How do you moderate?
 

I was wondering how some of you guys moderate.
For instance, I have way too many cigars. That helps me not purchase any more cigars. Well, that's not entirely true. There's nothing else I want right this moment because I have everything I like, so until I see something else I might like or begin obsessing because I only have 10 of something left, I'm less likely to buy stuff.
I even thought to go so far as to set a limit of maybe five smokes for stuff I never get around to smoking and get rid of the rest. I know, crazy. It crossed my mind though. :)

Being as lots of us don't moderate in any fashion, I don't expect a lot of posts, but I'd love to hear your methods. Consider it group therapy so I don't end up living in your basement. :tu

Re: How do you moderate?
 

What's "moderate?"














:D

Re: How do you moderate?
 

the fact that my humidors are full keeps me from buying.

and before someone says it, no i am not buying another humidor. :D

Re: How do you moderate?
 

But a coolerdor is a different matter........

Re: How do you moderate?
 

okay okay. I am not buying anything else to store my cigars in. :D

that is until i build my bar and it has a humidor in it as well.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

easy...


ban, dont ban, infract, etc.
:r

Re: How do you moderate?
 

:tpd:

+ We don't like SPAM !

Re: How do you moderate?
 

smartass. :rolleyes:

i thought this was a staff question as well until i read it. :ss

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Well, being still at the beginning of the slope I guess I have it easier in that "this train isn't a run-away yet, so its easy to apply the brakes". My current method is: acquire singles from either samplers, B&Ms or trades/gifts. Try the singles. If I like one, it gets put into the list of cigars I would like to have a couple more of. Then, I acquire them either through focused trades, complex boxsplits (multi-boxes, multi-people) or purchasing online 5'ers. The goal is to get 5-8 cigars of each type I like. Any cigars I have of a particular type over and beyond 5-8 cigars are up for trade-out/gifting. Any singles I have are for trade-out on a discretional basis.

I guess this is the method I use to ensure that I don't get out of control. I placed these measures in action early as I did see the great potential to lose perspective early.

That being said, I am already at 2 humis full, a 30ct pelican case like-case full, and am in the midst of accessorizing/altering an actual pelican case to act as a humidor. I guess my "brakes" are only slowing my descent down the slope.

Cheers

Cyanide

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I married a moderator. :r

Re: How do you moderate?
 

By not having money :)

Re: How do you moderate?
 

this is the most common method for myself

Re: How do you moderate?
 

:tpd:

I buy infrequently enough so my wife won't get the idea in her head to add up my annual cigar expenses.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

It's tough...

...with that said, recently I calculate how many years I could smoke if I stopped buying today (which we know won't happen). It was a bit of an eye opener to say the least.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Once all my containers are full of cigars I stop buying them. :tu

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Stop buying cigars or containers :)

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Come on ... how many years (rounded up)? :dance:




No money and being married are my #1 and #2 ways (tied, probably).


And in the spirit of full disclosure, I could probably go 2-3 years at my current rate. :pu

Re: How do you moderate?
 

:ss



or Lobster Thermidor a' Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Exactly!

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I think this is the method I will have to go with for now.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

money.






-

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I just buy what I like. For NCs, I have a half-dozen or so smokes that always seem to go first, regardless of what is in my humi. So I smoke those until I finish the box. Then I buy more. For CCs, it's a different story, gotta buy to age, and I've not really gotten into that so much. I seem to buy, smoke NCs until the CCs are ready, smoke the CCs, then buy more, only to find I need to age again... I need a better system and more storage.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

It took a couple of years but my cabinet is full now. From here on out, my rule is if I can't get a new box into the cabinet, I won't buy it. Basically one out, one in.

It's a rule I'll keep for a number of reasons.

• I have enough in there to keep on smoking a long time even if I never bought another box. The need is diminished.
  
• I have enough duplicates of favorites that I can let some of them mature for years. An initial goal met.
  
• What I have stashed I like - no mistakes or buyer regrets. I'll actually smoke and enjoy what I have.
  
• And as I slowly replace what I smoke, I can upgrade fairly inexpensively if I choose since I'll be buying one box at a time instead of multiple boxes.

Through the end of last year I had multiple orders coming in monthly. In December I hit critical mass and ran out of room. I just placed my first order for '09 - a single box to replace a single box. So far, so good. ;)

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I have way too many cigars, yet I can't stop buying more.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Problem is I consider my house a container

Re: How do you moderate?
 

im just buying...buying....cause i heard cigars are on the endangered species list :)

Re: How do you moderate?
 

My buying is moderated by the amount of room I have in my humis. Now that I’m at capacity and the moderator (my wife) doesn’t want to see another humi in the house, I’m holding steady.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Not a big fan of moderation. I try to limit things to max capacity, but if I find something I want at a good price it just gives me an excuse to give some smokes away.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

:tpd:

Re: How do you moderate?
 

The whole "But honey, I need to buy them now before mean ol' President Obama taxes the cigar companies out of business" argument didn't work for me... :r

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I have other interests that are more costly and more satisfying to me. I'd rather have only a few cigars that I really enjoy than a vast collection and use the money toward other things. Mainly right now though I don't have much to devote to this sort of thing anyway so my hobbies are on hold. :(

Re: How do you moderate?
 

:r :r :r
That's my problem, too. I don't have to fly acquisitions past anyone, and that's a killer. Not too many women would allow a gigantic display humi in the dining room. :D
They probably wouldn't be cool with a stack of winadors in the living room, either.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I'm married to a failing moderator. :r

Re: How do you moderate?
 

So what you are saying, then, is that if your collection grows without any signs of moderation or control, its is really your wife's fault. I like that angle. It maintains your ability to buy the cigars, while divorcing you of any responsibility or accountability. It seems you have turned your cigar purchasing process into a government program. Clever!

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Not very well.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I buy car parts... cuts down on cigars.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Moderation comes in only 2 forms:

1. Financial necessity or
2. Space constraints.

Since coolers are relatively cheap... see point # 1.

:D

Re: How do you moderate?
 

+1

Re: How do you moderate?
 

There is plenty of room left in my sock drawer!!!:D

Seriously, money is the biggest reason for cutting back on purchases, for me!!!:bh

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I'll go with this response as well.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Dave

Don't remind me of the empty 120 quart cooler sitting in my garage! I forgot all about that! :eek:

Re: How do you moderate?
 

That's pretty much the epitomy of the Anti-Moderator.
I just made a note to myself to not ask you for any purchase avoidance advice.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Scott, my need to consume, touch and play with tobacco is somewhat placated by the demands that growing, drying, curing, aging and storing tobacco provides.

With a crop underway for this year your personal experiment utilizing this theory is underway, see if it doesn't work for you. :)

Edit: You would be amazed at the amount of tobaccos seductive essence is absorbed through the skin when tending, sorting, rolling and what-not.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

I can't wait to smoke those home rolls you sent. They smell amazing and they're ready to go.
I imagine this will do just the opposite of what I'd hope would happen with this obsession, but I'm gonna dive in anyways. :D

Re: How do you moderate?
 

My 20 count humi kept me from buying more then 20 so,

purchased a 100 count humi which kept me from buying more then 120 so,

put together a Plexiglas 300 count humi which kept me from buying more then 420 so,

purchased a cabinet and put all my cigars in it which keeps me from buying more then 1500 cigars so,

I am building a walk-in and will have to assume budget will keep me from filling it, at least for some time. :)

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Easy!

No job = no money = less cigars :-D

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Moderate? I leave that to the team of 11.

Seriously, these are great points:

&
However, in truth, it boils down to this:

Re: How do you moderate?
 

If you're not married then I think Dave's post about sums it up. :ss

On a serious note, I do pretty regularly go through my collection and "cull the herd" so to speak. Anything that I don't think is going to be smoked in the near future gets the axe. Near future at this point I think means in the next 4-5 years. :ss

Re: How do you moderate?
 

Ditto. Also why my humidor has never been full. LOL But I have something to smoke foe the weekends and occasionally through the week.

Re: How do you moderate?
 

:tpd: But I still seem to buy a LOT of cigars withought taking to much grief. I just bought a house, so I think that will suck up my excess budget, and end my crazy purchases...For a little while anyways.:D