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Where u buy your stogies?

So call me crazy, but I have an excel spreadsheet I use to track prices of my top 20-25 cigars. Anyone else do this? I have found that one place may sell a certain cigar at a reasonable price point, but then sell another cigar within the same family at quite a bit more. I only buy stogies by the box.

I also track who charges tax, who doesn’t, at what price point I get free shipping, etc. Anyone else as anal about getting their smokes as cheap as possible?

I quit buying from the following guys: JR, Cigars International, Famous.
I have found good deals on boxes from Holts, Atlantic Cigar, Cigar Place, and Fox Cigars.
Honorable mention to Neptune, Mikes, and Cigar King.
Where do you guys buy your sticks?
 
I personally haven’t been buying from the big online shops for a while, but when I did, it was Holts or CI. Ive got a few B&Ms near me that have my hard to find favorites and Privada Cigar Club for my boutique sticks. I still dip my toe into cigarbid every now and then.
 
So far in my tobacco journey I’ve purchased from Famous, JR, CI and cigarbid. I like famous for the most part good customer service and no excise/tobacco tax. CI was good but nothing pro or con. JR just drove me nuts with marketing and their pricing is not actually very good. Now that I discovered the Cigarbid auction site, I foresee this being my go to. I’m new and wanted to build a decent variety of sticks to age and try in the coming months. I can see cigarbid being the most economical way to keep the humidor stocked at whatever level I end up settling on.
 
Being in Canada has its benefits and drawbacks... Cubans are easily accessible (but expensive) and top Dominican/Honduran are hard to find (and insanely expensive).

Cigar Chief in Ontario is on my way to the cottage so I pick up a few sticks from them usually every few weeks. That is it for me in Canada.

I have been to Cuba a few times and have brought dozens of boxes home, so I have decades of good Cubans to smoke in my humidors and they were all cheap. Also, I was in Dominican in early March and stocked up on Fuente Opus X and some La Auroras as well.

When in the US, I order from Holts, JR and Fox when I travel (not since COVID) and have My Fathers, Fuente, Drew, etc. shipped to my hotel.
 
Some sites that do not charge tax may send something to your state revenue agency. I think I have only heard of Iwan Ries doing that but watch the different forums and you may see it pop up. I've just accepted paying tax is something I will need to do. It beats a letter from the state saying I owe them hundreds at the beginning of next year.

Also my go-to sticks when I order online, I know what a bargain price is for them. Most fall under the $3 range after shipping. Just what I watch for.

Right now I need to clear out a humidor before I buy more.
 
So far in my tobacco journey I’ve purchased from Famous, JR, CI and cigarbid. I like famous for the most part good customer service and no excise/tobacco tax. CI was good but nothing pro or con. JR just drove me nuts with marketing and their pricing is not actually very good. Now that I discovered the Cigarbid auction site, I foresee this being my go to. I’m new and wanted to build a decent variety of sticks to age and try in the coming months. I can see cigarbid being the most economical way to keep the humidor stocked at whatever level I end up settling on.
I’ve never had much luck with the bid sites, especially since I buy in bulk now.

Holts, Fox, Atlantic, and Cigarplace pretty much exclusively get my bling now. Then again, I pretty much exclusively buy Olivas or Cains and know exactly what their lowest prices are, wait until they pop up, and buy a few boxes at a time.
 

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
Dan:
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I get 'smokes' mailed from Switzerland (located in the Tax Free Zone at Geneva Airport), w/ a custom green tag declaring the contents and never a duty tax paid (as per Postal regulation), through USPS! :thumbsup:

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"The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting". Andy Warhol
 
I'm fortunate enough to have a great local shop with a good selection. I prefer to spend locally because they are the only one we have.
We only have one and I have to drive 80 miles round trip to get there. The owner is an absolute richard too, and it takes a lot for me to call someone that.

Was real spoiled in KC. They had some really good shops, but they didn’t have mountains. I’ll take the mountains any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
 
That is so sad to hear when local businesses need our patronage to survive (especially with an 80 mile round trip drive). I'm feeling even more fortunate now as the drive to my local shop is only about 5 min and the owner and manager are great guys.
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
My local shop is 68 miles round trip. I don’t get there often at all. It’s more convenient to order online. Kinda sucks too cause it’s a really nice place and everyone there is super helpful. I‘m not willing to drive that far to shop though.

I’ve got a folder of online shops bookmarked when I’m in the mood to buy.
 
There's a couple B&M stores around, all with basically the same stock. Like a Lowes, Home Depot, and Ace. I try to buy what I can there. It feels good to support a local business, and there's the instant gratification of not waiting for shipping.

But they're much more expensive. You pay a premium for that. It's worth it for sticks, to test some new ones or put out a nice spread for when the guys come over. But Cigars.com is a much better value for boxes.
 

seabee1999

On the lookout for new chicks
When I was still in the military, the few times that I did buy cigars online was through Thompson Cigars. Personally, I’ve not had an issue with them. Others have and that is their experience. Any more now, I’d just prefer to go to the local cigar shop and pick up some sticks. I have a few really good shops that are close by plus I’m supporting local small business.
 
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