The insanity will stop when all the insane purchasers have had enough.
This reminds me of the housing market around 1988-89 when people were in a buying frenzy when interest rates were 10%, and they often did so only because if they didn't buy NOW the interest rates might be higher tomorrow. It was literally panic buying.
When is the cigar price insanity going to stop?
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Charles
- Posts: 70
- Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2007 6:07 pm
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Hotboy
- Posts: 93
- Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:11 pm
Re: When is the cigar price insanity going to stop?
It's really very simple: supply and demand. The nouveaux riche in Asia (primarily Chinese) have been driving demand during the last 20 years for luxury goods such as designer apparel, watches, aged whiskey, and cigars. The culture legitimizes the notion of achieving higher status than your associates by being able to show off something that your friends don't have or can't afford. Habanos S.A. has a limited amount of tobacco they can grow, and they are wisely making the most money they can from it.
[quote author=Havanaaddict link=topic=58572.msg221110#msg221110 date=1704910341]
It has always been amazing to me how there are so many guys that in the past would buy and buy and sometimes never even open the vacpac. How can these guys never even open the package and look at what they just bought.[/quote]
This applies to me somewhat. When I first started smoking cigars in 1999, I envied those who had collections of aged cigars, so my approach was to buy twice as much as I smoked with the goal of eventually smoking nothing but 8- to 12-year-old cigars. My goal, unlike some, was not to amass a collection of expensive one-off rarities to show off, but to build a supply of standard production aged cigars to share with friends. I never bought rarities at auction or from estate sales. By 2010, I had a collection of 200 boxes of mostly standard production Habanos and had achieved my initial smoking goal. Nowadays, I only smoke one or two cigars a week, but they're mostly 15 to 20 years old. :cheers:
During that same period of time, I also bought aged whiskey because availability was becoming a problem and prices were rising, so I ended up with a collection of about 100 bottles. Within the past several years, I found that I owned bottles worth more than I felt comfortable drinking; for example, a half dozen bottles of 2005 William LaRue Weller bourbon that I paid $60 for, I recently sold for $2,000 each. I continued to buy $75 bottles that I enjoyed just as much as the rarities.
I'm planning to retire in Europe in a couple years, so I don't want to have to move wine, booze, and cigars long distance and risk damage. I already sold all my stupid-money whiskey, and I've been slowly liquidating my Habanos collection, which is fetching obscene sums on the secondary market. I was fortunate that my buying philosophy ran into good timing. I have also been fortunate that my policy of aging most boxes completely intact until at least 8 years old means that I can put untouched boxes up for sale.
[quote author=Havanaaddict link=topic=58572.msg221110#msg221110 date=1704910341]
It has always been amazing to me how there are so many guys that in the past would buy and buy and sometimes never even open the vacpac. How can these guys never even open the package and look at what they just bought.[/quote]
This applies to me somewhat. When I first started smoking cigars in 1999, I envied those who had collections of aged cigars, so my approach was to buy twice as much as I smoked with the goal of eventually smoking nothing but 8- to 12-year-old cigars. My goal, unlike some, was not to amass a collection of expensive one-off rarities to show off, but to build a supply of standard production aged cigars to share with friends. I never bought rarities at auction or from estate sales. By 2010, I had a collection of 200 boxes of mostly standard production Habanos and had achieved my initial smoking goal. Nowadays, I only smoke one or two cigars a week, but they're mostly 15 to 20 years old. :cheers:
During that same period of time, I also bought aged whiskey because availability was becoming a problem and prices were rising, so I ended up with a collection of about 100 bottles. Within the past several years, I found that I owned bottles worth more than I felt comfortable drinking; for example, a half dozen bottles of 2005 William LaRue Weller bourbon that I paid $60 for, I recently sold for $2,000 each. I continued to buy $75 bottles that I enjoyed just as much as the rarities.
I'm planning to retire in Europe in a couple years, so I don't want to have to move wine, booze, and cigars long distance and risk damage. I already sold all my stupid-money whiskey, and I've been slowly liquidating my Habanos collection, which is fetching obscene sums on the secondary market. I was fortunate that my buying philosophy ran into good timing. I have also been fortunate that my policy of aging most boxes completely intact until at least 8 years old means that I can put untouched boxes up for sale.
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Rhinoww
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2019 4:01 pm
Re: When is the cigar price insanity going to stop?
When I got in the game I was surprised how reasonable Cuban cigars were. I guess the prices now are what I thought they were likely to have been then - cost prohibitive. I have a lifetime of sticks in hand and am fortunate. I have been investing in redundant Bluetooth moisture meters though to ensure I don’t lose anything that I have to a broken seal.
But yes, prices are nuts. Hard to spend $500 for a box of everyday robustos if I’m lucky. In a few weeks that’ll be $600. Nuts. A year and a half since I bought anything with a band on it.
But yes, prices are nuts. Hard to spend $500 for a box of everyday robustos if I’m lucky. In a few weeks that’ll be $600. Nuts. A year and a half since I bought anything with a band on it.
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JL Miller
- Posts: 227
- Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:41 pm
Re: When is the cigar price insanity going to stop?
[quote author=Hotboy link=topic=58572.msg221129#msg221129 date=1705016536]
It's really very simple: supply and demand. The nouveaux riche in Asia (primarily Chinese) have been driving demand during the last 20 years for luxury goods such as designer apparel, watches, aged whiskey, and cigars. The culture legitimizes the notion of achieving higher status than your associates by being able to show off something that your friends don't have or can't afford. Habanos S.A. has a limited amount of tobacco they can grow, and they are wisely making the most money they can from it.
This applies to me somewhat. When I first started smoking cigars in 1999, I envied those who had collections of aged cigars, so my approach was to buy twice as much as I smoked with the goal of eventually smoking nothing but 8- to 12-year-old cigars. My goal, unlike some, was not to amass a collection of expensive one-off rarities to show off, but to build a supply of standard production aged cigars to share with friends. I never bought rarities at auction or from estate sales. By 2010, I had a collection of 200 boxes of mostly standard production Habanos and had achieved my initial smoking goal. Nowadays, I only smoke one or two cigars a week, but they're mostly 15 to 20 years old. :cheers:
During that same period of time, I also bought aged whiskey because availability was becoming a problem and prices were rising, so I ended up with a collection of about 100 bottles. Within the past several years, I found that I owned bottles worth more than I felt comfortable drinking; for example, a half dozen bottles of 2005 William LaRue Weller bourbon that I paid $60 for, I recently sold for $2,000 each. I continued to buy $75 bottles that I enjoyed just as much as the rarities.
I have also been fortunate that my policy of aging most boxes completely intact until at least 8 years old means that I can put untouched boxes up for sale.
[/quote]
Ya, the last line= sell to JL for upon-release prices, you know you owe me for all the great SoCal herfs I invited you to even when people said don't invite you. {kidding}
It's really very simple: supply and demand. The nouveaux riche in Asia (primarily Chinese) have been driving demand during the last 20 years for luxury goods such as designer apparel, watches, aged whiskey, and cigars. The culture legitimizes the notion of achieving higher status than your associates by being able to show off something that your friends don't have or can't afford. Habanos S.A. has a limited amount of tobacco they can grow, and they are wisely making the most money they can from it.
This applies to me somewhat. When I first started smoking cigars in 1999, I envied those who had collections of aged cigars, so my approach was to buy twice as much as I smoked with the goal of eventually smoking nothing but 8- to 12-year-old cigars. My goal, unlike some, was not to amass a collection of expensive one-off rarities to show off, but to build a supply of standard production aged cigars to share with friends. I never bought rarities at auction or from estate sales. By 2010, I had a collection of 200 boxes of mostly standard production Habanos and had achieved my initial smoking goal. Nowadays, I only smoke one or two cigars a week, but they're mostly 15 to 20 years old. :cheers:
During that same period of time, I also bought aged whiskey because availability was becoming a problem and prices were rising, so I ended up with a collection of about 100 bottles. Within the past several years, I found that I owned bottles worth more than I felt comfortable drinking; for example, a half dozen bottles of 2005 William LaRue Weller bourbon that I paid $60 for, I recently sold for $2,000 each. I continued to buy $75 bottles that I enjoyed just as much as the rarities.
I have also been fortunate that my policy of aging most boxes completely intact until at least 8 years old means that I can put untouched boxes up for sale.
[/quote]
Ya, the last line= sell to JL for upon-release prices, you know you owe me for all the great SoCal herfs I invited you to even when people said don't invite you. {kidding}