Custom Blend's Tobacco

[Marcotor]

[Hopefully they'll be able to figure a way of making their blends more competitive so more smokers can enjoy their quality products.

This is not a defense of Mark or his remarks in these forums, just one bozo's take on it.

Mark has never been a price competitor in all the years I have ordered from CB. They stressed quality, and made no bones about if one didn't like the pricing, to shop elsewhere. And I doubt they are likely to be a price-only competitor in the future. For CB, it was, and is always about quality tobacco.

He may or may not be in a pickle post-SCHIP, the only one who really knows his sales numbers and trends.. is him. Although, I think it isn't likely.

It seemed the phone/internet sales were a bonus and a small part of the overall business - and that if it went away, he wouldn't cry too much. It is his business, and he is free to run it any he pleases.

I will continue to buy from them, as I appreciate the quality of their product and service. I also buy from others. People are free to think he is a ripoff artist/con man/has bad breath/etc., and not buy from him.

Ain't America grand?

[packrat]

Well said - and reflects my sentiments exactly....there's another RYO retailer that offers a LOT of stuff, except for good service-at least in my case..So, I chose to NEVER buy ANYTHING from them again. I'm now a Pipes and Cigars customer..if they don't have it, I don't need it...have done around $500.00 business with them since I became a "stuffer"...It's all good, if one company doesn't do things to suit you, you have the choice to NOT patronize them....works out great for all concerned

[Marcotor]

Most of what I smoke, I get from P&C, with the exceptuon of CB's tobaccos. I also buy from LBSS, as I have always had excellent service, and have developed a taste for Indo. I have given up on Sagamore as much as I like it, not due to price but because I was not impressed with the service or delivery speed (17 days) from RYO.

[mgzinia]

OK, time to address the 800 lb gorilla in the room.D&R switched to pipe cut.Pipe cut is NOT MSA baccy, correct? Why then, is the price 5$ a bag higher?
Companies as large as D&R AS WELL AS CUSTOM BLENDS are large enough that they are paying 2 dollars a pound.TOPS.I have yet to hear one single reason for why Custom blends is so goddamn expensive, nor have I heard a reason for why Ramback is now 28$ for 14 oz.Lowering the price 2$ dollars a bag would have had a nice"F-ck you, Obama" ring to it, and D&R would still be making 3$ more per pound.Raising it has a no-so-nice-"f-ck you, consumer" ring to it.
To address Mark's question about high-priced tobacco,blow it out your ass.Good stuff natural is better tasting in my opinion than most,if not all, of what you pedal.
For you to insinuate that I am uneducated,or don't care about the quality of my tobacco because I won't waste my hard-earned on yours is delusional, and it is insulting.Apparently, only those who will spend the most are 'experts' in this field.
In case the two Marks haven't noticed, the country is in recession,so maybe gouging your customers for all you can isn't the smartest plan.Be as bitter as you want, but The Good Stuff is one of the few right now that doesn't make me feel gouged when I smoke it, so maybe when they start making turkish, you can both let your employees go, like almost every other employer has in the U.S. Then you can spend all day here blaming us for not buying enough of your over-priced tobacco to keep your doors open.Ever hear the expression "half a loaf is better than no loaf"?

[jessered]

WOW, just WOW!

This is a tobacco forum so I do not share my views on any non tobacco politics, religion or sexual orientation. That being said I fully support BOTH Marks even thou I do not even buy CB tobacco. It is a refreshing change to hear him go off on someone actually. Like the owner of any company he must have sweated his butt of creating his own and he blew up when someone trashed it. Hallelujah brother as I would rather have that then corporate speak that has been white washed by a team of lawyers. And as far as D&R? They have all that I need in the way of RYO tobacco but I am not going to try to shove my views down anyone's throat.

The more people selling RYO the better for all of us. Choice and competition have always benefited the customer. If you do not like a brand or think it is too expensive then simply do not buy it. Personally I think that Davidoff cigars are too damned expensive but i am not going to go around and start trashing them or say that they are gouging anyone.

If anyone really thought that they were buying their tobacco for just $2 a lb then they would be stupid not to create their own company and jump on the bandwagon but I do not see that happening. All I see is people bitching from the sidelines. That's easy, anyone can do that.

[vetteman]

Good post mgzinia

[Marcotor]

I think it has to do with perception. Apple has a fanatical following, and their hardware is generally much higher priced than others. They have sold an idea (This is cool), that consumers fall for, that also goes along with the consumer electronics they sell - iPods, iPhones, etc.

Look, a Toyota Camray is a fine car, so is my Chevrolet Truck. Some people chose to drive BMW's, and pay for the perception of "luxury' that goes along with it. Driving one daily, I never saw much difference. Any of those, or a motorcycle all get you where you want to go.

And the Marks are free to charge whatever the market will bear, after all that is the fundamental basis of a capitalist society, is it not? Think they are ripping you off? Don't buy from them. Like mgzina said, there are alternatives that work better, price-wise, for many. For me, the taste of TGS, Golden Harvest, Top/Bugler/Gambler/Zig-Zag was never to my liking (it's the burley) so I don't buy it. Doesn't mean it's bad. It's just not for me.

One thing I will say - We've been hit hard in my chosen profession here, so I would never wish anyone out of business because I do not approve of what they do. I have seen too many friends lose everything - business owners *and* employees.

[dz]

And the Marks are free to charge whatever the market will bear

Capitalism, don't you love it. This is one of the basic tenets of our economy, one facet of it that still remains at least. To add a potential reason why; neither of them (Marks) knows what lies around the corner and might realistically have to profit as much as possible while they can. Some might feel this more than others.

For you to insinuate that I am uneducated,or don't care about the quality of my tobacco because I won't waste my hard-earned on yours is delusional, and it is insulting.Apparently, only those who will spend the most are 'experts' in this field.

I feel for the "insulting remarks" part since some of them were not called for but it's really a separate issue.

[TuFur]

The problem I have with Custom Blends is they are not. They are not listed in any state MSA listing as any manufacturer is. So I have to think they sell others products under their name for a markup that is abysmal. Remember Marks late night drunken diatribe about M&R manufacturing not making any more RYO cut tobacco? That was mark whining on where he was going to get #so and so. Well, it turns out that M&R was actually moving to pipe tobacco aka smooth tobacco. Mark and his brother sell tobacco out of a cigar store. They don't have the balls of Mark from D&R or the corporate types from M&R or SX tobacco inc.

[Admin Edit: Removed personal slur]
NOTE TO ALL -- Dissenting opinions are fine but please drop the personal attacks! Otherwise I will be forced to start deleting posts & threads.

[dz]

edit:

Custom Blends, afaik, is not a manufacturer but a repackager and has always been.

A good friend of mine, who happens to be wiser as well just pointed out to me what an inaccurate statement this is. Custom Blends is NOT a repackager of tobaccos, I did not mean that in a negative connotation, I just misunderstood the concept. Wind River does sell Custom Blends their tobaccos but they aren't available under any other name, therefore, these are Custom Blends products. Many if not most tobacco manufacturers do not grow their own tobacco.