My B&M is great....selection and people who work there...

That said, the State I live in has the highest cigar tax in the country. Our cigar tax is 86% of MSRP... In a nutshell that makes a $5 stick $9.30 or a $200 box $372 after taxes....:-)
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gotta say, if not for the internet I would not be smoking cigars. I do try to get at least a fiver now and again locally, most especially if I am smokling in the B&M.
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good for you! my B&M gets my single cigar purchases, but the 'net gets my bulk purchases. I have some many cigars in reserve that my wife would kill me if I bought anymore.
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I am proud to say that I support my local B&M's and my favorite online retailers! The local shops do not carry all of my favorite sticks but I buy what I can from them. I buy the rest online -- usually from online retailers that also have a B&M store front.
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My New Year Resolution last year was no online purchases until July 4th.
I succeeded until August 5th.

I did buy 6-8 sticks from a b&m while on vacation in FL, in April though.

The plan is to do the same this coming year. Saved some money and
rediscovered some xlnt smokes from a few years ago, like La Riqueza
and Oliva V ORs buried in the VinoTemp.

Chemyst :-)
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:-)
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I prefer the B&M, I can put eyes and fingers on what I am getting. The few times I have bought various bundle deals online, there has always been the odd cigar that was already dried and cracked or had an otherwise damaged wrapper.

The B&M I use also has a 'club' where you get varying levels of discount depending on which level you pay for. The one I subscribe to is $75 for a year, but I get 25% off of everything but beer and wine. (It's a cigar lounge as well.) Being a good and regular customer, I tend to get breaks here and there on top of that, as well.
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Wow, what state is that?
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Utah
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I have been going this route along with some B&M purchases,But $45 in a store at a time for less than 10 hurts the pocket sometimes.
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I agree but I figure that is the price of keeping a local B&M in business.
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I've been a supporter of buying from my local B&M's for a long time. :-)
I used buy at least 1 stick every time I stopped in at my hangout. The owner has to pay his overhead, just to stay open. He's never been upset if I brought my own sticks to smoke, while enjoying his shop.

Since I've been house-bound for a while, the only way to buy any new sticks is via online dealers. But I've only bought things that my favorite B&M didn't stock. :-)


:-)
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Here here!
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I can honestly say, with the exception of Habanos, I haven't made an online purchase in years. I'm just not much of a collector/hoarder/etc. and I prefer to buy NC singles rather than boxes.

I have a handful of go-to smokes that I do purchase by the box, but they're all CCs. For a change of pace, there is nothing better than a trip to the B&M. In fact, I've got a huge, locally bought Anejo burning at this very moment. :-)
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Maybe I am wrong, but I only feel good if I am supporting a B&M that is run by decent people. Just because they have chosen to sell cigars does not mean that they are upstanding citizens or deserving of my hard earned cash. I have had an owner of one cigar shop tell me mold on his cigars was plume and the owner of another try and convince me that some unbanded cigars were habanos that his friend in Canada sent him (which they obviously were not). Neither one of these stores gets my money. I would rather buy cigars online or from someone here.
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Agreed. I am fortunate enough to live in a city where we have at least 10 B&Ms. I don't support them all (even if I could afford it!). I support those that have good people who know their cigars, which brings it down to 3 or four for me -- which is still a lot but these are great stores with great people.
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I would love to support a local but my B&M owner is not someone who I would like to give my money to. He charges huge markups on some of the smokes I enjoy. How about $350 for a box of Anejo Sharks. After taxes they sell for over $400. I buy from many B&M's via mail order but my local guy is not going to get my business.
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Same situation here. I can either drive to Springfield (about an hour and a half) or I can drive to Bentonville/Rogers (About an hour and change)

Just not worth the drive
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My last 3 purchases were from local B&Ms.
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I have bought some "great deals" online before of some regular everyday smokes and there is no doubt that they tasted different. I would say that there is no question they where sold as the real deal and they where 2nds if not 3rds or worse.
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