I have thought about this before but for some reason it was really on my mind this morning. I was reading the average Cuban cigar roller makes $20 a month but can make more with bonuses for quality and amount of cigars rolled. I suppose it is like that in every country that we get our cigars from since they are not developed countries. Does it ever make you wonder if we are contributing to a sweatshop type business? Also, if the labor is next to nothing where does the enormous profit margin go, I mean I pay hundreds of dollars for what would take an average roller a quarter of the day to roll. I don't plan on never buying cigars again but some aspects of it seem really disgusting to me.

Socialism, baby.
When we get nationalized free health care here, you'll be happy with your $30/month

I never got my Obama-phone damnit..!! 😠

They sent your Obamy phone to the dude down the street that is driving the Escalade pulling 2 4wheelers and a Seadoo behind it.

Oh he called the other day and said to tell you Hey, and thank you.

That $20/month sure sounds low but as far as sweat shop conditions I have not seen it. Maybe the pics are staged but all I have seen are orderly, play music or have an orator for the rollers, etc.

Define sweatshop.

Are the workers enslaved? Are working conditions horrid? Are they forced to work 18 hours a day?

If the point is simply compensation, then what is the pay for other 'manual' labor in those areas of Cuba? Is it comparable? Gather some facts before you waste any outrage. Maybe you have, but I don't see the reason to be upset yet. Free healthcare, free education, subsidized housing, food, and a host of other stuff that the government takes care of. What is the cost of living? I strongly suspect that instead of being suppressed by the industry, they are simply victims of their government....no different than any other laborer in Cuba. Our government has imposed embargoes for a reason. Therefore, our feds have already tried to get you to avoid smoking Cuban cigars. Ironic that our government is controlling you so that maybe the Cuban government will control Cubans less?

By the way, I'm enjoying an extremely well-rolled PSD4 as I type this....I'll tip the roller if I see her

Rolling is a small part of the cost of producing a cigar compared to farming and preparing the tobacco.

Is this $20 American dollars? $20 pesos?

Yup. And add in storage and transport for more big numbers.

Distributors also place significant markups on the product.

There are many, many hands involved in cigar production.

The rollers are only one.

I'd imagine their salary is in line or better then the dudes chopping the leaves in the fields. At least the working conditions are a bit better than being in the fields.

I blame SteveR... 😟

I blame Canada...

Same for me.

Reminds me of somethin my MIL said the other day about the polar bears... She saw a pic of an old sick polar bear and was convinced they were all in that condition because of global warming... I was nice...😟

Drafter, have you seen her tits?

No way man... 🤐

Maybe sweatshop is not the right term, I intended to mean that the wages are insufficient for a product that we buy and many U.S. citizens are making a mint from (label owners). I would say working conditions are also not up to standards that we would accept here as well.

I know the argument that many other aspects are to be taken into account when making a cigar, but if I can buy a pound of plums for $1.29 I would imagine that farming, distribution, and storage would not take much capital as well, especially in the countries that these cigars come from.

I would be willing to bet that the cigar itself (lets say the MB3 for instance that we get for $3.50) would cost pennies on the dollar to produce. Not sure of the answer but it just feels wrong to me and sometimes weighs on my mind.

Pennies on the dollar?
How many pennies? 3? 5? 12, 18.... ??
Macro economics is too complicated for me.
Cigars, compared to plums, or probably most any other organic product, even wine, is a complicated product to bring to market, meaning, your doorstep, or your shpo.
In almost any line of product creation, there are those who work the most, for the least.........it’s always been that way, and is likely to stay that way.

A few years back, I was in a Dollar Tree store, and I bought a hammer, for a dollar?!
Yeah, it’s Chinese, but it drives a nail just fine.
A hammer...........for a dollar.....wtf........now THERE is some weird economics.

Delayed double post.........my bad........I think???

Inferior steel...one of these days the hammer will shatter and send an inferior steel shard Ito your eye... 😟

I don't recall where but remember reading that labels and boxes makes up a good chunk of retail cost too. Think it estimated like 40%? Going completely off memory. Don't trust me