Bay Area Pipe Plus Wholesale

Over a few beers last night, my dear friend Sammy mentions he’d been thinking about buying a hookah, so he can exercise his culturally sanctioned heritage of smoking mango tobacco like the boss that he is. Being the shopping guru that I am, my quixotically selective photographic memory instantly pulls this place up out of the near encyclopedic catalog of shops stored in my brain, as I recalled seeing this weird sign saying «Wholesale Hookahs» in a really nondescript, industrial stretch between Oakland, en route to Alameda. i mentioned it to Sammy, and we made plans to check it out in the morning.
So, this place is a little hard to find if you’re not familiar with the area. Its basically a small warehouse in a larger complex that sells truck parts and restaurant supplies. The acid green interior walls care covered in posters of Bob Marley, and the glass cases and shelves are filled with a decent assortment of hookahs and various other smoking paraphernalia. The sales guy, Abu, was really nice and accommodating, but then again, we were the only customers in the place…
Here’s the catch: to get the wholesale price, you need to have a buyer’s (resale) license that show’s you’re a retail merchant. Otherwise, you pay the price listed + 20%, Even with the markup, you’re still paying far below the retail price you’d pay at an ethnic store /​head-​shop. (which usually has 50+% markup)
— IMPORTANT: They only accept credit cards for WHOLESALE purchases.
— The more you buy the bigger the discount
— Non-​wholesale (personal use) purchases are IN CASH ONLY.
— They do not sell flavored tobacco or charcoal so you’ll have to go elsewhere for those.
— They also do not sell those plastic mouthpiece covers (aka, pipe condoms), so please hookah responsibly.
— The selection range of hookah’s run from training wheels (about $ 10) to mid-​range sedan ($ 55) so if you’re a casual /​social smoker, you don’t have to feel bad about shelling out major clams for a piece that comes out every blue moon. However, if you’re looking for an ornate /​intricate /​showstopping type of hookah, you may find the assortment rather limited