Cuban Price List Update (03/18/2014) *finally*

Better late than never, eh?  I won't get into what happened, but it's been a challenging couple of months.  The new price list is up.  Here's what I noticed after a long time on the sidelines:

• H. Upmann Sir Winston and Ramon Allones Small Club Coronas always come back in season around the same time and now is apparently the season.  They are popping up in a bunch of spots.
• Monte 520's are making a resurgence as well, after being sort of tough to find the last couple of months.
• Diplomaticos No. 2 are drying up everywhere.  This vitola is probably on the chopping block - I have no inside information on this, but they killed the rest of the Diplomaticos line, so who knows.  If you enjoy this cigar and its "Monte 2 lite" flavor profile, go grab some while you can.
• The much sought after ERDM Infantes Cuba Regional is available at PuroExpress for a pretty hefty gouge.  But if you absolutely MUST have this cigar, you can get it there.
• I removed La Flor De Cano from the list and will probably remove Quai D'Orsay and Rafael Gonzalez the next go around.  I just don't think these cigars are popular enough and warrant the extra clicks for me to hunt around the sites for them.
• Noteworthy sales:  CUNTINT, COH, BellHop, and iHavanas have some pretty interesting sales going on that all are wrapping up relatively soon.  

I think this blog has been having its intended effect, as I have noticed far more price compression among the competitors in the Cuban cigar space.  Even though I can't prove it, it's very curious that when site-wide sales across the net / even some flash sales at FOH are posted, they seem to be acutely aware of what the lowest number is and then price just below that.  

What am I buying next?  I'm so glad you asked.  Like many aficionados, I'm looking for early reports on the latest EL and RE crop for 2014 and will probably try to hunt down each vitola in trade before pulling the trigger on boxes.  I thought for sure I'd go for the new CoRo, but not at 58 ring - just too large for my liking. Regular production I already have a lot of, but right now I'm in the market for Vegas Robiana Unicos -- each single I have tried has never failed to impress me.  Really hoping this will be a good year for them.  I've also gotten an itch to pick up a box of Saint Luis Rey Regios - a really under-the-radar cigar that has been fantastic in sampling so far.  

That's all for now.  Happy hunting!

Apologies for the delay, folks

Sorry about the lack of updates recently; I have been ill the past 2 weeks + with some form of malady or another.  First it was an upper respiratory infection that lead to bronchitis and then as soon as I was better with that, a bout with stomach flu.  Not fun at all.  But now I have returned to the very picture of health and will be producing an updated price list in the next few days.

And... Sales Beginning

CubanLou's has posted a new Mid-Winter sale bulletin.  This sale ends on Feb 6 at midnight.  Go over to their site to check out the details if you like; I did not notice any "can't miss" deals among the ones listed, though.  This sale brings their pricing more in line with their competitors on a lot of Cohiba cigars, and their price on Hoyo DCs is fairly close to the bottom as well.

I went with the H. Upmann Royal Robusto yesterday while battling a slight cold - it was interesting and a little more medium bodied than I expected from an Upmann.  It did have the characteristic pleasant light earth and dry mustiness I associate with the marca.  It was masterfully constructed although not exactly a cornucopia of flavor evolution, but I think my palate was significantly dulled.  Fortunately I've got a bunch more to change my opinion.

Sales Ending

• BellHop's 20% off sitewide sale will end on Feb 1
• COH's current sale will end on January 27 at 5 pm Hong Kong time

Montecristo Double Edmundo, La Flor De Cano Gran Cano (UK) and Romeo y Julieta Petit Churchills are also now in stock at COH.

Anyone smoking anything good this weekend?  I've got exactly an hour and 10 minutes to have a smoke at a local B&M while the family is off at an event and am either going to with an RA Superiores or a HU Royal Robusto, neither of which I've had before.  Maybe a Hoyo Short Piramedes... Decisions, decisions!

Cuban Price List Update (01/22/2014)

A little late, but better late than never:  the latest price list has been posted above.  PuroExpress has won the poll in a landslide so... the people have spoken.  Puro has been included in this edition.  Please note that I add them with extreme reservation and urge you to exercise caution if you do decide to use them.  I have been hesitant with good reason.  Their site is also a giant piece of shit to track and navigate.  Apparently, alphabetical organization hasn't been invented in Spain.  Furthermore, it is somewhat humorous at how obviously they target / attempt to undercut iHavanas on all of the most popular vitolas.  You will frequently see them as 1 or 2 dollars under their closest competitor.  Crafty!

Here are the other bits of import:

• Some additions to various marcas and vitolas, particularly the 50 cabs of really popular stuff (HDM Epicure No. 2, RASS, etc.) 
• Added new Bolivar Libertador (LCDH) and H. Upmann Connoisseur A (LCDH)
• Removed some junk that's mostly out of stock everywhere
• Cohiba 1966s have all but disappeared.  Hope you stocked up at a good price if you like these!
• On that note, the holiday sales were fairly good to vendors, as I noticed a bunch of different ELs and REs have vanished from their coffers

That's all she wrote, folks.  Happy hunting!

Social Presence POWER UP

I am now on Twitter - @CubanShopper and on Facebook if you are into those things.  I know a lot of people don't use Google+ but they tie it all in to the Blogger platform so nicely that it kind of feels like home now.

In other news, I was banned from the Cigar Aficionado forums for "promoting a commercial website" which is the joke of 2014 thus far.  Apparently, they thought I was a shill for the vendors I track or that I somehow make money off of this venture.  As much as I would like to say that I'm raking in the cash though droves of people donating $4 a month, that has yet to happen.  YET.

Trolling and polling for new vendors

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.