I hear ya Tandem! I think many here are simply in denial. I mean, if I am noticing a change in the 3 months I have been here, surely the guys who have been buying from this site since it opened must surely notice it?? I would think they would if they have been paying attention.

Well, I still turn to CBID for some of my cigar smoking needs like cheap lighters t-shirts etc., but when it comes to buying well known brands of cigars by the box, I haven't found a deal here since June.

I guess if you have the time to bid on the same item week after week for months and months in the hopes of one day getting the item for less than the going rate has been for the last 6 months (for most popular premiums that means retail or higher!), more power to ya. But when I am running low on a favorite, I am not willing to wait that long.

I still contend that retailers will be the death of this site for the individual cigar smoker.

I am a retailer and I occasionally get product from CBid as I can sometimes get it less than wholesale even. Always enjoy coming here and the guys and gals who run it are great.

Could you guys explain to me what you mean by retailers. Are you talking about people who buy here and then re-sell, or people who are retailers of the brands and are bidding up to drive the prices of their products up?

We're referring to guys who bid on entire lots of merchandise as a matter of course.

By LOCKING UP the entire auction with their auto-bid, they force others to push through their bid limit to get into the auction, thus pushing the price up to and in many cases beyond auctions where retailers are not involved.

I can tell you, it is pretty fricking annoying, and although there are no rules against it, there damned well should be!

I must have overlooked MontanaJack's post. I guess it is obvious to me now, that retailers will be the ones who buy up whole lots to sell. But, GG, what if an idividual just wants to stock up his/her house-a-dor with an item?

BTW Montana, The name Montana Jack is famous in our house....when I take the kids fishing, I do a puppet show with the fish on videotape when we get home. One of the characters is Montana Jack, a wiskey drinking, one-eyed, wrangler (from Montana).

I just hope that you are not a whiskey drinking, one-eyed, vengefull, gun-toten, bowie knife wielding, cigar dealer (from Montana), who is sensitive about his handle.

Fish puppet show.....twisted? Maybe; but not as twisted as people giving credence to anything Rush Limbaugh has to say on the Political board.

Yo Pm!

It doesn't take too long to single out the retailers from the OCCASIONAL gift giving individual. When you see the same names bidding on entire lots of the SAME ITEMS week after week, it becomes pretty obvious that they are not buying this stuff for personal use.

I have no problem with retailers trying to get a deal, but when they do it by screwing over the folks this site was obviously designed to cater to, thats when I start bitching!

I hear you GG.....I am not a retailer, so I guess I will join you.

I'm with you guys too. Free enterprise is what made this nation great. Unfortunatly for us,it's a burr under our saddle. I just hope these guys run out of room or money. till then I'll just be patient and pick up a few scraps here and there. I just picked up a box of Mayorga Parejos in Maduro for $58,well under retail. You just have to be more vigilant. X

Good score on the Parejos X!! Great smokes!

Fubar and I scored a box each last time for $55.00, but I think the only reason for that is most folks don't know about these smokes. (Thank God!) At least, I have never seen a retailer try and scam the whole lot of these before, and I bid on them often.

Wish I could say the same for Partagas, MonteCristo and Bolivar! :o(

GoldenGoose7 and also Trish. Hi, Trish. You recently mentioned that you found retailers annoyed you at antique auctions by outbidding you just enough to keep you from getting your bargain. Later, you were advised that this was OK because you’re never entitled to a “steal”. May I add a little insight to this? [BR]

My cousin was an antiques and art dealer in London. He explained that there was a group of retailers who made a living by going out of business, the oriental carpet business. Acting as a group, but not necessarily in collusion, they sold to the public at going out of business auctions. Any good lot would never sell at a low price because another dealer would always buy it. In that way they kept the good stuff at good prices amongst themselves. Even he, as an outside dealer, was excluded. No one is accusing CBID of this but you can see why we, the public, could be annoyed at seeing our sought after lots swept away to someone else’s store.[BR]

I did know a tobacco retailer in West Lafayette who told me that he would go to Walgreen’s to buy out their stock of sale items, in part to save a little money over wholesale, but also so the public wouldn't get the wrong idea of what the real price should be. This took from Walgreen’s their expensive loss leader promotion and the public never got their “deal”.
🇧🇷
I still like CBID, wish you every success and hope you make a lot of money so that you can continue. And I hope my paragraph marks work this time.

Ok, I’ll try the less than, greater than brackets to make a paragraph. Sorry for the clutter.

GoldenGoose7 and also Trish. Hi, Trish. You recently mentioned that you found retailers annoyed you at antique auctions by outbidding you just enough to keep you from getting your bargain. Later, you were advised that this was OK because you’re never entitled to a “steal”. May I add a little insight to this?


My cousin was an antiques and art dealer in London. He explained that there was a group of retailers who made a living by going out of business, the oriental carpet business. Acting as a group, but not necessarily in collusion, they sold to the public at going out of business auctions. Any good lot would never sell at a low price because another dealer would always buy it. In that way they kept the good stuff at good prices amongst themselves. Even he, as an outside dealer, was excluded. No one is accusing CBID of this but you can see why we, the public, could be annoyed at seeing our sought after lots swept away to someone else’s store.


I did know a tobacco retailer in West Lafayette who told me that he would go to Walgreen’s to buy out their stock of sale items, in part to save a little money over wholesale, but also so the public wouldn't get the wrong idea of what the real price should be. This took from Walgreen’s their expensive loss leader promotion and the public never got their “deal”.


I still like CBID, wish you every success and hope you make a lot of money so that you can continue. And I hope my paragraph marks work this time.

You would think it would be illegal in many states for retailers to purchase their inventory this way. They don't have to report their inventory to anyone. Dont pay State taxes on the tobacco they purchased. If they keep dual books, they can sell the cigars they bid on here, charge sales tax and never have to report it to their State and local Government. In addition, they run their business at a loss on paper so they can come here and bid $27 on glass humidors. Just gotta keep bidding and hope one or two lots pass unnoticed by the retailers.

http://www.cigarbid.com/auction/lot.cfm?lotID=68292 

CI sells a box for $128. Personally I would rather have a Padron Anniversary.

Those CAO are still below retail. They go for 13 bucks each and if you buy a box of 10 you pay $128. Not much of a bulk savings. CAO is sure proud of them. I never tried one.
But I am sure some of our fellow posters will be recieving a box on Monday that they got for 50 bucks.

rayder1,

You are right it is illegal, and the proper authorities in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and California have been notified and are investigating along with the BATF (a fun bunch of guys).

You may see the retailers bidding here come to an abrupt end. I have said it before "the tax man is coming".
If you suspect that the person you are bidding against is a retailer and is trying to skip out on his tax burden, turn him in. If he in not a retailer that is breaking the law, then he has nothing to worry about.

CI should also consult with thier legal counsel to see if they can be held liable.

C'mon people ... I know that 'overbidding' is irritating to a lot of people ... HOWEVER, let he who has paid STATE taxes on ALL cigars purchased through cBid cast the first stick.

Regardless of Retailer or Consumer - we are ALL required to pay state sales tax on ALL cigars we purchase here on cBid ...

So, now knowing this, I'm sure that all of you "law abiding cigar smokers" will be including your purchases on your 2002 State Income Tax returns?