Are Subscription Boxes Worth It?

I've smoked cigars since about 2006-07. just ordered my first pipe this week and have no clue what tobacco id like. i went with Peterson nightcap. i am excited to say the least.

I think this is a fantastic idea! You said you think they should sell it at 30$-35$. Just those tobaccos alone currently of those 3 tins are around 35$. So, how on earth are they supposed to be profitable? I love you channel BTW. I just disagree with this particular assessment.

Thank you Alan I appreciate your honest opinion and canter it does me a lot to me & saving money is not a bad idea either! 👍👍👍

This would work much better if they could work out a deal to include a rare or limited blend to go with the regular stuff, maybe they could get together with the different producers or even collectors to do this.

Jesus's, Mary & Joseph,

I'd take a dozen to start with for that price. Here in Australia, due to all the government taxes and import duties we are paying roughly AU$120-130 for 50gm/2oz
Tobacco was grown here in Victoria from about 1870 and ramped up around 1920 after the WW1 after then In 2006 our last crops of tobacco were harvested due largely to global competition. Great channel Doc, love your recommendations. Health and happiness to you and your family. All the best from down under

New blends & comprehensive reviews are just a click away... this type of service has gone the way of the Dodo...

Thankyou Mr. Harrelson. I agree that this product is simply overpriced. However, I am undoubtedly certain that there would be a market for this kind of product amongst the young and impressionable demographic. I am so pleased to see your wife, Alex, assisting you with this video. That new truck of yours is delightful.

I agree! But the problem that I see. No matter what kind of package is created for the seller to make money, and the consumer to be happy. It wont be long before the consumer leaves the subscription (1 or 2 months) and start customizing his/her own purchases. Namely Smoking Pipes, or CupO Joe's and such. COMPLETE starter packages? Maybe... Subscriptions? Possibly not.

I work with a lot of startups, one of the biggest mistakes I see a lot of new entrepreneurs make is spending way too much time/money on custom packaging and branding early on. I've literally seen it cripple young companies. Your customers are going to throw away the box and forget about it within 10min of receiving the package. It looks nice and it makes things feel more "real" but it doesn't add enough value for the ROI to be there when you're early-on and every cent means more runway to get this thing off the ground.

$50 for 6 oz man I wish something like that was in Canada. a tin of HH virginia flake is $ $62.99 here for one tin!

Thanks for the review! Love your channel! In fact you and your channel are partially responsible for my pipe smoking adventures. Thank you!

Without being too much of a contrarian, I wonder who this is aimed at. I am not entirely sure this product is directed at “the older smoker“ – I suspect this has been marketed at younger people coming into the hobby, who expect a certain degree of style with their product. That being said, I think all your points were valid as you can get a “boho“ effect with recyclable paper, biodegradable bags and boxes, with a funky sticker on top. Very hipster, but might work for our younger initiates.

For a newbie, this would be a good deal. There is value there for the seller to be choosing the tobacco and the price can reflect that.

But, cutting costs and the seller cutting the price some will get more people on board with a subscription.

So I’m a relatively new pipe smoke and very much enjoying my journey. So I see a couple of potential problems if I may Sir.
First I’m not sure what the average pipe smoker smokes in a months time. It seems like a lot of people are a bowl or so a day give or take and perhaps a bit more on the weekends. That is about average for me so my fist question is how much tobacco is that? I don’t think that’s 6 oz a month. A person is liable to end up with a stock pile of tobacco now needing to canister several different blends.
Perhaps 1 oz of each blend for a total of three oz would be a better choice.
Very much enjoy your content Sir.

Derek V.

I think it’d be worth the price if it was four tins. But definitely not 3

At the end of the day, they only needed to use standard packaging and just include a business card with their logo/contact details.

Hello from the Midlands of SC! My question is not really related to this video, but what is the brand name of the ginger ale that you prefer? I'm looking for a good brand to use with my bourbon. Thanks!

I agree at the price being to high. I am a newer pipe smoker and have so far tried over 20 blends. It is a lot cheaper to just buy samples and have them shiped. But I do however do like the idea...they may send something I have never thought of trying and enjoy it.

I think $19.00 with free shipping would be the absolute most I would ever consider. That’s just a small sample pack that you are gambling on enjoying or despising. A Holiday basket or seasonal basket would be much more appealing.

You are absolutely right on the expensive presentation products. We have our own labels that we attach to zip lock bags, not fancy at all, we print out sticky back labels on our in store printer with our Cargo Hold name and logo on each label. Like most retail tobacco shops we buy bulk tobaccos from major sources and rename them with a nautical theme (since our store is a nautical themed store) for example we have Old Joe Krantz in bulk under our name of Riverboat Burley, Lane 1Q we call Captain's Choice etc. Many newcomers to any retail approach assume they have to spend inordinately large sums of money on packaging, it often kills new businesses before they get started. For example, we used plain brown paper bags with stick on labels for several years before we arrived at a more comfortable financial position to afford our shopping bags which we use now. The bag now is a sleek black bag with a hot stamp gold logo of a sailing ship as the label. Our customers love that look but if we had not pinched a lot of pennies 30 years ago and spent too much $ on supplies we would probably not have survived to offer the quality products we now market. If Pipe Crate used a plain brown box with a stick on label and food grade clear ziplock bags and did their own printing of that brochure, they could make their product and service much more affordable. Most pipe smokers I serve are not looking so much for flashy packaging as they are for a quality smoking experience. My 2 cents, for what it's worth.

In today’s world, I think EVERYTHING is priced too high! And I’m seeing this across the board. I had a subscription from a tackle warehouse at one point in time, but it started costing me more than I was benefiting from so I dropped it. But some people will, and are continuing to pay for it and receiving their monthly tackle boxes. I just recently saw where the pocket knife community was getting into this subscription nonsense. I just can’t even imagine! New pocket knives every month?! Lol... Some people just have more money than they know what to do with. Or, more money than sense, one or the other...

Very professional presentation - and well done to the new business that created it - there will be a market for this for sure in my opinion.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR NEWBIES:

The box stuffing IS NOT tobacco

Your wife did an excellent job with the camera! I don't know if it's her first time helping you with a video, but it sure seems like she's a seasoned camera operator.

I agree with you totally on this product, and would also add the fact that the whole neighborhood sees what you purchased - would rather a plain box setting on my stoop all day, till I get home from work

Lol all the Americans thinking this is overpriced while Canadians/Australians would die for 6oz for $50.

My mind immediately went to the math, and the premium for the service (for me) just isn't worth it.

I would definitely be interested in this, but that price point is way too high to justify for me. I'd pay $30-35 a month for it.

Exactly. I can purchase more for less. How about offering only house blends from different B&M''s . Except for The Country Squire, I'm not very adventurous.

It's not worth it to me to be a pipe tobacco "subscriber" or club member. LOL. I'm a 50 year old codger who smokes a pipe because I quit cigarettes 10 years ago and I still love the taste, smell and the nicotine from the sweet leaf. 98 percent of my pipes are estates that are from the late 1930s to the mid 1990s. I smoke Prince Albert and Captain Black, Lane bulk aromatics and some British flakes now and then. I'm glad it's making a come back Sir, but I'm also afraid that it's going to fizzle out like the 1990s cigar fad did. Pipe smoking in America represents American nostalgia, values and a different way of living and contemplating and thinking. I also see some making a mockery of it with people who, well I can't get into that I guess because of the risk of being "canceled" by whiners. But anyway, I'm in my own little world to where my great grandfather left off smoking his three pipes with Union Leader and Prince Albert.

Agreed, Alan. Price is too high. The fancy packaging provides no benefit to the buyer beyond the ziplock and the foil for freshness. The rest is advertising. They also appear to be out of touch with the market - pipe smokers tend to be sensible, practical and analytically adventurous. We know the only way to know what you like is to try it and would much rather make a $12 “mistake” instead of a $60 one! Thank you and cheers!

Theres no way I could smoke the equivalent of 3 full tins per month. This would be piling up all around me before I could even get to it all. Just don't smoke a pipe that much

Purchased 2 MM Cobs a few days ago. I wanted to get into this hobby without investing too heavily in case I didn't care for it. I find enjoying a smoke to be very relaxing and peaceful while sitting on the backporch and enjoying the views. Your channel is what brought me into the fold, thank you for keeping this tradition alive.

Have you ever tried 2nd breakfast from the country square it is a very pleasant Blend to my palate and I would like to hear your opinion of it

I like the idea of a tobacco subscription. But pipe crate is way too expensive. Some fancy cardboard isn’t worth the price. There’s only $32 worth of tobacco.

If they cut the cost by making cheaper packaging and added another blend maybe two it would be worth it. We have to keep in mind the knowledge base being offered of picking the blends and consider the value add for the new pipe smoker. The problem is going to be new pipe smoker become quickly experienced to some degree, and we must consider the fact that pipe smoking is not a booming culture limiting the ability to acquire new customers. It’s a hard business and we can’t expect them to undercut the big boys

I would just use generic blank boxes and packages, slap a sticker on there and let the quality of the service sell it.

The Tea has been Spilled. lol

Guess where that fancy box and printed bags are going to end up?

I appreciate this channel, 👍🐿🤠🇺🇸
That box is silly though.

I've been a cigar smoker for 30 years and occasionally picked up a pipe, but now things have switched. I can't afford cigars anymore, so I'm getting into Pipes and tobacco. I am just learning about all the blends and types of tobaccos and how they work together, so I took you advice and took out a subscription. It's a little pricey, but education costs.

Was looking at this site earlier today and when I did the math I thought it would be best to just go to the websites of different brick and mortar shops and order a few houses blends and tin or two for the same price.

I would do a subscription service that focuses on seasonal items and rare tobaccos that are difficult to get due to the waiting lists at smokingpipes. How about Sleepy Hollow (which I like and purchased a couple years ago, but at a high price and more than I needed for the season), Autumn Evening, etc. in the Fall, Xmas themed products like Boswell's Xmas Cookie, etc., in November, and the bonus of jumping the line on the rare stuff like Penzance. I don't know who is packaging and shipping for the Pipe Crate, but Smokingpipes itself could probably do a much more affordable subscription service and pay Pipe Crate to market/promote it. I'm sorry to say that I agree it's too expensive and more experienced pipers may prefer to get products that they already know they like.

Well said

$40!?!? My Lord...

Great video and content. I’m in the coffee business and I find this challenging as well with our subscription business. You hit the nail on the head. While the marketing/branding looks nice, it places the cost in an arena where most patrons have a hard time justifying the price. Some simple ways to cut down the cost is simple craft boxes and 2oz bags and stamp them with your logo. Get rid of the fizzle pack and extra fluff, and provide more product. Love your direct and honest feedback. That what I look for at my company. Thanks for all you do and advice you provide. I could listen to you all day long!

Sites down cant order the crates anymore

for a quarter of that price you can purchase a variety of sample packs that come out all the time from all the major online retailers.

I would have to agree. Damn near $50+ is too much in this economy currently. Id be fine with a normal ziplock bag and a sticker on it, like The Country Squire does for their own tobacco anyway. 🤦🏻‍♂️ And a plain brown box that its shipped in. Yes, the packaging is nice and makes you feel like its Christmas every month… but its not necessary at that price point. I want to do this, but i refuse to at that price. If it was $30 for the box plus shipping id consider it. Thank you for the honesty in this video!

I just (03/22/24) went on line and tried to check this site out. Does not appear to be in business any longer.