BellHop Sale Alert

BellHop Cigars has just begun a Boxing Day sale worth 20% off your entire order.  While Canadian based vendors usually have very high prices compared to the rest of the world, I have run the numbers and determined that these guys are usually very price competitive when it comes to certain new releases and selected ELs and REs.  As a result, there is tremendous value to be had here if you are in the market for any of the following cigars (sale prices applied):

• Cohiba Behike 54 @ $399
• Cohiba 1966 (2011) @ $399
• H. Upmann Robusto (2012) @ $319
• Hoyo De Monterrey Regalos (2007) @ $303
• Juan Lopez Supreme (2011) @ $311
• Montecristo Double Edmundo @ $316 for 25 count, $156 for ten count
• Montecristo Petit No. 2 @ $279 for 25 count, $119 for ten count
• Montecristo 520 (2012) @ $239
• Partagas Serie C3 (2012) @ $143
• Ramon Allones Extra (2011) @ $279
• Trinidad Short Robusto T (2010) $ $191

Some of these are absolutely SPECTACULAR value - particularly the Cohiba 1966 for under $400.  You will probably not see a price this low on these again.  I doubt you'll find the Behike 54 in this territory anytime soon, either.  And if you're into the new stuff, the latest offerings from Monte are the cheapest around.  The rest of the sale prices don't approach that of the more generally competitive Swiss vendors.  

Happy bargain hunting, folks.  Stay tuned for this week's price update at some point in the near future.

EDIT:  My prices on the Behike 54 and JL Supreme were off; I mistakenly applied the new discount to the PREVIOUS sale price on these cigars and not their retail price.  Apologies and thanks to shlomo for catching the error.

Cuban Price List Update (12/12/2013)

The latest iteration of the price list has been posted.  The notable items from this week:

• COH has ended their Holiday sale.  Too bad; they had some of the best pricing in the world while this sale was ongoing.  I am sure there will be something new posted in January but Ravi says this might be it until the new year.
• Cigar Terminal has begun their own Holiday sale, which per their usual custom, amounts to only a $10 discount on selected boxes and two box combos.
• Cuban Lou's has added some new robusto combo box deals to their ongoing Holiday sale.
• BellHop's sale on selected Cohiba cigars and 25% off other random vitolas is ending in 3 days.
• IHavanas' new monthly December specials are up, further distancing themselves from their competitors.
• The "12 Days of Christmas" sale is on at the FOH forums.  Various boxes and pricing announced on a nightly basis; usually some good deals to be found here.
• The Montecristo Petit No. 2 is starting to pop up at the Canadian retailers.  BellHop and Cigar Chief are presently the only places to get a box of these (either 10 or 25).

I have been trying to publicize this site a little bit on cigar forums worldwide, but it is actually quite difficult to do so.  I've had a few announcements deleted this past week.  Cuban cigar paranoia is rampant on US facing sites and forums simply because site admins don't want to deal with the hassle, and I while I can respect their stance, there's somewhat of a double standard in place.  Cigar Inspector (a site I love, btw) can be linked to freely and nobody thinks twice -- and the site names CC vendors, provides their URLs, gives customer reviews where folk talk about shipping -- basically everything that's "verboten". What makes what they are doing any different from what I am doing?  

The only places I've been allowed to announce freely are at reddit and on Cigar Geeks (albeit in a hidden forum visible only to members, fairly standard as Puff.com and others do this as well).  I am going to step up and go a bit more "public" and post this update on the CA forums today.  Hopefully, it won't get deleted, but I get the sense that place is not very heavily policed these days.  

I implore readers to get the word out about Cuban Cigar Shopper - share the links on Google+, Facebook, post on the forums where you're allowed to do so, and email your fellow BOTL and all of that good stuff.  And lest we forget, if I've saved you some cash on your latest order and you want to see my work continue, feel free to hit up the subscription button on the top right.  

Where To Spend Your Coin This Holiday Season

A quick disclaimer before beginning.

I am not affiliated with any of these vendors.  I receive no kickbacks from them and I try to show no favor to one vs. the other.  All of them have their own strengths and weaknesses.  What I am mostly concerned with is the inherent value of a particular box or vitola vs. its historical price.  Here are the best values that I see at present, accounting for quality of what's presently noted as smoking well.

1.  Cohiba Behike 52 @ COH for $283

I hesitate to put this on here, but this is the lowest price on Behike 52 I have seen in some time.  Though there have been some reports that Cuba is amping up production of these in 2013 to meet the demand (and quality is declining), a request for a 2012 box code should take care of that.  The price variance between vendors AND between vitolas of the Behike are just absurd and probably deserve their own post on the topic at some point in the future.

2.  Cohiba Siglo VI (10) @ COH for $170

The lowest I've seen for these was $166 at COH just a few weeks ago.  For one of the best regular production cigars coming out of Cuba at $17 a stick, this is a great pickup.

3.  H. Upmann Magnum 48 LE (2009) @ CubanLou's for $203

Though I personally am not a fan of the H. Upmann Magnum series, to get a 4 year old EL in a 25 count box for around $200 ($8/stick)  is kind of a steal.  At CubanLou's, these are about 30 bucks cheaper than their closest competitor due to their holiday sale.

4. La Flor De Cano Grandiosos (Asia/Pacific) @ CUNTINT or COH for $200

I have heard nothing but good things about these cigars over the past few months.  Rob at FOH is a huge fan, and I have a feeling this is going to end up as his cigar of the year.  Yes, he is a salesman nonpareil, but the man knows his Cuban cigars.

5. Partagas Shorts 50 cab @ CUNTINT for $265

If you like Partagas Shorts and want a quick smoke for the winter months, this price is about 50 dollars cheaper than the next competitor.

6. Ramon Allones Specially Selected @ Cigar Terminal for $169

If you have the patience to lay these guys down for a few years, they will reward you handsomely.  It's rare that CT beats their competitors on price alone, but it's worth mentioning that they have the cheapest prices on all of the Ramon Allones marca.  It should be noted that CT hasn't announced a sale yet, so this price could unfathomably drop even lower.

See anything I missed?  Leave a comment.

Cuban Price List Update (12/3/2013)

The newest price list has been posted.  There are some differences with this one - I incorporated some feedback to improve the overall look and feel of the spreadsheet.  The column width of the vendor pricing has been dramatically reduced to better fit smaller format monitors and devices.  I have also moved the spreadsheet from Google Drive to more simple hosting on Google Sites to alleviate issues with Apple devices not being able to view the sheet properly.

I have also enabled anonymous commenting on the blog posts since it came to my attention that some US based visitors were fearful of signing in with their Google+ account and commenting for fear of attracting attention.  Once again, we must release ourselves from the mindset that anything being discussed here is somehow illegal.

Some notable items from this update:

• Montecristo Petit No. 2 boxes are starting to pop up at various retailers
• H. Upmann Half Coronas appear to have been restocked worldwide
• CUNTINT's end of month sale has ended
• Cuban Lou's has extended their Black Friday sale and replaced it with a general holiday sale, stocking a number of single box and multi-box deals on their site.  Only the single box deals on the price list have been noted; for the multi-box offerings, check them out yourselves
• COH has begun their holiday sale, offering selected single box and a scattering of 2 box deals.  As per the above, only the single box prices are tracked.

I would love to see some feedback here and particularly would be interested in knowing if something is out of stock or flash sales or anything of that nature.  Please do not hesitate to comment.

Tomorrow I will post some general thoughts on where the best value to be had in the market is and what I think are the "can't miss" deals of the holiday season.  I expect many more retailers to throw their hats in the ring, and we will be there to catch them.

Montecristo Petit No. 2 now in stock @ CigarOne

CigarOne has announced that they are now stocking the brand new vitola from Montecristo, the Petit No. 2. It's a short piramide, measuring 4.7 x 52 and promises to offer the full Monte 2 experience in a shorter package.  Boxes are currently limited to one box of 10 per customer for the price of $133.

Black Friday Deals

Some new Black Friday deals are popping up.  I will add to this post throughout the day if I find more.

• CubanLou's has added what appears to be a pretty nice sampler deal that is a one day Black Friday only special.  The contents of which are:
• 5 Montecristo No. 2
• 5 Partagas D4
• 5 Bolivar Royal Coronas
• 5 Cohiba Robustos
• 5 Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills
• 5 Ramon Allones Specially Selected
• 5 Jose L. Piedra Cazadores

The price for this sampler is $270.

This amounts to 30 sticks for around $9 apiece.  Even if you take out the JLPs (which to be fair, are a throw in on this deal) then that's still a pretty good value, especially if you appreciate just 3 of the 5 marcas in the package.  Singles prices for these sticks, particularly the Cohiba Robustos, tend to run fairly high.

Inaugural Pricelist Posted 11/26/2013

The first edition of the Cuban Cigar Shopper pricelist has been posted above.  You will always find the link for the current list at the top of the blog.  It is a Google Docs hosted PDF spreadsheet, viewable either in browser or downloadable for viewing in Adobe Acrobat (preferred). The scaling on browsers is a little iffy, but standalone PDF viewers with good zoom yields a good result.

This week's notable sales and highlights:

• CUNTINT has a 15% off sitewide sale going on until the end of the month
• CigarOne has ended their own 15% off regular production sale -- a curious move just before Black Friday.  Perhaps a new sale is in the offing?
• CubanLou's has announced their own Black Friday sale, but as per their custom they only have selected single boxes on sale.  Most of their value lies in their 2, 3, and 4 box package deals.  Check their site for details.

Discuss the current pricelist in the comments below.  Any other questions about the site, feel free to comment in the other blog posts - let's keep it to strictly price talk in posts tagged as pricelist.

What I track, what I do not track

It is impossible to track every known marca and every known Habanos offering.  Check that, it is possible - just not for anyone who wants to have time on their hands to do anything else.

I do not presently track the following marcas:

• Belinda
• Cuaba
• Fonseca
• Guantanamera
• Jose L. Piedra
• La Gloria Cubana
• Quintero
• San Cristobal
• Sancho Panza
• Troya
• Vegueros

I do not track clubs, minis, cigarillos, or any other product that I deem to be of general little interest to the Cuban cigar consumer.  

I do not track every packaging type offered - if you want something in a 3x5 cardboard pack from a selected marca, you are going to have to track it down yourself.  I stick to the most frequently purchased options - boxes of 25, boxes of 10 or 15, and the occasional cabinet of 50.

I do not track every single regional offering as they are far too numerous and far too spread around the various retailers.  I do make an effort to track the regionals that get good publicity or are reputed to be currently smoking well.  

How I obtain my information and how you can help

I don't have any magic tools or website scrubbers that do the work for me.  Everything is done by hand checking prices on a somewhat daily basis.  As you can imagine, this takes a lot of time and effort.  Sites and stock are always fluctuating, and sales are constantly launched and ended in the world of Cuban cigars.

I will endeavor to keep my stock and pricing spreadsheet updated at least on a biweekly to weekly basis. I will also post when various sales and interesting restocks take place.

If you like the work that I am doing and want to see more frequent updates, additional marcas, or other statistical analysis added to the spreadsheet, (such as price changes over time to see "what's hot" in the market) then please consider clicking the Subscribe button up at the top of the page.  This is, of course, completely voluntary.  Doing so will set up a $4 monthly contribution, less than the cost of an issue of Cigar Aficionado.

I have been in the cigar world for some time now, and I have been consistently stunned at the generosity of my fellow BOTL/SOTLs.  If I can save you guys money on box purchases and you feel like kicking a few bucks my way, it's a win/win relationship.  Again, you are not obligated to do this -- only if you like what you see here and want to see it continue.

Thank you for your support.

Welcome to Cuban Cigar Shopper!

The Internet is a global marketplace.

The purpose of this blog is to track the pricing habits and inventory of the nine most reputable vendors of Cuban cigars that accept orders online and ship anywhere in the world.  It is intended primarily for the global audience and in no way encourages the purchase of illegal contraband for United States residents.  While it is illegal for US citizens to purchase and import Cuban goods, it is not illegal to discuss them.  Likewise, it is not illegal to discuss pricing, who has what sales at present, and where the current best values are in the market. For those of you that are angry that this site exists (and I realize there will be some), I say unto you:  The jig is already up.  Sites and sources are openly discussed on reddit, on Cigar Inspector, and on dozens of cigar forums all over the world. There is no mystery (or at least, there shouldn't be) and nobody is being afforded greater protection by withholding information or "protecting" their sources.

There is a great deal of paranoia on cigar sites and cigar forums that is simply misplaced. We are here to talk about prices, sources, and current stock.  There might be an odd review here or there or other news, if things pan out.

It is my hope that this site will inform shoppers of not only where the best box prices are to be found but also hopefully to increase competition among vendors, resulting in lower prices for all consumers.  The discrepancies between various Internet vendors is astounding, and I don't think too many folks are aware just how vast they can be, even between retailers in the same country.  Tobacco taxes are a fact of life, but not all price differences can be chalked up to taxes.

The prices listed on the spreadsheet are in USD for convenience.