Now I know most of you are avid supporters of Cigars Internationals' super stores and online presence, and with good reason. There's something to be said for the ease of access, variety of selection, low pricing and so on associated with the massive retailer, but what's the real cost? For me, personally, and this is just the opinion of one dude on the internet, the cigar buying experience has always been just as much about the personal relationship between tobacconist and customer as fair pricing for a good cigar. This is something I've only truly experienced through local brick and mortar shops, and I'm not sure I could purchase cigars any other way.
Because of the nature of its sheer size, manufacturers LOVE CI, it's a sure fire way to push volume, especially via events and in store promotions. The recent DE event is a perfect example. Every DE product imaginable was available to you as the customer during this event, including FIFTY, yes, FIFTY, boxes of the UC piggies. To my knowledge there aren't any other shops in the region, or country, that were given access to this smoke. That's all good and dandy, but it bottle necks the availability to country-wide smokers who would love to enjoy that stick. I just envision people lined up at the door in mob fashion similar to a Walmart on black Friday to score these products at a couple cents less than "the other guys"
As a customer, a solid relationship between yourself and your local tobacconist opens the door for you to try new things, based on what you enjoy, that you might not have ever bothered to try without the recommendation from someone who knows what you like to smoke. Its that personal give and take that's driven me to expand my pallet and find a multitude of cigars that I enjoy thoroughly that I might not have ever found otherwise. And about the price. I challenge you to find a B&M that, once you've established yourself as a friendly returning customer, won't cut you a deal on cigars and/or order sticks you're having a hard time finding otherwise.
To umbrella the whole thing, the more I see places like CI growing, and pairing with places like Cabelas, it's hard not to see the "Walmart mentality" sweeping the cigar industry. And, again, IN MY OPINION, takes a good chunk of the comradery and trust and personalization out of the purchasing experience and just chucks it out the window.
Thoughts?
Because of the nature of its sheer size, manufacturers LOVE CI, it's a sure fire way to push volume, especially via events and in store promotions. The recent DE event is a perfect example. Every DE product imaginable was available to you as the customer during this event, including FIFTY, yes, FIFTY, boxes of the UC piggies. To my knowledge there aren't any other shops in the region, or country, that were given access to this smoke. That's all good and dandy, but it bottle necks the availability to country-wide smokers who would love to enjoy that stick. I just envision people lined up at the door in mob fashion similar to a Walmart on black Friday to score these products at a couple cents less than "the other guys"
As a customer, a solid relationship between yourself and your local tobacconist opens the door for you to try new things, based on what you enjoy, that you might not have ever bothered to try without the recommendation from someone who knows what you like to smoke. Its that personal give and take that's driven me to expand my pallet and find a multitude of cigars that I enjoy thoroughly that I might not have ever found otherwise. And about the price. I challenge you to find a B&M that, once you've established yourself as a friendly returning customer, won't cut you a deal on cigars and/or order sticks you're having a hard time finding otherwise.
To umbrella the whole thing, the more I see places like CI growing, and pairing with places like Cabelas, it's hard not to see the "Walmart mentality" sweeping the cigar industry. And, again, IN MY OPINION, takes a good chunk of the comradery and trust and personalization out of the purchasing experience and just chucks it out the window.
Thoughts?
