Online Cigars

NOGILLS2

Shopping for Butera Royal Vintage Dorado 652, online, found price range from $85 to 180. I found this cigar to be very mild and I enjoyed the entire stick. My question to you who are educated, how do you decide on which online distributer to chose? Price? Reputation? Recommendations? As a NOOB I believe your knowledge can help me from making big mistakes and becoming discouraged.

Rolanddeschain

Speaking as relative noob myself, I looked at price when I started out. I had purchased a few times from CCOM before I joined the forum here and was pleased to find that the majority of people recommended CCOM(not just because they're the forum sponsor) I think it's like any online purchase, the proof isn't in the purchase but how well they fix a problem when and if one arises.

Dave

jgibv

first off, since this forum is hosted by CIGAR.com....we generally don't publicly post deals from their competitors as a courtesy. (feel free to shoot me a PM though)

but with that being said, reputation and price go a long way in the "online cigar world." 

any joe schmoe can open an online store front and sell cigars from their basement .... so you may save a few bucks with certain websites, but do your homework and make sure the site is reputable and they store their cigars properly. 

saving a couple $$ isn't worth it if the cigars arrive cracked/damaged and you have to fight for a replacement. 

MikeTodd

Also if you contact CCom, they will price match on some items. It will be a good way to start a long, loving and bank account draining relationship qith a great company!

Lee.mcglynn

Stop looking at price! I made the same mistake at first. Find what you like look at the reviewers thought and try to pin point why you like the cigar. After that keep reading and find stuff close to what you like in flavor profiles. Then start trying them... price imho is the worth of your time. If you make say $25 a hour then a $25 robusto is worth the relaxation and peace of mind. Yeah it sounds ridiculous at first but really there aren't that many highly priced smokes that are made. Look at it in more of a good mind set and not the value! Yeah there are a ton of great smokes that are much cheaper but find what you enjoy since it's your time and money going into them

0patience

While I am going to agree that Ccom is the place to buy, there are a lot of really good deals on other sites that are really hard to pass up.
If the rep at Ccom will match the price, it's worth trying. If not, nothing lost.

NOGILLS2

I am looking at the same cigar on different sites and wondering about the price difference. 

miller65rod

Price is the huge mark up with many cigars. Opus's for 50 bucks a stick come on man really. You can find them online for near MSRP in many shops. As always shop around. Call for price matches etc. 

I am with Lee I don't mind spending 25 bucks on a really good cigar compared to something else. I tend to enjoy my smoke time in a relaxing way and a really good cigar does just that. Now can I afford it, nope. But when I do splurge I really enjoy the smoke and the time. 

NOGILLS2

In my online shopping, I started this thread because I found a site that offered cigars at an unbelievable low price, below wholesale as it turns out. Researching the site I discovered that many have attempted to purchase cigars from the site "CigarStorehouse" only to have the funds removed from their account and never receive the cigars as it turns out it is a scam. That is what prompted me to ask the question. With a price range from $85.99 to &180.00, across different sites, for the same cigars, I thought WOW how can that be? It turns out as usual, if it's too good to be true it is!

Yes I am a newbie at this, but not a newbie to life! I really appreciate all of you here on this site. I appreciate the friends that I am making here, for many reasons. I also appreciate your patience with us NEWBIES. Thank you for showing us the way! Because All who wander are not lost!

Bob_Luken

Thanks for keeping us posted. It's a shame there are so many scammers out there trying to pickpocket on the internet. Buyer be very wary of low low prices.

TX98Z28

I personally have only bought online from the big cigar web stores, most of us know who they all are that have been buying for a while, it's no secret. Now your local B&M can be a good choice as well, but prices will usually be higher as there a smaller business.

Here in Texas around the Houston, Champions area we have a very nice B&M store chain. I feel like a kid in a candy store with the size of their large walk in humidor, they sell online also.  

Yakster

The home espresso community also deals with bogus websites with prices for espresso machines and grinders that are too good to be true.  Here's a write-up of things to check regarding an online web store before buying that should apply to buying cigars as well:

http://www.home-barista.com/advice/beware-of-fraudulent-online-espresso-equipment-vendors-t17050.html

NOGILLS2

TX98Z28 said:

I personally have only bought online from the big cigar web stores, most of us know who they all are that have been buying for a while, it's no secret. Now your local B&M can be a good choice as well, but prices will usually be higher as there a smaller business.

Here in Texas around the Houston, Champions area we have a very nice B&M store chain. I feel like a kid in a candy store with the size of their large walk in humidor, they sell online also.  

I have been to Stogies on Westheimer and had a great time there with a friend and made a couple of new friends there.  

TX98Z28

Serious Cigars off 1960 is my favorite local B&M. They are awesome, they have the Texas Cigar Festival there every year. I've never been to the festival but hear it's always stellar and tickets sell out quick. As far as online I buy from everyone, things are out of stock on one site I go to the next etc. or there will be a deal you just can't pass up and so on. 

YankeeMan

I have purchased from several of the larger online stores, I buy the majority from ccom because of their knowledge and great service.

I won't buy from the "T" outfit because of stale cigars and ccom's evil twin.  They jerked me over five returned cigars, so I stopped buying from them 4 years ago.

Rhamlin

I've dealt with most of the big online stores. Most are pretty good but there's one I refuse to use. I don't car if the are selling La Aroma Mi Amore for 2$ each ( well maybe then ) Starts with a T. They just jerked me around so bad. And the only way I could get them to stop calling me me was to threaten legal action. 

Odinson

I'm new-ish to buying cigars online. Still buy a majority from my local B&M.

Trial and error has brought me to ccom, had some bad experiences with a couple other sites. I had some bad customer service experiences on a couple other sites that'll remain nameless. I haven't had to contact customer support on ccom yet, but I'm confident they'd handle any problems like pros.

The one other site I kinda liked doesn't seem to sell many singles like ccom does. As a not too experienced smoker, I'm not interested in buying boxes or bundles, I like trying a wide variety, so ccom is great for trying different, single sticks my B&M doesn't carry.

0patience

Odinson said:

The one other site I kinda liked doesn't seem to sell many singles like ccom does. As a not too experienced smoker, I'm not interested in buying boxes or bundles, I like trying a wide variety, so ccom is great for trying different, single sticks my B&M doesn't carry.

This. Right here.
Any cigar place/site or retailer should be selling singles.
I know most will use the excuse that they don't want to break open boxes, but they have to realize that most of us aren't going to buy a box until we have had a couple of that specific cigar.

Most of my orders, with exception of some cammies, are singles and 5 packs.
Because I like to try different cigars.

If I go to my B&M and tell him I want to try a specific cigar, can he get me a couple, he will try and get them.
If I call Ccom and say I want to try a specific cigar, they have been pretty good at fulfilling that request.

I tell my boys that a place having what you want, how you want it and treating you good is the place you want to continue to deal with and if they piss you off, tell them why and what happened without being a d i c k and they will usually make it right.

jlmarta

I generally buy 5-packs - particularly if I'm trying something new. My reasoning is that if I don't care for one or two from a given fiver then I've got 3 or 4 left that I can use in trades or bombs. 

I rarely buy a whole box. Occasionally, I'll run into a good deal and buy two fivers - that's essentially half a box. It'll work for me.