I'm Very Proud To Say
 

That I've not bought a cigar from an online retailer in over a year! :tu

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

WOW!! Can't make that same comment. :D

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

lol +1:D

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Fixed it :tu

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Do you notice a big difference in taste wade?

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

:r:r:r

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Nope, just a difference in my piece of mind knowing that I'm supporting my local B&M. :tu

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

amen to that, I just heard a rumor the taste is different

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Much respect Wade! I try to support my B&M with my random singles purchases, but I don't have the money to pay 25-50% more on box purchases :(

Was this a New Years resolution that you had at the beginning of the year? Or did it just happen to fall around this time?

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I'm proud to say it's been 5 days....now you'll have to excuse me while I check my bids

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:tpd: I Wish I could do more at the B&M but the cost kills me.

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:tpd:

I don't have a decent B&M worth buying from without driving into the city.

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My B&M has a 200-300% markup on everything, and doesn't sell boxes, You can get a box, but have to pay the cost of all the singles. So some boxes could ring as high as 700-800 dollars.

I would rather not support a business that has such a large markup.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I've not bought a cigar from an online retailer in two months.

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My local B&M told me the mold on its Tats was plume.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

The closest B&M to me is an hour and a half drive away :td

I can't remember the last time I bought online. I try to support the local guys.
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Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I have no local b & m so I buy all mine online. Saved a ton of money.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Nor would I! Hell, I wouldn't buy a single stick from them.

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I wish I had a brick and morter to support, even with the markup.

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My B&M is great....selection and people who work there...

That said, the State I live in has the highest cigar tax in the country. Our cigar tax is 86% of MSRP... In a nutshell that makes a $5 stick $9.30 or a $200 box $372 after taxes....:(

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

gotta say, if not for the internet I would not be smoking cigars. I do try to get at least a fiver now and again locally, most especially if I am smokling in the B&M.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

good for you! my B&M gets my single cigar purchases, but the 'net gets my bulk purchases. I have some many cigars in reserve that my wife would kill me if I bought anymore.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I am proud to say that I support my local B&M's and my favorite online retailers! The local shops do not carry all of my favorite sticks but I buy what I can from them. I buy the rest online -- usually from online retailers that also have a B&M store front.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

My New Year Resolution last year was no online purchases until July 4th.
I succeeded until August 5th.

I did buy 6-8 sticks from a b&m while on vacation in FL, in April though.

The plan is to do the same this coming year. Saved some money and
rediscovered some xlnt smokes from a few years ago, like La Riqueza
and Oliva V ORs buried in the VinoTemp.

Chemyst :cool2:

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

:tpd:

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I prefer the B&M, I can put eyes and fingers on what I am getting. The few times I have bought various bundle deals online, there has always been the odd cigar that was already dried and cracked or had an otherwise damaged wrapper.

The B&M I use also has a 'club' where you get varying levels of discount depending on which level you pay for. The one I subscribe to is $75 for a year, but I get 25% off of everything but beer and wine. (It's a cigar lounge as well.) Being a good and regular customer, I tend to get breaks here and there on top of that, as well.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Wow, what state is that?

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Utah

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I have been going this route along with some B&M purchases,But $45 in a store at a time for less than 10 hurts the pocket sometimes.

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I agree but I figure that is the price of keeping a local B&M in business.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I've been a supporter of buying from my local B&M's for a long time. :tu
I used buy at least 1 stick every time I stopped in at my hangout. The owner has to pay his overhead, just to stay open. He's never been upset if I brought my own sticks to smoke, while enjoying his shop.

Since I've been house-bound for a while, the only way to buy any new sticks is via online dealers. But I've only bought things that my favorite B&M didn't stock. :ss


:dance:

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Here here!

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I can honestly say, with the exception of Habanos, I haven't made an online purchase in years. I'm just not much of a collector/hoarder/etc. and I prefer to buy NC singles rather than boxes.

I have a handful of go-to smokes that I do purchase by the box, but they're all CCs. For a change of pace, there is nothing better than a trip to the B&M. In fact, I've got a huge, locally bought Anejo burning at this very moment. :tu

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Maybe I am wrong, but I only feel good if I am supporting a B&M that is run by decent people. Just because they have chosen to sell cigars does not mean that they are upstanding citizens or deserving of my hard earned cash. I have had an owner of one cigar shop tell me mold on his cigars was plume and the owner of another try and convince me that some unbanded cigars were habanos that his friend in Canada sent him (which they obviously were not). Neither one of these stores gets my money. I would rather buy cigars online or from someone here.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Agreed. I am fortunate enough to live in a city where we have at least 10 B&Ms. I don't support them all (even if I could afford it!). I support those that have good people who know their cigars, which brings it down to 3 or four for me -- which is still a lot but these are great stores with great people.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I would love to support a local but my B&M owner is not someone who I would like to give my money to. He charges huge markups on some of the smokes I enjoy. How about $350 for a box of Anejo Sharks. After taxes they sell for over $400. I buy from many B&M's via mail order but my local guy is not going to get my business.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Same situation here. I can either drive to Springfield (about an hour and a half) or I can drive to Bentonville/Rogers (About an hour and change)

Just not worth the drive

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My last 3 purchases were from local B&Ms.

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I have bought some "great deals" online before of some regular everyday smokes and there is no doubt that they tasted different. I would say that there is no question they where sold as the real deal and they where 2nds if not 3rds or worse.

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Are these the 2 main shops in Sugarland? I think there are more then a few great B&Ms in Houston.

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I like to buy most of my cigars from local B&Ms but if I see a deal or cigar I can not get there I will buy online.

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I buy mostly online these days, but that is due to the fact that most of the shops in SA have an air pretentiousness that has to be cut with a knife. There is one exception, and I do frequent that shop occasionally.

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Of course there are great B&Ms in Houston and I buy cigars from them when I am in the area. My point was that I don't support B&Ms just because they are local. If I have a bad experience in one, I probably won't go back.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I support my B&M every chance I get. Its an older gentleman and his wife as their retirement job. He understands that he can't beat the online stores due to the volume they can do and the rent/electricity he has to pay downtown. So to combat this, he stocks boutique cigars that you can't find online.

I do buy a lot of the cigars I smoke online but I also visit the store at least 3 times a week. I love the environment and the conversation. Where else can a 18 year old college student hang out with industry professionals, college professors, firefighters and a local judge or two

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I agree with that 100%! I have had one tell me the same thing about mold, but it was an out of town place. Have been to another here in town that has mold on a few and the guy just leaves them out like no big deal. I don't get it.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

And that's why your wife hates cigars.....:r

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I don't have you beat, Volusianator, but I DO have a long-standing animus against more than a few of em,
and I have not ordered since.....about the middle of October. Before that it was about every two months,
and before that it was every payday, lol.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

Same hold true for online retailers!

That's happened with online stores as well!

I would bet if you looked back in the archives here, the same has happened on this very forum too.

And that's the cool thing, it's just like what cigars you smoke, ones you love, others may hate, and you're both right. I'm not condoning buying cigars online, just saying that when the day comes that you want to go to that B&M, sit down and enjoy a cigar, only to find out that they couldn't pay the bills and went out of business, keep in mind your willingness to save a buck to buy online.

I've bought from both of course, and I'm sure I'll buy online again in the future, but I will do everything I can do to support my local small business man, it's where I get my truck worked on, where I get my shoes, where I buy my cigars. I'm just trying to do my part.

Re: I'm Very Proud To Say
 

I have never ordered any NC online. Support my local B&M.