On 5 May 2006 04:43:23 -0700, "Declan Murphy"
<declan_murphy@hotmail.com> brought down from the Mount tablets
inscribed:

>Rafael Caetano wrote:
>> For Mike, Declan (?) and whoever else: any recommendations for online
>> shops that ship pipe tobacco? If they also carry cigarillos it's better,
>> but not essential.
>
>Sorry... haven't bought any pipe tobacco before, or anything online in
>the last 9 months or so. I found a shop in Nagoya that can keep me well
>stocked with cigars (bit pricey, but they take back anything that isn't
>selling or is dry etc).

Somebody at work told me just a few days ago about a shop here in
Kiryu which has pipe/cigar goodies. So on Wednesday I dragged wife 'n'
kiddies along and had a look at it. Very slim selection and very high
prices. Generally double to triple what I would expect to pay ordering
from the web. Drugstore pipe tobacco pouches ran 800-1500 yen, and
tins were 1000-1500. Zippo pipe lighters were about 3,500 (compared to
under $20). A $3 folding pipe stand was about 750 yen.

Their cheapest cigars started at about 1,000 each, with the most
expensive being a Cohiba in what looked like a robusto size at 2,400.

No wonder all my coworkers have thought I must have a secret source of
income when I smoked two or three stogies a day. Hell, my most common
smoke, the Flor de Oliva, goes for about $30 for a bundle of 25. Even
what for me was a "luxury" purchase of a box (25) of Joya de Nicaragua
toros at summer bonus time last year was only $57. (They've been
napping unmolested in my humidor ever since, and are likely to
continue to do so for quite a little while yet).

It will be a dire tobacco emergency before that shop gets any of my
trade.




--

Michael Cash

"Clowns to the left of me and jokers to the right, Mr. Cash.
Clowns and jokers."

                                Prof. Ernest T. Bass
                                Mount Pilot College