Has anyone ordered a custom pipe from Boswell's?
How much of a mark-up do they charge? Will they make a pipe exactly to your specifications?
How much of a mark-up do they charge? Will they make a pipe exactly to your specifications?
Boswell custom pipes?
- Thread starter Mike in Cincy
- Start date
Commander Quan
Commander Yellow Pantyhose
Boswell's haven't taken custom orders in the last couple years.
Funny operation, Boswells is. I emailed them a few questions about their pipes and tobaccos so that I didn't have to spend money phoning them long distance. They answered one of my four questions via email then told me to phone for more further details. Grrrr! A couple other things... a semi-popular YouTube pipe presenter made a birthday pilgrimage to Boswells and spend the afternoon and a lot of money there. He was only allowed to film certain parts of the shop for some reason. Also, their website shows only a small handful of pipes for sale online, with most of them being already sold. However, the YouTube guy I mentioned showed the pipe cases in Boswell's B&M store and there were probably more than a hundred.
I get that they are more comfortable doing business the old fashioned way, and that is their right, but I also have a right to be frustrated with that. Not totally, though. A part of me also finds that refreshing and comforting.... that there are those out there who refuse to be dragged into the new millenium... that there are those out there who do things on their terms regardless of popular opinion, contemporary practices, and even loss of some business.
EDIT: Just read my post again and it comes off as very negative. That wasn't my intention. I just wanted to bring up some peculiarities that I've noticed and experienced with Boswells. I have no doubt the world and in particular the pipe world are better places for having Boswells around.
I get that they are more comfortable doing business the old fashioned way, and that is their right, but I also have a right to be frustrated with that. Not totally, though. A part of me also finds that refreshing and comforting.... that there are those out there who refuse to be dragged into the new millenium... that there are those out there who do things on their terms regardless of popular opinion, contemporary practices, and even loss of some business.
EDIT: Just read my post again and it comes off as very negative. That wasn't my intention. I just wanted to bring up some peculiarities that I've noticed and experienced with Boswells. I have no doubt the world and in particular the pipe world are better places for having Boswells around.
Last edited:
I have never ordered from them online because I live just down the road from them, but their store is excellent and their customer service is excellent. I had mentioned just one minor thing I would change regarding a pipe that I had purchased (it was not a problem with the pipe, just my own taste in the pipe) and they offered to change things to make me happy. Their store is a wonderful trip to the old fashioned tobacco store... warm, friendly, and very customer oriented. It is difficult to determine the mark-up on a custom pipe because it is worth what the buyer is willing to pay. A piece of art is worth what one is willing to pay for it, and what the artist thinks it is worth.
I have not been to their shop for a few years, so things may have changed. I will have to make a trip up the road to check them out in the near future.
I have not been to their shop for a few years, so things may have changed. I will have to make a trip up the road to check them out in the near future.
I requested a hunter pipe from them a couple of months ago. They had me email pics of their pipes (from their gallery) and spec what I wanted. Four weeks later I get an email with some pics saying if I like the pipe to give them a call. I was very happy with the end result.
Commander Quan
Commander Yellow Pantyhose
I spend a couple hours in the shop last summer on my way across the state. JM and Dan were more than helpful and even did some custom work on one of the pipes I was buying while I waited. They do have many more pipes in the shop than what you would infer from the website, and all of them are about 20% less than what you would pay if you ordered one off the site. If you spend more than 10 minutes there you'll know that it is a family operation the whole way. JM told me he doesn't even know which pipes are going to go up on the website from week to week, his wife pick 10 or so from styles they have had requests for and those are the ones that get put up. Everywhere in the shop are containers of their various blends that you are welcome to help yourself from while you're there.
If you see a pipe you like from their gallery I would give them a call, and see if they have one in stock you can buy, but I'm not sure they would be willing to do a complete custom pipe for you.
If you see a pipe you like from their gallery I would give them a call, and see if they have one in stock you can buy, but I'm not sure they would be willing to do a complete custom pipe for you.
So far, I've only ordered tobacco from them and yeah, it's kinda of a pain to have to call to order especially if you're not in EST, but the service and quality is worth the aggravation. I'm just waiting to pull the trigger for one of their baby jumbo Oom Pauls.
I have purchased one pipe and several of their tobacco blends. I am a happy customer.
I've done the same. Haven't looked lately, but they did post new pipes on their website at one point, and they'd be sold within a couple of hours. Found some nice deals on good-smoking pipes there, and bought one of their English-style blends, too, that I really liked.
Similar threads
