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The Absurdity of it all......

Nacho Daddy

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Cuban cigar prices have gone insane. Now a box of Cohiba Espys is OVER $100.00 PER STICK.
Likewise the Lancero, and Robustos and Siglo VI are over $1500.00 per box.

Monte #2 are over 500.00 a box and the madness continues down the line.


Do you think you will ever spend this kind of money on a cigar?
 

icehog3

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Mostly what I have purchased this year has been smaller staples that have been semi-reasonable at some vendors. Party Shorts, Monte 5s, PL Picadores, Partagas Capitols. I just can't justify 400+ for PSD4, BBF, Monte 2s, etc. A box of robustos or belicosos will be a special purchase if at all.
 
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Are the prices of Cubans affected by exchange rates? Anyone know what currency the Cuban Government pegs the pricing to?
 
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I seriously don’t see myself spending that much money on a stick unless I have a massive change in fortunes one day. Diminishing returns. You’re paying a premium for novelty at that point in my opinion.
 

Nacho Daddy

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Are the prices of Cubans affected by exchange rates? Anyone know what currency the Cuban Government pegs the pricing to?

No.

desperation in Cuba and naked greed.

Habanos is 100 % behind this increase.

some will say Covid 19 is the culprit ,others that it is the fault of the Embargo.

Prices in Cuba may be viewed at FOH.Com after an across the board increase using Asian pricing as a basis.
 
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It’s ridiculous; I can’t believe that smaller sized cigars like the MF’s that were like $100 or so (less sometimes) since I started smoking them in the early 00’s have in 6 months doubled in prices at some vendors (and they are out of things that I’ve considered my staples for years). It sucks!
 
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Not that we needed any more confirmation but saw a post on Instagram of current Cohiba prices in Cuba today. Pictures are too large to upload but they are nuts.

Robustos $67.70
Piramides extras $102.30
Siglo II $31.05
Siglo VI $82.90
 

Thebutcher

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I wasn't paying attention to the prices on CC's Holy $hit ,I went to look at the suppliers I used in the past unreal.

Im out of the game for CC's :mad:
 

BoneYard

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Cohiba is now priced well into sucker territory. These are now principally, cigars you smoke to impress other people. Personally I’m glad I was never a huge fan of them. Thinking about selling off the ones I have left as they are much more interesting in cash form.
 
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I remember back in 2000-2004 you could get coro's for like 225. An ounce of gold in 2000 was about 250. Today the gold is 1900+ Priced in gold Coro's are a bargain. LOL.
Another way I am looking at it is for years Cubans have been very affordable. In fact I would go as far as say that they were cheap compared to NC's. For most, unless you were smoking Sir Winnies, cubans were less expensive than NC's and IMO way better. I have never found an NC with the same flavor profiles or changes in flavor as you smoked it like cubans have. Some say they have gotten better and a few have made some recommendations for some good ones. The problem is the good ones aren't cheap either.
Over the years I felt like I saved a lot of money by smoking CC's. I think the embargo kept prices down. Main Markets were Europe and Hong Kong. Now China comes into the picture and all that new found wealth is spending money on luxury items like wine and cigars. High end wines have gotten ridiculous as well. Looking at the inventories of online retailers, it seems the higher prices aren't slowing down sales.
So what's the alternative? Smoke NC's that I really don't enjoy or spend the extra money on a product I know I like a lot better? A gradual increase would have been a lot easier to absorb but a drastic increase hurts the brain as well as the wallet. To be honest I was priced out of the higher end stuff before the price increases so I just looked at those as luxury items anyway. I couldn't justify 20 a stick for coros let alone 60 or more.
My only solution will be to smoke less and hope the stash I have will last forever. I cant say I won't buy anymore but obviously there will be a lot less boxes headed my way in the coming years.
 
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All good points but I believe the quality and variety of NCs will continue to improve while CCs will continue to have production and pricing issues. You mention the Asian markets, something I have heard from many, many people in the wine/sommelier business is that a lot of the Asian market is blatant consumerism. They spend money because they can, often without an appreciation or understanding of what they are buying. Having said that I believe pricing of Cuban cigars is also driven by this "consumerism" and the demand for foreign currency. They can sell all the product they want, maybe even at lower quality, at high prices knowing the demand will be there.

I've noticed long time smokers of Cuban cigars on the forum driven out of the market able to find NC alternatives that please their palates.
 
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I've actually been trying a few NC's lately and will admit the quality has gotten better. I would even go as far to say that I enjoy some of them. There's just something missing IMO. If you smoked only cubans for a long time then you probably know what I mean. I do think I can enjoy them and even work them into a regular rotation to stretch the Cubans out awhile longer.
One thing to consider with the pricing is that you can be sure that the Cubans flying off the shelves even at the higher pricing is not going un noticed by the NC producers. I don't expect the NC producers to just sit by and maintain the pricing they have today. Look at Dunbarton as an example. The unicorn at 100 a stick is getting up there. Also sold out everywhere. His stuff is pretty pricey already yet in interviews he complains he isn't making any money. True or not he is laying the foundation for price increases. I expect to see more price increases over the next few years and that's across the board. I wouldn't start panic buying but if you can catch a deal on your favorite smokes you might want to add an extra box or to to the inventory.
 
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I keep an Excel spreadsheet of my cigar inventory with dates of purchase and pricing. It looks to me that NC pricing has almost doubled in the last 2 or 3 years, I think due to demand from ex-Cuban smokers, worldwide acceptance of NCs, new "pandemic smokers" and more "work from homers". If and when demand level's off production will begin to catch up and prices will stabilize. NCs do not have the same production constraints as Cubans.

Watch the Bourbon market, I think the same thing is going to happen. Bourbon became a thing and demand shot through the roof. It takes years to produce maketable bourbon and distillers have dramatically increased the number of barrels in warehouses. When people return to clear alcohol, embrace Tequila and other alternatives supply will exceed demand. Either prices will be forced down or more barrels will linger in the warehouse and older bourbon will be more available.
 
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