tank71663
a year ago
Also... retail is different in different parts of the country..
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CigarHoarder
a year ago
So I’m obviously very new here.. only just heard about this site from a friend, and I’m very much appreciating the good deals I’ve already gotten here so far. I sure wish I knew about it years ago! Of course, I’m a cash guy, I usually don’t order stuff online.

I’ve made five orders so far, for a total of 458 cigars, just under $1,700 including shipping. That’s an average of about $3.70 per cigar, for primarily a bunch of cigars that retail for $15-20 each. I’d call that pretty good, but it’s already clear to me that I can do better. I need to buy more bigger packs instead of five packs so I can save on the shipping. But right now I’m buying a bunch of different things to try them out. I also bought a few boxes to give out as christmas gifts, and that definitely raised my average price per cigar a bit. I bet my average per cigar is under $3 if I don’t include the much more expensive boxes. I’ve noticed some particular cigar varieties always seem to sell for a much higher percentage of MSRP. I’ve avoided those so far, hoping for a better deal to come along. I don’t have a particular favorite that I just have to have at any price, so if better deals on those don’t come along, I’ll be just fine. Plenty of other fish in the sea.

I’ve seen some of those auctions where people bid them up almost to or even over MSRP, and all I can do is shake my head. Then I move on to the next one and find a great deal. It’s really not that hard. Just requires patience and discipline. Decide how much you’re willing to pay for a given lot and don’t go over that. If other people bid it higher, that’s their problem. Same with every other form of auction on the planet. There will always be noobs and impatient folks who overpay for the things they want. Doesn’t mean I have to.

I used to go to government vehicle auctions all the time. Prior to the market crash in ‘07 there were plenty of great deals to be had. But when things went bad and people started losing their homes and cars left and right, they heard from friends about the auction thing and brought their total lack of discipline and foolish impulsiveness to them and started bidding up these untested fleet vehicles to just as much as it would sell for on craigslist. All I could do was laugh and shake my head. I focused my efforts back to the old tried and true method of waiting for the vehicles that people would inevitably post and make it clear that they needed to sell it fast to pay bills. It’s amazing how many cheap cars I bought when people were bidding up the auctions to the point of absurdity.

You just have to adapt to the market. Patience. Discipline. Watch Veruca Salt and the others buy the first thing they see, while you hang back quietly and wait for the deals. Learn how to spot them in advance so you’re ready to pounce when the time is right. For some of us it’s a game, a challenge. You win some, you walk away from some, but you never lose because you never let emotions guide your purchases. Simple in concept, but difficult for impulsive people to put into practice.

The same holds true here. There’s too many fish in the sea to get hung up on any one of them. Let the bad ones go and there will be another one along momentarily.

I’ll be busy trying out my many new varieties for some time now. As great deals on others come along, I’ll add to the stash.
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tonygraz
a year ago
You are hooked !
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CigarHoarder
a year ago

THIS !

jespear wrote:



I’m actually curious about that.. have you guys moved on because you’ve found even better deals elsewhere? Or perhaps bored of the selection available here? I enjoy cigars and have for many years, but I have very rarely splurged on any REALLY expensive cigars, and didn’t enjoy them enough to justify the substantial extra cost. I’m not well off enough anyway to smoke $30+ cigars on a daily basis. Just curious what the average perspective is here on this.

I know there’s a lot of cheap, sub-par cigars available here, but there’s some pretty good ones as well. I’m rather enjoying finding a bunch of cigars that retail for $20 or thereabouts for $2-3 apiece here.
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frankj1
a year ago
retail for $20 but sell for $2-3 here...?
That can only mean (drumroll..............)


GURKHA
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Palama
a year ago

I’m actually curious about that.. have you guys moved on because you’ve found even better deals elsewhere? Speaking for myself (…and perhaps a few others…), I’ve moved on because my palate has moved on. I’ve also learned A LOT by reading comments posted on forums, be it here or other sites. Or perhaps bored of the selection available here? I wouldn’t say “bored” but fo’ sure the decreasing selection variety as well as the implementation of MAP has made this, and many other auction sites, less attractive. I enjoy cigars and have for many years, but I have very rarely splurged on any REALLY expensive cigars, and didn’t enjoy them enough to justify the substantial extra cost. I’m not well off enough anyway to smoke $30+ cigars on a daily basis. Just curious what the average perspective is here on this. Ain’t nobody, other than the super rich, that can smoke $30 cigars on a daily basis. 😆 Additionally, don’t take this the wrong way (…and I could be wrong in this assumption…) but I suspect your palate is closer to Beginner than Experienced. At this point, you’ve equated expen$ive with great and been disappointed more than WOWED! For me, the reality is moderate to moderate+ cigars can be MUCH better. Get involved in the PIB / trade process here and expand your horizons.

I know there’s a lot of cheap, sub-par cigars available here, but there’s some pretty good ones as well. I’m rather enjoying finding a bunch of cigars that retail for $20 or thereabouts for $2-3 apiece here. Retail prices don’t mean diddley. Lots of grossly overpriced out there. Don’t be fooled by a high retail and super cheap winning bid price. There’s a reason why you’re able to win $2-3 smokes.

CigarHoarder wrote:

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CigarHoarder
a year ago

Palama wrote:



Much appreciate this reply.. you’re correct of course, I’ve smoked many cigars, but not a wide variety of cigars as of yet. Mostly milder, connecticut wrapper run of the mill cigars that I’ve still enjoyed. Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real and Rocky Patel Vintage 1999 more than anything else. Nice easy afternoon smokes with a good cup of coffee or glass of scotch and I don’t have to worry about having a heavy meal beforehand. I shied away from darker/stronger cigars for a long time because I didn’t think they would be to my liking, but in recent times I’ve found that not necessarily to be true. My food tastes have always leaned heavily towards sweet rather than spicy, creamier and richer rather than sharp and in your face. I think my cigar palate still generally leans that direction as well, but I’ve recently had some stronger/darker cigars that I did enjoy. I still do NOT like spicy cigars at all. I don’t mind bold flavors, but I don’t like spice. For example, I’d much rather have a nice dry aged rare to medium rare filet than some heavily seasoned and marinated and fancified tri-tip.

You’re of course correct about price not mattering that much. I’ve found that especially to be true with these new world Cohibas. Just not very good at all for their retail prices. I mean, at $2-3 apiece here I’ll still buy some of them, but I sure wouldn’t pay retail for them. However, the other day I tried a Zino Platinum Scepter for the first time and really enjoyed it. For $20 retail I wouldn’t have been overly impressed, but for the $3 and change that I paid here I’ll absolutely buy some more. Likewise for the Macanudo Gold Label I tried last week.

I haven’t found any other websites that compare with this one on prices.. am I missing out? Seems all the various retailers are pretty well in line with each other on their prices for most common varieties. A friend told me about this site and I was quite pleasantly surprised at what I’ve found so far. I can try out an awful lot of different cigars without spending a fortune.

I haven’t purchased any Gurkhas. In fact I’d never even heard of them prior to discovering this site. Though I did recently pick up a humidor on craigslist full of bone dry cigars that I’m attempting to rehydrate slowly, and there are some Gurkhas in there. But based on my reading I’m not expecting much from them. Seems they aren’t popular around here, sounds like for good reason! However, there are some particular cigars in that humidor that absolutely are worth trying to resurrect, so we’ll see how that goes. If nothing else, I got another nice humidor out of it.

Forgive my ignorance, what is the PIB/trade process you refer to?
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PapaWhiskey
a year ago
CH check the trade threads Palama topped so you could easily find. It's fun and you will get to try cigars you never would have thought of buying but turn out to be excellent and a new favorite.

I've bought a ton of cigars here in the past. The Cohiba Black and Red were the last favorite cigars I bought here. I think I bought a couple hundred each over several auctions or freefalls. Both are good cigars and even better with age.

The problem for me and many others here I suspect is that we can't find the cigars we want here. From the Cohiba I got hooked on Arturo Fuente then Ashton then Foundation, Warped, and so on. Once in a while they used to have a box of Fuente I liked but I could always get for a better price elsewhere. As far as daily cigars I'm usually around $5/cigar with deals that I find online, $10ish in the store. Celebratory cigars for me are $10-$15/cigar with online deals, same cigars $20-30ish in the store. Sometimes I celebrate a lot...

You should introduce yourself. There is a thread somewhere for that you can probably find or someone can top for you. You can't come in all sideways, we have important questions about waffles and such.

Welcome and good luck.
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Tiver
a year ago

So I’m obviously very new here.. only just heard about this site from a friend, and I’m very much appreciating the good deals I’ve already gotten here so far. I sure wish I knew about it years ago! Of course, I’m a cash guy, I usually don’t order stuff online.

I’ve made five orders so far, for a total of 458 cigars, just under $1,700 including shipping. That’s an average of about $3.70 per cigar, for primarily a bunch of cigars that retail for $15-20 each. I’d call that pretty good, but it’s already clear to me that I can do better. I need to buy more bigger packs instead of five packs so I can save on the shipping. But right now I’m buying a bunch of different things to try them out. I also bought a few boxes to give out as christmas gifts, and that definitely raised my average price per cigar a bit. I bet my average per cigar is under $3 if I don’t include the much more expensive boxes. I’ve noticed some particular cigar varieties always seem to sell for a much higher percentage of MSRP. I’ve avoided those so far, hoping for a better deal to come along. I don’t have a particular favorite that I just have to have at any price, so if better deals on those don’t come along, I’ll be just fine. Plenty of other fish in the sea.

I’ve seen some of those auctions where people bid them up almost to or even over MSRP, and all I can do is shake my head. Then I move on to the next one and find a great deal. It’s really not that hard. Just requires patience and discipline. Decide how much you’re willing to pay for a given lot and don’t go over that. If other people bid it higher, that’s their problem. Same with every other form of auction on the planet. There will always be noobs and impatient folks who overpay for the things they want. Doesn’t mean I have to.

I used to go to government vehicle auctions all the time. Prior to the market crash in ‘07 there were plenty of great deals to be had. But when things went bad and people started losing their homes and cars left and right, they heard from friends about the auction thing and brought their total lack of discipline and foolish impulsiveness to them and started bidding up these untested fleet vehicles to just as much as it would sell for on craigslist. All I could do was laugh and shake my head. I focused my efforts back to the old tried and true method of waiting for the vehicles that people would inevitably post and make it clear that they needed to sell it fast to pay bills. It’s amazing how many cheap cars I bought when people were bidding up the auctions to the point of absurdity.

You just have to adapt to the market. Patience. Discipline. Watch Veruca Salt and the others buy the first thing they see, while you hang back quietly and wait for the deals. Learn how to spot them in advance so you’re ready to pounce when the time is right. For some of us it’s a game, a challenge. You win some, you walk away from some, but you never lose because you never let emotions guide your purchases. Simple in concept, but difficult for impulsive people to put into practice.

The same holds true here. There’s too many fish in the sea to get hung up on any one of them. Let the bad ones go and there will be another one along momentarily.

I’ll be busy trying out my many new varieties for some time now. As great deals on others come along, I’ll add to the stash.

CigarHoarder wrote:



That's not that unusual. I suggest you slow your roll for a bit unless you are a 3-5 per day smoker. But that's just my thought. Many start out in a similar spree. Drop the clicker and stand back for a breather. These buys are pretty much there every day. The smokes for sale on cBid don't change much, but your desire to explore as well as your palate might. Especially if you hang around here listening to tales of cigars that promise delivery notes of buttery shortbread. You can find a lot of good info and some possible direction and places to buy additional variety you won't find here. There are plenty of budget conscious brothers who share where to score some decent deals.
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Mraia
a year ago
CH welcome aboard here. this forum is a great resource with some top-notch people. I personally have been smoking for many years, but only in the last 5-6 have gotten really into it, exploring the different brands and blends. Now, eventually, its likely you will 1. either get bored with the selection here, and simply use the auctions to replenish the old familiars that you like (Olivas, Rockys, etc etc). NOTHING wrong with that. You will move on to other sites and experiment. This is what I do. Or 2. move on completely. I dont recommend that. I myself dont contribute too much to the forum, preferring to sit, listen and laugh (some really funny guys here). Thats fine too.
The thing is, the deals are, for the most part, outstanding. Freefall is your friend, and like someone else said here, the cost of a cigar doesnt necessarily mean YOU are gonna love it. I get nothing out of Dunbarton, for instance. Great cigar, and I do like them, but something about that brand doesnt make any real impact on me. Same with Opus. $35 is a lot for something your gonna set fire to and burn, so It has to blow me away, and OPUS doesnt. Im in the minority there, and its likely a failing of my palate. Undercrown Maduros, however, which can be had cheaply, are my thing, and maybe my favorite smoke.
Anyway. I hope you stick around and enjoy this excellent site and hobby.
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LeeBot
a year ago
I still buy things on here but not as much as I used to. I still have a boatload of cigars I bought earlier on that I am slowly smoking through.

My most recent purchase from CBid was a box of Oliva Serie V Maduro. Boxes kept selling for $60+ and up to $80+, and I kept bidding with a max bid of $55 and losing. It doesn't cost anything to try. I was in no hurry, and eventually won a box at $53. I was satisfied with it.

(p.s, yes, I had smoked them before this purchase, and yes, I bought them anyway.)

As suggested above, it's a great idea to get involved in some of the trade threads. Marcus and other people sending me cigars really opened my mind and palate up to new stuff.
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delta1
a year ago

I’m actually curious about that.. have you guys moved on because you’ve found even better deals elsewhere? Or perhaps bored of the selection available here? I enjoy cigars and have for many years, but I have very rarely splurged on any REALLY expensive cigars, and didn’t enjoy them enough to justify the substantial extra cost. I’m not well off enough anyway to smoke $30+ cigars on a daily basis. Just curious what the average perspective is here on this.

I know there’s a lot of cheap, sub-par cigars available here, but there’s some pretty good ones as well. I’m rather enjoying finding a bunch of cigars that retail for $20 or thereabouts for $2-3 apiece here.

CigarHoarder wrote:



I moved on mostly because of the selection here and with knowledge that there were other cigars besides what was sold here. I wasn't buying exclusively from CBid when I started smoking cigars. There were other auction sites I used that had some different product. I've actually moved on from those places as well. Moving on took a few years, but I still occasionally find something I like here at prices that are better, usually old faves from the early years, although most of the time I'm looking for stuff that CBid doesn't have.

I tend to like to try different stuff. Many of the cigars sold here became boring or too similar. I was introduced to a number of different cigars through participation in trades with the members CBid forums. I gained a lot of input and recommendations from members about a variety of cigars...I started experimenting on my own...my horizon just opened up. Fortunately, I had the means and time to explore, especially after I retired.

One caveat: if you want to stay in the $2-3/cigar realm, moving on will be difficult. If you are happy and satisfied with the cigars you currently smoke, you may find some alternatives at other cigar auction sites in that price range. Moving on inevitably also comes with cigars at higher price points. $10/cigar was a bridge too far at one time...now......
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CamoRoon
a year ago

Does anyone understand the concept of "auction?" Because I keep seeing stuff go for almost, or at retail, by the time the bidding is over. Y'all do realize that the point of an auction is to get something cheaper than retail?

StogieNate wrote:



One has to ask themselves, if the point of an auction is to sell cheaper, why do retailers auction off inventory? I think the lure of the chase and the thrill of victory often take precedence over common sense. I must assume the retailers are using psychology to their advantage and while one can sometimes get a great bargain, the folks overbidding exceed those who get deals. I tend to watch free fall as they often go for cheaper prices that the auctions.
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Sunoverbeach
a year ago
Auction - noun- a public sale in which goods or property are sold to the highest bidder
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CamoRoon
a year ago
The guys selling goods or property to the highest bidder are the same guys selling it retail online and selling it wholesale to B&M shops. You can look at that two ways. #1 the auction is made up of excess inventory being sold to maintain cash flow OR #2 there is no real competition in the cigar industry.
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tonygraz
a year ago

Auction - noun- a public sale in which goods or property are sold to the highest bidder

Sunoverbeach wrote:



Not necessarily. Some auctioneers will outbid the highest bidder in order to not sell an item at too low a price. I knew an auctioneer who did that from time to time, and detailed so in the terms of the auction that were posted on the premises. I would hope that was illegal without making it a part of the terms of the sale. Imagine the complaints if they did that here. An alternate method to raise the size of the bids is to have someone as a shill bidder bidding in an aucton. I caught one going on at Ebay and after a great deal of effort got Ebay to suspend the seller and the shill.
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24132413
a year ago
The pandemic forced a huge number of smokers to buy online. Smokers who were usually paying the insane MSRP at their local shops. They had no issues paying full price then and they have no issues doing it now. To many of them winning an auction low enough just to get free S&H is a deal. They will probably never go away. That being said it also depends on what you are bidding on. Hardly ever get a deal on any Perdomo, Liga Privada, or any other popular brands.
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puffymcpufferson
a year ago

Great first post!!!

You should private message Celticbomber and let him know, he is the CS officer around here.

How do you feel about gladiator movies? Have you seen a grown man naked? Ever been to a Turkish prison? Do you prefer pancakes or waffles (waffles are for homosexual communists).

ZRX1200 wrote:



Pass. Yes. I'm not telling. Only at a restaurants.
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puffymcpufferson
a year ago

The guys selling goods or property to the highest bidder are the same guys selling it retail online and selling it wholesale to B&M shops. You can look at that two ways. #1 the auction is made up of excess inventory being sold to maintain cash flow OR #2 there is no real competition in the cigar industry.

CamoRoon wrote:



2. How many poor sticks that are well known have you had? I don't think the modern man can taste things in tobacco, coffee, beer, whiskey, kraut/fermented foods. When I was younger I only smoked dog turd Maduro cigars, and smoke cured pipe plug. As I get older I get excited about hidden flavors. Perdomo offers me nothing a J&M can't. Padron registers just like Jaime Garcia blend, at half the price. And I'm not a big fan of the My Father factory anyway. The less I know the name, the less they spend on marketing the more attention spent on the cigar.
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