Is it just me ..

[TraderCigarCo.]

.. or is anyone else noticing the insanely high pricing on some of these new boutique cigars??

Don't get me wrong, I have been a boutique whore the past few months loving some offerings by Warped, Caldwell and Crowned Heads. But I'm starting to see some of their prices are now shooting up to over $17 a stick?! Of course I am specifically speaking to the Last Tzar by Caldwell. I just find it hard to shovel out that kind of money for something that's not proven.

Also, once some of the older manufacturers see that people are "willing" to pay prices for that, won't that mean higher prices in the future for something less mediocre? Just ranting here, but curious to see if I'm the only one.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[atbat82]

Completely agree. I've stopped myself a couple times when I realize the per stick price is over $15. It takes something really special for me to justify more than $15/stick only because there are so many good cigars less than that and some many great cigars around that price. I think bundling them in 10ct boxes makes the price seem smaller, but the cost per cigar is still really high. I passed on the Warped Small Batch exclusive for that very reason. I love Warped (and Small Batch), but it's just hard to justify that much for any stick. It's the same reason I don't chase Liga Unicos.

 

[CSG123]

I'm not in the world where ANY high priced cigar is in my realm but I certainly wouldn't look at here today, gone tomorrow boutique cigars if I was.

 

[ChiefIlliniwek]

Yeah, I start freaking out if see anything over $8 or so. For me to buy something over $10, it had better be good, and for $15 or more it had better be spectacular and then give me a handy at the end. That being said, I am trying to clear out all of the low end sticks in my humidors and would like to start buying some better sticks. I'm just a sucker for cheap 5ers on Cbid.

 

[Nickerson]

DIdn't even see this and made a post about these Caldwell "boutique" cigar. Read the thread I just posted...
If I'm going over $10 you best believe I'm getting a Padron, Tatuaje, Liga Privada, Ashton, or Fuente.

 

[ChuckMejia]

18+ a stick and they sell out before anybody gets a good review in. Just not worth it, as we have come to find out thru most of the recent "Lost and Found" activity.

With that said, small batch needs to do another 20% off on random brands again! Hopefully today!

 

[TraderCigarCo.]

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Caldwell and pretty much everything I've had of theirs except Murcias, but my question is will the pricing from these boutiques have any affect on the prices throughout the industry. If there are a large number of individuals that are willing to pay ridiculous prices before ever having a chance to try something, that HAS to somehow affect something somewhere. I know that was super specific with that last part. Lol

 

[Craig Mac]

This definitely does raise the minimum with ALL cigar companies when they see how easy it is to sell at higher price points. There has to be a balance of reasonably priced, quality cigars before you can leap in to that super premium category and just expect people to blindly buy.

 

[shadowcam]

Yes, too many high priced stuff coming out. Most without the pedigree to warrant asking that kind of money. Now my internal thought process for a $15+ smokes is, Is it better than a Padron 50th Maddy? Because if it's not equal or better. I'm saving my money. This is only for NCs though. CCs you can blindly buy and still get your money back or more...

 

[StogieNinja]

Well, keep in mind, it's the uber-limited releases that are priced high, and they're not targeting the average consumer with these, they're targeting fan boys and collectors with the tiny releases. $7-9 for the majority of Crowned Heads, Caldwell, and even some of Warped's core products seems pretty good overall given the quality we're getting vs a lot of mainstream stuff at similar price points.

I think these small releases are a response to what the more rabid cigar fans are clamoring for, and most companies seem to be doing a decent job of trying to hit along both fronts... good strong core releases at reasonable prices, and frequent, very-limited-production LEs at higher price points for the collectors and fanboys.

 

[sofc]

DIdn't even see this and made a post about these Caldwell "boutique" cigar. Read the thread I just posted...
If I'm going over $10 you best believe I'm getting a Padron, Tatuaje, Liga Privada, Ashton, or Fuente.

I don't know if you consider L'Atelier as Tatuaje but I would put the CdO up with almost any cigar out there (and the Pepin 10th also)

 

[TraderCigarCo.]

Well, keep in mind, it's the uber-limited releases that are priced high, and they're not targeting the average consumer with these, they're targeting fan boys and collectors with the tiny releases. $7-9 for the majority of Crowned Heads, Caldwell, and even some of Warped's core products seems pretty good overall given the quality we're getting vs a lot of mainstream stuff at similar price points.

I think these small releases are a response to what the more rabid cigar fans are clamoring for, and most companies seem to be doing a decent job of trying to hit along both fronts... good strong core releases at reasonable prices, and frequent, very-limited-production LEs at higher price points for the collectors and fanboys.

Well said.

 

[problemsolverjc]

I don't know if you consider L'Atelier as Tatuaje but I would put the CdO up with almost any cigar out there (and the Pepin 10th also)

Agree 100% amazing smoke!!!

 

[ar2381]

To defend the boutique brands a little bit: keep in mind the cost of making their cigars and financially running their company almost requires them to charge more money. They don't have their own farms, or sometimes even their own factories. So, as a result they have to buy their tobacco from brokers, who charge more than growing it yourself. Also, paying another factory to make it for you means they have to pay someone else to make it for them. Once a company grows they can grow their own tobacco, and make their own cigars meaning the long term costs to make their cigars goes down. Also, boutique companies often need the extra revenue or profit to hopefully invest in their company to expand their operation. If a boutique company wants to grow and expand they need to invest more of their profit into their operation, so sometimes charging more early on allows them to invest in themselves. Boutique companies can't expect to sell millions of sticks a year early on to allow them to have more profit to put in their business. So, by charging more and keeping production low they can take the extra profit, and invest it in their operation. This is just a guess on my part, and in no way do I actually know that boutique companies do exactly what I am saying. However, if I had a boutique company with limited product capabilities I would do just that.

 

[THEMISCHMAN]

It's like we used to say in the car business, "There's an ass for every seat." As long as people are buying them they will keep selling them at that price. @ar2381 makes a good point in his explanation about some of these boutique brands not being vertically integrated. Without access to their own tobacco and factories the cost for cigars will obviously be higher. There is also a thread by Steve Saka that addresses the costs of tobacco, overhead, and vitola size, etc. and how that affects the cost of cigars at the consumer level. People can charge what ever they want for a product but at the end of the day if it's an inferior product sales will reflect public opinion. Here's a little reading that addresses costs and prices.

http://www.botl.org/threads/whats-your-price-point.77008/#post-1502331

http://www.botl.org/threads/narrow-ring-gauge-practicalities.77832/

 

[ssaka]

Thanks for posting those links... I was about to rewrite much of the same stuff I wrote before... saved me at least an hour!!! :>

 

[driver]

Cigar Boom? Will it burst if that's the case and when??

 

[Bubb]

Cigar Boom? Will it burst if that's the case and when??

Sure looks like one to me, a lot of price speculation people buying sticks as an investment rather than something to enjoy. How long will it last I do not know I watched the housing bubble and was astounded it took so long to pop. Of corse this is differ t but I see some companies pushing the limits. All I know is I will continue to enjoy the hobby but never see it as something to cash in on. This is I am sure the opinion of most people here but we are not the speculators.

 

[driver]

.. or is anyone else noticing the insanely high pricing on some of these new boutique cigars??
bought cigars once as a investment now I'm stuck with 3 extra boxes of pudgy monsters I see selling for almost half of what i paid
Don't get me wrong, I have been a boutique whore the past few months loving some offerings by Warped, Caldwell and Crowned Heads. But I'm starting to see some of their prices are now shooting up to over $17 a stick?! Of course I am specifically speaking to the Last Tzar by Caldwell. I just find it hard to shovel out that kind of money for something that's not proven.

Also, once some of the older manufacturers see that people are "willing" to pay prices for that, won't that mean higher prices in the future for something less mediocre? Just ranting here, but curious to see

Sure looks like one to me, a lot of price speculation people buying sticks as an investment rather than something to enjoy. How long will it last I do not know I watched the housing bubble and was astounded it took so long to pop. Of corse this is differ t but I see some companies pushing the limits. All I know is I will continue to enjoy the hobby but never see it as something to cash in on. This is I am sure the opinion of most people here but we are not the speculators.

Sure looks like one to me, a lot of price speculation people buying sticks as an investment rather than something to enjoy. How long will it last I do not know I watched the housing bubble and was astounded it took so long to pop. Of corse this is differ t but I see some companies pushing the limits. All I know is I will continue to enjoy the hobby but never see it as something to cash in on. This is I am sure the opinion of most people here but we are not the speculators.

bought cigars once as a investment now I'm stuck with 3 extra boxes of pudgy monsters duh!

 

[ssaka]

Cigar Boom? Will it burst if that's the case and when??

Um... not exactly.

In Nicaragua yes there is a bit of a boom, but at the expense of Honduras and the Dominican. The overall total US import and consumption numbers are relatively stable with the posting of minor percentile increases since 2009.

There has been an overwhelming number of new brands, but again these have been at the expense of existing brands.

So there may come a time when consumers tire of all the smaller new brands, however there will not be a "burst" like before...

Last time both cigar production and brands were simultaneously going through the roof and all of the factories were dramatically overproducing to stay ahead of the trend, so when it ended there was a huge glut of unnecessary inventory. All factories of note are far better at their inventory control and management than they were two decades ago, plus almost all these new brands are tiny in their production numbers.

So if they were to suffer a relatively abrupt commercial demise it would NOT result in a market-wide overstock situation.

BR,

STS