Price discrepancy?

[akumushi]

Originally Posted by stearns

premium cc's could be seen as minimum $100+ as well. all depending on perspective my friend

stearns

Very true, although I think "rare, limited, collectable or superpremium" are more apt designations for those sticks.
The bottom line is, when Americans get CCs, it's on the black market, and generally no tax is paid, certainly never to the US government. Since tax is always a significant percentage of the price of a cigar, any cigars obtained tax free on the black market will be cheaper than those obtained through legal channels. So the answer to your question is yes and no. If you look at the prices before taxes, CCs are the just as expensive if not more expensive than equivalent NCs. The cheapness is a product of the embargo.