Smiley's Distributor

[OPD]

I am the distributor you are speaking of concerning Smiley's.....
First and foremost....your both wrong!!! I never once stated or even intimated(hinted) at a $9 pricing for 15 grams.
Another Fact: I never said I was going to discontinue 150 Gram jars. We are just changing the packaging and following a very proven marketing techinque of introducing an extremely high quality product into a market with competition.

With that said: Let's discuss what is happening here
Smiley is in a massive rejuvenation of his product lines:
Have you tasted the new and improved Smiley's?
Have you seen the packaging yet?
Do you understand that with quality product(yes, I am saying flat-out, Smiley's Shisha is Quality Product) pricing will reflect the quality of the product?

Consistency is the key....you won't find a bad batch or less flavor in the batch. With over 50 flavors currently and by the end of the year, doubling that amount of flavors will be another apparent reason why Smiley's is the highest quality shisha on the market.
Does anyone want to discuss freshness? please let's discuss this as well..
To all of those who posted on the last thread about Smiley himself or about his shisa. Please respond to me...I would like honest opinion's from people who actually have smoked Smiley's recently and those that are true connoisseurs of shisha, please explain to me what makes the other brands you speak so highly of, shine so well.
Please, now realize I never asked for any input on pricing right now, I want to hear from you why these other companies are soooo good compared? not price compared...
I am not taking anything away from any shisha company in the world right now, what I am clearly stating is there is a new player on the feild, Smiley's is a player, a very big player ( if you met him, you would understand)
so please, let's all discuss....Smiley's.....
and if you are a lounge, retailer, distributor, feel free to write me a note so we can discuss you carrying Smileys......

[mushrat]

So you going to get back to me about pricing? Said I'd hear from you friday and You'd have my shipment out by then and I've heard nothing and you don't return phone calls. You know where to reach me.

And So far the 59.95 for 300g's, if a true price as MN has reported, is going to price you right out of the market.

So gimme a call if you truely want to discuss things. I've been waiting only about 2 1/2 weeks. Since putting in my initial order with Smiley.
And to clarify...

My statement was that the 150G's were being phased out for the near future. Which you DID tell me and that you were intruducing the 15g shots at the SAME wholesale price. Thats aan increase by a factor of 10 in the price. The $9 that everyone is talking about is based on MNhookah's pricing for a 150g jar, a price they would have no doubt translated to the 15g shots at the same wholesale price. I charge a bit less in my Lounge for the 150g jars but would still have to charge the same price for the 15g shots if the wholesale price is the same. Why should *I* make any less money just beacuse you have decided the stuff is worth 10x what it was 2 months ago.

Hope to hear from you today, i'll be in the shop after 2 pm EST. Edited July 9, 2007 by mushrat

[Johnny_D]

Hi OPD.

I thank you for your opening post hopefully some issues can be put to bed.

I have only a limited experience of various tobacco's but i will offer my opinions.

I have smoked the 'original' smileys. Along with Tangiers, layalina, nahkla, al waha & Al Fakhir.
I have been smoking nargile for the past 10 years.

Your post appears to not want to deal with the reported prices in comparison. Only with Quality.
Well the quality difference between the above tobacco's is actually not a great deal. With layalina just taking the lead by a nose. Price-wise they are much of a likeness. Each with it's own individual qualities, Strengths & weaknesses.

As to your stated fact that 'Consistency is the key....you won't find a bad batch or less flavor in the batch.' that is one hell of a statement to make. I appreciate your confidence in the product and look forward to a Distributor who will stand by his products if a problem arises?

Personally, until the established pricing matrix is established (apologies for bad english there) You cannot really make a comparison.

You are going to deal with the rather child-like fashion in which Smiley left both forum's and that is going to be a small problem I think.

But good luck and I can't wait to see the prices!

JD

PS :- the original batch (as i stated often and supported smiley) was good. Flavour was not brilliant, did not have longevity . But for a 'first batch' attempt it was a pretty good smoke.

[OPD]

So you going to get back to me about pricing? Said I'd hear from you friday and You'd have my shipment out by then and I've heard nothing and you don't return phone calls. You know where to reach me.

And So far the 59.95 for 300g's, if a true price as MN has reported, is going to price you right out of the market.

So gimme a call if you truely want to discuss things. I've been waiting only about 2 1/2 weeks. Since putting in my initial order with Smiley.

Please call me...I have been trying you as well....
my # 520-319-5709*109

[OPD]

Hi OPD.

I thank you for your opening post hopefully some issues can be put to bed.

I have only a limited experience of various tobacco's but i will offer my opinions.

I have smoked the 'original' smileys. Along with Tangiers, layalina, nahkla, al waha & Al Fakhir.
I have been smoking nargile for the past 10 years.

Your post appears to not want to deal with the reported prices in comparison. Only with Quality.
Well the quality difference between the above tobacco's is actually not a great deal. With layalina just taking the lead by a nose. Price-wise they are much of a likeness. Each with it's own individual qualities, Strengths & weaknesses.

As to your stated fact that 'Consistency is the key....you won't find a bad batch or less flavor in the batch.' that is one hell of a statement to make. I appreciate your confidence in the product and look forward to a Distributor who will stand by his products if a problem arises?

Personally, until the established pricing matrix is established (apologies for bad english there) You cannot really make a comparison.

You are going to deal with the rather child-like fashion in which Smiley left both forum's and that is going to be a small problem I think.

But good luck and I can't wait to see the prices!

JD

PS :- the original batch (as i stated often and supported smiley) was good. Flavour was not brilliant, did not have longevity . But for a 'first batch' attempt it was a pretty good smoke.

Hey JD,
thanks for writing....so what your telling me, and what I have learned over the years of smoking, is that there is no real leader, quality wise, with what is offered on the market?
also, the new and improved is unbelievable and you know what, I do stand behind everything I or Smiley does....
so please, let me know where you buy your shisha from, I will talk with them, so you can get a Smiley Snack and then come here and tell us all how great this really is...
thanks for your input and look forward to joining this community.....

[DrShisha]

Lol You FUNNY guy. I dont care about the quality, are you saying 300g thing is worth 30 British Pounds??? When you can go to Dubai get 1000g of New Fresh from Ajman Al Fakher for 4 measly pounds or you can visit queensway LONDON ( 2nd most expesive city in the world!! and buy a kilo for 30 pounds!) . Its just insane honestly. I decided not to post on the previous post because it was too laughable. Me n JD know what its like to pay horrendous prices for tobacco. But TRUST me we would not even wink at your products with that price tag, no matter what the quality. They aint gold leaves....

[OPD]

Lol You FUNNY guy. I dont care about the quality, are you saying 300g thing is worth 30 British Pounds??? When you can go to Dubai get 1000g of New Fresh from Ajman Al Fakher for 4 measly pounds or you can visit queensway LONDON ( 2nd most expesive city in the world!! and buy a kilo for 30 pounds!) . Its just insane honestly. I decided not to post on the previous post because it was too laughable. Me n JD know what its like to pay horrendous prices for tobacco. But TRUST me we would not even wink at your products with that price tag, no matter what the quality. They aint gold leaves....

DR....
please tell me how you know the pricing of my product lines?
and another point, I am not in London...I am in the US....so please, if we are going to compare pricing, let's do it in dollars, and let me finish off with stating that my pricing isn't on the market yet, so how do you know again?

[Johnny_D]

Hey JD,
thanks for writing....so what your telling me, and what I have learned over the years of smoking, is that there is no real leader, quality wise, with what is offered on the market?
also, the new and improved is unbelievable and you know what, I do stand behind everything I or Smiley does....
so please, let me know where you buy your shisha from, I will talk with them, so you can get a Smiley Snack and then come here and tell us all how great this really is...
thanks for your input and look forward to joining this community.....

Quality, in my most humble of opinions, Is highly subjective.
Nahkla has a quality that i just cannot put my finger on. But i just love smoking it (maybe 4 times a month)
Layalina is just amazing. Great smoke, good flavour and i smoke it probably 20 times a month
Others I smoke in the between times.

I use mnhookahs.com for my purchases And i'd love to try a little of the new smiley's out.

thanks again for the calm & collected replies.

Best Regards,
JD

[DrShisha]

Time will tell. At the moment i just dont dig your smileys buddy. End of really. Theres alot of confusion regarding prices and smiley and smileys products...Like i say time will show how things pan out and how good your new products are and if they are worth the prices mnhookah quoted.


1 GBP- 2 Dollars (approx)


Thanks tho for coming on and giving it a shot in explaining a few things, Im sure it is no easy task. Edited July 9, 2007 by DrShisha

[ghostofdavid]

Friends, friends, let us keep the posting civil.

It we do not throw barbs and arrows at the character of another man, we prevent him from becoming very defensive regarding the position of something personal to him.

DrShisha's post was to compare the insane prices of shisha in the UK versus the purported Smiley's shisha 15 gram shots of expensive shisha. And that in the UK, the shisha would be even more expensive than Al Fakher (a relatively solid quasi-premium shisha).

Pricing should be one of the first released items on the market from a marketing perspective because of that whole supply and demand thing. However, it is not my business and I am not telling you how to run yours.

Price is a huge factor in to determining how the average tobacco buyer decides what to purchase. In fact, it is why Al Waha is so successful. The shisha isn't knock-my-pants off great, but is a good bargain for 8 bucks a tub. A steal for their After 9 tubs.


Layalina is a premium tasting shisha at a relatively low cost of 8-11 dollars a 250g container.

Tangiers is a good deal if you like the insane buzz it imparts to your blood and brains. Kashmir Peach? Worth far beyond the price I paid for it.

Starbuzz can be worth the 20 dollars per tin. Lemon Mint, Marlette, Peach are all stellar flavors. Premium flavors at premium prices.

Fumari is the same for me. Their white peach is worth the 9-10 dollar price tag.

Nakhla is worth 7 bucks for their shisha. Their double apple is worth a solid 10 dollars because it is so classy.

The desire of each of these shishas are completely dependent upon price. If Al Waha went up to say, 10 bucks a 250 gram. I would be much less likely to get it. Same with Nakhla. If Starbuzz went down to 12 dollars, I would buy a lot more. If Tangiers went down to 7 bucks, I'd buy kilos of Kashmir. Nature of the beast!

[OPD]

Time will tell. At the moment i just dont dig your smileys buddy. End of really. Theres alot of confusion regarding prices and smiley and smileys products...Like i say time will show how things pan out and how good your new products are and if they are worth the prices mnhookah quoted.


1 GBP- 2 Dollars (approx)


Thanks tho for coming on and giving it a shot in explaining a few things, Im sure it is no easy task.

DR....
I want to clear something up NOW.....MY PRICING is UNKOWN in the public right now...so how do you know what is worth what?

[oggie505#2]

does OPD stand for Old Pueblo Distribution??

[frankenstein_666]

OK, now I gotta try this stuff!...OPD...are you going to offer some smiley snacks to get true opinions of the product? I'll take one! I am a newbie to shisha and have tried TONS of flavors and I have (like everyone here) a strong opinion on most of them But hey....if you are stating an obvious that the smoke is something to be tried first..then we should ALL get a sampler j.k. man...I know you cannot do that...but I am up for the challenge!

[OPD]

Friends, friends, let us keep the posting civil.

It we do not throw barbs and arrows at the character of another man, we prevent him from becoming very defensive regarding the position of something personal to him.

DrShisha's post was to compare the insane prices of shisha in the UK versus the purported Smiley's shisha 15 gram shots of expensive shisha. And that in the UK, the shisha would be even more expensive than Al Fakher (a relatively solid quasi-premium shisha).

Pricing should be one of the first released items on the market from a marketing perspective because of that whole supply and demand thing. However, it is not my business and I am not telling you how to run yours.

Price is a huge factor in to determining how the average tobacco buyer decides what to purchase. In fact, it is why Al Waha is so successful. The shisha isn't knock-my-pants off great, but is a good bargain for 8 bucks a tub. A steal for their After 9 tubs.


Layalina is a premium tasting shisha at a relatively low cost of 8-11 dollars a 250g container.

Tangiers is a good deal if you like the insane buzz it imparts to your blood and brains. Kashmir Peach? Worth far beyond the price I paid for it.

Starbuzz can be worth the 20 dollars per tin. Lemon Mint, Marlette, Peach are all stellar flavors. Premium flavors at premium prices.

Fumari is the same for me. Their white peach is worth the 9-10 dollar price tag.

Nakhla is worth 7 bucks for their shisha. Their double apple is worth a solid 10 dollars because it is so classy.

The desire of each of these shishas are completely dependent upon price. If Al Waha went up to say, 10 bucks a 250 gram. I would be much less likely to get it. Same with Nakhla. If Starbuzz went down to 12 dollars, I would buy a lot more. If Tangiers went down to 7 bucks, I'd buy kilos of Kashmir. Nature of the beast!

Thanks
your proving my point completely..I am not here for personal vendetta's or any thing else like that....
I want to discuss quality right now..pricing will follow as the WRONG information is out right now...so I need to discuss the quality aspect first and foremost, then I will release the pricing on the market...thanks again for your input...
look forward to talking more here

[DrShisha]

+1 on ghosts post. Say scenario my mates tell me lets buy 100 dollars worth of tobacco from America, ship it over like mnhookah and hookahcompany do, Im gonna get whats good and quantity wise too. So Al Waha/Layalina/Bit of Al fakher would be a good bet you know what i mean? Id get like 2.5 kilos and itl last us all summer. Would i buy 300g at 60 dollars of Smiley? and get 0.5 kilo to last us all summer, i think not. If you get my jist.

I dont know your pricing. Its going on assumption of mnhookah, and they are very much loved here. Edited July 9, 2007 by DrShisha

[SmokeMojo]

I can say one thing now, I surely hope you have improved the Smiley's customer service skills because I placed an order with them before Nargile Club Closed and still have not recieved their tobacco. You'd think buying directly from the people who make the tobacco would be your best bet.. Wrong. I've sent several e-mails and I only recieved one reply about 2 weeks ago.

I can already tell you one thing, even if I recieve that order, and thoroughly enjoy smiley's smoke.. I will never order from the company again.. When the founder and owner of the product will not even talk to me, and assure the order and product are on the way, why should I give him anymore of my money?

I think this order has said a lot to me about how they deal with their customer base.. and I don't want any part of it.

I'm a long time hookah smoker and I exclusively smoke premium brands like Starbuzz, Tangiers and now Fumari. I was going to give Smileys a try even though it had recieved pretty inconsistant reviews... I can't believe that you can claim the product has changed THAT much that it will be the best on the market..

When you slap a no questions asked money back guarantee on your label, then I might believe it.. Until then let the public decide.

Let your boy smiley know that there is pissed off bald guy in Salem, Ohio that wants his damn order of Smileys he ordered nearly 3 weeks ago.

[Johnny_D]

I think this order has said a lot to me about how they deal with their customer base.. and I don't want any part of it.

In Fairness SmokeMojo this has no baring on the distributor.

You pay him for whatever you want to order. Time will tell of course if he's a good company ect ect

JD

[OPD]

I can say one thing now, I surely hope you have improved the Smiley's customer service skills because I placed an order with them before Nargile Club Closed and still have not recieved their tobacco. You'd think buying directly from the people who make the tobacco would be your best bet.. Wrong. I've sent several e-mails and I only recieved one reply about 2 weeks ago.

I can already tell you one thing, even if I recieve that order, and thoroughly enjoy smiley's smoke.. I will never order from the company again.. When the founder and owner of the product will not even talk to me, and assure the order and product are on the way, why should I give him anymore of my money?

I think this order has said a lot to me about how they deal with their customer base.. and I don't want any part of it.

I am very sorry to hear that, but I also would like to state simply. I am the distributor: so call me, my # has been posted already..let's discuss this...
I will deal with you direct personally, my name is Arnold...call me...

[Victim026]

Why don't you just end the big piece of discussion and release the pricing, that's what's really causing the uproar around here. It really won't matter what your quality level is if the price isn't right from the get go......

[OPD]

Why don't you just end the big piece of discussion and release the pricing, that's what's really causing the uproar around here. It really won't matter what your quality level is if the price isn't right from the get go......

Do I understand you correctly? quality doesn't matter??????

[Victim026]

Lol I knew that would get misconstrued, Quality matters, But Smiley has alot of ground to recover with his customers between the Nargile Club bit and then this new pricing floating around. My main point is that the pricing better be close to the same if not less if you want this apparently "NEW" product to get around and be tried, hence me saying to just release the pricing already so we know what to expect.

[oggie505#2]

1+ on what the correct pricing is.. Also since you say the pricing was wrong, I woudl liek MN to scan and attach their fax they got from you about the prices, to mee it woudl clear up if the earlier prices were just to bring smiley name back in the light, no matter if it was good or bad...


Edit since victim26 responded before me and add more stuff Edited July 9, 2007 by oggie505#2

[mushrat]

Actually, your pricing IS known. What you faxed to MNhookahs has been discussed as well as the informarion you gave me that the wholesale price of the 15G will be the same as it was for the 150g. (note I did not specify what that was.) You informed me that these 15g shots were sellign very well in fact. So we stand by our opinions on price.

As for the new and improved packaging. Perhaps, since I don't think you run a hookah lounge, I should explain a few things.

1) People are facinated when they see "Arizona" listed for Smiley's when it's surrounded by a bunch of "UAE"'s for the other brands.

2) I tell people his stuff is hand crafted by a loveable nut who happens to make great shisha. (I really do say this, people think its a riot.) THAT factor also helps grab their attention.

3)I often bring out my tubs of tobacco for people to smell if they are having problems choosing between 2 or 3 types (I carry 34 official flavors from 8 companies). And smileys smells pretty good.

4) if they are going to buy a jar, which doesn't happen all that often because it IS more expensive by comparison to many others, its not because the packaging sings, dances, projects holographic dancing girls, or is even shiney and new, it's because they like the TASTE of the shisha and the simple jars with the computer prunted looking lables only reinforces that the stuff is hand crafted, not mass produced, and worth the higher cost for the smaller container.

so now you are telling me that the quality issues have been resolved, so I won't get any more batches of the tasteless Blueberry i have gathering dust on my shelf. And you are going to a fancy new package. So now it's going to look all cool like Starbuzz, which i sell even less of but serve the MOST in the bar next to Al Amir. There goes the ahnd crafted charm. And how exactly DID you manage to get the consistancy improved from batch to batch? Is Smiley even making it himself anymore? Sounds suspiciously to me like you have moved to a new production "method" like large batch mass production. There goes the charm, here comes the useless packaging.

As far as reaching me, You've had my phone number and you know when i get in. I run a bar, so I'm not there early in the morning. You also had my e-mail because I e-mailed my order. If you'd wanted to reach me, you had the means. Feel free to call after 2.

[oggie505#2]

Better say after 2 PM Easter Time, this way it clarifies everything ..lol

[OPD]

I think this order has said a lot to me about how they deal with their customer base.. and I don't want any part of it.

In Fairness SmokeMojo this has no baring on the distributor.

You pay him for whatever you want to order. Time will tell of course if he's a good company ect ect

JD

Thank you JD, much appreciated..