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Alan (A.K.A The Shadow) S has only to slip away from his every day Lamont Cranston like identity and put his Mind reading ability to use to determine when a dealer's planning to list a good deal,Quote:
Originally Posted by oleballcoachtn
Then as soon as it's available he pounces. A case or two of "The Water Of Life" might just get you a tip., from time to time.
Al I ask of you is please don't tell him you heard this from me.
For online shopping, I am driven by sales - I usually only buy when there is a good sale going on. I get emails from the major cigar and tobacco dealers and try to jump on good prices. I compare the sale prices with other online sellers to see if it really is a good deal. I don't buy from the same retailer always but the majority of my cigar purchases are from one online store. My pipe and tobacco purchases are from a several online dealers, whoever has a good sale. At my local B&M, I usually buy only what is unavailable elsewhere or what is a good deal; but that still accounts for quite a bit. My B&M can get rare items like Pelican, Stonehaven, and Penzance whereas it is almost impossible to buy these online unless you are very lucky. He also has good prices on bulk blending tobaccos of good quality - like McClelland's Perique and Latakia.
This.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haebar
As far as pipes and the requisite baccy, I usually pass, even on the sales. I have way more pipe bakky than I'll ever smoke but if something is on clearance that sounds good that I haven't tried before (like the G&H whiskey twist a few weeks ago) I may spring for a small stockpile just to add even MOAR variety to my stash. For me it's all about variety. I have no 'desert island tobacco'. Were I confined to one blend I'd lose interest and probably abandon the 'hobby'.
I now do most of my shopping at my local shop. It is way too easy to overspend online and can get out of hand pretty quickly.
Would love to be able to hit a local B&M but here in the land of insane taxes I can't. Usually 1 or 2 US online retailers for nc sticks. There's not alot willing to ship up here and only a couple I've dealt with. For cc theres a small company based on a reserve in Ontario that has found a loop hole allowing them to ship tobacco inter-provincially and being on a reserve they're not killing me with taxes. Higher prices than ordering from over seas but no worries about $2-300 suprise terrifs added on.
With the beauty of tabbed browsing, I can quickly compare prices online. What I found is most retailers are all in the ballpark on prices, so it boils down to who offers the best discount. Two sites offer 10% through the ID Me program. One of those sites allows you to stack discount codes, so that's usually where I order. As far as a B&M, there's a cigar bar I go to monthly for tastings, and boxes are usually 20-30% off. There are a couple tobacco shops I'll browse when I'm nearby. When I travel, I always look for a local shop. Pricing in that instance is usually not a consideration, as I'm only looking for a few sticks and am willing to pay for the priveldge of using their lounge.
CBid is my go-to.
But here's where I have all you guys beat - I work with a BOTL who shops online all the time, and is a sucker for every good deal that comes along. He tells me about the really good deals and if it's something I want, I'll just go in with him on an order. All the benefit, none of the hassle. It's nice having a personal shopper who works for free :)
For pipe tobacco, I usually use P&C, but that's pretty much past tense - I did an inventory of my tobacco cabinet a few months ago and concluded that I have a couple lifetime supplies of mostly pretty good stuff, therefore I'm not buying anymore.
Most of my cigars I acquire from B&M anymore. I have two or three that get most of my business. Only buying a handful at a time. Haven't shopped online in quite a while, but when I do, again, stick with a couple vendors that I like; so not too much shopping.