Hats off to Puro Cigars

[PuroCigar]

Sad that this all had to happen that it takes one person to screw the rest of us, but the sampler packs would be pretty good too.

It really wasn't the one person that led us to eliminate singles. I took care of the single cigar Boveda pack issue easily by requiring a 5 cigar minimum to have the order Boveda packed. It's about hundreds of orders.
I plan on adding packages like an assortment of all Crowned Heads lines (we carry seven lines) as well as complete line samplers like The Tabernacle 6-Cigar Sampler.

 

[VeLoRoK]

What if a BOTL was to call in an order and wanted to add a single or two to a larger order?

 

[CVAC085]

It really wasn't the one person that led us to eliminate singles. I took care of the single cigar Boveda pack issue easily by requiring a 5 cigar minimum to have the order Boveda packed. It's about hundreds of orders.
I plan on adding packages like an assortment of all Crowned Heads lines (we carry seven lines) as well as complete line samplers like The Tabernacle 6-Cigar Sampler.

Now you got my attention!


Sent from my cellular device via tap to talk

 

[PuroCigar]

What if a BOTL was to call in an order and wanted to add a single or two to a larger order?

That's an interesting idea. Downside is getting all of the charge card information (security with charge cards does not allow us to see this information online) and manually entering a charge is at a higher rate. Not sure that slowing down the shipping process would be worth it though. Let me work on it.

 

[BigSkySmoke]

Good on @PuroCigar for fixing this problem. While I really liked the fact I could try singles at box price. There always gonna be a couple pieces of shit that don't care as long as they come out ahead. I would still be happy with being able to order singles, once a 5-10 cigar minimum was reached. Either way, glad you guys made these changes before more people abused your policy.

 

[Lefty Chev]

@PuroCigar - Thanks for adding the samplers. Just wanted to give you more feedback and something that I'd be interested in. I know there may be technical hurdles, but something like a make your own 10 stick sampler would be great. Or something where you had to have a minimum of 10 singles or can only have singles in your order if the dollar amount is over $75 or $100, or even a combination of both. As someone newer to cigars, the ability to try singles of various brands and lines was a big draw for me, so anything that addressed your needs and still made that an option would be great.

Thanks again

 

[PuroCigar]

@PuroCigar - Thanks for adding the samplers. Just wanted to give you more feedback and something that I'd be interested in. I know there may be technical hurdles, but something like a make your own 10 stick sampler would be great. Or something where you had to have a minimum of 10 singles or can only have singles in your order if the dollar amount is over $75 or $100, or even a combination of both. As someone newer to cigars, the ability to try singles of various brands and lines was a big draw for me, so anything that addressed your needs and still made that an option would be great.

Our initial concept was about being able to offer singles at a low price so you could try lots of cigars. When the customer likes a particular cigar, they buy a 5-pack or a box, just not from us most of the time. So singles ended up being a loss for us.
We are working on other ways to meet your needs to try cigars without having to buy a 5-pack of the same cigar. There will be even more line variety packs, manufacturer packs, and specific line packs going forward. There will also be some assorted packs for newer cigar smokers as well as cigar type samplers (maduro, habano, combos, etc.) and vitola samplers. The new BLTC Sampler is an example of a great way to try a big assortment of cigars (sizes & blends) from one manufacturer.
The details of custom samplers for BOTL members only is also being worked out. When this deal is ready, details will be posted in the Retailer's BOTL Exclusive area.

 

[Boudie]

Just my two cents, I'd like to see samplers of newly released or top cigars by type or price range. Top Maduros, top Dominicans, best $10 and under, best of trade show etc. You have a tremendous knowledge of cigars and I would trust your opinions.

 

[PuroCigar]

Just my two cents, I'd like to see samplers of newly released or top cigars by type or price range. Top Maduros, top Dominicans, best $10 and under, best of trade show etc. You have a tremendous knowledge of cigars and I would trust your opinions.

Great idea! I will pull these together when I get back from IPCPR. And thank you.

 

[RockawayBeach]

I started to use your site bc of the option to use singles (also heard of you through this forum, I just joined recently).

I do mostly order singles, as I like to try a lot of different cigars. And I'm not an everyday smoker, so I don't really buy boxes or 5 packs. If I buy a 5 pack it would take too long to get through as I have so many different cigars. I'll just buy 5 packs of two or three of my favorites, and I'll have those for a while.

Why don't you figure out the minimum number of singles that are profitable for you to ship, and have that as the minimum order? So if it's three singles, let somebody buy three singles of either the same cigar or three different cigars.

Seems like the problem with the bovedas was a one off, and you won't have that problem anymore since you don't put bovedas with singles now.

 

[RockawayBeach]

Also, what if you just charged a bit more for singles so you're selling them above the box price?

 

[Lefty Chev]

Also, what if you just charged a bit more for singles so you're selling them above the box price?

I think they're doing that with their new samplers.

 

[RockawayBeach]

I think they're doing that with their new samplers.

Yeah but I'm not interested in buying samplers, would rather choose my own

 

[btubes18]

Thanks @PuroCigar for all that you do, I am having trouble with a non-sponsor retailer right now for a purchase of a box 2 months ago that was never delivered. Reminds how fortunate we are to have Rob and some of the other forum sponsors. Customer Service is key in my opinion and it's not all about the % cut. Keep up the good work and as for singles it was a great concept, but I understand it was a pilot and that pilot turned out to be more costly than anticipated. At the end of the day you have a business, and you have to do what's right for both the customers and the business. I am sure you will think of a clever way to solve the singles issue.

One thought would be if you pay a monthly fee and you get to choose a couple singles...
could do this two ways, charge flat monthly fee and then the customer can pick singles each month or you can charge a small nominal fee that will allow access to customers to purchase singles. a little different take on the monthly cigar club because you would allow the customer to pick their cigars. then charge singles at box prices.

 

[VeLoRoK]

️That's kind of a cool idea, or like if you get $100 in your cart then you have the ability to add singles to the order. A magical door opens…singles are revealed.

 

[Robertsndr68]

I think the majority of us will support ya no matter where you end up on this from a business perspective. The prices speak for themselves. Of course the customer service has gone a long way to garner our support as well. Do what's best for PURO. I don't think you'll have trouble maintaining support from members of this site.

 

[zyxwvutsr]

I'm new to being serious about cigars. I have bought online exactly twice, one of those times was from Puro: a fiver plus a single. To be honest, the single at a great price was, to me, a bonus. I would have ordered the five-pack (really five singles individually hand-wrapped - crazy) regardless, but it was fun to get a single to try out.

So, Puro, keep up with the attractive prices and the solid customer service. I hope - and expect - it will pay off.

 

[tattootommy]

Hats off to Rob for his transparency and communication. Personally, one of the things that originally attracted me to Puro was the ability to buy singles. Price isnt a huge factor for me so getting them at a cheaper price than most places was just a bonus. But the ability to try new cigars before committing to a larger purchase was and is a huge draw. I tend to buy a 5er of sticks I like and then throw in a few singles of something new.

Rob, you have a business to run, and nobody understands that business better than you. Buying a 5er of a new cigar will just give me to opportunity to give it a fair shake and send an extra bomb out one in a while. Ill continue to buy from you as your service and selection is top notch.

Other than the prior suggestions regarding basket sizes etc, have you considerd passing on shipping costs to the customer if they spend under a certain threshold?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[arjennrudd]

If we could arrange pay roll deductions to Puro Cigar, I'd jump aboard. I have great B&Ms near me that I frequent regularly but even then, I still buy from Puro Cigar because even though I live in NJ, communication and service from you makes me feel like I'm at one of my neighborhood B&Ms. Whatever changes you have made or plan to make, you will have my business.

 

[Diplomatico]

To "pile on" to the plaudits for Purocigar.com....
The recent CA tax increase applies only to cigars obtained by the vendor AFTER 1 July. Purocigars.com has done a nice job of segregating "before" and "after" stocks so if you are a CA resident you can still order some cigars online from them without the ridiculous excise tax being added. Other well known vendors - for whatever reason (maybe IT limitations?) - aren't doing this. Another reason to support Rob and his crew.