This is for any of you that have been around C-bid for over a year.
I am curious as to wether you have noticed a change in the price of cigars over the past year, 2 years, whatever?
We all know of the big cigar boom in the mid 80's and how much money trash cigars were bringing.
I have only been around c-bid for 5 mos and it seems like it is getting busy around here. It appears as though cigars are auctioning off higher than they were 5 mos ago.
So anyway, I was just curious if you veterans have noticed a rise in prices over the longer term?
Thanks for your input,
Ron

If the prices are higher it's the fault of the overbidders. If we pay a higher premium, its our fault for trying to outbid the overbidders.

When you can get the same stick from the mother ship (C.I.) for a lower cost due to overbidding... why not?

JMHO

I see your point there... so have you noticed the prices at CI increase in the past year or 2?
Ron

I honestly have not paid too close of attention to it.
Sorry;-(

Rich

Ron,

I have definately seen higher Cbid prices. When I first came on board I bought a box of Oliva Ovations for $67. Now you can't touch them for close to that.

I have also seen cigar prices in general come down. Using the "O" as the example, a year ago they were $125/box, but now I can get them for under $100. There is more competition from online vendors, so if you find the right vendor you can save a lot of cash.

There are search engines that will search all of the online stores and provide you with the price of each cigar from each store sorted from lowest to highest.

I've been buying from the site for over two years, I would say that the prices are cyclical in nature. Higher in the summer and before the holidays, but CBid trys to manage demand by putting more lots out for auction. There's probably twice as many lots now as there was 2 years ago, if not more. You can still find great deals on smokes but overall the prices have probably increased a bit along with demand and online cigar purchases.

The other factor for me is that over the last 2 years I've also developed my palate and my normal purchases have changed. Unfortunately, I find myself gravitating to higher end cigars that cbid doesn't carry so I've had to look elsewhere more often.

C

CW is right about it seeming somewhat cyclical ... but overall, I think that while it IS a little busier and there is a little more competition in the auctions now than there was a couple of years ago, it's still possible to do quite well if you pay attention to what you're doing ...

One thing's for sure, Cbid seems to have gotten more high end lots recently and those more premium lots do get bid up to and occassionally beyond retail. Perhaps as your taste gravitates toward these better cigars you might notice fewer deals. But in the more moderate range prices seem reasonable and deals are still availble.

I was thrilled about this one last night

http://www.cigarbid.com/auction/lot.cfm?lotID=121631 

2.80 per on a premium cigar that retails at 105 - 125 for a box of 20. (that's alomst half price!!)

I think it depends on what's being offered and what guys have in their 'dors. When something is initially offered, people stock up at a higher price. As demand falls, so does the price. Sometimes demand stays constant(fuente products).I know what I want to pay. I keep bidding until I get them at my price. Or I switch to an altenative. It always depends on how bad and how soon you want a particular cigar.

I've been here since around late 97.I think thats when the site started.I know it says 98.The web site was very small and the product was very very limited and you had maybe 20-30 bidders. And by the way Hubcap was one of them. Back then and still today a 5 pack would run about 15.00. I think the reason for higher prices,1 better product and 2 the number of people using this site.It has to be in the thousands. I bet Cbid had no idea how big this site would become. They have gone from 10-15 lots a day to hundreds.

ahhhh...the good old days.

When I first came on board - Some Time Ago - I could get a good cigar for a nickel. That is what this country needs a good nicekl cigar.

=)

Regards,


B

I like the rejoinder made by Franklin P. Adams to the statement that what the country needed was a good five cent cigar ... I think it's as relevant now as it was 75 years ago when he said:

"There are plenty of good five-cent cigars in the country.
The trouble is they cost a quarter.
What this country needs is a good five-cent nickel"

Oh, and like CEO said ... there were fewer bidders then, but fewer cigars to bid on as well ...

Don't imagine for a second that the first "overbidder" thread was started anytime recently ... that one's no longer a dead horse ... even the skeletal remains have been flogged into nothing but dust, the majority of which has been borne away on the wind produced by the ceaseless flogging