I love my local B&M. Great folks there, the regulars that I talk with are great, prices are....ok. But thats not why I go.


I think I'm with most people, I'll buy boxes online and a fistful of singles at the B&M. although I have noticed a few of their products are the same or cheaper than online! How that works I have no idea. Granted MOST things are more expensive, but a few are the same or cheaper.
[Reply]

I will only buy at a B&M if I'm smoking at a B&M. However if I find a good B&M with people I like I buy lighters, cutters, magazines, etc.
[Reply]

I only purchase singles from my local places to pay for a seat to smoke. What I buy from those places I don't smoke there...and will probably give away. But, I have places I enjoy smoking and will support that place and pay for my seat with purchases. Then I pull out what I want to smoke.
[Reply]

That is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard!!!

Back to your regular programing!!!
[Reply]

Tell me about it. All bars and restaurants are smoke free...

Also, cannot smoke in a B&M unless the store is a freestanding location (unless grandfathered prior to the law)....
[Reply]

And that's when the fight started!!!:-):-)



Nice one, Dave!!!:-):-)


To answer the op: I buy at the b&m to support the b&m, and I buy online to support my hobby.
[Reply]

I work at a B&M as well and I love it. Not only do we provide the upfront service of educating people about cigars or helping them choose one (should they need it). And as you all well know I do buy online from time to time mostly CC. But Up here in MN we have a rediculously high cigar tax and when those came down the pike well we had to slash our own throat. Another thing you guys need to know is that distributers aren't making life any easier lately. I mean RP and AF, Ashton and all the boutique guys are playing nice but the big branders are putting the screws to everyone in their pricing unless you want quantity that virtually no one can afford. So these are just some things you
But we're pipe guys too and well that is a whole nother thing that is starting to go away. Yeah I can buy a pipe online but I can't look for pits or fills or really inspect the grain pattern and that my friends is why we matter. And that is another place that the B&M rules overall. :-) well more like a nickel
[Reply]

I work at local B&M and I told the owner who is a good friend of mine that if carries it I buy from him. If he doesn't carry it I buy on-line.
[Reply]

I love my local B&M, and visit it once a month usually (just graduated, so I don't have the income to go to them exclusively). For the most part, I only order online at the moment. My income level requires me to save money where I can.

However, I wouldn't ever mention ordering online in the store. The only exception to this was when the store owner and I had a conversation. He asked me flat out, just trying to get a feeling for what my purchasing habits were like. Past that, I wouldn't ever ever talk about ordering online inside the store. Just doesn't seem right to me.
[Reply]

Very interesting. You work in a B&M but yet advocate buying boxes online? Odd. I too work at a cigar shop and will fight to the bitter end that the days of B&M stores is going to be soon over if we continue that way of thinking. I'd rather pay a few extra bucks to help ensure that in the cold sub zero winter months in WI, I have a place to go and smoke a cigar inside.
[Reply]

I have asked a B&M owner how much he wanted for a box before and told him I was shopping around. he asked how much I found them for and I told him I found them online for such and such price. He said wow, thats about 20% off, deliberated about it for a second and offered them to me for the same price. I went for it without hesitation. Sometimes, just telling them you are looking for the best deal may provoke them into cutting you some slack or price matching so they can move some product. now, I probably wouldnt go in there and say "Man I saw this cigar way cheaper at so and so or on such and such website". That, i'm sure would piss them off.:-)
[Reply]

I would rather just smoke at a cigar friendly bar. I worked in B&M's as well and understand their pain vs. online. But here it is:

People who purchase online don't necessarily need a B&M there to tell them what to try and whatnot. I can get that information at places like CA or other review boards. I worked in a shop for 4.5 years, and most of my self obtained knowledge was from buying and learning online. Granted alot of folks on here giving the advice could be B&M owners, but then why give the knowledge online instead of your store.

I respect the store owners and try and give them as much business as is practical, but the fact is I am a consumer and will always look for the best deal/value.

My dream in later life is to open a B&M, but I will plan on having MUCH more up front capital than alot of these guys that have opened in the past 5-10 years, because I know that I will always have to compete w/ these big online vendors.:-)
[Reply]

Not everyone has that option with state smoking bans. I know I do not.
[Reply]

WI will have a state wide smoking ban starting June 7th. Finally cigarettes will NOT be allowed in the shop, and of course a "cigar friendly" bar won't be found either.
[Reply]

I'm not advocating anything. To each his own. That is just what I do.

FWIW, the boxes I buy are ones you can't get at the store. :-)
[Reply]

I can understand that. If I was on that side of the coin I may have more reason to support B&M's. Until then I will donate to lobbyists to change the tax laws. Which in turn will help out the B&M's. Which in turn, hopefully will lower their pricing.

Like I said, I will do everything I practically can to support them. I just can't afford to be a cigar smoker buying from them.
[Reply]

I too shop both B&Ms and online retailers. Yes, the tax thing usually makes it cheaper to purchase online. However, there is a B&M in a nearby town (40 miles or so) where I have found better prices than at online shops, even with paying taxes. Its one of those places that sells cigarettes, chewing tobacco, etc. If they don't have what I want, they order it for me. There is another local B&M where I shop that is fairly pricey. However, they offer a rewards program where you can save up points and get 20% whatever you buy. It usually works out that I get the 20% deal on about every third trip. The main thing I like about this place is the selection. I can't think of a regular production line that they don't carry...Illusione, Tats, Pepins, LFDs, Viaje, and if a hot new cigar comes out, they will have it.

I have found that some B&Ms will give you a discount, but you need to be willing to make a substantial purchase and ask for it. I went in to one B&M that I only shop at once or twice a year back at Christmas. I loaded up a basket with well over $150 worth of singles. I asked the lady that checked me out if she could give me a good deal. She knocked 10% off and threw in a free Angelenos (pricey new Fuente product that goes for ~$14 per stick).

As for online purchases, I tend to stay away from "specials" at the big retailers. I have argued this before...some agree and some disagree. I feel that many times the "specials" are different than their normal production counterparts. I have experienced this with Pepin products, RP products, Alec Bradley, and others. I've had varying experiences from underfilled sticks to sticks that taste totally different than their full-priced counterparts.
[Reply]

:-)
[Reply]

The B&M is a mixed bag for me. When I decided to start smoking again, I went into the local B&M and the owner asked what I liked to smoke and I said Opus X, as that is what I used to smoke mostly 5+ years ago. He tried to get me to buy some of the Don Carlos Anniversary for $35 each. I passed but did pick up a pair of God of Fire Robustos, and something else he suggested. I had gone back once or twice since that, when he decided to share the good stuff with me. The Opus X were hidden in his humidor including double coronas and ***** cats.
His prices are a dollar per stick higher than the only other decent B&M within 60 miles of here, but he gets a lot of business from me. i think the least I ever spent there was about $50.00. The only bad part of this is when I want to try other cigars, he is always trying to sell me the $15.00 and up sticks. I was wanting to try the El Triunfador and Oliva V lanceros and he was pushing my towards some expensive red dot cohibas. That gets annoying sometimes, but if I don't listen to his schpiel then I don't find out about the good stuff he has hidden away.
[Reply]

I chuckled when I read that. A cigar friendly bar? That would be the local cigar lounge here. BYOB
[Reply]