!!

a 50g tin of pretty much all tobacco is around £14.50 (about $19). Most of it is tax and there are never any deals on tobacco. I the government have a say in that.

Back in the 1960's, Australia was considered one of the last frontiers and people wanted to
migrate there, thinking freedom abounded . . . . . . things have changed.

I buy both.
But I have yet to find a tinned version that's significantly better than its bulk version for any blend.
So I'm happy buying in bulk over tinned when available.

The old saying tobacco will never be cheaper is only true in a general sense. Know/learn the market.
If you do, you can better ID when the time is right to load up.

I'll use the $6.99 Dunhill sale already mentioned in this thread as an example. Some people were stocking up on those tins in July for $10 each saying, "I'm buying now because tobacco will never be cheaper".
And yet, several months later those same tins were $6.99.
I can give other examples, but suffice it to say: know when to buy and recognize what's really a good deal and not just a small sale/discount.

Also, if you've been smoking a pipe for less than a few years know this, too: YOUR PIPE TOBACCO PREFERENCES ARE GOING TO CHANGE.

A few years from now you probably will barely be able to tolerate some of the blends you love today and today's so-so blends may become you're favorite.
The catch is, you won't know which is going to be which because it's a slow evolution. It takes time. Assumptions are unreliable.

Some read the above and think, "That's ok. I can always trade what I no longer like for what I do like in the future."

The problem with that line of thinking is, blends don't appreciate at the same rate. The value doesn't remain uniform.

Only several years ago,
Esoterica blends were largely ignored, McClelland was widely available, and no one would have believed a grape flavored Captain Black would outlast Dunhill blends.

If you fall out of love with something you cellared deep but is still widely available and fall in love with something that's hard to find, you didn't really save much money by buying early. You'll be trading 3oz of yours for 1oz of theirs....at best.

Be smart.

How much does one need? Maybe a few tins and a couple jars on hand is enough?

If my house burned down and all my tobacco went up in smoke, I have a plan B.

I am going to squat on Darin’s land and smoke from his production facility.

He cannot read this, so don’t mention it this post is encrypted... he cannot read it.

It shouldn’t matter how much someone needs, and it really is nobody’s business how much anyone needs.
When some individual or government feels that is their role to make that determination, eventually they can determine that you don’t need any....and that it is for your own good that you don’t get any.

I don’t want anyone’s boot on my throat.

Besides having what I want / need there is the concept of bartering power to consider in the future as well.

It's not going away and will only increase in value.


ps ... don't tell Charlie but my Chex Cereal Decoder Ring arrived last week and I have cracked his code! 

Hey Ted...I have read enough of Doyle, Tolkien, and Lewis.....I think you might come across as a hillbilly on this one.