Hyped MSRP on 'net cigars?

[CptGutz]

So it comes down to this: some of the cigars are tasty cigars, they may be "hyping" the MSRP but we're still getting a pretty good deal... Yeah?

[Phantom57]

MSRP is a joke. It is an artificially high price set to make you think you are getting a deal. Car manufacturers do the same thing. If they ever sell a car for MSRP the salesman rolls on the floor laughing at the fool who bought it. I know in the magazine industry, there are laws about what you can state is the cover price, ie, you actually have to sell a certain percentage of them at that price to be able to say that is the price of the magazine. Other industries do not have such a regulation as far as I know.

[Frinkiac7]

My rule is...whatever it eventually sells for...is still more than it's worth. Retailers aren't going to give things away, even after deeply slashing the MSRP. At the end of the day, your retailer is making at least some money.

Knock a few points off the lowest price you've seen any particular 'gar, and that's probably a pretty fair estimate of its true worth. Absent us knowing the manufacturer/distributors' raw costs.

[mc2712]

I know this thread is on prices, but the other day when i got some of my orders from CBid and Cigar.com I noticed that both boxes had the same address on them.

[Strick]

Originally Posted by mc2712

I know this thread is on prices, but the other day when i got some of my orders from CBid and Cigar.com I noticed that both boxes had the same address on them.

Yes CI, CBid and CiCom are 1 in the same. Altadis owns JR and others...

[SmokinGun22]

IMHO the true price of any cigar is the cheapest price you can get it for on the internet. No wholesaler is out there saying "i can sell this cigar ALL DAY LONG for $10 but i'll drop the price to $3"

Paying MSRP is the price you pay for the luxury of stopping by the local B&M and picking up a stick on impulse. This is the reason I got a humidor so I could take advantage of samplers and variety packs and try many different cigars. While I may enjoy the local tobacconist and the luxury of smoking in their lounge and meeting new BOTL, I like trying new cigars at the discounted rate that are waiting at my beck and call in my HUMI.

In the end it is the same way I feel about SCHIP also: I will continue to enjoy my pastime and will try to pay the best price I can.

[Egis]

all the retailer price are almost 80% over real prices what it comes out of factory, plus were is one distributor what sells cigar to all over the places which he gets his part, I wish we could buy straight from factory
Even with cars, I used to ship cars overseas, and stuff, and I had a dealer licenses and my friend worked for toyota, so he could give me 8K discount and they still ended up making + out of me, so what is a real msrp I have no clue on car, probably cheap. And same with car tires I had chance to buy buy tires straight from distributor, half price cheaper then retailer, so everyone is making money of us, whatever you buy.

[karmaz00]

can be very mis leading. thanks for the info

[BlewSmoke.com]

Originally Posted by Egis

all the retailer price are almost 80% over real prices what it comes out of factory, plus were is one distributor what sells cigar to all over the places which he gets his part, I wish we could buy straight from factory
Even with cars, I used to ship cars overseas, and stuff, and I had a dealer licenses and my friend worked for toyota, so he could give me 8K discount and they still ended up making + out of me, so what is a real msrp I have no clue on car, probably cheap. And same with car tires I had chance to buy buy tires straight from distributor, half price cheaper then retailer, so everyone is making money of us, whatever you buy.

If we all bought straight from the manufacture.. there would be a lot of jobs eliminated. And then.... the manufacture would have the power to just raise their own prices to whatever they want.

[Shaz]

Originally Posted by Frinkiac7

My rule is...whatever it eventually sells for...is still more than it's worth. Retailers aren't going to give things away, even after deeply slashing the MSRP. At the end of the day, your retailer is making at least some money.

The cigar is actually worth what the majority of end users are prepaired to pay for it. Actual cost is really irrelevant. If you enjoy the smoke enough, you will pay what you feel it's worth.

Originally Posted by Egis

all the retailer price are almost 80% over real prices what it comes out of factory, plus were is one distributor what sells cigar to all over the places which he gets his part, I wish we could buy straight from factory
Even with cars, I used to ship cars overseas, and stuff, and I had a dealer licenses and my friend worked for toyota, so he could give me 8K discount and they still ended up making + out of me, so what is a real msrp I have no clue on car, probably cheap. And same with car tires I had chance to buy buy tires straight from distributor, half price cheaper then retailer, so everyone is making money of us, whatever you buy.

It's called the free market system. Ideally, we all get a product of high quality at a fair price. In turn, there is enough margin and volume in the sales to support the chain that brings the product to your doorstep. But somehow, I think it's the first link in the chain that's getting screwed, as usual. The cigar rollers can't be making much for all the skill required.
Sorry to go off topic.

[BlewSmoke.com]

Originally Posted by Shaz

The cigar is actually worth what the majority of end users are prepaired to pay for it. Actual cost is really irrelevant. If you enjoy the smoke enough, you will pay what you feel it's worth.



It's called the free market system. Ideally, we all get a product of high quality at a fair price. In turn, there is enough margin and volume in the sales to support the chain that brings the product to your doorstep. But somehow, I think it's the first link in the chain that's getting screwed, as usual. The cigar rollers can't be making much for all the skill required.
Sorry to go off topic.

Well said.

[MrMayorga]

The more I look around the web, the more I'm beginning to to think that CI's prices are not the best prices out there. It makes you wonder just how much they are marking their product up when they are selling stuff at 2/3 their normal prices on cbid and MMAO and still making money.

[e-man]

Don't forget that tobacco taxes vary by state. My b&m claims that 40% of his price goes towards Colorado tax. MSRP must figure in some amount for state taxes, otherwise every B&M retailer would appear overpriced. When you buy mail order from CI, you're not paying your state tax (not sure about FL residents). This alone can allow them to offer a significant savings compared to MSRP.


Aside from volume discounts, CI works with manufacturers on all of their promotions. If you're trying to increase market penetration for your brand, you can instantly get your product into the hands of thousands of new customers by offering a Joe Deal that is too good to pass up. That's WAY more effective than any advertising campaign.

[buttah]

Originally Posted by Strick

Yes CI, CBid and CiCom are 1 in the same. Altadis owns JR and others...

This is not true. They are not one in the same. Cigar.com is independently owned they are contracted with CI to provide inventory and shipping support but they ARE NOT the same. They ARE competitors.

[e-man]

Originally Posted by buttah

This is not true. They are not one in the same. Cigar.com is independently owned they are contracted with CI to provide inventory and shipping support but they ARE NOT the same. They ARE competitors.

My own cyber-sluthing suggests that they are the same entity. All of the domain names were registered by proxy, so no entity is listed. However, pinging a domain name shows the IP address for each site. The IP addresses appear to be in sequential order and part of the same IP block. That means that they are DEFINITELY in the same data center, and most likely on the same server. If they are not the same company, then their websites are all operated by the same people. You can try the following on your own computer:


C:\>ping cigar.com
Pinging cigar.com [69.7.226.77] with 32 bytes of data:

C:\>ping cigarsinternational.com
Pinging cigarsinternational.com [69.7.226.79] with 32 bytes of data:

C:\>ping cigarbid.com
Pinging cigarbid.com [69.7.226.81] with 32 bytes of data:

C:\>ping cigars.com
Pinging cigars.com [216.27.87.83] with 32 bytes of data: