Costco Has Cigars Now?

[LazyLightning]

First off I am NOT affiliated with Costco in any way, shape or form (Aside from my wife having a card, to shop there)

That said I hope it is OK to post this, I don't think it breaks a rule. If it does I sincerely apologize beforehand, I just wanted to know what some others thought about this. My wife just got a Costco card recently and was up there this past Thursday. She came home and told me that they carried cigars, and when she asked the employee in that section about them he told her there were Cubans in the display. She took a quick snapshot on her phone for me too see, and told me it was apparently a Temp./Rh controlled unit.

Anyhow, she could only remember 2 names on boxes one being Montecristo 2000 (shes pretty sure it said tube also) as well as Romeo y Julieta. She said the 2000s were in a 10ct box for $65.00 but couldn't remember any other prices or brands in the display.

Have any of you folks seen anything similar, are these on the up and up?

I have only had a couple Cuban sticks (thanks to some generous bums) so far so I don't know a lot about them yet.

Anyhow, here is the pic she took

[karmac]

Which Costco was this at? I was just at a store in AZ and I didn't see anything like this.

[Nature]

If in the US, not Cuban. If in Canada, that would be a heck of a price. Although legal to bring Cuban goods into US in your possession for personal use, still not legal to sell or import.

That is the problem with some of these free-standing humidors in other settings. The employees rarely know anything about cigars and the storage conditions are highly suspect. Even the humidity / temperature controlled units are not likely to be maintained or even set properly. I was in a liquor store once that had a cigar cabinet. They had a household humidifier in there spewing out water vapor to the point of condensation on the glass. The humidity was in the 90's with visible mold on several cigars. Saw another humidor in a grocery store, humidity, if you could believe the cheap analog hygrometer in it, read in the mid 50's.

You may be able to get some reasonable cigars, but I would use caution.

[LazyLightning]

Which Costco was this at? I was just at a store in AZ and I didn't see anything like this.

Central Alabama

If in the US, not Cuban. If in Canada, that would be a heck of a price. Although legal to bring Cuban goods into US in your possession for personal use, still not legal to sell or import.

That is the problem with some of these free-standing humidors in other settings. The employees rarely know anything about cigars and the storage conditions are highly suspect. Even the humidity / temperature controlled units are not likely to be maintained or even set properly. I was in a liquor store once that had a cigar cabinet. They had a household humidifier in there spewing out water vapor to the point of condensation on the glass. The humidity was in the 90's with visible mold on several cigars. Saw another humidor in a grocery store, humidity, if you could believe the cheap analog hygrometer in it, read in the mid 50's.

You may be able to get some reasonable cigars, but I would use caution.

Thanks for the input on this Mark,
Not being able to be there myself I wasn't able to inspect the unit or contents. All my wife knows about cigars is she hates how 50% of them smell, LOL

[Brimy]

My $.02,
Montecristo doesn't carry a "2000" Cuban. And like Mark said, a lot of the non B&M's that carry cigars generally don't know what they are talking about.

[Bruck]

[allusred]

There are two Supermarkets nearby that have the same set up with pretty much the same stock. Prices are higher than Mail order from PA.

[LazyLightning]

My $.02,
Montecristo doesn't carry a "2000" Cuban. And like Mark said, a lot of the non B&M's that carry cigars generally don't know what they are talking about.

She was not saying the 2000s were the Cubans, those were just the only two names that she was able to remember. Sorry I should have made that a bit more clear.
That said I agree with you on any non B&M, though even the one B&M near me has an even more suspicious looking setup and didn't even know what Padrons were... That's why I stick to online vendors, I just can't see driving 30min to a shop charging $12.00 for (I kid you not) an AF Curly Head.

Anyhow,
Thanks everyone for verifying my gut feeling on this one. Have a great week!

[allusred]

She was not saying the 2000s were the Cubans, those were just the only two names that she was able to remember. Sorry I should have made that a bit more clear.
That said I agree with you on any non B&M, though even the one B&M near me has an even more suspicious looking setup and didn't even know what Padrons were... That's why I stick to online vendors, I just can't see driving 30min to a shop charging $12.00 for (I kid you not) an AF Curly Head.

Anyhow,
Thanks everyone for verifying my gut feeling on this one. Have a great week!

A Costco in the area, and maybe the BJ's also had the same assortment of cigars as in the picture you posted, plus H. Upmann , Romeo Y Julieta, Montescristo and several other decent brands. Prices close to the online venders . Same setup for humidity control. But they were only in the stores a few weeks leading up to the Christmas Holidays. This was a few years back, not sure if they still do this or not.

Edit. UPDATE.

Recall some of the other brands I saw in the Humidor at Costco.Baccarat, Excalibur, Fuente, TeAmo..*.Cohiba maybe.
The Montecristos were boxes of tubed cigars.
The real reason for this update is that one da, after Christmas, there was a handwritten sign taped to the "50 % Percent off." but there was very little inside. Only my guess, think the vendor who installed and maintained stock in the cabinet intended to reduce the price prior to taking the cabinet back to their storage place. But if you see a price reduction posted, there might be a chance to get some cigars at a very good price, worth checking for If you get the chance to do so.

[Old Smokey]

I like how they left the humidor on a pallet.

It might be a good idea to keep an eye on how well they are selling. If Costco is anything like other large retailers, if sales aren't there they will give that space to something that does. You might be able to buy the humidor cheap.