As promised, the next vendor added to CCS will arise from a democratic process (somewhat). I have posted a poll on the right hand side of the page, but before you vote, here's what you need to know. The links below lead to Cigar Inspector's user-submitted reviews.
Finest Cuban Cigars - Hong Kong based, ships from Switzerland
According to a comment in the aforementioned CI link, these guys may have a price matching policy. I will investigate this further if events warrant. This shop sells singles (a plus, since very few vendors sell singles), but their prices seem to be at the high end range of the other Swiss vendors. They ship free once you reach $100 and have the usual guarantees backing their product. Beyond this, I know nothing about them.
My Cuban Cigars / Cuban-Cigars-Store - UK based, ships from Switzerland
These guys actually have two online storefronts but appear to be the same company. Why one site is consistently $10-20 higher than the other is unknown, but if you look at their FAQ, site structure, etc. it is plainly obvious that they're the same. They ship free once you've reached $150 backed by all the usual guarantees and carry a decent selection of EL and RE cigars. If you vote for this site, you're voting for the My-Cuban-Cigars URL, as they have the lowest prices, a support forum, and a more "fleshed out" appearance to their site. It may just be that this site is a redesign/reskin of their old site -- this one has only 3 feedback given at CI whereas Cuban Cigars Store has 26. It should also be noted that there is not one single piece of negative feedback given.
PuroExpress - Spain based, ships from Switzerland
I have received more questions about why I haven't included PuroExpress than any other. The answer is simple: customer service complaints. Their pricing is competitive (and they accept and offer a Bitcoin discount) and probably the best out of the four contenders. Puro has been around a long time, but the majority of the complaints seem to stem from their service since an ownership change. And this is fully disregarding the vast majority of comments by uniformed first time buyers that cry about fakes; I have no idea what gamesmanship goes on between CI folk, but I have every confidence that exactly NONE of the most highly trafficked Habanos sites are selling fakes. Sites that sell fakes are very easy to spot.
Top Cubans - Swiss based
These guys have a very nice, snazzy website that sells a wide array of products (singles, Seleccions, travel humidors -- not that any of that matters for my tracking purposes). Their minimum order for free shipping is a little high at $250 and their general pricing is a touch on the higher side for Swiss vendors. They don't have much in the way of EL/RE stuff, but among all four of these sites, this one would be the easiest for me to keep up with due to how easy the site is to navigate. I love sites like CigarOne and CUNTINT that have every marca and vitola in one big pricelist; it makes my life much easier.
Hit up the poll after weighing the above. I reserve the right to make the final decision, but I will heavily consider the Will Of The People.
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