Cohiba Pricing

[rcarlson]

Ah yes.  The Chicago Massacre.  Dark days indeed.  

[Andy04]

My first ever cigar purchase was a pair of Siglo IV's. 

Bought from a shop in downtown Perth, Western Australia.

It was in 2004. 

The pair cost AUD $104.

I thought that is was an expensive hobby at the time.  Now I regret not stocking up.

 

[El Presidente]

1 hour ago, Andy04 said:

My first ever cigar purchase was a pair of Siglo IV's. 

Bought from a shop in downtown Perth, Western Australia.

It was in 2004. 

The pair cost AUD $104.

I thought that is was an expensive hobby at the time.  Now I regret not stocking up.

 

Crikey I think the RRP for Sig VI in Oz today is $110 AUD +. Madness 

I don't smoke a lot of Cohiba (well less than 10% of my mix). I still see them as a treat....and I obviously buy them at trade prices. 

Love a good CORO/Lancero/CCE/III/V. 

I do enjoy my treats from time to time. 

CORO I can substitute out with little problem. Lancero, III and V.....less so. There aren't any real substitutes. 

 

[NSXCIGAR]

3 hours ago, juri said:

i remember one site would send them nude and ship the bands separately

Yes, I was taking advantage of that vendor's deals quite a bit. That would have been 07-09-ish. They would do 2 box deals unboxed/unbanded. I got a lot of RASCC that way, 50 sticks for around $150. 50 Monte PE for $270. Stupid low prices. I don't know why that vendor did that, and I'm sure most people opted for intact packaging. Unbanded/unboxed was just a discount option, and I'm all for a discount, so I was all over it. That vendor hasn't revived that option since. It only was offered for a year or two. 

I do know that vendor (among many others) got hit hard in the Chicago incident. They weren't looking for tobacco specifically. They changed the regulations on I believe passenger commercial carrying foreign post and basically just did an audit of all packages coming through Chicago for a week or two. Vendors just got caught in the crosshairs. I was actually buying very little in 2010 just by happenstance, so I wasn't burnt. 

8 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

CORO I can substitute out with little problem. Lancero, III and V.....less so. There aren't any real substitutes. 

My thoughts exactly. While not a Cohiba lover, even I wish I could smoke V and Lanceros way more often. There's not really any substitutes for them. I can take a SW for an Esplendidos or a Connie A over a VI, but the V in particular is just such a standout in the HSA portfolio.

[Enduin]

15 hours ago, PapaDisco said:

Most of the other marcas seem pretty close to gradual inflation of some level.  And many of them are still hovering around the $300/25ct box level; a bit more, a bit less depending on the stick.  Cohibas give one the impression that there's a deliberate marketing strategy at work, but when has Habanos ever had a deliberate marketing strategy??   J/K.  Maybe it's just the supply issue El Pres speaks of.

Bourbon in the last 5 years has given the consumer a painful lesson in price inelasticity: $80 bottles of Pappy Van Winkle going for $500, then $800; Weller's follows suit 5 years later, etc.  All an interesting marketing case study in luxury goods pricing and demand.  The bourbons demonstrated not just demand inelasticity but accelerating 'inelasticity' if there is such a thing (essentially higher pricing created the illusion of scarcity and increased demand).

I think in this age of lockdowns boredom and stimulus checks, most products showing signs of demand inelasticity... Have you seen the prices for Playstation 5s sold on the secondary market? Up to 3 times the MSRP and people are still buying them. And I doubt we can consider gaming consoles luxury items... We are living in strange times that are certainly changing a lot of what we thought we knew about micro/macroeconomics. 

[Cairo]

13 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

that vendor (among many others) got hit hard in the Chicago incident

I have read posts in other forums that said the yellow packaging of one vendor was what caught the attention of the inspectors in 2010--that seems to have been confirmed in the VOA video I posted up-thread.   It was kinda easy to look for yellow packaging...  

[PapaDisco]

3 hours ago, Enduin said:

I think in this age of lockdowns boredom and stimulus checks, most products showing signs of demand inelasticity... Have you seen the prices for Playstation 5s sold on the secondary market? Up to 3 times the MSRP and people are still buying them. And I doubt we can consider gaming consoles luxury items... We are living in strange times that are certainly changing a lot of what we thought we knew about micro/macroeconomics. 

Good point.  Lots of counterintuitive economics going on these days.  Raging home prices in the U.S. Raging prices for collectibles and luxuries.  

[gojira]

8 minutes ago, PapaDisco said:

Good point.  Lots of counterintuitive economics going on these days.  Raging home prices in the U.S. Raging prices for collectibles and luxuries.  

The comic book market has exploded in the US. Some books are fetching  times what they were worth a year ago. Every day there's another book that's hot all of a sudden and sells for ridiculous prices. I will dig through boxes in my basement this weekend and make cigar money for months to come.... 🤣

[Corylax18]

15 minutes ago, PapaDisco said:

Good point.  Lots of counterintuitive economics going on these days.  Raging home prices in the U.S. Raging prices for collectibles and luxuries.  

Its not counterintuitive. The money has been flowing, around the world, for over a decade now. Sustained, record low interest rates, "printing presses" rolling, huge government purchases of assets. People are running out of places to dump money. Baseball cards, Wine, Cigars, SPAC's NFT's, Stocks, Real Estate, . Anything with even a hint of potential long term value is at record high prices right now, hell even some things with no potential for future gains. 

With the massive infusion of US Currency we saw recently, normal things are starting to explode in price as well. Lumber is up 200%-300%, PVC Pipe, Copper wire and Pipe, Chainlink fencing fabric, concrete, all have seen price increases of 30%-100% in the last year. 

As long as every keeps getting free money, we're fine. But the longer we keep the faucet running, the worst it will be when we shut it off. 

HSA could/should be charging more right now. Strike while the Irons' Hot. Everyone else is. 

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, Cairo said:

I have read posts in other forums that said the yellow packaging of one vendor was what caught the attention of the inspectors in 2010--that seems to have been confirmed in the VOA video I posted up-thread.   It was kinda easy to look for yellow packaging...  

It made it easier to identify foreign post in general. Again, they weren't looking specifically for tobacco. From the Dec. 2010 CA article about it:

"It started on November 8 after the Department of Homeland Security decided that no mail over 16 ounces can travel as cargo on passenger airlines," said Brian Bell, public affairs officer for CBP. "Mail from Swiss post used to fly on passenger airplanes. When that stopped, the mail was shipped as freight on cargo aircraft."

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/chicago-customs-seizes-100000-cuban-cigars-15712

[Cairo]

2 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

HSA could/should be charging more right now. Strike while the Irons' Hot. Everyone else is. 

I can't give this a "like".  🙂

However, it does deserve a "true that".

[Ginseng]

This news is a bit disheartening. It's been a few years since I've bought any Cohiba. And these boys are the last two full cabs of the Siglo Vi that I have. Given the news, I don't know if I can bring myself to break into them.

 

[Bijan]

38 minutes ago, Ginseng said:

This news is a bit disheartening. It's been a few years since I've bought any Cohiba. And these boys are the last two full cabs of the Siglo Vi that I have. Given the news, I don't know if I can bring myself to break into them.

No offense but those boxes are worth about $4,000 each now according to Bond Roberts. I am fully willing to assume your sorrows and bear your burden 😂

Edit: My bad, only the 03 box is worth $4,000. The 2008 box is "only" worth about $2,000!

[El Presidente]

Smoke one, sell one. 

[Hammer Smokin']

smoke both. 

 

[LLC]

smoke both. 
 

Exactly.


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[Ginseng]

33 minutes ago, Bijan said:

No offense but those boxes are worth about $4,000 each now according to Bond Roberts. I am fully willing to assume your sorrows and bear your burden 😂

Edit: My bad, only the 03 box is worth $4,000. The 2008 box is "only" worth about $2,000!

Hmm, to be honest, I had no idea. Now I'm really afraid to burn one. Thanks for that!

But seriously, I'm not getting any younger and I've got no male family left to smoke with anymore so I guess it's down to me.

Just opening them up for photos, the aroma is something else. Incredibly intense and rich. Honestly haven't touched this cooler in 6 or 7 years aside from humidity maintenance so it was a bit shocking. 

 

29 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

Smoke one, sell one. 

I'm such a terrible hoarder. I'm good at buying but am a poor seller. 

[Bijan]

2 minutes ago, Ginseng said:

Hmm, to be honest, I had no idea. Now I'm really afraid to burn one. Thanks for that!

 

Sorry man, didn't mean to add to your sorrows 😂🤣😂

2 minutes ago, Ginseng said:

But seriously, I'm not getting any younger and I've got no male family left to smoke with anymore so I guess it's down to me.

At the rate I smoke such cigars, those two boxes would last me about two decades. Though they might not last @SigmundChurchill to the 4th of July  Only you can tell when you should get started.

[Ginseng]

1 minute ago, Bijan said:

Sorry man, didn't mean to add to your sorrows 😂🤣😂

At the rate I smoke such cigars, those two boxes would last me about two decades. Though they might not last @SigmundChurchill to the 4th of July  Only you can tell when you should get started.

Agreed. Without a doubt my cigar supply will outlast me as well. That's part of the sorrow. Only  my brother-in-law, whom I love and really enjoy drinking and smoking with, is at all into cigars. I think when the time comes, he'll be the one inheriting them.

[havanaclub]

I'm such a terrible hoarder. I'm good at buying but am a poor seller. 

Smoke both that’s what they are made for. Enjoy them ! And congrats to you for holding onto them so long.
Life is too short, smoke one today.


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[SigmundChurchill]

22 minutes ago, Ginseng said:

Agreed. Without a doubt my cigar supply will outlast me as well. That's part of the sorrow. Only  my brother-in-law, whom I love and really enjoy drinking and smoking with, is at all into cigars. I think when the time comes, he'll be the one inheriting them.

Will he even know what it is he is getting?

 

 

Oh, and can I have his contact info?

[Ginseng]

3 minutes ago, SigmundChurchill said:

Will he even know what it is he is getting?

 

 

Oh, and can I have his contact info?

Haha, yes, I will make damn sure he know's what he's getting. Sonuva gun better give me the best sending off ever.  But seriously, back to Cohiba pricing. I really enjoy the Exquisitos. Are they a good value insofar as Cohiba these days? Almost out of these little pleasures.

[Bijan]

1 minute ago, Ginseng said:

Haha, yes, I will make damn sure he know's what he's getting. Sonuva gun better give me the best sending off ever.  But seriously, back to Cohiba pricing. I really enjoy the Exquisitos. Are they a good value insofar as Cohiba these days? Almost out of these little pleasures.

I like to think of pricing in terms of smoking time and enjoyment. They're roughly on par with Siglo I probably roughly same smoke time.

But generally a lot of people do it in terms of price per gram.

In terms of price per gram Exquisitos are about the same value as CoRo or Siglo IV. Cheaper than Esplendidos and Siglo VI. More expensive than the cheaper Siglos like 1, 2 and 3.

[Ginseng]

Wow. Accounting cigars by the gram. Never thought I'd see the day.

[Bijan]

27 minutes ago, Ginseng said:

Wow. Accounting cigars by the gram. Never thought I'd see the day.

The worst part is it doesn't really make sense and makes most skinny cigars look like a bad deal. But the math is easy...