Marketing

[josh_ford]

I am still very new to pipemaking and am still working on my first half dozen pipes. I was wondering, when I get to that stage, how do you guys market your pipes? I know almost all of you have web pages but how do people know about your page in the first place? Word of mouth? Do you set up stands at pipe shows or something?

Josh

[KurtHuhn]

Word of mouth, primarily. Pipe shows are also a huge source of potential customers. Even if someone doesn't buy your pipes that day, maybe they saw something they really want - or contact you afterward with a special request. I think of my website as advertisement for than a sales outlet. I sell probaby 4 times the amount of pipes away from the website than I do on it.

[StephenDownie]

Don't expect results overnight. Advertise online and go to pipe shows. If you have a local pipe club join it if you're not a member already. Look at the quality of pipes in the marketplace and do not sell your own pipes until you feel you're up to standard in technical and artistic terms. I sold a few of my first pipes and now wish I hadn't.

[NvilleDave]

You also have to give them away *to the right people*--look, everyone wants a free pipe so you have to be selective. I've given several away--a couple of them I wish I could have back--but one in particular has been invaluable compared to what I would have made monentarily from it.

Dave

[jeff]

Word of mouth is the most essential part of marketing in this business. If people aren't talking about your pipes, you will have difficulty selling them. Take a look at Rad Davis' pipes for an example of this. He's taken off in large part because of a growing and supportive core of people who love what he does and talk it up.

A website is a great tool as well. People have varying success with them. Some people sell almost exclusively through their mailing lists and websites, and others through other means. I sell most of my pipes, for one reason or another, through my website, in contradistinction from others here on the site. But, in answer to your question, people find out about it by word of mouth or at shows that I attend.

Stephen brought up a great point, though. It is of great importance to your later sanity and pride that you hold of making that first sale as long as humanly and financially possible so that you have no regrets. So, at the moment, I would encourage you to continue honing your skills and seeking constructive criticism from collectors whose opinions you respect. This piece of advice was shared with me early on by several other people who shared these sentiments about their earlier sales.

I hope this helps,

jeff

[RadDavis]

Thanks for your kind words, Jeff!

Josh, I'll echo what Jeff said, that word of mouth is most important, and to gain word of mouth, there's nothing better than the major pipe shows. There's no better place for a lot of people to see your work up close and personal. You will learn a lot about what people are looking for.

At Chicago last year, Tom Eltang came by my table during the pre-show, and I caught his attention (he wasn't looking at my table, just walking by). I asked him to tell me what he thought about my pipes. He picked up *every* pipe on my table (about 30) and looked at it! He checked stems, drilling, etc. and gave me great advice about what I should do to improve my work! Just because I asked him!

I don't know of *any* other business, where one of the best in the world in that business, will take the time to help a competitor (and I don't really consider myself a competitor with Tom Eltang ) get better at what he is doing.

As Tom says, "It's good to be a pipe maker!"

As far as selling too soon, every pipe maker sells some dogs. The other side of the coin is, someone liked it enough to buy it! I've sold many an ugly pipe, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't still be in business. Pride goes only so far in paying the bills.

Rad

[josh_ford]

Thanks for all the advice! There are a couple pipe shops close by where I live. Is it anyone's experience that they can be helpful in giving advice or are they more interested in simply selling the product they have? I guess that depends on the shop though. Also how does one find local pipe clubs? I'm in a big city and there is prone to be something somewhere, especially with the big Chicago show. Just wondering where to look.

Thanks for all the great help, this site is great!
Josh

[bvartist]

A good way to find local pipe clubs in your area is to ask about them at the local pipe shops. They can probably tell you if there are any clubs in your area and who to contact about them. Chances are some of the club members buy from them!

Even if your local pipe shop isn't interested in carrying your creations, they can still be a valuable resource. Just letting them know you are a pipe maker and they might remember your name the next time someone is in their shop looking for a handmade. Like you said, it depends a lot on the shop.

If you find a marketing strategy that works well, let the rest of us know about it!!!

David

[marks]

I actually chose a different route than many here. I sell all my graded pipes to a local tobacconist, who in turn sells them to his customers, who then become our customers (I say graded, as I do not grade all the pipes I make, and I do not sell non-graded pieces). He has quite a brisk trade, and besides me, he carries two other local pipe makers in his shop, Talbert and Ligne Bretagne pipes, and other more mass produced brands. Carrying the locals is sort of his market niche, and it works well for him, and the pipemakers. (An interesting note is that all three of the local pipemakers in his shop entered a pipe in the last P&T carving contest. One of us, Paul Tatum, made the top ten, and the others, Van Catterall and I, had pipes pictured in the magazine).

I do maintain a small web site to display my pipes to the world, as the owner of the shop does not maintain a web site, but he will ship pipes. However, the majority of his pipes are sold to a very loyal local customer base. I say local, but he has people drive many miles to transact business at his shop. He is open six days a week, and every day the shop is full of customers.

If he goes to a pipe show, which is rare, I'll go with him. If he does not go to a show, and it is one I plan on going to, I am allowed to pick up the inventory, and take it with me to display and sell.

While this path may not be optimal for every pipemaker, it has been for me. Plus Larry, the owner, is a pleasure to do business with (from both the vendor and retail customer perspective). The most satisfying part of this whole pipemaking thing for me is walking into the shop and seeing someone sitting on one of the leather sofa's smoking (and enjoying) a pipe that I have made.

Josh, when you get to the point where you feel you and your pipes are ready, I wish you well in your marketing efforts.

[PapaDuke]

Marks if you're still around or if anyone can answer this.
How much would you pay a Pipe Shop to sell your pipes?

What kind of commission would you expect to offer them?

[RadDavis]

Hey Papaduke,

Most shops buy pipes at 50% of retail.

Rad

[marks]

What Rad said is the general rule of wholesale. The payback is less time and money spent marketing. I barely have time to make pipes, much less market them, so this arrangement works well for me.