Why Do People Pay So Much

[ams]

I dont know but this really really really bothers me. SO I AM GONNA RANT ABOUT IT.

Hookah is an arab thing, and so i have been exposed to it my whole entire life. But what bothers me is that when it took off in america people pay so much money to purchase a hookah. For example many stores and lounges have such a huge huge mark up on the items...a 100 dollar hookah, i can find that same hookah at a arab store for like 45 dollars and they have been selling it for years. Maybe I look at this differently because I have had this access, but i would imagine from word of mouth people would find out by now.

Honestly I laugh when i go to a hookah lounge or store and see someone purchase a hookah for like 150 dollars, cuz i know what they really should sell for.

so my point is to people...look for the arab stores, the hole in the wall store, that never advertises and they usually speak to you in broken english...ITS HIDDEN GOLD MINE...you will find tobacco, hookahs, and accesories dirt cheap. I know some of you dont live in the big cities and dont have access to this, but if you do live in one or near one...check it out.

here is a funny story...there is arab store and down the street from it is a lounge...the lounge actually sells the same hookah it buys from the arab store for twice as much.......ITS SO RETARDED!!!!!!!! i understand there is a supply and demand issue and there are costs to maintain a venue..But i think its time we put these people in check..for over charging the crap out of us, even the hookah lounges for serving crappy hookah, and charging us so much, esp when i can buy better tobocco, pack a quality bowl and smoke with my buddies and enjoy myself.

k end of rant

[MechAnt]

Amen to that brother! Local arabic stores are hidden treasure coves for NAME brand or even no name hookahs that smoke better than damn near anything out there for a steal. KM's sell at about $70 (or less if you know the guy) and MZ's at around that price as well. I order online cause I save a bit of money But for that instant gratification, local arab stores are teh way to go! And another local one sells AF at $8 for 250g flat.

[Canon]

anyone know of such a store in jacksonville or an hour from? id love to go there and check out what they have

[ZenSilk]

hmm.. so i live next to an Arab store. And he sells the shittiest chinese hookahs in the world for double or triple the price they are sold on the internet. So yeah....

And Mya's are expensive because they aren't Traditional style. They are Modern. The American Hookah Market is just much different than the rest of the world. ANd Mya's look more elegant than traditional hookahs to most people (not all of course) so they knwo they can sell them for 150+ bucks for their high-end models.

That's why i will never buy an Egyptian in America. After one such purchase i see how shoddily they are made, even the high end ones. If i'm paying 60 or more bucks for an Egytpian hookah, i atleast expect clean welds ya know? I rather pay 10 bucks in Egypt for an Egyptian hookah rather than 60 for the exact same one in America.

So buy a Mya and you get pretty good quality (minus the glass), or a Syrian (which, even when hand-made, are much better put together than Egyptian hookahs), or a Magdy Zidan or some KM Egytpian rigs (alot of KM's just look shiny and clean on their internet picture....).

[ams]

i agree with you.... any i forgot to add one more thing to my rant... The hole in the wall shops are starting to realize that people are dumb...so if you walk in and dont look middle eastern...the price goes up. So make sure you check out a few shops, usually u have to do business with once or twice and talk to them for a bit to get a good deal. Any who i personally do like the myas, and the fake myas are just as good in my exp.

bottom line they are still a gold mine compared to the other more modern, hip, trendy, cool, and familiar store/lounge


one more funny story, I ran out of 3kings coal..the arab shop sells a box for 8.00 and a stick for 1.00..and they were closed so i went to a lounge in lombard...HE FRIGGIN CHARGED ME 2.99 for ONE STICK...thats highway robbery...taking advantage of me during a desperate sheesha run.

[ASUSEAN1]

hookah bars will do tht too you man, you cant buy shit from them.. there is a place right near there.. naperville road and 87th jus west on 87th by a 7eleven.. its this Mediterranean restaurant that sells 3Ks

[Canon]

i went to a place that sells hookahs, they were trying to sell the cheap king of hookah "expresso" for $120.

another place was trying to do the same thing with the expresso, except he told me they were the best hookahs.

[ZenSilk]

You shoulda shot him in the kneecap.

[speel]

True true. The not being arab part is a big one here in queens nyc. Atleast i feel it feels like that.

[thecoalition]

alot of arab stores here in richmond will rip you on the price because they think you dont know what you are looking at. I was gonna buy a qt a few months back from an arab store and they guy tells me its "1 of a kind arab masterpiece" and that hell let it go for only 120 $.

[Canon]

greedy bastard, that kind of stuff pisses me off.. how could people be like that?

[gaia.plateau]

alot of arab stores here in richmond will rip you on the price because they think you dont know what you are looking at. I was gonna buy a qt a few months back from an arab store and they guy tells me its "1 of a kind arab masterpiece" and that hell let it go for only 120 $.

I lol'd. What was your reply?

[waterboi]

alot of arab stores here in richmond will rip you on the price because they think you dont know what you are looking at. I was gonna buy a qt a few months back from an arab store and they guy tells me its "1 of a kind arab masterpiece" and that hell let it go for only 120 $.

O wow! lol. And some people would fall for that and believe it. That is the sad part.

[Canon]

i just said "oh" then i mentioned the wholesale price being around 20 (i knew the wholesale price back then, i forgot it since then) bucks and he said that he got it for 100 and if i could get it cheaper then that then i should do that (he didnt take me seriously)

as far as it being the best hookah, i thought about it and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Snoopy1966]

There a couple place like this I like to go to in Chicago.(not the ones that try to rip you off) I can pick up a box of 3K QL's for $8 and 40mm for $10. Their Shisha is rock bottom cheap. Many dif brands too. I bought my first Hookah from one of these shops. He was honest with me and said it wont last long, but it is a good first pipe to see if I liked it. It was made by sultan and I got it for $20. They are always happy to see me when I go there.

[thecoalition]

alot of arab stores here in richmond will rip you on the price because they think you dont know what you are looking at. I was gonna buy a qt a few months back from an arab store and they guy tells me its "1 of a kind arab masterpiece" and that hell let it go for only 120 $.

I lol'd. What was your reply?

i laughed and said no offense but im sure mya would frown upon you making that kind of profit off of their crafted piece. he then told me to get out of the store and not come back. little did he know i worked across the street at the hookah bar where we only used mya acrylics and when i told my boss he went and had some arabic words with the guy. next thing you know the price was lowered and sign said "NOW SELLING MYA QT'S" was put up. but that was 3 years ago.

another store ive been too in a a last ditch effort to get coals sells 3k 40s for 17 a box...a bit pricey but not bad compared to the hookah bars that sell 1 roll for 5 bills.

[Bulldog_916]

I felt kinda screwed yesterday at a local shop. I got 1 roll of 3 Kings, a 40g shot of Pharoahs and a 50g pack of Al Waha Guava and they wanted 14 bucks. It's the only place locally that sells hookahs and shisha with a reasonable selection. They want 3 times the real value of each of their hookahs. For a junior hookah they wanted 100! For a Mya QT they wanted 120. Out-freakin-rageous pricing. The shop keepers were pretty nice so I didnt wanna let em in on the fact that their prices were AT LEAST double anything that is online. Nuts though.

[Bryantos]

anyone know of such a store in jacksonville or an hour from? id love to go there and check out what they have

The only one I know of thats ran by an Arabic fellow marks his prices up just as much as the others have mentioned. He throws some hose covers on a Mya 4 Hose (Not sure which Mya, but I know its a Mya), and said he'll let it go for $300, and that its a "good, rare, hookah."

I just said "No thanks" and walked out. Edited January 2, 2008 by Bryantos

[ams]

anyone know of such a store in jacksonville or an hour from? id love to go there and check out what they have

The only one I know of thats ran by an Arabic fellow marks his prices up just as much as the others have mentioned. He throws some hose covers on a Mya 4 Hose (Not sure which Mya, but I know its a Mya), and said he'll let it go for $300, and that its a "good, rare, hookah."

I just said "No thanks" and walked out.

try tampa..they have a huge arab community

[Bryantos]

anyone know of such a store in jacksonville or an hour from? id love to go there and check out what they have

The only one I know of thats ran by an Arabic fellow marks his prices up just as much as the others have mentioned. He throws some hose covers on a Mya 4 Hose (Not sure which Mya, but I know its a Mya), and said he'll let it go for $300, and that its a "good, rare, hookah."

I just said "No thanks" and walked out.

try tampa..they have a huge arab community

/refuse.

I'm not driving when I can get it delivered for cheaper shipping than what I'm paying for in gas. I can understand if I found a shop like that around here, but that far away is pointless.

[monkey530]

Anyone know a place in boston? I found a corner store near my college(northeastern) but I don't know what their prices are since I just go there for snacks and stuff.

[t_dats]

whats the best way to find such stores?? google tobacco shop?

[Hookah_Bob3]

I don't have time to read all of the replies to this post, but I can tell you it's because of one thing: We as Americans are just willing to pay more. We have a lot of disposable income as a whole and thus companies figure we will pay more. Is it nice? no. Is it fair? no. For instance, the American Express black card has much cheaper fees in foreign countries as opposed to the US just because we'll pay more for it

[ams]

I don't have time to read all of the replies to this post, but I can tell you it's because of one thing: We as Americans are just willing to pay more. We have a lot of disposable income as a whole and thus companies figure we will pay more. Is it nice? no. Is it fair? no. For instance, the American Express black card has much cheaper fees in foreign countries as opposed to the US just because we'll pay more for it

To find a spot, find an area in the city that has a strong arab population, chances are they will have a at least one or two arab ethnic food store, there you will find all arab groceries, sweets, quick eats and of course sheesha tobacco and hookahs.

The reason we get ripped off, because there is a craze that takes place in america, and we have higher consumer power. We dont know much about it..as its background or anything because it was never part of the american culture...and like any market people will capitalize off it. I grew up around arabs and so i always knew about it, and saw it at the stores and had it at my friends house,,,thats how i know about it, and refuse to pay the high prices...but someone who has no idea of the phenomenom will whatever price. A great example is the henna art people in the middle east and india/pakistan region do on thier hands...i remember when madonna appeared in one of her videos back in the days with it...it took off like a craze in america...there were shops willing to do henna art on your hands for like 100 dollars...where as if you go to devon street in chicago they will do it for 5 to 10 bucks a hand.

anyways i hope this helps and your able to beat out these prices, i think if someone had the resources they should open up an online shop selling all these items at low prices, beating out pretty much everyone. You would make your money on volume.

[seefoodlover]

I think that we are informed consumers and we can rise above these outrageous price markups. I went into a shop the other day, I was'nt looking for it it just looked like a cool place so I pulled over and went in. I was walking through the store and it was one of those novelty shops that you find in very touristy locations. Anyway, I find that they have a really nice looking hookah (it matched my bathroom (how cool would it be to have a hookah that matches your bathroom!??!?!)) and some Al Waha 50g sitting on a shelf. So I pick them up and take them to the counter and ask them how much. They wanted $175 for the hookah and $10 for the shisha. Now obviously they did'nt specialize in shisha or hookah's but cmon. I had an old debit card that had expired (I keep them just in case...) and handed it to her and when she told me it did'nt work i just said I'll be back with more money later and I haven't been back since. I might come back dressed as an old man and ask her to help me look at the things on the top shelf lol. Nothing like a good prank... anyways... I think that I'll just stick to buying my stuff online.