6 months into Cigaramageddon: Your attitude and buying habits

[Edicion]

It's been an interesting year. Cuban cigars still fit in my lifestyle and it's a fun hobby. I've never been a big consumer of premium Cubans anyway, so the massive price increases didn't affect me that much, although I've always had stock stashed away for when I want one.

The NC discovery journey has been mostly positive, maybe because I spend quite a lot of time researching/reading here on FOH and then trying out what I think matches my taste. 

I'm glad I got to try a lot of different CC until now, and I don't think prices will come down anytime soon, so I'll keep buying daily drivers and the occasional treat , plus enjoy my current stock.

[rolaand]

My attitude is shitty!
My buying habits have been reduced to small format cigars with the biggest thing I’ve bought in a while being a robusto.
I’m still smoking as much as ever, it’s just what I’m smoking that’s changed.
 

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[B44]

in my mind I continue to ask myself a simple question. How much worse will it get and if so do we bite the bullet now to ride out the glory days?

That’s not to say prices won’t come down in the future and that stock levels won’t rise, but will the blends / formats change irrevocably. From everything I’ve read the next two years are going to be a wild ride  

 

[Puros Y Vino]

I've reduced my Habanos spending significantly over the past 4'ish years. I don't buy NC's anyways and probably won't be.   If you were to average out my cigar smoking per week over a year. It is pretty low.  2/3 week with the odd binge now and then.  Canadian Fall/Winter definitely puts a damper on things.  My inventory will see me through many years. Hopefully, things will normalize but I doubt it. The genie is out of the bottle.  They won't lower prices, especially for Cohiba and Trinidad.

[Hollywood Ninja]

Been doing more trading of CCs to get what I know I like vs exploring through buying new things. I also like NC (particularly Fuente) quite a bit so I'm not feeling as much of the doom and gloom.

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[ChangBang]

I got back into cigars during covid where I had nothing but time to smoke cigars, so bought and smoked quite a bit!  Got a good handle of what I like and really liked doing 1/4boxes here so I got to taste a lot.  Towards the end of covid where things started opening up and whatnot I was already smoking and buying less. These days I'm busier traveling and stuff so maybe I'll pack a travel humidor but I rarely smoke everyday like before.  Now that I have my preferences, I really only plan on stocking up on regulars when I'm running low.  If prices were like they were before, I'd be more willing to try new cigars and buy things in order to try them out.
 

The only real bummer was Cohibas going up so much in price, not sure I can justify that box of siglo III's that I would really like in my rotation.  I have tried and NCs don't really do it for me.

[Tdm_86]

My buying habits have been reduced. Not necessarily because of price, as the cigars I like haven’t gone up that much comparatively, but because there is no availability. The supply situation over here is still dire. 
Luckily I’m stocked up. 

[jakebarnes]

Probably an unpopular opinion, but for those of is US folks, we have been killing it for more than a decade or so. So many cigars far cheaper than in our domestic market. 

When the price increases hit...it sucked. But it more or less normalized the market. Still here for mostly CC given that most of the NC I like are north of $20 a stick. That said, feel I have enough cigars now to last me until my next 2-3 lifetimes. 

[foursite12]

Cigars are so situational; Reyes on a Sunday morning on the deck with a cup of coffee before anyone else is up is pure magic. Is it the Reyes that makes that magic? In my view, not necessarily, spectacular as they are. The new N4s, for one, more than fill that bill. Other situations may be tougher, but with limited exceptions, alternatives exist to maintain my smoking pleasure at sane cost levels.

[Low]

I wish there was a 5th option on question one that read "buying more, because prices are only going up while stock goes down" 

I truly believe that the next year or so is gonna be the only time where long filler cubans are going to be reasonable. Factories at 50% or less, the minds and hands behind the scenes are leaving (maybe escaping is a better word), hurricane taking out 90% of curing barns and crippling the entire PdR region. I'm not usually one to talk doom and gloom, but just looking at what is available at most LCDH and other websites are offering is a pittance compared to just a few years ago. As an example, I haven't seen a Diplo 2 for sale anywhere in the last six months except for here.

I'm trying out a few that I haven't gotten my hands on yet, then banking 50 cabs for the future. 

[amberleaf]

Anyone who is paid in a currency that isn't USD is hurting the most. For me the price rises would be a lot more bearable had exchange rates not gone south at the same time.

 

Personally, I'm just going to draw down my inventory for the forseeable future, which is around 6 years' worth at my rate of consumption. I'll still make the occasional purchase if it's something I really want but regularly buying at these prices isn't going to happen.

 

 

[lonsdaleto]

4 hours ago, Low said:

I wish there was a 5th option on question one that read "buying more, because prices are only going up while stock goes down" 

I truly believe that the next year or so is gonna be the only time where long filler cubans are going to be reasonable. Factories at 50% or less, the minds and hands behind the scenes are leaving (maybe escaping is a better word), hurricane taking out 90% of curing barns and crippling the entire PdR region. I'm not usually one to talk doom and gloom, but just looking at what is available at most LCDH and other websites are offering is a pittance compared to just a few years ago. As an example, I haven't seen a Diplo 2 for sale anywhere in the last six months except for here.

I'm trying out a few that I haven't gotten my hands on yet, then banking 50 cabs for the future. 

I've also been buying more lately, both Cuban and NC.  As crazy as things seem now, it's probably only going to get worse in terms of pricing and availability.

[yossie]

22 minutes ago, amberleaf said:

Anyone who is paid in a currency that isn't USD is hurting the most. For me the price rises would be a lot more bearable had exchange rates not gone south at the same time.

 

Personally, I'm just going to draw down my inventory for the forseeable future, which is around 6 years' worth at my rate of consumption. I'll still make the occasional purchase if it's something I really want but regularly buying at these prices isn't going to happen.

 

 

me either.  What's worth is it's gonna be long and someday finished. I don't wanna purchase at this premium price..

[MPS]

Still smoking and buying as much as I can because things will only get worse. It was an awesome ride since I joined this forum. We really enjoyed the glory days of Havana Cigars. We had no idea how lucky we were at the time I thought it would last forever. All those amazing trips to Havana and all the vintage gems and amazing customs we used to bring back. So sad to see it all go to shit.

[tjkoala]

While I have scaled back, I do feel like the writing was on the wall prior to the HSA announcement and I can say I was stocking up on my collection since the quality has been so good since 18/19. So current status is more to keep things level where before was more expansion.

[joeypots]

   I started to buy a few more cigars than usual about a 10 months ago when I heard  that prices were going up, but I have always bought more than I smoke. They have all been regular production and common vitolas. The lions share have been coronas gordas and robustos. The pandemic has been good for business so current price hikes have been digestible if not welcome. I doubt right now that I’ll buy any cigars for at least a year just because I don’t have anyplace to store them. I’m pretty confidant that prices will not go back to where they were a year ago. I did buy some Nudies which are the only NCs I have.

   I’m not going to flip the cigars that could give me a profit. Rather, I’m going to add them to the rotation and enjoy them. It is doubtful, however, that I’ll give away as many high end cigars. A Punch Punch or Mag 46 will take the place of a Sign IV if I’ve feeling generous.

[SRH1]

 Still purchasing favorite CC’s for resting and to ensure adequate supply should the Cuban cigar market space deteriorate further. Because there are few quality small format NC options, small format CC’s are a priority. 
Also stretching my Cuban stash by turning to NC’s including nudies and a few others. 
At the current rate of consumption and ratio of CC/NC, I’ll be good for a long while…..

[Silverstix]

At my current smoking rate, I have enough for 19 years if I never bought another cigar. I have plenty of my core favorites and enough variety.  I may buy a box or two of my staples each year, but that's gonna be about it for me at these prices.  I enjoy them but I no longer see the same value in spending my money on cigars. 

The new pricing is absolutely outrageous considering they have not improved or changed their product in any way.  $35 for a Siglo II is laughable.  A box that was sub-$200 yesterday, well you woke up one day and it was suddenly $375 for the same thing.  That's a tough pill to swallow. 

It appears that cigars are moving heavily into "luxury" territory.....I know cigars aren't a need, but it's like taking domestic beer and structuring it as if it was small batch whiskey!

With the apparent lack of workforce at the factories, the economic and infrastructure issues that plague Cuba, and this latest hurricane.....I fear the stock levels will continue to take a beating and prices will continue to stay sky high, maybe even getting higher.  And that's ok with me, I have enough.

 

[Greenhorn2]

If the situation doesn't change in Cuba, I wonder if there will be such a thing as Cuban cigars. I mean who wants to work all day to have nothing?

[El Hoze]

I have found that I don’t particularly like chasing things at this point in my life. In my early 30s I had to have the best of everything and luckily stocked away some great cigars. These days I’m like whatever. Give me a decent cigar and a cold beer I’m good. Though I do look at Esplendidos and Siglo VI a bit differently now as I know I won’t be buying more at these prices. 

I am a car guy. Same thing. Had a sales guy call me telling me he had the exact hot new model I want, he quoted me 50% over MSRP. I know MSRP is just a suggested number…the market is the market. I said hey if you can sell that car anywhere near that number I won’t even waste a second more of your time. I’d say the same for Cohiba. I’ll smoke a Nudie Lancero and pretend I just pulled the band off. 

 

[Cairo]

3 hours ago, MPS said:

We had no idea how lucky we were at the time I thought it would last forever.

I have always been a paranoid "gloom and doomer" so I stocked up like a crazy person--lifetime supply.

Things are not good when crazy people like me are proven right.

🥲

[gustavehenne]

Luckily I stocked up throughout 2021 so I have a very healthy stock. There are a few things that have eluded me (or I only have a single box) such as Siglo V, Sir Winnie, Fundadores etc.

That being said, if the whole Cuban cigar machine imploded (or imploded even more) I would be more than happy to sip on Padron, Fuente, Davidoff and Ashton for the rest of my days. I'm sick and tired of paying a premium for Cuban cigars that have super tight draws or that are badly constructed when 9/10 I can reach for an aforementioned cigar and know it works and be satisfied. 

I'll miss the Siglo III, IV, Connie B, Esplendidos etc. but I won't be shelling out for them anymore - they just aren't worth it.

[Chibearsv]

I see a lot of N1 and N3 Rosado in my future and hopefully the Dalias or 109.  

[TroutBum]

Have gone to almost exclusively minuto at biggest petit corona sizes as far as box purchases, have been picking up the odd higher end regular production stick or 2 but honestly a lot of them haven’t justified the cost even remotely.

The smaller smokes fit into a Michigan fall/winter just as well and in the summer you just smoke another if you like. 
 

Not optimistic for the future given all the factors both external and internal with habanos so I am trying to squirrel away what I can afford to but some of the prices are just too gross

[Islandboy]

None of the categories really apply to me, it would be “I’ve reduced my Habanos buying, but my smoking habits are relatively unchanged”. 

I’m one of those who stocked up like mad over the 5 years leading up to cigaramaggedon, so I feel pretty fortunate to have the amount and variety I have. It also kinda makes me feel like I’ve won the lottery, because I did not see this coming, it was just dumb luck that I’m sitting pretty.