Cohiba 50 Aniversario Humidor To Start at $220,000

[Diamondog]

Market value is defined simply as what somebody is willing to pay IMO

[El Presidente]

1 hour ago, PigFish said:

 

Okay, dictators and crony capitalist are not my crowd, nor do I pal around with celebrities and others that don't really work for their money

 

 

Nice generalisation! 

I can pretty safely say that those who spend 150K or $220K on a Cohiba 40th or 50th  humidor ...given 10 years ... will be significantly ahead in terms of investment than the same folks who drop that amount on a car of the same value. 

That is not to say they are buying it as an investment! 

Cigars are just leaf and a band . A painting is just canvas and paint. Fine wine.is just.fermented grape juice. 

There are many elements that combine to give each its market value. The end game however is what one will sell for consistently. 

What is the value of the 50th Anniverary?  10 weeks ago it was thought to be 55000 Euro.  Then 80,000 Euro. Now 200,0000

What is it's market value?......What the punter will pay today......what the market will bear. 

[oliverdst]

The never ending Value/price discussion.

To me is much worse spend few thousands dollars in a cell phone than in this humi. Even if I will not use it as an investiment. 

[Sunsmoke]

PCC in HK were taking bids from their biggest customers yesterday for this. When I found out from one of the Managers I told them I was shocked I didn't get the call or email to bid! $220k! Will be $500k in 5-10 years.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sactochris]

At that price i'm only going to able to afford one.

[Dimmers]

*mental note to never ever ever allow myself to make stonking drunk bids on FOH again just in case one of these humis pop up.....*  

[Ryan]

The morning after the gala dinner in February I was on the phone to my wife when I walked past the winning bidder of the No. 1 humidor. I put him on the phone to her. She had just the right thing to say to him.

"I hear you bought me a nice present last night!"

His response was "You come see me."

I think he got a good deal at €320k for the No. 1, compared to the reported price of the other 49.

No. 1s of these things often sell for multiples of the price of the rest. Which in itself says something about their "value". It has nothing (at least very close to nothing) to do with what the cigars cost to make or rarity of the tobacco. It's about a collector wanting something that his collector friends don't have. That goes for all 50 of those Cohiba humidors, not just the No. 1.

Many of us here, if not most, get a little bit excited when we see a regional box which has the number 0001 of 5000. All the other numbers are just numbers, No. 1 is "the first" and nobody else has it.

A few months ago the Juan Lopez Malecón, regional for Andorra, went on sale at €230 for a box of 20. Within weeks, the box number 0001 sold for $1,000. The cigars inside aren't 3-4 times "better" as the price might imply.

Money is relative. I think we're all aware that there are more than 50 cigar collectors/smokers in the world with the money and the desire to buy those Cohibas.

[bugman78629]

While expensive, that could still be a relative bargain compared to the first humidor sold, which wears No. 1 of 50 and went for €320,000 ($352,000 at the time) at the 18th Festival del Habano Gala Night. During the Festival, Habanos S.A. announced that the remaining 49 humidors would be auctioned among the exclusive distributors via a blind auction procedure.

[Fugu]

7 hours ago, Ryan said:

Money is relative. I think we're all aware that there are more than 50 cigar collectors/smokers in the world with the money and the desire to buy those Cohibas.

Yup, and those eds are particularly made for that clientele. Of course this is not about smoking, it's about collecting. There are people out there dropping money on much crazier things. It just pointless discussing "value", it lies in the eye of the beholder (and the reason why they do the price finding by means of an auction). It's not that HSA were waiting desperately for getting them sold. No, actually quite the reverse - there is a market/demand for it, they know it and they are serving it. Nothing wrong with that - as long as they are not going to steal the tobacco from my beloved RePro.

[Orion21]

I would imagine these cigars will be highly guarded show pieces for the distributors to have on hand, just in case someone is well heeled enough to drop the premium to smoke a single.  Otherwise I see these in private collections, then privately bought and sold over the coming years for huge premiums.  There is a nice fellow who is a member here, who hasn't been active in a while, who owned a humidor of the original Behike.  He said he moved it to a Russian buyer for twice what he had paid for it a couple of years ago.  These types of productions don't even peek my interest.  Collectibles not meant for consumption are boring. 

[Puros Y Vino]

56 minutes ago, Orion21 said:

Collectibles not meant for consumption are boring. 

That sounds like the French wine Vintage market.

[gweilgi]

5 hours ago, Orion21 said:

I would imagine these cigars will be highly guarded show pieces for the distributors to have on hand, just in case someone is well heeled enough to drop the premium to smoke a single.  Otherwise I see these in private collections, then privately bought and sold over the coming years for huge premiums.  There is a nice fellow who is a member here, who hasn't been active in a while, who owned a humidor of the original Behike.  He said he moved it to a Russian buyer for twice what he had paid for it a couple of years ago.  These types of productions don't even peek my interest.  Collectibles not meant for consumption are boring. 

If I were a hedge fund manager or investment banker, I'd consider buying a humidor like that.  Get a nice tax write-off (hospitality is a business expense) and really wow potential new customers by gifting them one or two cigars.  Organising tickets for the Wimbledon final or a table at Quay is almost boring by comparison to the exclusivity of this....  And yes, that sort of thing works a treat.

[Merovius]

It all goes to prove, money, and an abundance of it, does not give you good taste or good sense!

-Piggy

More dollars than sense indeed.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Zigatoh]

The whole argument of more dollars than sense and waste of money and so on surely starts falling apart when you get to people with many millions or even billions £/$/E ?

Firstly, chances are No one has enough sense not to fail in the case of that argument.

And secondly, does it really hurt that there are 'special' things for these people to buy? This cost wise is for them like you or I going and getting a box of favoritos (or one favorito maybe), not a big deal for a lot I think. But it does have the Limited thing, so they know it's not something everyone has, I quite like getting t-shirts from odd little places like markets in london with short runs, it's nice to know not everyone has one, or can even get one sometimes.

As per another argument on here, same thing happens with wine, watches, etc etc.

I won't be getting a box these, that said I also don't care that they exist or that to me the price is ridiculousm it's all just a matter of perspective.

[RijkdeGooier]

By chance and through no merit of my own, I've had some insight in the world of rare collectibles and yes the original BHK does get sold at prices of over 100K euro's. 

Not to me because I can't fathom paying that for a box of dead leaves, but they do get sold at those prices.

[PigFish]

9 hours ago, Zigatoh said:

The whole argument of more dollars than sense and waste of money and so on surely starts falling apart when you get to people with many millions or even billions £/$/E ?

Firstly, chances are No one has enough sense not to fail in the case of that argument.

And secondly, does it really hurt that there are 'special' things for these people to buy? This cost wise is for them like you or I going and getting a box of favoritos (or one favorito maybe), not a big deal for a lot I think. But it does have the Limited thing, so they know it's not something everyone has, I quite like getting t-shirts from odd little places like markets in london with short runs, it's nice to know not everyone has one, or can even get one sometimes.

As per another argument on here, same thing happens with wine, watches, etc etc.

I won't be getting a box these, that said I also don't care that they exist or that to me the price is ridiculousm it's all just a matter of perspective.

 

You know mate, I can agree with the overall sentiment. Why should I care what another can, or cannot afford. I don’t! There is a limit for every commodity, tulip bulb and tobacco… Watching some speculators/collectors get hosed in the end will provide me a chuckle. And there is an end, markets top out, but that is not my concern either. How high this one flies, I could really care less.

 

What is my concern, is that this (IMHO) is bad for the general smoker? We smoke cigars, we don’t collect them. We consume cigars, use them up, not speculate on them… What does this do to the price of cigars? Does it affect it negatively (meaning cause them to get more expensive) in any way? I don’t know for sure, but since we are talking speculation, I BELIEVE, the answer is yes. I believe that this is just another push for cigars to be viewed as luxury items causing the prices to climb further.

 

So some speculator pays though the nose for fat special cigars with a foot band. Is that where you want smoking to go?

 

When government legislators see this and adopt a view of cigars and therefore those that smoke them, how will this move their opinion? When the public, a big player these days in the pool of opinion politics, has a say on the taxation and legislation regarding smokers, when they see this and associate it with the myth that smoking is for rich people, what will they say about raising taxes? What will this do to your smoking budget when they want to double your excise tax on the everyday cigars you smoke? When ‘smokers’ not just a few collectors (and it fits the stereotype) are shelling out this kind of bread on one damn dumb box of cigars, well, why cannot we (the big government types) tap into that for our (xxx) program? Fill in the blanks yourself.

 

I submit that the collector community is largely ruining smoking as another one of their ‘big penis’ contests. So I have to ask. Should smoking be competitive? Not selling cigars, but smoking? Smoking cigars from our end. The end that owns 1, 10, a hundred boxes of cigars. Is that what gives you (read membership) kicks, or is it the taste of tobacco, the fraternity, the fun, the frivolity of it? Is smoking as a big dick contest…? Is that what smoking is about to you (read as anyone).

 

I don’t know about you mates, but when viewing collectors, buying blind untested cigars in special boxes and bands for outrageous prices…. you know what it says about their tastes? It says exactly what I have thought about them for years now. They don’t care about taste, they care about the ‘cocksmanship.’ There is a lot to be learned about collectors here. And one myth is that they have good tastes! Well, this blows that myth to hell!!!

 

Not for me kids. Smoking is frivolous and enjoyable. Cigars should be proven and reliable (to establish 'smoking' worth). I would like to see it remain this way. With this whole smoking is a luxury push, it is the everyday smoker that is going to take it in the neck here. It won’t be the rich guys, it never is.

 

Collecting old rarities has always created a competitive market place. I get that. But when the factories start pumping out ‘collector cigars,’ creating, fabricating rarities, rarities with no real intrinsic value based on reputation, is that good for you and your modest cigar hoard? Well, it might be in the short run as your cigars gain value but what about those of us who are buying a box at a time and just enjoying one of life’s simple pleasures?

 

I proffer, when the entry level for smoking is gone, smoking is gone! There is no broader market for thousand Euro cigars! Making cigars a rarity is the goal of the collector! It is great for them and bad for us! Do you want cigars to be a rarity?

 

A decade or two ago, we could buy a ‘farmhouse’ or a book of cigars. Yeah, they were pricey but they were still made for smokers to enjoy. Look what the influence of the collect/speculator community has done to this… 

 

Me, I could care less about these cigars and the guys who trade in them. But there are a number of people out there who would just love to smoke one. He/she wants to smoke one because he sees the highest and best use of a cigar in his little mitt, being brunt up and enjoyed. So how do you view cigars? Is this where you want them to go?

 

I have never been impressed by cocksmanship contests. This one does not impress me positively either. All it does is add fuel to the fire of the negative image of cigars smokers. Add it all up and it is great for those with a small penis wanting to make it appear larger in the 'club.' Yes, my modest hoard of cigars will likely be benefited by this type of behavior. In the long run, the gains will be undone by the damage to the overall market. That is my speculation!

 

My 2cts. -Piggy

 

[oliverdst]

2 thousand cents, Pig 

[Zigatoh]

Totally agree with a lot of what you put there @PigFish

One thing that works in some markets is the super expeinsive items being used to pay for the research which then filters down to the lower end Items, one example is my stand mount speakers, B&W nautilus 805s, a very decent set of speakers, at a not Too high price. A lot of the technology for these filtered down into the nautilus range from the original nautilus speaker, which cost around £50K a pair! But the R&D 'might' not have happened if there wasn't this crazy end result - driven by B&W a lot just to have the flashy flagship items I'm guessing, can't see them selling a huge number of them.... Same with cars for sure.

Not sure how that relates to cigars tho

[capitalpg]

On 7/4/2016 at 4:35 PM, NSXCIGAR said:

$4,580 per cigar--still not in Gurkha territory!

Now that is FUNNY!

[El Presidente]

Piggy

I know where you are coming from and he argument has some legs. However 

• most governments have been taxing and legslating the hell out of cigars well before the rise of the "specialty" market. Most of them wouldn't even know it exists. 
• I know guys who are serious collectors who wouldn't even blink at dropping a couple of hundred K on something they perceive as having value for the long term. They also smoke D4, RASS, Monte 2 as well as have a nice collection of Partagas Corona and other hard to finds. They enjoy smoking them. They are far removed from the "Cocksmanship contests" that you speak of. One in particular "flipped" a 15000 Euro Cohiba 40th for 73000 18 months ago and purchased with the profits aged sticks that he really enjoyed. The only thing that he is upset about is selling the Cohiba 40th so cheap. He should have held on for another couple of years but that is an "investment" decision. What I am trying to say is that you can't wrap up all specialty collectors in a one category. 
• 50 humidors a a Guzillion dollars is not going to cruel the market. These guys are not driving up prices of D4/M2/Coronas or Petit's. 
• Will the market specialty market bust? Not in the short term. There is not a glut of specialty product being released. There is a hell of a lot of old money still around with new money (Asia/Eastern Europe) in play. Throw in a largely untapped USA market once (and if) it arrives cleanly. 

 

So when I am fishing tomorrow with a D4 or magnum 46 in hand, I am a long way from the deals being done for the 50th humidors in Hong Kong, Switzerland, Madrid, London or Beirut. I am not bothered by them as they are but a minute portion of the cigar world. Those 50 humidors will represent under 2% of Habanos revenues for the year...which is still a remarkable achievement. 

I maybe pushing it but I suspect that "profit" on those 50 humidors would eclipse those of Sancho Panza, ERDM, Fonseca combined. 

If that profit was "partly" used to prop up the one/two and three line Marques.....or maybe bring back a lost gem...I would be all for them to bring out the next 50  200,000 Euro "specialty" next year/year after. 

 

 

 

[PigFish]

21 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

Piggy

I know where you are coming from and he argument has some legs. However 

• most governments have been taxing and legslating the hell out of cigars well before the rise of the "specialty" market. Most of them wouldn't even know it exists. 
• I know guys who are serious collectors who wouldn't even blink at dropping a couple of hundred K on something they perceive as having value for the long term. They also smoke D4, RASS, Monte 2 as well as have a nice collection of Partagas Corona and other hard to finds. They enjoy smoking them. They are far removed from the "Cocksmanship contests" that you speak of. One in particular "flipped" a 15000 Euro Cohiba 40th for 73000 18 months ago and purchased with the profits aged sticks that he really enjoyed. The only thing that he is upset about is selling the Cohiba 40th so cheap. He should have held on for another couple of years but that is an "investment" decision. What I am trying to say is that you can't wrap up all specialty collectors in a one category. 
• 50 humidors a a Guzillion dollars is not going to cruel the market. These guys are not driving up prices of D4/M2/Coronas or Petit's. 
• Will the market specialty market bust? Not in the short term. There is not a glut of specialty product being released. There is a hell of a lot of old money still around with new money (Asia/Eastern Europe) in play. Throw in a largely untapped USA market once (and if) it arrives cleanly. 

 

So when I am fishing tomorrow with a D4 or magnum 46 in hand, I am a long way from the deals being done for the 50th humidors in Hong Kong, Switzerland, Madrid, London or Beirut. I am not bothered by them as they are but a minute portion of the cigar world. Those 50 humidors will represent under 2% of Habanos revenues for the year...which is still a remarkable achievement. 

I maybe pushing it but I suspect that "profit" on those 50 humidors would eclipse those of Sancho Panza, ERDM, Fonseca combined. 

If that profit was "partly" used to prop up the one/two and three line Marques.....or maybe bring back a lost gem...I would be all for them to bring out the next 50  200,000 Euro "specialty" next year/year after. 

 

 

 

I think that you may have missed the emphasis of my post.

I though about this some today while feeding my horses. I would like to write a thread to this subject, and I may still do it, but I am planning a surgical visit at the local 'butcher' this coming week and I am a bit more concerned about some personal items than 'new threads.' -LOL

The gist of the thread, as I conceptualize it, is the market and the market emphasis from that of the regular consumer (people like me) verses the collector.

In a nutshell, I think that the EL/RE program is evedence of the shift of a maker strategy from mainstream consumer friendly products, for the sake of pandering to collectors.

Yes, 10 or 20 thousand cigars, selling for millions of dollars to collectors does not affect me at all. But the strategy, one where reliable great tasting cigars are replaced by 'special run' cigars, largely aimed not at the daily smoker, but the collector/smoker has damaged what I consider the best of what Habanos had to offer. You say it is not affecting your D4, not today anyway. It did affect a lot of cigar both you and I used to enjoy! Hell, it just make them collector items!

I run under the prevailing thought that there is enough tobacco to go around. A well run company can pander to me as well as the collector. My argument is based on the fact that I am abandoned in favor of the collector. While this may be a winning short-term strategy, it (I do believe) is a long-term losing idea, bad for the tobacco industry.

If you noticed, VW bought Bugatti, not the other way around. There is room for luxury products and I like them as well as the next guy. A Bugatti does not get me to work... It is the bankroll from those that drive the same cars I do that make the production of the Bugatti possible.

Always nice to hear your though... -Ray

[El Presidente]

3 minutes ago, PigFish said:

I think that you may have missed the emphasis of my post.

I though about this some today while feeding my horses. I would like to write a thread to this subject, and I may still do it, but I am planning a surgical visit at the local 'butcher' this coming week and I am a bit more concerned about some personal items than 'new threads.' -LOL

The gist of the thread, as I conceptualize it, is the market and the market emphasis from that of the regular consumer (people like me) verses the collector.

In a nutshell, I think that the EL/RE program is evedence of the shift of a maker strategy from mainstream consumer friendly products, for the sake of pandering to collectors.

Yes, 10 or 20 thousand cigars, selling for millions of dollars to collectors does not affect me at all. But the strategy, one where reliable great tasting cigars are replaced by 'special run' cigars, largely aimed not at the daily smoker, but the collector/smoker has damaged what I consider the best of what Habanos had to offer. You say it is not affecting your D4, not today anyway. It did affect a lot of cigar both you and I used to enjoy! Hell, it just make them collector items!

I run under the prevailing thought that there is enough tobacco to go around. A well run company can pander to me as well as the collector. My argument is based on the fact that I am abandoned in favor of the collector. While this may be a winning short-term strategy, it (I do believe) is a long-term losing idea, bad for the tobacco industry.

If you noticed, VW bought Bugatti, not the other way around. There is room for luxury products and I like them as well as the next guy. A Bugatti does not get me to work... It is the bankroll from those that drive the same cars I do that make the production of the Bugatti possible.

Always nice to hear your though... -Ray

 

Ray

I am pretty sure both markets can co-exist comfortably. 

In the end it is the consumer that decides. Not all LE's have been succesfull. If HSA overstretches or conceives a poor product, they get spanked just like in any other industry. Same goes for distributors with Regionals.  In the end it is the consumer who has to part with their coin. 

Much like other consumables (wine comes to mind), HSA can play "nudge" marketing with new entrants. However they need to be careful not to antagonise the consumer base. 

This year has been the most challenging for them in decades. Minimal Cohiba and other premium lines produced to market. it is not the case that they have released a plethora of expensive new stuff either. Many of their "expensive" specialties have failed to materialise.  From what I can see, they are trying to get the balance right given the leaf shortfalls they are experiencing.  They could have canned Quai Do'rsay Corona and used those wrappers on Siglo I/II/III. The TOS Dip 2 wrappers could have gone to producing a host of Siglo IV/IV.  They didn't. 

As no fan of HSA, 2015/16 is the first sign I have seen since 2000 of a considered plan away from milking every drop possible from the consumer.  If they had that plan in mind, the Monte 80th would have been released a year ago. This years LE's would be all over the shelves. 

Now they need to start getting their sources of supply (farmers) taken care of, plant north of 26000 hectares and prey for a brilliant planting/harvesting season. 

I am getting away from the point of your post. However, not everything is bad right now. There are some good signs. 

 

 

 

[Fugu]

Have noticed your sentiment previously, Piggy, and while I can absolutely understand and agree with your reasoning, and - quite like you - see a cigar primarily as a consumable, I don't share most of your concerns.

First of all, the Habano has always been positioned as a luxury product. This is fact since 200 years, as I alluded to in my post above. Look back in its history and you'll see: Ramon Allones with his introduction of the dress box with lithografic habilitaciones, the 8-9-8 packaging, luxury cabinet boxes, or take e.g. the old Fonseca with their extraordinary intricate boxes, or humidors, show cabinets and 'exhibidores' of other producers back in the beginning of the last century. There are lots and lots of examples, not least the special commissioned cigars by the famous importer-houses etc., etc.

And - there is nothing we could do to change this notion in any way. Can we? So why complain about it?

Even a cheap cigar, a 4-5$-Minuto or a 7$-Mareva, still is a comparatively costly product (you could get 5 kg potatoes for a single cigar instead...!). It's not a necessity for living. It is a luxury item, period. Has always been, will always be. And with such, there are always means to take it to extremes, like in every other area, as has been mentioned above.

 

Take cars as an example for comparison, you could drive

 

 

or you can drive

You can own the latest Lambo Aventador Miura (by incident limited to 50 pcs...), still there is and will always be the option for you to get your simple Ford or Toyota daily commuter. Nobody would claim a car to be (more or less of) a luxury product, or having to bear higher taxation just because of the existence of the extreme high-end luxury car segment. And at the same time, there is even the 'bundle-cigar'-type of car, such as Dacia or the new low-budgets from China or India. Diversity, it's diversity!

Still - and that is the basic difference to cigars - while a car usually is considered as a commodity of basic use, as it can be used e.g. for work or for commuting to and from work, cigars will always remain luxury.

I do get what you mean, and I agree with you in the assessment of cigars as consumable vs. collectable goods. I see it exactly the same way. But simply let us leave the posing sticks to the posers (and collectors... ), and the good smoke to the connoisseurs. Each to their own. I really don't see any damage dawning upon us due to the existence of the extreme luxury segment. I rather see it like Rob, it will not (normally) drive prices in the standard or lower-end range of smokes. And such is occurring in almost all areas of human activities: Wine, jewellery, booze, cars, houses, boats, even tools, you name it. There is always the normal user/consumer and the collector in play. The pure existence of a Romanée Conti doesn't drive the price of my basic French or Italian red.

But there is one caveat - you are quite right in pointing towards the special aspect of a limited tobacco availability:

2 hours ago, PigFish said:

I run under the prevailing thought that there is enough tobacco to go around. A well run company can pander to me as well as the collector. My argument is based on the fact that I am abandoned in favor of the collector. While this may be a winning short-term strategy, it (I do believe) is a long-term losing idea, bad for the tobacco industry.

HSA will have to painstakingly keep the balance here! The cannibalization of basic lines due to tobacco being limited, and the favouring of the prestigious lines at the expense of the standard production lines certainly needs to be avoided. I am absolutely with you there! As long as it is about 50 humidors with a mere 2.500 cigars (50, 60 kg of tobacco?) or the odd LE (mind you - they reduced the LE- as well as the RE-program, only two to three LEs per year now, and no multiple REs per country anymore) I yet don't see a big problem.

Cheers,

Goo

[Fugu]

On 06/07/2016 at 2:44 AM, PigFish said:

When I see one sell with multiple bidders at Christies, I will be able to put a name to an idiot... Then I will believe it, that the idiot exists, not that a box of cigars is 'worth' $150K Euros! Cheers! -Ray

Regrettably, sometimes it's the idiot setting the market value.

[NSXCIGAR]

12 hours ago, PigFish said:

...Not for me kids. Smoking is frivolous and enjoyable. Cigars should be proven and reliable (to establish 'smoking' worth). I would like to see it remain this way. With this whole smoking is a luxury push, it is the everyday smoker that is going to take it in the neck here. It won’t be the rich guys, it never is.

 

Collecting old rarities has always created a competitive market place. I get that. But when the factories start pumping out ‘collector cigars,’ creating, fabricating rarities, rarities with no real intrinsic value based on reputation, is that good for you and your modest cigar hoard? Well, it might be in the short run as your cigars gain value but what about those of us who are buying a box at a time and just enjoying one of life’s simple pleasures?

 

I proffer, when the entry level for smoking is gone, smoking is gone! There is no broader market for thousand Euro cigars! Making cigars a rarity is the goal of the collector! It is great for them and bad for us! Do you want cigars to be a rarity?...

I believe I see your point here. I suppose an analogy would be the same reason VW doesn't take the resources and materials being used for Lamborghinis and apply them toward Jettas--a car that more people buy, most people like, represents their bread-and-butter client, and is practical. I do get that. 

And the reasoning is the same. Partially profit, and partially prestige/image. I'm sure HSA makes a pretty penny on these "collectibles", including LEs and REs. The margins are certainly higher. The more "special" a release is, the greater their margin, no doubt. I doubt it costs more than $5-10K to commission an Elie Bleu humidor and stick 50 mediocre large RG cigars in it that will sell for $200k. Easy money.

In the case of cigars, as with luxury/exotic cars, their is an inherent collectibility and extrinsic value. Every one of those Cohiba 40th could have been rolled with donkey poop. It would still command a fortune. Just like Ferrari and Lotus made utter crap for decades, yet the cars were still sought after, expensive and collectible. 

It is a delicate balance in terms of not alienating your main client base (us regular smokers) by mis-allocating resources away from regular production. But there is a huge demographic that is willing to pay vast sums for some of these releases and humidors, and really, who can blame them when I've never seen an HSA product decline in value. Sure, one must be careful not to flood the market with these types of releases, as that will dilute value and reduce margin. But so far, it seems they've been able to keep interest and prices high for this stuff.

Any company, including HSA, has one goal--make profit. If profit can be made by special productions, they'll do it. If the margins are higher than regular production (as is likely the case), a certain amount of their limited resources will be allocated away from regular production, and from a business standpoint, that is a correct decision.

So even though I, like you, could nuke the entire special release approach right down to the LEs and REs and be thrilled with nothing but high-quality regular production for the rest of my life, I can't really criticize HSA or any outfit for this approach. And BTW, if I won the lottery, I would very much enjoy trying to accumulate anything and everything Cuba ever produced. I would be flying all over the world accumulating cigars and buying at auctions. There could be worse hobbies, and the fact that almost nothing Cuban ever depreciates, it's not really a bad use of money.