I never stated there was price gouging.... I just stated the terms of the email.

But since that can of worms was opened, I'll fish.

Yes, I think price gouging does occur at that shop on the taxes end. I recently bought an $84 box of cigars (24 in box) at the shop in Wilson Col Kurtz mentioned and with tax it was $91....that's $7 in taxes. In the email 6 cigars ($80) is $95 after taxes. That is $15 in taxes, which is BS. Retail on those 6 cigars they are selling for $80 is $68. Keep in mind these 2 shops are in the same state and are about 1 hour apart. BTW, Hal quoted me a price of $150 + tax for the same box that Col Kurtz picked up for me from Wilson. That is basically 2x the price...so yes they do gouge. I haven't gone crazy like Col Kurtz and written them off, but I certainly don't buy much there....which is a shame because they have a helluva selection.
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Tax on $80 in NC is $6.40, fwiw.
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One shop by me is getting 5 boxes of each, to be split among their 3 stores and will NOT be selling them until the 31st. The other shop has no idea what or when. I figured I would stroll in the second shop Fri morning and talk to the owner....
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Ah yes....I see, bash the retailer, not the problem.

The State of North Carolina legislature, in their infinite wisdom, has
passed yet another increase in the Other Tobacco Products tax of 2.8%
(from 10% to 12.8% wholesale). To make things worse, they have imposed
a floor tax on our existing inventory.

yeah....did you FORGET that part??

Great that y'all can do the math for the NC State SALES tax....Now add on the ADDITIONAL OTP tax of 12.8%.....

Gee....what does that add up to????
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I do work at a shop. I know how it works. :-) All the extra taxes are usally already added onto the retail price.
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I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night...does that count??
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These things are out at my store.
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Grab me a box!!
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Retailers don't pay SCHip tax. The manufacturers do. And the total tax for tobacco in NC is 12.8% on the wholesale cost. Some have increased their price, but Pete and a few others have not.
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I will try to get another box tomorrow. They distributed them to their other stores and I will be going by them next. The only draw back was I had to give in and buy $200 worth of other Tatuaje products. This was one of the 13 stores and they only got 2 boxes of the Boris. I think the smaller allotted stores will probably see more of the Boris.
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That's why I'm in the asylum :-)

Makes the B&M vs. online retailer vs. Wilson question easier......
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That's why we're ALL in the Asylum!!!

:-)

Now, here's the numbers from our shopping trip....

Local Taxes - $3.50

NC Tobacco Tax - $3.61

SCHIP - $3.28

Total Taxes - $10.39

And that was on less than $80 purchase.

For those of you on the ""Bash the retailer"" Bandwagon, enough is enough.

Funny that acarr had to do the SAME thing in AZ that a certain retailer here had to do....But NO MENTION of Pete Johnson making this a requirement???
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I Just picked up my box of the Boris and The Drac - my retailer is great and much appreciated.
Here are my early pics http://s825.photobucket.com/albums/zz177/kcqueen/
Can't wait to break in and try one of each in a few weeks. Its like Christmas in my house tonight. Absolutely beautiful. Hope everyone else gets a box to enjoy!
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Why would he care? He has his money, why would he care what the retailer re-sold his product for?
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Not bashing here... But the only problem with the numbers are the manufacturer pays the SCHIP tax, not the retailer. If a buyer from out of state buys, then they don't have to pay that states sales tax either.

All comes down to Buy them if you want them or don't if you aren't willing to pay the price.
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I paid 318 out the door for a box of each in AZ
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I paid $298 for a box of each out of state from one source.
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I just saved a lot of money by switching to GEICO
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I wish I was as smart as a cave man but alas, the cave man got on the list first.
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Who gets "stuck" with paying the floor tax?

The out of state issue does not hold try in every state either.
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