Down Side Of Samplers

[Blowtorch]

I must ask this question even though I should know the answer by now. What is the problem with buying samplers. I just rec'd a 16 stick sampler for $35 w/shipping and all but 2 sticks were prominate name brands that sell for much more. Now I haven't smoked any yet as i'd like them to age in my humi for a few weeks first but.
Are they cigars that have been laying around and possibly stale.?
Are they cigars that have been stored improperly?
Are they from damaged lots ?
I'll probably be dissappointed when I finally start smoking these but to be honest ther are many brands I was planning on buying and trying anyway.
So whats the down side on these pkgs. that seem to be such a bargain?

[bigloo]

There is nothing wrong with sampler. They are a great way to get started. And yes, they are good deals and the cigars are perfect. They are also the easiest way to get you hooked. Once you are, you will be more specific in what you order. Samplers loose their attractiveness when half of the sticks in the sampler are not sticks you want to smoke, out of preference.

[d_day]

The only downside I really see to samplers is that most times more than half the sampler is stuff I end up not liking. All in all, I think it's a good way to try new things. There are lots of samplers from reputable dealers that have been stored and cared for correctly.

Just stay away from Thompson's house brand dog rockets.

[Kaisersozei]

Originally Posted by Blowtorch

I must ask this question even though I should know the answer by now. What is the problem with buying samplers. I just rec'd a 16 stick sampler for $35 w/shipping and all but 2 sticks were prominate name brands that sell for much more. Now I haven't smoked any yet as i'd like them to age in my humi for a few weeks first but.
Are they cigars that have been laying around and possibly stale.?
Are they cigars that have been stored improperly?
Are they from damaged lots ?
I'll probably be dissappointed when I finally start smoking these but to be honest ther are many brands I was planning on buying and trying anyway.
So whats the down side on these pkgs. that seem to be such a bargain?

The downside is that you usually only get one stick of a kind, which can make it difficult to properly evaluate a particular cigar.

That being said, I have purchased my fair share of samplers in the past, typically from CI, C-bid, Famous, my B&M, or from Brothers here. I've never experienced problems with cigars being stale, damaged, or lesser quality than a boxed cigar. I always let them acclimate in my humi before smoking, just to be safe. Like anything, however, buyer beware.

[acrispy1]

Originally Posted by bigloo

There is nothing wrong with sampler. They are a great way to get started. And yes, they are good deals and the cigars are perfect. They are also the easiest way to get you hooked. Once you are, you will be more specific in what you order. Samplers loose their attractiveness when half of the sticks in the sampler are not sticks you want to smoke, out of preference.

I agree thats the way I started and from time to time I still get a sampler.

[skibumdc]

Nothing wrong with samplers at all.
BUT, if you want High end samplers....look at my grab bag.

[Rubix^3]

Samplers are how I got hooked this summer. Famous sent me a catalog that included a bunch of 8, 9, and 10 cigar samplers ranging from 20$ to 30$. I bought two and began the downward spiral. Yeah, some were only average, but I also discovered a bunch of great smokes. They always seem to throw in a couple cheapies to balance out the nicer sticks, but the prices are usually low enough to justify a purchase. If you are like me, you will spend way too much time calculating the cost/benefit ratio by investigating each stick in the bunch.
(On a side note; the samplers and five packs I have bought from Famous all seemed to be in good condition.)
(I don't work for Famous.)

[Buddha024]

I like samplers because I have limited humi space, so in order to have any kind of variety, I have to stick with mostly samplers. Something that hasn't been mentioned here are samplers that are all the same brand but different sizes (ie 5 coronas, 5 robustos, 5 toros, etc). That can be a good way to find the size you like of a certain cigar. Joe's Daily Deal on CI is a great place to find great deals on samplers. I usually don't pay more than $2 per stick when I make a purchase. Anyway, my .

[Blowtorch]

Well I have to admit I'm very surprised by the positive feedback. I know what I prefer but this certainly seems like an inexpensive way to try new things. Much less expense than going to my local B&M and buying one of this and one of that. In the future I'll be buying smaller more specific samplers I'm sure. Thanks for setting me straight, a couple negative posts I'd read in the past had me thinking there was a problem with them.It seems Thompsons gets a bad rap quite often though.

[hotreds]

Originally Posted by bigloo

There is nothing wrong with sampler. They are a great way to get started. And yes, they are good deals and the cigars are perfect. They are also the easiest way to get you hooked. Once you are, you will be more specific in what you order. Samplers loose their attractiveness when half of the sticks in the sampler are not sticks you want to smoke, out of preference.

Well put, can't add anything to the above!

[andrewsutherland2002]

Samplers are great! Just don't buy a Thompson sampler

[s15driftking]

Originally Posted by andrewsutherland2002

Samplers are great! Just don't buy a Thompson sampler

i resent that, i bought samplers from them (38 smokes total) and only one cigar thus far has had a burn issue... i have smoked about a dozen from it...

People always Bag on Thompson (and sometimes JR) but i believe that the anger is misguided.

Heaven Forbid someone try and make an entity of selling cigars.

I give thompson a 90% rating, due to their great quality, and fair prices. the only thing that docked them 10% are the annoying CSR calls.


And another thing... My humidor i bought fro mthem two months ago was awesome, top quality, you can see it in my intro thread...

[themoneycollector]

Mixed samplers of cigars are a great way to try various smokes and get aquainted with a variety.

Bundle house brands are cheap smokes. You get what you pay for, but every once in a while, you'll find a some good ones. CFO comes to mind here.

[Shervin]

Originally Posted by s15driftking

i resent that, i bought samplers from them (38 smokes total) and only one cigar thus far has had a burn issue... i have smoked about a dozen from it...

People always Bag on Thompson (and sometimes JR) but i believe that the anger is misguided.

Heaven Forbid someone try and make an entity of selling cigars.

I give thompson a 90% rating, due to their great quality, and fair prices. the only thing that docked them 10% are the annoying CSR calls.


And another thing... My humidor i bought fro mthem two months ago was awesome, top quality, you can see it in my intro thread...

I gotta admit with the others TC has a rep for shipping a lot of garbage along side any decent smokes their sampler may contain.

[Tim D.]

Thought I'd put my in about Thompson. When I first got into ordering stogies online about 3 years ago, I ordered from Thompson because someone had given me one of their old catalogs. Most of the stuff I got from them was OK to very good, but some were junk. In their defense, I didn't know much about cigars and ordered some stuff just be cause the price was low.

I soon found out about JR, cigar.com, CI, CBID and the rest. Compared to them, Thompson just can't compare on quality, price, speed of delivery, selection. It's been a long time since I've ordered from them for these reasons. Since I only smoke about 4-5 sticks a week, I now go for quality over price. My motto is: Life is too short to smoke bad (cheap) cigars!

One of the best ways to "roll your own" sampler is the 5-packs from JR Cigars. The prices are good to excellent (sometimes cheaper per-stick than buying a box), the selection is huge, you get enough to really evaluate a certain brand, and you get to pick exactly what you want.