Sam’s Smoke Shop

I have been coming to Sam’s for a while for e-​cigarettes, and I cannot speak highly enough about Sam’s on Haight and Divis. Sam cares about his customers, has a good knowledge base, and always a wise political word if you are interested to hear!
Recently he started selling Ploom Model Two e-​cigarettes, which I love. They are vaporizers that heat organic tobacco, rather than using chemical combustion, to provide a smoke free cigarette experience. I looked all over the city for head shops that sold Ploom Model II + pods; there were none. When I asked Sam about them, he ordered them the next day.
I buy my Ploom pods from him, as the website requires a signature, and I am rarely home to receive packages.

Best whippets in town so the kids tell me.

i’ve driven by here a million times and this weekend was the first time i went in. i was surprised to see how helpful the clerk was when i was looking at pieces. i would pick out a couple to look at and he we would bring out a few more recommendations, as well. he included a free refill-​able lighter with a flashlight, which was a nice little gesture.
over all a pretty pleasant experience.

Not sure if I was ripped off from purchasing a new piece of blown glass art here (I misplaced one during my move), but they don’t have a large enough selection for me to choose from. I feel I had to settle for what I bought. I found a cooler piece at this other store next to Amoeba, but I’m sure I can’t return the one I purchased anymore and I’m too lazy to walk back (I walked with my friend from the Castro/​Market area to Divis/​Haight)
The cool thing about this place is they sell porn DVDs and sculptures… so there’s something for everyone if you’re not into cool, blown glass art pieces.
(|)

Ugh.
First of all, this place is extraordinarily overpriced. It’s as if they’re smacking you in the face and saying «we’re going to take advantage of you up front. You’ve been warned!» You can buy a high-​class grinder that sells for $ 50 there, for $ 25 at Daydreamz. This doesn’t even begin to start describing the incredibly rude service. Let me tell you a little story:
I wanted to buy a vaporizer. Might as well save my lungs if I want to keep up the habit for the rest of my life, you know? It’s a big purchase, so I wanted to make sure it’d be right for me. They didn’t have a Volcano (which I’ve used before) and said they wouldn’t be getting one in and that they were no longer being shipped to the US (which is an outright lie), so they convinced me to buy one of those Fuji brothers vaporizers. I asked if I could return it if I was unhappy with the purchase, and they said that I could.
So, blissfully excited, I take it home and try it out. Well, of course, the product sucks. Smoke escapes everywhere, it seems to be missing a piece, and is just a wretched purchase. I go to take it back the next day, and they convince me to give it another try after giving me the missing piece out of another box on the shelf (that was one of the first clues that I should have gotten that there was some sketchy business going on.) So whatever, like a kind customer I take it back and try it again. It still doesn’t work well, so I take it back. Well, the guy who sold it to me, who’s the owner of the place (the one who said I could return it), only works Fridays and Sundays, so I had to go back on one of those days to return it. So I wait a full week and then go back, and the guy tells me he can take it back, but he can’t refund my money. He can tell me when he gets a Volcano in, though, so I leave my number and wait for a call. Four weeks go by and I’ve heard nothing. I end up having to dispute the purchase through my credit card company (which succeeds, fortunately).
Overall, this was an absolutely wretched place to shop at. Sure, it’s a fine place for buying screens and any other cheap necessities that you can get anywhere… But frankly I’d say not to. Go support a business that actually deserves your money!

I’m too old to care about killer bongs, or vaporizers, or any other extraneous pot smoking devices, so, when I break my glass stem once every three months I trek down here buy one, and maybe once every eight months have to buy a new normal forty dollar binger. All things considered, prices fine, typical weird porno selection and odd crappy incense doo-​dads, but for my neighborhood smoke shop, it’s fine, just fine!

a hidden little gem on divisadero and haight. Porn and incense mingle with posters, bongs and tupac shakur shirts. Perfect …
Crack staff (no pun intended) and super friendly .
Fairly reasonable prices as well.

Decent prices and a friendly helpful staff to assist you with all your pseudo-​legal chemical needs. As Matthew W. noted, the punch card whippit plan is fantastic and they do have an extensive porn collection. The selection of smoking equipment is extensive, with a good knowledge of shisha equipment.

Please note that this review does contatin mention of tobacco products,
(please also note that I have NEVER smoked and will NEVER smoke cigarettes… EXCEPT
… for one teeny tiny incident when I was five. It wasn’t a whole cigarette. It was a huge mistake. A long story. I have never looked back since. Five year old lungs don’t forget!),
but I do not advocate the use of them in any way.
*******************************************************************************
I got back from Qatar last week. I’m already missing it.
I’ve been missing the late nights spent at local hookah spots, puffing on sweet fruit flavored tobacco molasses (shisha), sipping on hot chocolate, and playing cards with friends well until two or three in the morning. I’ve even been reluctant to wash out some of my apple shisha scented clothes from the trip. I’m afraid to erase the lingering fruity memories.
I was unsure if this past visit would be my last trip to the Middle East, so I decided that I would bring back a hookah pipe with me. A keepsake.
I shopped all around Qatar (we went to two spots) with my friend for the perfect one.
My pipe made the journey back safely and this past weekend I decided to set it up with some grape flavored shisha, that I had transported back with me. Realizing that I needed coals for the pipe to work properly — I ran over to Sam’s Smoke Shop.
The same owner as Superette — the guy behind the counter recognized me from Superette, and knew my name as soon as I walked in. A shisha smoker himself, he advised me on the best coals to purchase (happened to be the cheaper ones too) and showed me the best way to transport them from the stove to my pipe. He wished me the best of luck.
I needed it. I have a major fear of fire. It literally took me five months to use a lighter properly. Dumb-​ash (hold tongue while saying it) that I am, I attempted to light the coals through a frying pan (all of this captured on video). No luck. I tried everything. I was about to call Sam’s Smoke Shop to ask for advice, until my genius roommate came to my rescue. Coals aflame (the secret is blowing on them) — the shisha pipe worked perfectly.
Four solid stars for knowing that if I ever need anything else with my shisha pipe, I know Sam’s will be more than willing to listen and help. And they know my name.
*****Sadly, after doing more research on shisha and how bad it may or not be for you (apparently it’s debatable… not the bad part… but how bad), my pipe will probably make an early retirement. :(
Good thing it’s pretty. (very pretty)

*salvia divinorum*

that and the glass display case sporting lesbian sex statuettes alongside fruit-​flavored molasses and oriental jewelry boxes really bring this place together for me.

This place is all about debauchery. The three reasons to shop here
*Wall #1 to the right– an excessive collection of porn (weird thing to be sold in a pipe shop).
*Wall #2-​Bongs and pipes galore, with 40 varieties of ways to pass your urine analysis test.
*The various display cases with lesbian lover sculptures.
So this place which is a tobacco shop, sells porn, smoking accessories, and some really sketchy art forms.
On the way to the store my friend described to me how his younger sister would go into the jungle in Australia and pick hallucinogenic mushrooms. When I asked him if «CAnt’ she die from that» He responded: «No, she knows how to pick which mushrooms.»

Best deal on compressed gas for your whipped cream dispenser in town. Buy 4 and get the 5^th case free, complete with punch card so sooner or later you’ll get a freebie.