Perusing through the CI catalog for September 2009 I noticed a few things. It's not often I am observant so I decided to write it down and share. Maybe you disagree or maybe you've noticed the same thing.

Ghost Ratings-One of the things I noticed was that every cigar in there is rated 90 or higher. By who or what in many cases it doesn’t say. Alright not EVERY cigar but a lot of them sure are. I personally don’t pay too much attention to ratings but a rating without a source I pay even less attention to. That’s not to say that these are bad cigars, they’re not. In fact I have had many of them that I like a lot, but where do these ghost ratings come from?

Descriptions-Have you ever read some of the descriptions in the CI catalog? They are a hoot. Here’s some actual descriptions “is a veritable candy bar” “the indefatigable Zen Master of cigar blending” “kind of boring” “aint the world’s finest” “not be winning any awards” “less than spectacular brand” “sure beats a sharp stick in the eye” “among the most horrific handmades ever” I don’t think I need to elaborate.

Strange pricing- So I Like Indian Tabac and I really like the Super Fuerte line both the Maddies and nats. It seems like the later ITSF’s are dyed or use the “maduro-madic” process but that’s something else so I digress. On page 46 you can get 25 Toro (6x52) Maddies for $59.95 but on page 66 you can get the same toro’s 3-10 packs for $59.97. You don’t get the box with the 10pks but really you are not missing anything. I think 5 cigars are worth 5 cents.

Good Deals-All that being said there are some pretty good deals to be had but if you want to bargain hunt more you can do the Cigarbid.com (aka the devil site) thing or wait for the special on cigarmonster or joecigar.

Interesting Cigars-There are also some interesting cigars that maybe great but I will probably never buy. These include the 5-Vegas Relic, Cask Strength and Miami, Nica Libre, pretty much all the Padilla’s (well maybe I will get those some day) and all those odd Rocky Patel blends like ‘Summer’ and ‘Ocean Club’and ‘Puro Cabano.’ I don’t think OC was in this catalog but it’s still one of those odd blends. There's probably many more but these are the ones I noticed right off.

So I am sure there’s some other strange stuff in there that I missed. Admit it you’ve picked up the CI catalog, what have you noticed?
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:-):-) "Sure beats a sharp stick in the eye."
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Kinda noticed some of what you say, but never wrote it down. Thanks for pointing out the specifics.:-)
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When you sell hundreds of different kinds of cigars, I guess there's only so many variations on "this is good, buy it" you can write. So then they come up with the weird stuff. I've noticed too that their pricing can be odd like you said.
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The ratings come from Cigar Aficionado, I believe.
As for the deals, I've been buying more from cbid than CI lately. You just have to watch out for morons bidding the deals up above the regular price from CI (or elsewhere).
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I mentioned the other day in chat that they like to pull a fast one. They have had the ITSF Maduro Robusto marked as Sold Out for months on the website, but they put it in the new catalog as if it's available. They also put the Flor de Oliva Maduro Robustos 25 stick bundles in make me an offer. They made it look like they were available but when you tried to enter an offer there was no choice of quantity shown. Therefore you couldn't bid on them and they have been marked sold out in the main area of the website for quite awhile.
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I frown when I add up the money all the "need to buy" stars I put in the catalog adds up to!
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I always wonder who they hire to proofread the catalog before they print it.

Case in point??

page 32 top half

page 75 top right

:-)

Great Job guys!!!!
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My personal favorite is p. 44, where you can order a box of 8 Flor de Oliva Giants 1066, which are apparently 1" x 66. It's been wrong for the last 3 or 4 catalogs.
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Looks like Nub better watch there backs! :-)
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Actually the same people that are writing the descriptions are the ones giving them the ratings. Here's an example of a '91 rated'
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/h...w.asp?item=404
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You know, comparing a cigar to Taco Bell at 1am is not the best way to get me to buy it. Oh sure, Taco Bell at 1am when I'm hammered sounds good and all, but I hate myself the next day. Reading that kinda gives me the same I have to fart and I hope I don't $#!% myself in the process because that would not help my hangover feeling.
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This happens a lot in retail because of what the distributor a company buys from has and what price they are charging.

As an example I worked at a wine store after High School

A 6pack of Bud was $5.50 a case of 6 packs would be $22
A 12 pack of Bud was $8.99 so a case of 12 packs would be $17.98

My boss set the price by what he was charged by the distributor he got the beer from. He didn't care which you bought because he was making money on either.

I have a feeling it is the same for CI. they are happy to sell you either cause they make their money either way. Just my :-)
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Huh. Never had that one from a cigar.








:-)
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Confused about this part. Is there a reason you will probably never buy? Is it because of the unreferences ratings, the descriptions?

The 5Vegas Miami, most of the Padilla's, the RP Summer.. all of those are great smokes.. silly not to try something because of CI's marketing gimmicks.
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Didn't you know "Cremosa" is spanish for "wet fart"? :-):-):-)
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Ah- no wonder. I'm a Gorilla Finger and Grape Swisher man. :-)
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It just seem there's so many I would like to try but probably never will. So many cigars so little time. I typically am buying a cigar to try or buying ones that I have already had. I don't factor in the weird descriptions either way. I like and buy from CI frequently they are a pretty good company to deal with. I was pointing out some of the oddities and observations of the Catalog.
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They've gotten bad press around here lately. Pissed me off a few weeks back advertising an oscuro wrapped Padilla '68 sold by the pair. I ordered a pair and a 'free' 5-pack, and only the 5 pack was in the box. Called them up, sent a replacement pair, and got corojo wrapped cigars instead. I understand the substitution, but what pissed me off is the CS rep I spoke with never told me. That's "bait and switch" in my opinion, in other words, shady business practices.

Moral of the story: Be careful what you read in the CI catalog.
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My favorite part of all of that was they put out another catalog shortly after (think it was titled JulyII) which STILL had the deal for the oscuro. So I call them up and was about to order, when they told me that they still didn't have it, and how they're basically the same thing blah blah blah.

Though to be honest, the deal itself was pretty good, even with the normal Padilla 68.
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