How to fairly buy/price cigars from Neighbors widow ?

[helix]

Need advice as I have been invited to look over a modest cigar collection and have no idea how to make an appropriate offer. 

Thanks.

[Cairo]

Pictures please....

[helix]

Cubans but have yet to see.

[NSXCIGAR]

Advice: you can get in trouble looking into neighbors' windows.

[CigarAsh]

1 hour ago, Cairo said:

Pictures please....

Of the cigars or the widow?

[Bijan]

Don't know what your goal is, but I'd offer recent market price, unless there's vintage stuff. Just take number of cigars divided by number in a new box times current box price. I think that's pretty fair. There's often a premium for singles from vendors but that's generally for their trouble dealing with small orders and packaging, so I don't think that applies.

[Chibearsv]

Seems pretty straightforward.  Offer what you're willing to pay and she will either accept it or she won't.  I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just don't think it's any more complicated than that unless there's more back story we don't know about.  They're probably nothing more than a commodity to her so they have a market value only.  That shouldn't be too tough to determine.  BR can be a pretty good search tool for recent prices on older or vintage stuff.  Offer a price you're comfortable with.

[Bijan]

4 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

Seems pretty straightforward.  Offer what you're willing to pay and she will either accept it or she won't.  I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just don't think it's any more complicated than that unless there's more back story we don't know about.  They're probably nothing more than a commodity to her so they have a market value only.  That shouldn't be too tough to determine.  BR can be a pretty good search tool for recent prices on older or vintage stuff.  Offer a price you're comfortable with.

That's true but she likely has no idea of the value. Depending on how recently her husband passed I wouldn't want to add appraising cigars to the list of things she has to deal with. Anyways I'd try to offer a fair price even if economically you're probably better off low balling in this situation.

[MrBirdman]

I agree with @Bijan, although if you take a large amount of the stock off her hands a discount would be appropriate.

All dependent on quality and storage conditions as well. 

[LLC]

2 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

I agree with @Bijan, although if you take a large amount of the stock off her hands a discount would be appropriate.

All dependent on quality and storage conditions as well. 

I agree with this. Storage and condition are critical. 
I’m not sure I’d use BR as any guide as the provenance from there is rock solid; may or may not be in this case. 
I think you want to be fair but also think if you are doing a bulk buy and saving her time and trouble, that would be worth a discount. 

[Chibearsv]

1 hour ago, Bijan said:

That's true but she likely has no idea of the value. Depending on how recently her husband passed I wouldn't want to add appraising cigars to the list of things she has to deal with. Anyways I'd try to offer a fair price even if economically you're probably better off low balling in this situation.

I never said anything about low-balling but I think there’s always a difference between appraising and buying.  

[LordAnubis]

Apparently im the caretaker of a few peoples collections in case of their passing... this is my strategy.

Come up with an aboslute rough ballpark. (10 boxes petite corona, roughly 150 each, 5 boxes LE roughly 500 each etc etc) Lets say rough number 10k.

Ask the widow what the requirement is, need money right now? Hapy to get money in stages whats the go. Lets say she says wants it right now.

Give the widow 10k. Obviosuly i understand not everyone is in a position to drop this sort of money at any point in time.

Sell off everything over time to whom ever at a fair price and whatever extra above the 10k you get you give it back to the widow.

 

Me personally, on the inside of my humidor i have 4 names written down as "in case of emergency"... all members here. The wife knows who they are and in the event of my demise she said shes just going to get in touch with them.

[Bijan]

7 minutes ago, Chibearsv said:

I never said anything about low-balling but I think there’s always a difference between appraising and buying.  

Sorry didn't mean to imply you were suggesting it.

I just meant that this is a situation that to me is different from buying from a vendor or bond Roberts or even another BOTL. There my goal would be to pay the lowest price. I would figure it's their business to figure out what's a fair/reasonable price for them.

Unless this is someone who has no need for the money I'd err on the other side here.

[El Presidente]

If you don't know the provenance, explain the difficulty in appraising them and simply ask her what she would be happy with. 

She will likely give you a figure that will make sense or not. 

99% of the time, worst case scenarios never eventuate. Then again, 64% of statistics are made up on the spot 

[Chas.Alpha]

Easy. If it’s your good neighbor offer $X00. If it turns out to be a major score, bring her more money and tell her that these are worth far more than I gave you. She’s good and your conscience is clear. Give her $25 more than you think they’re worth... 

[sw15825]

Try to get an idea on where and how they were stored. We're they in perfectly maintained conditions in a tabacco shop, a walk in humidor or in  boxes on the attic of the guy's barn ? I would consider storage conditions as very important. If it can be proved they were good conditions, I have thought a 100% markup per decade as an appropriate starting point. 

[Andy04]

Best strategy is immediately paying the widow what you believe is fair/can afford than allowing her to accidentally destroy the sticks and making them worth zero future value. 
 

Win/Win for both parties. 

[PuroDiario]

Liquidation value, not market value hence substantial discount. That, unless she has gold and then you should be a gent and help her sell it appropriately. If she acts equivalently to your generosity and help value, she should compensate somehow ($ take rate or take something that you like or whatever). If she does not, karma +1 and feel good. Even if she has gold, she might want you to take it off her hands and move on. 
 

send pictures! 

[NSXCIGAR]

Boy, this thread has really gone into the direction of imaginations running wild.

Kind of need to know what the heck he's looking at before we can even begin to speculate. Could be a shoebox full of moldy Guantanamera or Belinda or could be a pristine 1492 humi. 

[Habana Mike]

If I was asked to help evaluate and liquidate the collection of a mate that has passed I would want to know the conditions of storage to communicate to potential buyers. I would then inventory and assess the current market value for each box and then determine which venues to offer them up on. That based on what is in the collection.

At that point I would assist in liquidating the stock appropriately and look to take a bit of rake for my efforts, cash or cigars. Most likely cigars....

All proceeds beyond that would go to the estate.

This is pretty much the arrangement I have discussed with my mates/executors of my cigars  if my demise occurs before I have smoked all the cigars in my stash.

I've seen others handle this in similar ways.

[Edicion]

Tell the widow it's custom among Cuban cigar collectors to light a big bonfire of all the cigars at the funeral to honor the old Taino indigenous god HahBahNos.

In all seriousness, most here would give you a fair number to work with if you provide some more info or pics of what's there. You can just get the average of that and pay if that is what you want. You don't have to buy of course, maybe help to sell on BR like others have suggested helps her too. 

Good luck!

[dshot]

Please show(photo) us what you got and what you paid(only if it's PC with forum rules, I dunno). Now I'm intrigued by your situation. Good luck!

[SCgarman]

Total speculation on everyone's part until we see pics or have a list of inventory and condition.

[Cairo]

15 hours ago, CigarAsh said:

Of the cigars or the widow?

I would want to evaluate the bona fides of both.

😀

[DanWil84]

Boy, this thread has really gone into the direction of imaginations running wild.
Kind of need to know what the heck he's looking at before we can even begin to speculate. Could be a shoebox full of moldy Guantanamera or Belinda or could be a pristine 1492 humi. 

That's what I was thinking. Value of a cigar to me is more then just tobacco.

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