Not too difficult to figure out. The original press release was done by Famous. Just another marketing tool. :-)
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There seems to be some confusion as to our motives and reasoning behind creating a site like CigarSniper.com. Now, we know there are penny auction sites out there whose sole purpose is to separate your hard earned money from your wallet without any other benefit than being somewhat entertained. This is not the case with Cigar Sniper.

We've tried to change the concept behind a penny auction to offer a tangible benefit to any one who decides to participate. I'm sure that the people who purchase from Famous on a regular basis understand that our everyday pricing offers a pretty good value, otherwise we probably wouldn't be in business for over 70 years. On Cigar Sniper we are offering the same pricing to anyone who uses a bid they paid for on any auction.

Let's say you normally go to Famous to buy a particular 5 pack that cost's you $30. It would be worthwhile for you to check and see if there is an auction running on that 5 pack at Sniper. If you spent $30 for 50 bids you have 50 opportunities during the course of that auction to receive that product at a discounted price. Actually, 60 chances because we give you 10 free promo bids with the $30 purchase.

If you use those 50 bids on that auction, you have reached the point where you have already paid for that product. All you need to do is input your shipping info through the Buy Now function and we send it to you. Now you may ask, how come I can't use "Free" bids towards the purchase price? Well they were Free and we'd quickly be under water if we let people purchase something for nothing, now wouldn't we?

Anyway, we created the BUY NOW function on this site so that no matter how many paid bids you use on an auction you still have the opportunity to pay the difference towards our everyday low price (same as Famous) and lose nothing. If you decide to purchase the product we'll also give you all of the free bids you used on that item to continue entertaining yourself on another auction.

Now we know this system isn't perfect. Different people are willing to take different levels of risk depending upon the reward. If you use 5 bids on a $200+ box of Ashton chances are that you won't want to cough up the rest for the box, but as adults we all decide whether or not to take that risk. If you wanted to purchase that box to begin with then you would have over 350 opportunities during the course of the auction to get it at a lower cost than you would have. If you didn't win using those 350 bids then you'd be getting it for what you originally expected to pay.

Everyday, people download video games on their iPhones, go to Disney World, or Vegas and pay to be entertained largely with nothing tangible to show for it. What you lose in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Now we know this site may not appeal to everyone's tastes, but if you found that your experience was enjoyable then why would you not spend the same amount of money as you would at Famous for that product you wanted and be entertained for free?
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Wow, they're selling theoretical pennies for real money; 60 actual cents each! :-)
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What kind of sadist is entertained unsuccessfully bidding on an item? Theoretically speaking, couldn't this same, "entertainment" be had at C-Bid for free? :-)
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Now that's a cool feature. Certainly better than what the other penny sites offer, which is, well, nothing. :-)
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Your ridiculous rationale trying desperately to explain why your site is somehow different than the other penny auction sites that rip off its customers has completely soured me to famous cigars (and I've purchased from you guys a number of times). Capitalism at its finest is also me never ordering off of famous' site again because of the BS that they tried to sell to the cigar community. Anyone who can't see this for the crap it is can feel free to donate their hard-earned money to Famous Cigars.

They say it, not me:-):-):-):-):-)
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I think the point that Humberto was trying to get across was that if you were going to buy those cigars from Famous, you can buy some bids at cigarsniper instead, use the bids to try and get the cigars for less, maybe having a bit of fun in the process as some people enjoy these type of auctions, and, if you are unsuccessful at winning them in the auction, you can apply the money from all the bids you entered against the purchase price of the cigars, so you aren't out anything really. Basically, if you only bid on what you were going to buy anyway, you're gambling odds are quite good - you might win, and at worst, you'll break even and have a bit of entertainment in the process.

Also CBid is proxy bidding, so you just enter in your max bid and walk away, the software does the rest, from an excitement point of view, it's up there with watching paint dry. CigarSniper is live bidding, so you actually have some level of interaction with the other bidders, sure, it's not quite the same as being in the same room and having an auctioneer call bids, but it's certainly more interactive than the proxy bid system, and some people find this interaction enjoyable.
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..Don't take a suckers bet...:-)
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Say what you will, but at the end of the day, these things are nothing more than human Skinner boxes.
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The "buy it now" feature actually "kills" the person's chance who's bidding with their "hard earned bids"! I think that aspect of it really Sucks *youknowwhat*!

There is a certain way to win these auctions, and win big, but its probably not what you think. Based on that realization i'll probably bid somewhere else and
not even bother with this site!
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Not really seeing that, but lets just say it is for a second, in which case it ultimately depends on the person. If one lacks the self control to limit themselves, then oh well. Hardly Famous's fault for that though.
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Not blaming them, just calling a spade a spade. The gaming & gambling industry has literally made tens of billions on this concept; if Famous wants their small piece of the pie who am I to argue?
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If you don't use the "Buy Now" feature before the auction ends, do you lose your bids, or can you opt to buy it with the remaining bids needed for the item?

If you choose to "Buy Now" on a single lot item, do the other people who were bidding lose their bids because the lot is no longer available, or is the item taken from another inventory?
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The 'Buy Now' feature is designed to be used only after the auction is over for losing bidders and only for 'paid bids' used. Free bids cannot be used for a buy now purchase but will be returned to you if you end up buying the item your were bidding on.

In the event you lose a bidding war on something we have no more inventory on, you will be given 'buy now' options for comparable items.
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Sounds like not a bad gig to me, so long as people go into it with the intention of possibly paying full price for the item.

Does the buy now price reflect the current price on FSS, or is it always MSRP? I guess what I'm wondering is, could you possibly pay more for an item that's on sale on FSS?

Edit: Also, can the bidding go over the FSS price? Or does it stop?
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Initially I thought this was a real rape-job. I'm glad Humberto explained the buy it now function.
If a guy uses the site to try and get something for nothing, he's going to get nothing for something, which is exactly what an intelligent grown-up should expect. The lighter wallet might teach that person a valuable lesson.
If a guy uses the site wisely and has already set his mind on buying the cigars he's bidding on, he can't lose. Famous has always had fair, decent prices. They also have very good and personal customer service that stands head and shoulders above Cigars International.
It's simple to see where the "offset" money will come from. It's going to come from guys who are convinced they can get something for nothing, either motivated by greed or avarice. Or it's going to come from folks who are willing to pay a little money for a bit of gambling "thrill". If that guy enjoys losing his hard-earned money via gambling, then he's gotten exactly the value he was looking for. People like to lose money in lotteries, casinos, card games, whatever. I'm not personally a fan because I'd just as soon light my money on fire and warm my hands than throw it away at a casino, there's no entertainment value in that stuff for me (Thank God). I do understand it though. My wife loves to lose money at the casinos and slots. I play the lottery occasionally, and I love playing poker with the guys, It's fun.

The bottom line is that this thing is not set up as a skinner like most penny auctions. It's got a built in can't lose function with the buy it now option at auction's end.
Actually it has two built-in can't lose functions. Leave it alone and you can't lose a cent. That's what I plan to do, it'll be real easy. :-)
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I don't understand why people jump to defend retailers that partake in this type of thing. I clearly understand that an intelligent person can utilize this service without much risk and can walk away without really any loss. The point is though is that they're trying to avoid talking about the fact that many people will "lose $100 before they see the light." Not because they're motivated by greed or avarice. They'll lose it because they didn't understand going into the auction how much money they stood to loose. Call them stupid if you will, I say that the rules of the penny auction game are rigged to take people's money away before they realize what they are getting themselves into. Call it cigar gambling and I'll hush up, call it anything else (an AUCTION? No.) and you're exploiting people by taking their hard earned money and giving them NOTHING.
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Fine. It's cigar gambling.
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I agree, this is a sham hands down.

So what that they added a consolation buy-it-now feature. They're not doing this because they feel sorry for the non-winning bidders. They're hoping they multiply their sales from a single auction from the people who were suckered in to begin with.
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I see where you're coming from, Andrew. I just don't subscribe to the "people are being lead off a cliff by an evil giant" slant, or at least not so much. I believe in people taking responsibility for their own actions, and I don't accept ignorance as an excuse. It never worked for me. :-)
Is it right for people to take advantage of people's ignorance? No.
Has it happened since the dawn of time? Yes.
Will it continue forever? Yes.
Do I choose to take advantage of people? Absolutely not.

Every lesson I have ever learned in my life has come at some expense, many straight through my wallet. I've never succumbed to this particular "evil", but I've submitted myself to countless others, and by doing so I learned valuable lessons. I'm employing one of those lessons regarding this auction model. That lesson says "Don't mess with it, you know better."
I think of these types of things as opportunities to learn. When I pray for patience, God doesn't just grant me patience. He grants me a trying situation where I can learn to exercise patience.
Here lies one of those situations where people can benefit and learn, even if it costs them money, and even if someone else benefits by taking it, and even if it's morally distasteful if not outright wrong. They'll get stung smart.

I think it's a crazy gamble for Famous, and why they'd even bother with something as gray-area as this, I have no idea. (Okay, I do have an idea. Money.) It can only serve to hurt their reputation, which it already has in lots of guy's eyes here, including my own.

To go one step further, I think it's important to allow these types of things to go on. It goes to protecting freedom and liberty. I have no desire for some greater good to watch over me and "protect" me by telling me what I can or can't do. I choose to reserve my right to not wear a helmet, give live birth to a walrus, not read the directions, lose hard-earned money gambling, get an STD from a toothless hooker, run with scissors, and stand under a piano that's hanging in the air.
In order to preserve my rights, I'm more than willing to accept an off-color cigar auction.

And yes, it's cigar gambling, plain and simple. Why they call any of the penny auctions "auctions" is beyond me. Probably the same reason they call free online poker "free online poker". :-)
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