A good friend called me today and told me he has had it with Mom's cigars . He has shopped there for many years.He had ordered his usual 50 count bundle of Nestor seconds and paid for them,according to the prices on the web site. Soon afterwards,he got a phone call telling him the price had gone up from $60.00 to $80.00, an increase of 33 %. My friend was nice about it, pointing out that the price increase had not been updated on the web site,and was told that they were not going to honor their site price. He cancelled the order and will probably never order from them again,simply on principle. If you are a Mom's customer, you need to be aware of this,and know that it will probably happen to you...
[Reply]

never heard of Mom's but stuff like this just baffles me. why would they rather lose a $60 sale and a customer to save $20? Where I work, if someone scores a good deal because we forgot update our rates on the website, we honor it. no questions asked.
[Reply]

:-) The things that make you say...

Image
[Reply]

There you go, using common sense and good customer service. Sheesh! :-)

But really, that is pretty crappy.
[Reply]

Sadly, there are more businesses out there that are acting the same way.
Scott
[Reply]

Never heard of them either but that is pretty crappy. If I were him I would have made sure to mention that they have lost a loyal customer and hope they feel it was worth it. Especially in this economy you should be doing all you can to keep your customers satisfied. Just a bad business move all together.
[Reply]

It is also useful to mention in the comments section when ordering that you were referred to their site by an inmate of the Cigar Asylum or whatever other board that has you as a member. Keep in mind that if you mention the fish, they will probably laugh and charge you double.
[Reply]

Mom's is a smallish retailer with two locations on Long Island, NY. Owned by Alex Goldman, who also owns House of Oxford, importer of several lesser known brands. (Carrington, Evelio, Nestor Seconds)

Mom's website is one of those old fashioned types that doesn't appear to be updated like the big guys do. It's one of the only cigar retailer sites that still has a "prices subject to change without notice" disclaimers tucked away in the "terms".

Maybe your friend should send an email directly to Mr. Goldman explaining his disappointment with what happened. I always try to give people a chance to make things right. Sometimes it really pays off.
[Reply]

Where on Long Island? Up until two years ago I lived there all my life and never heard of them.
[Reply]

JUst for curiosity, I went to the website to see if they had cigars that I like at a price. I also checked the price of the avove mentioned cigars. They are still at the lower price. I would think that if a retailer wanted to be straight with their customers, that it would have been updated when the error was noticed by a customer. Also just my :-) as a customer, if I order a product at a listed price I should get it at that price.
[Reply]

The thing about the S-CHIP tax is that it did NOT include a "floor tax". Retailers do not have to retro the tax on stock they already have.

Basically, the next time they order (insert brand here) cigars from the manufacturer, the price will reflect the new tax increase.


Clear as mud?

What I'm saying is that anybody who automatically raised prices on inventory they already have is a sheister. We shouldn't have seen automatic price increases on April 1st.

Famous Smoke Shop will be getting more business from me.

JR will never get my business again.
[Reply]

Absolutely correct. One of my locals is taking that approach, the other raised automatically. Guess who gets my biz?
[Reply]

I went to their store on Sunrise Highway a few years back and had a questionable experience there. They really didnt take me serious because I looked like I was 17... Although that shouldn't matter, I have been treated way better at other places.
[Reply]

I think Mom's is the wholesaler for these cigars. That may explain why they need to charge the Schip tax immediately. I'm not sure. They may be obligated to charge the tax now. I think that we're going to see lots of price changes real soon. Probably above and beyond the Schip tax. This tax is going to make it more expensive for everyone and that expense will be passed on to all of us.
As with a lot of "old school" cigar companies, I think that they haven't "kept up with the times" with regard to their website. It's too bad.:-)
[Reply]

I don't know - I've never bought from Mom's and never been to their store. Guess I was a little hasty pointing a finger at them...
[Reply]

I have started this reply twice and stooped since I have been on both sides of this issue. As a customer I fully understand the I should get what was advertised side of the story. But on the retailer side of the issue there needs to be the prices subject to change without notice disclaimer. Especially when it comes to online advertising and print adds. There are things out of your control as a retailer, typos, temporary price increases and the good old "act of god" situations. Often times we see threads where people urge others to support the local shops or the small guy. Well the small guy may only have 1 guy who does all the buying, inventory, advertising, bookwork, webmaster and oh yea works 8 hours behind the counter too. The new tax law went into effect 10 days ago so perhaps they or he just hasn't had time to update the website yet.

Its a tough situation to compete with the mega outlets but at least they are trying :-)

Chas
[Reply]

They can put whatever legalese they want on the site, but the reality is if you raise prices on something someone already ordered, it’s going to leave a bad taste in their mouth and they are unlikely to order again.

Mom’s should’ve said they were sold out and credited your friend or just honored the price with a note saying they have gone up in price for the next order. I think what happens is, the person completing the order does not give a rat’s a** about the customer and the owner has no idea their customers are being treated like this.

An email to owner goes a long way. It baffles me in a competitive market (online cigars) & in a shrinking industry (tobacco), that a vendor would be so cavalier in treating customers like they did in this example.
[Reply]

In talking with Mike (Azon cigars) he told us that many brands have already increased thier prices as of a month or two back ( I believe Patel and Drew Estates were some of the first). So while s-chip went into affect on 4/1, many retailers were already paying a higher price.

Ill see if Mike can chime in here with more info.
[Reply]

Since I don't want to talk about another retailer....I will only comment on SCHIP.

Drew Estate changed their prices in March. They did it in as a small % price increase on most products. They reason they changed in March was because of their high volume.

A few companies are going up April 1, April 15, May 1 ect.

A few companies are eating the Schip.

If someone is charging for Schip on a cigars whose company ate the tax, who's getting the extra $$$$?

Now the govt does not care who pays the tax. If the company eats it, great the govt is still getting paid. If the company passes it on, great the govt is still getting paid.

There is NO floor tax on large cigars. That means CURRENT inventory in a retailers/wholesalers/companies humidor does not get taxed. Any cigar already in the United States does NOT get taxed.

As of April 1, all imports and all production of cigars in United States will be taxed.

(When I say company, I refer to cigar makers i.e. Drew Estate, Perdomo etc)

PS We are adjusting prices accordingly and new product arrives.
[Reply]

Thanks Mike
[Reply]