Cigar Inflation

[DIY Pete]

Old thread

Back in 2018 Bob @deluxestogie was gifted a Bolivar Gold Medal Cuban Cigar and since I had recently smoked one, I asked him to smoke and review his. All the pertinent information can be seen at the link above. The reason I bring it up is that at the time of release (2011-12) it was a ten dollar cigar, When Bob smoked his it was a 30-ish dollar cigar on the secondary market. Just today I got an email from a vendor that has some in stock and they are asking 99.50 a stick when you buy a box of 10. I know they will sell out quickly, but not to me.

Pete

 

[FrostD]

Old thread

Back in 2018 Bob @deluxestogie was gifted a Bolivar Gold Medal Cuban Cigar and since I had recently smoked one, I asked him to smoke and review his. All the pertinent information can be seen at the link above. The reason I bring it up is that at the time of release (2011-12) it was a ten dollar cigar, When Bob smoked his it was a 30-ish dollar cigar on the secondary market. Just today I got an email from a vendor that has some in stock and they are asking 99.50 a stick when you buy a box of 10. I know they will sell out quickly, but not to me.

Pete

I may have received the same, if not similar email. I believe right underneath those Bolivars are some BHK 54’s from 2013 for $3000 for 10… $300 per stick. Man o man, that’s a good chunk of change for just 10 sticks. I guarantee, that anyone could use that same $ buy a ton of leaf from Don and make a much better tasting blend. Just my opinion tho.

 

[DIY Pete]

You are correct about getting the same email FrostD. I remember when BHK 52's were in the 30 dollar range. No cigar is worth 100 per stick much less 300. I will stick to the few brands of commercial cigars I like and roll some of my own with leaf from Don.

Back in that same time period (2012-ish) I was able to purchase 3 Cuban Davidoff's for 60 bucks each. More than I really should have spent but those are 500 to 600 dollar cigars today. They were pretty good but nothing special except for the name and country of origin.

 

[deluxestogie]

99.50 a stick when you buy a box of 10

For a delightfully smokable, somewhat different brand, I currently have an auction bid of 85 cents a stick (6" x 60) when I buy a bundle of 20 (It ain't Cuban.) I'll probably end up paying ~95 cents per stick. If you are willing to pay for the awe of a cigar band, then you deserve to pay $99.50 a stick. (Wealth is never about quantity of money, but about its flow rate.)

Bob

 

[FrostD]

You are correct about getting the same email FrostD. I remember when BHK 52's were in the 30 dollar range. No cigar is worth 100 per stick much less 300. I will stick to the few brands of commercial cigars I like and roll some of my own with leaf from Don.

Back in that same time period (2012-ish) I was able to purchase 3 Cuban Davidoff's for 60 bucks each. More than I really should have spent but those are 500 to 600 dollar cigars today. They were pretty good but nothing special except for the name and country of origin.

I agree 100%! I have some commercial sticks both Cuban & Non Cuban over the $100 price tag. The vast majority when I’ve smoked them, I think “I can get better flavors, burn, etc. off of a $5 stick!” I get that with some cigars, time helps (especially Cubans). However, the inflation is a bit ridiculous. Sure $100 for BHK 52 from 2013, sounds fairly reasonable, even though it’s still expensive! I haven’t seen BHK’s become available at all for quite some time, but $300 for 1… no thank you. $300 can get you id estimate 10-30 lbs of whole leaf (depending on if your getting wrappers, binders, &/or filler)! Oh yeah, not to mention that that can roll waaaaaaaaaay more than 1 stick. That Cuban craze bug is a nasty mofo right now!

 

[jvnshr]

We have LCDH in Azerbaijan, and their prices are really good compared to the ones in other countries. Just few years ago, when they opened the lounge, I could find 2011-2012, even 2009 cigars and I wasn't paying any extra money for the aged cigars. Most of the customers were seeing those as "old" cigars, thus all were buying fresh ones to smoke. Then they learned and all those aged cigars were sold in a few weeks.

There are lots of people that hoard Cubans like crazy. It is enough to check Cuban Cigar subreddit.