I don't blame Pete Johnson or Tatuaje I blame the retailers. I'm sure Pete never told any retailer to rip off their customers by making the customer buy a whole box of Tats just to be able to buy one single Drac or Boris stick. Pete made cigars and shipped them to retailers. From there he has no control over how they are sold. My local retailer did the honorable thing by selling 3 of each the Drac and Boris per customer on a first come first serve basis and I have not heard one complaint about them yet. Unfortunatly some of these retailers must have been used car salesmen in other lives because they handled this whole situation poorly. Personally I'd write off these retailers before I'd write off the cigars. I can buy the same cigars I like from different places without having to set foot in the door of this creaps shop. And to top it off he used his first post on the board to wine and try to gain sympathy or to justify his actions. Hey I don't have many posts on here but I can sleep at night knowing I'm not ripping people off. If he thinks for a minute we would ever believe that he would be stuck with the Dracs or Boris he's lying to himself and quite franky it's insulting. My suggestion to him would be to close up shop if he feels it's ok to treat his customers that way.
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This whole situation is whack. No matter who is to blame.
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While I agree with part of what you are saying... and I have met Pete, and think he's a good guy, I think his business practices leave a lot to be desired. I thought the way that New Havana handled their "scavenger hunt", by pulling boxes of dracs out of people's shopping carts, as they were checking out, was royally JACKED. The thing that made me boycott Tatuaje was the fact that Pete was on the phone with Dan at New Havana monitoring this scavenger hunt the whole time, so he knew what was going on, and supportive of it.

There have also been quite a few retailers that are REQUIRING that each person buy a box of some other Tatuaje product, before you are even allowed to buy 1 drac or boris cigar. To me, this is highway robbery. Every place I have seen has jacked up the price on each box of tatuaje, as well as the cost of the drac and boris themselves, simply to make money. Obviously Pete is ok with this as well, or he'd pull the tatuaje account or at least the limited edition stuff from these retailers.

There are also retailers that are putting together 3-4 cigar sampers that include 1 drac and 1 boris, and charging $100-$115 for each sampler. IMHO, this is complete thievery. Pete knows this is going on, and allows it. These are all reasons I have decided to boycott certain retailers, as well at Tatuaje Cigars as a whole.
Scott
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This has been an interesting process, that is for sure. I have had an easier time getting more limited Tatuajes than these. Mark at Tower was selling the Cohetes (only 150 or so boxes) and they lasted longer than these, the T110's where there was also less than 200 boxes as well.

Is there a right way or wrong way to sell these, probably. Has this situation opened my eyes to a couple of retailers most definitely.

Have I learned something from this experience, yes. Treat the retailers you use with respect and loyalty and they will treat you the same way.

I do not blame a shop I have never bought from for not selling these to me out of the blue. If they save them for locals who support and keep the shop running, more power to them. All I ask is an email to let me know that is the case. Also, if a shop starts a list and tells people they will be getting a box, they should stick to that (luckily that did not happen to me).

I usually buy from several shops, from now on I will probably stick to a handful (3-4) even if they are 10 dollars more expensive.
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I thought cigars were supposed to be a relaxing hobby:-)

All this Tat drama is crazy. Sorry to everyone who got jerked around by these clowns. How good can the damn cigars be?:-)
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I had a friend tell me he smoked a drac today, and thought the Conoju was better. That right there tells me that the hype is way over played.
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"Every place" you saw "jacked" up the price? You sure about that?

I mean, since you mentioned NHC, you're obviously aware of them and the dracs... They didn't raise the price on the drac or boris 1 cent above MSRP. You still sure about "every place" you saw?
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This sounds wrong I know.... but at some point, its rolled up fermented leaves.... and this is coming from someone who f*cking loves cigars, but, as with ANYTHING, there comes a time where diminishing returns takes effect. While I haven't had these cigars, I'm thinking this is one of those times.
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What's with all these 1-posters hopping in here?
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Ok, well, since I never found a box of dracs or boris on New Havana's site, how would I know what they are priced at? Perhaps I over exaggerated. I am sure there are some retailers selling at MSRP. But there are also a lot of retailers that are gouging.
Scott
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Point, Poriggity!
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Emerson sold them online yesterday at MSRP. But yes some are taking advantage.
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Like with all places, it varies.. I got on the wait list from one of the 13 retailers.. gave up with the search with all the stupid games, facebook signups, etc.. Then the wait list one called and said it was $188 plus shipping.. above retail.. Then just yesterday a BOTL told me about a tinderbox that was selling them at MSRP..

It's similar to Opus experiences.. the B&M down the street gets opus every year.. but rather than sell them at MSRP, they sell them 40% markup.. I saw that, never been back since
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II heard a rumor that they were selling them at MSRP, but I also heard they sold out in like 20 minutes LOL...
Scott
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Exactly. I refuse to shop at any retailer the plays games with these limited release smokes, or price gouges. There's a reason I shop at places like www.leafandale.com . Mike is a good guy and won't price gouge.
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Hey all these retailers that are making you pay more in one way or another for dracs and boris' know that anyone selling htem at MSRP are going to sell them first.. and then when there's few places left, that's when they know the huddled masses will come
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Yeah and thats sad. Its also my main reason for not buying any Tatuaje products. Pete is keeping tabs on his retailers and knows what they are selling these cigars for. The people who are gouging are still being allowed to do so, with no repercussions.
Scott
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:-)
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Whatever dude, get all butt hurt because of a cigar that was supposed to create a rare *exciting* situation in the industry.

Choose to have fun with the situation and you will...

Choose to get pissed off and that will happen too.
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No kidding??

My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Drac's at a TinderBox last night.... I guess it's pretty serious.

(my apologies for ruining the Ferris Bueller quote)
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