I don't smoke my pipe often, but last year I bought some loose tobacco from an online B&M. Today I got the email below. I hope its only this retailer and not something true for all online shops!
"As some of you may have noticed, yesterday we had to change our online store so that it no longer accepts credit cards for purchases of pipe tobacco. This is due to a policy that has been implemented by the major credit card companies. We have been informed that they are no longer allowing sales of any loose tobacco over the internet to be paid for with their cards. We had this same problem a few years ago with PayPal. We are attempting to find a solution to this. We are also looking into other forms of payment that will be easier and faster for our customers but in the meantime we can only accept checks or money orders for online orders. If you have questions please call us at 417-886-8380 or 1-800-626-2971. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to have a resolution soon."