The B&M dilemma

[jitzy]

I will say the cutting fee is no good I feel if you want to smoke there you should have bought it there of have a locker there

[CTDavis]

Really just depends on the type of smoker you are in my opinion. I myself have never smoked at a B&M (only 1 B&M thats close w/ a lounge). If there is a stick that I have been wanting to try I may buy it from a local shop, if I like it odds are I will buy a 5 pack or a box of it online (tobacco taxes in cali turn budget smokes into premiums). Personally I don't feel that I owe local shops anything. I believe it is the store owners job to give me reasons to do business there rather than my own.

[Pendaboot-cl]

Have some respect for the retailers. There is no excuse. If you have a stick you want to smoke, by all means smoke it, but if you want to smoke it in a B&M have the common decency to buy a stick or a few before you pull out that stogie and light it up. If you do it that way nobody will catch a resentment over what you are doing. If you go into a store and feel that since you have purchased their stuff previously they should remember that and cut you some slack I think you have forgotten your manners. That space you are taking up costs them money, and if you buy nothing, that is taking something from somebody without permission. Asking permission to do the same thing makes you, well, not such a perfect human being. Buy a stick and do everything in the open, and nobody can take offense.

[waterboy-cl]

Originally Posted by Pendaboot

Have some respect for the retailers. There is no excuse. If you have a stick you want to smoke, by all means smoke it, but if you want to smoke it in a B&M have the common decency to buy a stick or a few before you pull out that stogie and light it up. If you do it that way nobody will catch a resentment over what you are doing. If you go into a store and feel that since you have purchased their stuff previously they should remember that and cut you some slack I think you have forgotten your manners. That space you are taking up costs them money, and if you buy nothing, that is taking something from somebody without permission. Asking permission to do the same thing makes you, well, not such a perfect human being. Buy a stick and do everything in the open, and nobody can take offense.

I agree wholeheartedly! It would be the same as going into a restaurant and eating food that you brought in from a different restaurant. Just really bad form. Pay for what you use and appreciate those who give you the venue to do what you like.

[Messerjocke2000]

That´s the only advantage of having fixed prices on Tobacco here in germany:
It makes it easy to support the B&Ms. The price is the same anyway, so you might as well buy there.
I´m lucky that in my case, my local B&M also happens to be (one of) the largest online retailer in Germany.

So even if that terrible Pricelaw goes away, i´ll be able to support my local B&M even when buying online...

Kilian

[StreetSpeed]

My B&M has Rock Patel Vintage 90s for $10.25. I just bought 10 of them from CI.com for $30. You just can't compete with that. I always go in there and bring my own smokes, but I'll often purchase another from them when I wanna smoke another one. Plus I pay $150 a year to be a member at my B&M. So, I have a little bit of guilt from buying most of my smokes online, but I also spend a fair amount of money there, in my book.

[Toasted Coastie]

I guess I am kind of lucky. I buy boxes from both the B&M and online. Online I find some boxes cheaper than the store (Edge Missiles or Chateau Fuente) but at the store I find some boxes cheaper (Illusione #2 for $154? how can I go wrong?). For Tatuaje it's a wash. I have plenty of places to choose from (3 now, but one more opening up). Whenever I go in there, I always buy more than one smoke, and find the prices reasonable.

Two of those stores also sell online (2Guys Smoke Shop & Holy Smokes!) and both of them do more business that way than walk in I'm sure. The other two have been around long enough to be local fixtures, and they have their devoted clients.

I've only sat and smoked in the local once or twice, but both of those times were enjoyable. I really don't make the time to hang out there, although I probably will more now.

[BigBuddha76]

I love my two local B&M (Uncle Mikey's and Old Virginia) and am not welcome at the other one in town because I used to work with Uncle Mikey. I buy my singles from the locals, and will buy boxes when they have what I want. BUT, getting them to order anything is tough. I love the Illusione's, but no one in Richmond will even TRY to get them. I love Antano 1970's, but only the shop that doesnt welcome me sells them. so I go online for those.

[hayward_tenney]

Originally Posted by triplezero24

I don't think you're being a weasel. This is a simple concept of supply and demand. The consumer is always going to seek out the lowest price for their goods. However, I do think it is very noble and admirable of you to frequent your local B&Ms though they are more expensive. I say, for a couple of single sticks they are the way to go. But as for boxes, stick to whats cheap.

Originally Posted by Webmeister

I am a firm believer that the local B&M definitely has a niche to fill. For a moment, let's draw an analogy with a bar. I would go to a bar to hang out with friends and have a good time over some drinks. Now I am paying more for the liquor in those drinks than I do for a bottle, but you're also paying for the atmosphere, a place to get together, the personal service, etc. If I decide I want to buy a bottle of my favorite adult beverage, I'm not going to buy it from a bar - I find the best price I can at a liquor store.

'Nuff said – excellent posts, both. Attempts to circumvent the laws of supply & demand are an exercise in futility, because lower prices (especially in large quantities) will always win. The forward-thinking strategy for B&M's is to compete where the internet retailers cannot, the bar in this case being a perfect analogy.

That means MAXIMIZING the ambiance, thus maximizing my advantage over the internet behemoths. So if I'm a B&M, I'm going to do as much as possible to ensure that the vibe in my shop is so amazing that people won't want to go anywhere else. But this goes beyond nice leather furniture and a big screen...service is the keyword.

Local B&M's providing anything less than excellent service – your days are numbered. It is a mathematical certainty!

[ezmoney5150]

The thing that some are missing with B&M's is cigar knowlege. When you order online, the site doesn't tell you what fits your taste profile. I go to Dad's Smoke Shop here in Cleveland at least twice a week. One day I asked Chris to turn me on to something new. He knows my taste profile and turned me on to the El legendario by Comacho. Which I now adore. Without Chris I would have never picked that cigar out of a Holts style site.

The other thing is ambiance. I love sitting in a lounge with other cigar smokers and shooting the s**t.

Just my opinion.

[MetallibamA]

I guess I'm lucky.

My local B&M's prices are very comparable to internet prices for most everything, and the difference, which is small, is worth the knowledge I've gleaned and the enjoyment I get hanging out in the lounge and BSing with the other regulars.

Now, that said, I order from the net, especially when I find a killer deal that I know that the B&M can't match or a stick that they don't carry (not bloody often is that the case) but if the deal is within 20 bucks either way, which is usually the case, I give my friends the business.

Just my .02.

Reg

[jitzy]

Originally Posted by ezmoney5150

The thing that some are missing with B&M's is cigar knowlege. When you order online, the site doesn't tell you what fits your taste profile. I go to Dad's Smoke Shop here in Cleveland at least twice a week. One day I asked Chris to turn me on to something new. He knows my taste profile and turned me on to the El legendario by Comacho. Which I now adore. Without Chris I would have never picked that cigar out of a Holts style site.

The other thing is ambiance. I love sitting in a lounge with other cigar smokers and shooting the s**t.

Just my opinion.

Yes you are right and one of the places by me has that (knowledge) but all the others are run by middle eastern men (nothing wrong with that) that are just trying to make a sale and most of the time dont even smoke cigars. do you know what its like to be told everything they reccommend tastes like the padron anniversary

[Network13]

My B&M is priced pretty high but there have been times when I've called them on it and told them what I can get the same smoke for on-line and the've matched it. On boxes though. On singles I pay whatever there marked, sometimes the'll knock a buck or two off just cause I've been going to the same place for years.
I'll almost always buy my sample of something I want to try from them, but if I want to get more I'll search out a 5er on line for much cheaper.
Competition is fierce around here, I have 4 B&M's all within about 15-20 minutes from the house, 2 of which I pass on the way to and from work every day.

[boxer757]

Originally Posted by Pendaboot

Have some respect for the retailers. There is no excuse. If you have a stick you want to smoke, by all means smoke it, but if you want to smoke it in a B&M have the common decency to buy a stick or a few before you pull out that stogie and light it up. If you do it that way nobody will catch a resentment over what you are doing. If you go into a store and feel that since you have purchased their stuff previously they should remember that and cut you some slack I think you have forgotten your manners. That space you are taking up costs them money, and if you buy nothing, that is taking something from somebody without permission. Asking permission to do the same thing makes you, well, not such a perfect human being. Buy a stick and do everything in the open, and nobody can take offense.

Just to clarify what I said in my earlier post. I do not agree with someone who does not frequent a b&m coming in and lighting up their own stick. And if someone is there for the first time they should definitely be buying something if they want to smoke.
BUT
I was speaking from the perspective of being a member who is at the shop at least 3x a week over the past 3 years. I own a locker, I spend who knows who much on sticks, I buy boxes, I take the manager to sporting events... now if you want to charge me because I want to smoke something from my own stock every now and then, it seems like an insult because you know that I am a loyal customer. That is where I was going with the cutting fee argument...

[jitzy]

Originally Posted by boxer757

Just to clarify what I said in my earlier post. I do not agree with someone who does not frequent a b&m coming in and lighting up their own stick. And if someone is there for the first time they should definitely be buying something if they want to smoke.
BUT
I was speaking from the perspective of being a member who is at the shop at least 3x a week over the past 3 years. I own a locker, I spend who knows who much on sticks, I buy boxes, I take the manager to sporting events... now if you want to charge me because I want to smoke something from my own stock every now and then, it seems like an insult because you know that I am a loyal customer. That is where I was going with the cutting fee argument...

If you have a locker you should be able to smoke what you want especially if you spend so much time and money there. However on a different perspective if you smoke something that the B&M dosen't sell you could send a bad message to other customers so you should take the band off to avoid the "Where did you get that" and "How much was it" questions.