Shipping Policy on Cigar Auctions
- Shipping Savings Program
- E-mail Confirmations
- Shipping Method
- Foreign Shipments
- Sales Tax
- Excise Tax
- State Restrictions
- HAZMAT
Shipping Savings Program
Each product contains a unique shipping charge, which is listed in the description of each lot. However, our Shipping Savings Program allows you greater savings when you win more than one item.
Shipping Cost of Additional Units
Instead of paying individual shipping charges for each product, multiple items shipped to the same address won during the same shipping period (either DAILY or WEEKLY), only the greater of the shipping charges apply, plus an amount for each additional item:
- Singles Category: $0.25
- 5-Packs Category: $0.50
- Boxes Category: $1.00
- Merchandise Category: $1.00
- Samplers Category: $1.00
- Free Fall Category: $1.00
- All Others: $1.00
Some exceptions apply, as in the case of items shipped from 3rd party vendors, oversized, and non-standard packages. Any such exceptions will be indicated in the product and shipping description.
Daily vs. Once-per-week Shipping
You have the option through your account Shipping Frequency profile to select Daily or Weekly (once-per-week) shipping of your winning bids. Then, bidders who win multiple items during the same period will receive REDUCED shipping charges. All such savings will be reflected on your Consolidated Order Summary Invoice.
- By selecting DAILY as your shipping preference, all winning bids are shipped within 1-2 business days from the day you receive your Consolidated Shipping Invoice.
- By selecting WEEKLY as your shipping preference, your winning bids will accumulate over the period of one week and shipped within 1-2 business days. For example, if you select Tuesday as your weekly shipping day, all lots closing the previous Tuesday through Monday will be processed Tuesday morning and shipped within 1-2 business days. Clear as mud? Good.
- Sorry, we cannot hold packages won on different invoices to be shipped together.
- Changing your shipping preference takes effect immediately. For example, if your current preference is DAILY and you change it to WEEKLY, your orders will be held until your desired processing day (Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) for WEEKLY shipment. You can only change your shipping frequency once every 7 days.
Orders ship within 1-2 business days from the receipt of your Order Summary Invoice and you can expect arrival within 2-6 business days after shipment, depending on your location. Shipping times are not guaranteed.
E-mail Confirmations
Shipping charges are re-calculated on each invoice to factor in these savings. Therefore, the automatic winning bid confirmations you receive via email after a lot closes will not reflect shipping charges. You should refer to the Consolidated Order Summary Invoice for actual charges.
Shipping Method
Standard shipping is UPS Ground, USPS, or a combination of both. If you select a Post Office Box or Rural Route Box as your shipping address your shipment will be delivered by the USPS. Shipping times are estimates and are not guaranteed unless otherwise noted. Expedited shipping methods are not available.
Foreign Shipments
CigarBid does not ship outside of the United States.
Sales Tax
We are required to collect and remit sales tax in the following states. Remittance of any other state’s taxes is the responsibility of the purchaser.
-Alabama
-Arizona
-Arkansas
-California
-Colorado
-Connecticut
-Florida
-Georgia
-Hawaii
-Idaho
-Illinois
-Indiana
-Iowa
-Kansas
-Kentucky
-Louisiana
-Maine
-Maryland
-Massachusetts
-Michigan
-Minnesota
-Mississippi
-Nebraska
-New Mexico
-New Jersey
-New York
-Nevada
-North Carolina
-North Dakota
-Ohio
-Oklahoma
-Pennsylvania
-Rhode Island
-South Carolina
-Tennessee
-Texas
-Vermont
-Virginia
-Washington
-Washington DC
-West Virginia
-Wisconsin
-Wyoming
Excise Tax
Maryland
Effective October 1, 2019, the State of Maryland will be imposing an Excise Tax on all tobacco products sold by online retailers to Maryland customers. See Maryland House Bill 1301. Please note that this excise tax is in addition to the Maryland sales/use tax already imposed on tobacco products sold to Maryland customers.
The Maryland Excise Tax rate will differ depending on the type of tobacco product sold:
- Premium cigars will be taxed at 15% of the wholesale price, which would equate to an average retail price increase of 7-9%.
- Pipe tobacco will be taxed at 30% of the wholesale price, which would equate to an average retail price increase of 15-20%.
For more details on the Maryland Excise Tax, review the law here.
Ohio
Effective October 16, 2019, the State of Ohio will be imposing an Excise Tax on all tobacco products delivered to Ohio customers. See Ohio Code 5743.62 Please note that this excise tax is in addition to the Ohio use tax already imposed on tobacco products delivered to Ohio customers.
The Ohio Excise Tax rate will differ depending on the type of tobacco product purchased:
- Most premium cigars (and all pipe tobacco) will be taxed at 17% of the wholesale price, which would equate to an average retail price increase of 8-11% with a maximum of fifty three cents ($.53) per premium cigar.
- Most little cigars with a filter or tip will be taxed at 37% of the wholesale price, which would equate to an average retail price increase of 25-30%
For more details on the Ohio Excise Tax, review the law here.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania imposes an Excise Tax on “small cigars” shipped to customers based in Pennsylvania. Specifically, small cigars weighing 4lb per 1000 or less, not in carton packs, and not containing 20 to 25 sticks per pack will be taxed at $0.13 per cigar.
Please note, we cannot ship to Pennsylvania customers any small cigars weighing 4lb per 1000 or less packed in cartons that contain 20 to 25 sticks per pack.
All Pennsylvania-based retailers are required to pay an excise tax on loose or pipe tobacco at the rate of 55 cents ($0.55) per ounce, with a minimum excise tax per package of 66 cents ($0.66). Rather than pass the entire tax on to our customers, we have decided to charge only 30 cents ($0.30) per ounce. As a courtesy to our customers, CigarBid will pay the remaining 25 cents ($0.25) per ounce excise tax imposed by Pennsylvania.
State Restrictions
California
While we require all purchasers to be over 21 years of age, California’s Senate Bill 39 requires us to:
• Confirm your delivery of tobacco products by telephone call after 5PM (PT) the day prior to shipment
• Obtain the signature of a person 21 years of age or order before completing the delivery
• Note, in order to comply with this restriction, we are unable to ship to a PO Box or offer certain shipping methods to California.
Connecticut
Due to Connecticut State Regulations, we do not ship the following products to Connecticut addresses:
• Small Cigars (Weighing 3lb per 1000 or less)
Delaware
While we require all purchasers to be over 21 years of age, Delaware’s Title 30 Chapter 53 requires us to:
• Receive and store age verification documents in order to sell a tobacco product to you. We have partnered with Veratad Age and Identity Verification Solutions to safely and securely store your information. This is a one-time process and the information will only be used to comply with your state’s requirements.
• Obtain the signature of a person 21 years of age or order before completing the delivery
• Note, in order to comply with this restriction, we are unable to ship to a PO Box or offer certain shipping methods to Delaware.
Maine
Due to Maine State Regulations, we do not ship the following products to Maine addresses:
• Cigars with Homogenized/HTL Wrappers
• Small Cigars (Weighing 3lb per 1000 or less)
• Pipe Tobacco
Maryland
Due to Maryland State Regulations, we do not ship the following products to Maryland addresses:
• Cigars with Homogenized/HTL Wrappers
• Small Cigars (Weighing 3lb per 1000 or less)
• Pipe Tobacco
Massachusetts
Due to Massachusetts State Regulations, we do not ship any Flavored Tobacco products to Massachusetts addresses.
Montana
Due to Montana State Regulations, we do not ship the following products to Montana addresses:
• Filtered Cigars
South Dakota
Due to South Dakota State Regulations, we do not ship any products to South Dakota addresses.
Utah
Due to Utah State Regulations, we do not ship any products to Utah addresses.
Vermont
Due to Vermont State Regulations, we do not ship the following products to Vermont addresses:
• Small Cigars (Weighing 4.5lb per 1000 or less)
Washington
Due to Washington State regulations, we cannot ship the following products to Washington addresses:
• Small Cigars (Weighing 3lb per 1000 or less)
• Pipe Tobacco
HAZMAT
What is HAZMAT?
HAZMAT is an abbreviation for "hazardous material". Lighters and butane are good examples of HAZMATs that are frequently sold at CigarBid.com. The FAA restricts and regulates HAZMAT shipments. If your shipping address conflicts with FAA regulations, you may see one of the following errors:
Restricted Delivery Areas
Due to FAA regulations, HAZMATs are prohibited to some shipping addresses. Lighters must be shipped via ground parcel services and therefore cannot be shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, FPO, APO, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Guam. Parcel shipments usually take up to 3 weeks to arrive.
Shipments to a PO BOX
Due to FAA regulations, lighters must be shipped via ground parcel services. Deliveries to a PO BOX address requires shipment through the US Postal Service (eg. PO Box) utilizing Priority Mail and First Class methods, which are prohibited. Therefore, a physical shipping address must be used.