Anejos -- What's with the gouging?

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by rrplasencia

you don't need to buy anything specific. you do have to spend $25 on something else from their normal inventory (cigars, shirts, humi gel.)

I'm admittedly ignorant when it comes to economics but is this not illegal?

[SmokinAFuente]

Originally Posted by mikeyj23

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but makes pretty good business sense to me.

If you can immediately sell 500 of something for $10 a piece, you make $5,000.

If you can sell the first 100 of that thing for $10 a piece, wait for hype to kick in, sell then next 150 for $20 a piece, wait for hype, sell the next 150 for $30 a piece, wait for hype and sell the last 100 for $40 a piece, you've made $12,500.

Theres only 3 problems with that math.

1) Fuente sells only to authorized dealers (you have to have an Fuente account and an Opus account with them).

2) All dealers pay the same for the smokes.

3) Fuente will close your account if they catch (and can prove) that your gouging.


OK, that all could be rolled into one problem, but 3 sounded better. LOL

Holding them back would just mean that Fuente is setting on them when they could be selling them. When a shipment of Opus or Anejos comes into a shop, the shop takes what ever Fuente sends. So, if Fuente was in it just to turn some coin, they would move them as fast as they could. May be it's the Kool-Aid talking, but I still believe the delays are for quality control and from time to time, hurricane damage.

[dantzig]

Originally Posted by BigDilly

I'll take a Hemingway over the Anejo any day of the week.

I'm with you. Anejos have been hit or miss for me. Hemingway maduros have always been AWESOME. A good Anejo really is great but every Hemingway maduro I've had has been great

[lenguamor]

Originally Posted by SmokinAFuente

Theres only 3 problems with that math.

1) Fuente sells only to authorized dealers (you have to have an Fuente account and an Opus account with them).

2) All dealers pay the same for the smokes.

3) Fuente will close your account if they catch (and can prove) that your gouging.


OK, that all could be rolled into one problem, but 3 sounded better. LOL

Holding them back would just mean that Fuente is setting on them when they could be selling them. When a shipment of Opus or Anejos comes into a shop, the shop takes what ever Fuente sends. So, if Fuente was in it just to turn some coin, they would move them as fast as they could. May be it's the Kool-Aid talking, but I still believe the delays are for quality control and from time to time, hurricane damage.

Stop making sense!

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by SmokinAFuente

Theres only 3 problems with that math.

1) Fuente sells only to authorized dealers (you have to have an Fuente account and an Opus account with them).

2) All dealers pay the same for the smokes.

3) Fuente will close your account if they catch (and can prove) that your gouging.


OK, that all could be rolled into one problem, but 3 sounded better. LOL

Holding them back would just mean that Fuente is setting on them when they could be selling them. When a shipment of Opus or Anejos comes into a shop, the shop takes what ever Fuente sends. So, if Fuente was in it just to turn some coin, they would move them as fast as they could. May be it's the Kool-Aid talking, but I still believe the delays are for quality control and from time to time, hurricane damage.

By creating a shortage of product you keep a product's novelty, and thus demand, high. Therefore, Fuente will never have shops turning away Opus and Anejo. Just look at Padron Anni's then and now.

I maybe wrong about Fuente, but from what I've seen, that's how I see it.

[sikk50]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

By creating a shortage of product you keep a product's novelty, and thus demand, high. Therefore, Fuente will never have shops turning away Opus and Anejo. Just look at Padron Anni's then and now.

I maybe wrong about Fuente, but from what I've seen, that's how I see it.

See that to me makes more sense. Keep something in a limited number to keep the quality up and the novelty.

[EastBay]

Originally Posted by JDC20

Really?? How did you come to the assumption?

Easy. Any manufacturer can easily stop all this BS by telling the shop they either start selling at MSRP (plus whatever state taxes are applicable) or they will not be allotted any more cigars in the future. Pretty much makes t stop right there, trust me on that (I see same thing in wine business, easy to control).

This is the reason I stopped buying ALL Fuente products back in '97, I got tired of their "hard to get" marketing stupidity.

[mikeyj23]

Originally Posted by SmokinAFuente

Theres only 3 problems with that math.

1) Fuente sells only to authorized dealers (you have to have an Fuente account and an Opus account with them).

2) All dealers pay the same for the smokes.

3) Fuente will close your account if they catch (and can prove) that your gouging.


OK, that all could be rolled into one problem, but 3 sounded better. LOL

Holding them back would just mean that Fuente is setting on them when they could be selling them. When a shipment of Opus or Anejos comes into a shop, the shop takes what ever Fuente sends. So, if Fuente was in it just to turn some coin, they would move them as fast as they could. May be it's the Kool-Aid talking, but I still believe the delays are for quality control and from time to time, hurricane damage.

Touche - and the math wasn't the problem . I'd forgotten about Fuente selling to dealers at a set price and the dealers jacking the prices up. You fundamentally believe that Fuente isn't trying to turn some coin from the immense popularity of Anejos and Opus - that they're just trying to preserve the integrity of the product. I just can't imagine that Fuente hasn't found a way to profit from the immense popularity besides just selling a lot. I have no reason to believe that beyond my own conjecturing, so I'll put this icon with it: .

[borndead1]

Originally Posted by SmokinAFuente

3) Fuente will close your account if they catch (and can prove) that your gouging.

Then why hasn't Fuente closed the accounts of all the places selling at 300% above MSRP?

[JDC20]

A store does not have to be an Opus Account to receive Anejo's.

[JDC20]

Originally Posted by borndead1

Then why hasn't Fuente closed the accounts of all the places selling at 300% above MSRP?

How do you know they aren't doing this on a case by case basis. Maybe when the subsequent shipments come out that store may get less and less until

1. they clean up their act

or

2. they get less and less until they don't get any.

[gehrig97]

Of course, there's the matter of Casa Fuente--a shop owned by Fuente and Levine--charging more than $30 for Anjeos and more than $50 for certain FFOX...

[floydpink]

Originally Posted by borndead1

Then why hasn't Fuente closed the accounts of all the places selling at 300% above MSRP?

Precisely! Like, for example, Corona Cigar in Orlando, which keeps them on the shelf all year at 25 a stick and up.

There's always the possibility that the Fuentes, who visit the store at least a couple times a year, missed the gouging going on.

[SR Mike]

I saw a photo (of a menu) of Opus X being sold for $103, any size. Price gouging? Maybe a little.

[MikeyC]

Originally Posted by gehrig97

Of course, there's the matter of Casa Fuente--a shop owned by Fuente and Levine--charging more than $30 for Anjeos and more than $50 for certain FFOX...

Based on the RIDICULOUS price gouging that goes on at Casa Fuente, I would say the Fuente's don't really care whether retailers are selling at MSRP or not.