Snus

[lxskllr]

This is my random bitching thread. I was just looking through Northerner's snus selection after a very long time, and I'm displeased with what I'm seeing...

Where's the lös snus? There's SM, and V2/V2 contract snus. Pioneer is very good, but OOS, and there's 1 lonely tin of Gotland Grå, which despite Jimmy's assurances otherwise, I think will get the ax sooner than later.

Where's the bergamot snus? All I'm seeing is General. Fsck General; seriously. It really isn't that great, and the only reason it's as popular as it is, is due to SM's previous monopoly in Sweden, and it being the only product they have in America(other than a brand new test run of Ettan SNUFF?! :^S).

Gotlandssnus... I've been a long fan of this company, but I haven't been feeling the love lately. They're taking the Apple approach, going with form over function. Yea, the new tins are kind of nifty looking, but the old Gotland tins were better. The new tins aren't /that/ much different than the other company's offerings, and they have fewer portions in them. Where's the lös?

Snus for Americans... Americans are idiots. Instead of chasing their stupid child-like tastes, tell them what's good. Americans have already voted, and we got Marlboro, Camel, and Skoal snus. The right to vote should be revoked, and the companies need to start making quality snus, rather than chase the masses. No focus groups, no nothing. Do your best, and people will come to it. You know what a camel is? It's a racehorse designed by committee :^S

[sebasmun]

This is my random bitching thread. I was just looking through Northerner's snus selection after a very long time, and I'm displeased with what I'm seeing...

Look at the prices too...out of curiosity I compared to older invoices I had, and man.....that will displease anybody as well.

[lxskllr]

Yea, the prices are terrible. The galling part is it's mainly due to an uninvolved third party taking a cut. Imagine buying a $3 box of cereal at the store, and when you get to the checkout, a goon squad shakes you down for an ADDITIONAL $3 to allow you the PRIVILEGE of walking out with your cereal. Ridiculous....

[Snusdog]

Here Here..............The delegate from the illustrious state of South Carolina (where the Ashley and the Cooper Rivers meet to form the Atlantic Ocean) would like to second the erudite ruminations of our distinguished colleague from Her Majesty's 7th Jewel, that noble and fair state of Maryland.

It is our most sincere and benevolent wish that those our brethren from the proud land of the seafaring Vikings will turn a kind ear to the observations so eloquently presented here and implement their sound wisdom to the beatitude of all.

Furthermore may it be known that these hallowed chambers affirm the timeless truth known by our forefathers and their children.......that los rocks........... while tamponed snus is for the orally confused

LX .................John Adams smiles upon you ................while ol Tommy Jefferson just winces

Well put my friend.................... well put

[pris]

I might be totally off track with this and I apologise in advance if I am but I was thinking it seems strange that people in the EU yurn for SM but they can't have it where as it's freely available in the States but not overly popular there and yet the snus that we can get in the EU (in a roundabout way) eg. Skruf, Gotlands, V2, GN seems to have a bigger following in the States than in the EU and the States can't buy Skruf (and I think some V2?) in-country.

I too enjoy the old traditional Swedish snus tastes over the new emerging candy-flavoured ones. I just couldn't use them as all day snuses as the sweet flavours would just make me feel nauseus after a while and to me drown out the tobacco taste I'm looking for. Maybe a hint of bergamot or citrus but that's about it for me.

As for the prices in the EU they've always been on the high side with Swedish Tobacco Tax & EU Sales Tax.

[timholian]

I might be totally off track with this and I apologise in advance if I am but I was thinking it seems strange that people in the EU yurn for SM but they can't have it where as it's freely available in the States but not overly popular there and yet the snus that we can get in the EU (in a roundabout way) eg. Skruf, Gotlands, V2, GN seems to have a bigger following in the States than in the EU and the States can't buy Skruf (and I think some V2?) in-country.

It may be, in part at least, that we always yurn for what we cant have. I am sorry for your loss, politricks suck monkey nuts.

[pris]

'Aint that always the way

It may be, in part at least, that we always yurn for what we cant have.

Agreed.

I am sorry for your loss, politricks suck monkey nuts.

[lxskllr]

I might be totally off track with this and I apologise in advance if I am but I was thinking it seems strange that people in the EU yurn for SM but they can't have it where as it's freely available in the States but not overly popular there and yet the snus that we can get in the EU (in a roundabout way) eg. Skruf, Gotlands, V2, GN seems to have a bigger following in the States than in the EU and the States can't buy Skruf (and I think some V2?) in-country.

You're not entirely off track, but SM snus is fairly popular over here(amongst experienced snusers) too. The issue is it's just a feedback loop from Sweden. SM doesn't make bad snus, just overrated. That's all there was for a long time, so other companies couldn't get a foothold on the market. It's like Marlboro cigarettes(this analogy won't be perfect, but you can fill in the gaps. Marlboro actually won through clever advertising). They aren't terrible or anything, but they're nowhere near the best. When my father was young, Marlboro was a discount brand; second rate cigarettes. Imagine if that's all that was /allowed/ to be sold. Marlboro is the world leader on name alone, not through merit. There's far superior cigarettes, but it can be a challenge finding them.

I don't understand what's going on with these other companies. They have a chance to start in a country with as even a position with SM as they'll ever get, but they aren't interested. That just boggles my mind. They'd rather stay in Sweden, and fight over single digit sales percentages :^S

[devilock76]

SM doesn't make bad snus, just overrated.S

Not sure I completely agree with that when it comes to Ettan Los and GES Los, but then again probably do agree on a lot of their other product lines.

Ken

[Nate5700]

Yea, the prices are terrible. The galling part is it's mainly due to an uninvolved third party taking a cut. Imagine buying a $3 box of cereal at the store, and when you get to the checkout, a goon squad shakes you down for an ADDITIONAL $3 to allow you the PRIVILEGE of walking out with your cereal. Ridiculous....

Well, this is basically what happens though. At least in Oklahoma, I know some places they don't make you pay sales tax on groceries but they do here.

Not really sure why I mentioned that, as I am no great fan of tobacco taxes in general, and if you're truly using it as a deterrent (which it's not) then the idea that taxes on smokeless tobacco should be anywhere near the same as cigarettes is insane. But since tobacco taxes are actually used as a revenue source and not a deterrent, it would be silly for me not to point out how regressive tobacco taxes are (that is, they hit the poor MUCH harder than they hit the wealthy).

Change of subject: I can't bring myself to go back to the junk that American tobacco companies call "snus". That said, I don't mind a mild sweetness with some mint or fruit flavor, but I'm still pretty new to this snus thing. General Mini Mint was my first Swedish snus and I imagine I'll always have a stock of either it or the full-size version. Goes great with a Coke. Now, I think you guys that have more traditional tastes should be able to get what you want too. But, I think we'd all like to see real snus become popular and widely available here in the states, and for that to happen there has to be some adaptation to what consumers here want. I don't think it's an either/or thing.

Now, as far as Northerner is concerned, I'm starting to get a vibe that they aren't well liked on this forum. For my first two orders I've gone through GetSnus which I guess was independent at one time but now if they aren't owned by Northerner they definitely have some sort of partnership with them. (If someone want to enlighten me on the details, by all means) Does anyone have a suggestion as to who I might go through for better selection and prices? I've looked at some of PP's auctions and there seem to be some decent deals there but I'd also like to support a good internet retailer because I think businesses like that are what will ultimately prove that snus can succeed in this country.

[StuKlu]

Does anyone have a suggestion as to who I might go through for better selection and prices? .

Premiumsnus.com

[HK11]

I've looked at some of PP's auctions and there seem to be some decent deals there but I'd also like to support a good internet retailer because I think businesses like that are what will ultimately prove that snus can succeed in this country.

I ordered from snuscentral recently and the tax/shipping was the same on 2 rolls as 4. So I got 4. Northerner was over 30 dollars more even with less expensive snus.

[lxskllr]

Well, this is basically what happens though. At least in Oklahoma, I know some places they don't make you pay sales tax on groceries but they do here.

Not really sure why I mentioned that, as I am no great fan of tobacco taxes in general, and if you're truly using it as a deterrent (which it's not) then the idea that taxes on smokeless tobacco should be anywhere near the same as cigarettes is insane. But since tobacco taxes are actually used as a revenue source and not a deterrent, it would be silly for me not to point out how regressive tobacco taxes are (that is, they hit the poor MUCH harder than they hit the wealthy).

Change of subject: I can't bring myself to go back to the junk that American tobacco companies call "snus". That said, I don't mind a mild sweetness with some mint or fruit flavor, but I'm still pretty new to this snus thing. General Mini Mint was my first Swedish snus and I imagine I'll always have a stock of either it or the full-size version. Goes great with a Coke. Now, I think you guys that have more traditional tastes should be able to get what you want too. But, I think we'd all like to see real snus become popular and widely available here in the states, and for that to happen there has to be some adaptation to what consumers here want. I don't think it's an either/or thing.

Now, as far as Northerner is concerned, I'm starting to get a vibe that they aren't well liked on this forum. For my first two orders I've gone through GetSnus which I guess was independent at one time but now if they aren't owned by Northerner they definitely have some sort of partnership with them. (If someone want to enlighten me on the details, by all means) Does anyone have a suggestion as to who I might go through for better selection and prices? I've looked at some of PP's auctions and there seem to be some decent deals there but I'd also like to support a good internet retailer because I think businesses like that are what will ultimately prove that snus can succeed in this country.

I don't have an issue with taxes /per se/, but I do have an issue with egregious taxes. Sales tax in MD is 6%. I'd be willing to concede a luxury tax for tobacco on top of that. another 6% TOPS. I'd prefer 4% because I like round numbers, and 10 is a good number. Some states are close to *90%* tax! That's ridiculous, and immoral. The only reason they can get away with it, is due to people's irrational fear of tobacco, and their desire to inflict their views/lifestyles on others. They did without egregious tobacco taxes for decades/centuries, they can do it again.

As far as Northerner is concerned; I don't have a problem with them. I picked them as an example because I think they'll be the only player in the not too distant future barring outright smuggling. Their prices are what they are. They're following USA law because they want to sell snus in the USA. It's a big gamble on their part, and I wish them all the success in the world. It's hard to blame a private company for the misdeeds of the government they operate in. The only thing keeping Northerner from being a great company is customer support. If they got their website tweaked, and warehousing/shipping streamlined, there's nothing anyone could pin on them that shouldn't be directed at the government.

[Ansel]

Gotlandssnus... I've been a long fan of this company, but I haven't been feeling the love lately. They're taking the Apple approach, going with form over function. Yea, the new tins are kind of nifty looking, but the old Gotland tins were better. The new tins aren't /that/ much different than the other company's offerings, and they have fewer portions in them.

Those old tins were something special.

[devilock76]

Those old tins were something special.

I agree, in fact even though I wasn't the biggest gotlands fan at first I lament certain lines disappearing. However I saved a tin or two, and I know transfer my SM los products to them as I use them.

Ken