A search through the BOTL archives led me to an old 2005-era thread which asked "Are cigars a good investment?" That's sort of the topic I'm interested in, but certainly from less than a hard-core "I'm in this to retire!" perspective. I just like to have fun with eBay and make a few bucks and, for example, I noted that after the Tatuaje "The Mummy" dress boxes (MSRP: $169) sold out in two seconds, they started popping up on eBay, with several single dress boxes selling for $399. The mature adult in me thinks, "That's insane." But the grifter that lurks just underneath thinks, "How can I get a piece of that?!"
Here's my current little passive ploy. A couple of years back, I bought two chests ($210 per) of Gurkha Genghis Khan Churchills. If you're not familiar with them, these were a limited edition run in 2005-- only 1,000 chests were (supposedly) produced. The chests themselves are gorgeous-- again, though, to highlight the insanity of eBay, an empty chest just recently sold for $150-- and people are trying to sell empty chests right now for up to $500 (good luck with that). So I'm just sitting on these (the sticks are in a properly maintained humidor), waiting to see if the boxes altogether disappear from the retail marketplace so maybe I can flip 'em. Last week, CI was selling boxes for $249, but this week, they indicate "out of stock." I see boxes still available at texcigars.com-- but for $330, so perhaps my plan is working. (You might wonder how the cigars are. Well, in addition to the two boxes, I bought a five-pack to actually smoke. The awful truth is that I didn't like them very much-- But some people think they're awesome.)
So my question is-- are there any good bets out there for certain brands that produce certain limited edition packaging that can be expected to appreciate in the short term so we can have fun with eBay? For example, what I was looking at this morning was the 2012 "Destino al Siglo" Fuente Opus X (in either the white or blue boxes-- as they had a lesser production run than the macassar--there are only about 400 or so of each of the blue and white boxes, as opposed to about 1,100 of the macassar). So this set runs about $169. Do you think this is going to look like "The Mummy" in the insane collector aftermarket down the road? I also recently bought a tin of Opus X 1992 Rare Estate Reserve in Perfecxion for $50 on eBay, fully intending to smoke these because that seemed like a good price for these special occasion cigars (and I am turning 50 in 2013). But since I got the tin in the mail (which I have not yet unwrapped), I see that they're now going for almost $100 on eBay-- and CigarsDirect also is selling them for just under $100. So do I smoke 'em or flip 'em? *sigh*
(I do apologize for speaking in such mercenary terms of our beloved leaf. Rest assured, I have a few humidors full of fine cigars that I fully intend to savor and enjoy before the Big Sleep.)
Here's my current little passive ploy. A couple of years back, I bought two chests ($210 per) of Gurkha Genghis Khan Churchills. If you're not familiar with them, these were a limited edition run in 2005-- only 1,000 chests were (supposedly) produced. The chests themselves are gorgeous-- again, though, to highlight the insanity of eBay, an empty chest just recently sold for $150-- and people are trying to sell empty chests right now for up to $500 (good luck with that). So I'm just sitting on these (the sticks are in a properly maintained humidor), waiting to see if the boxes altogether disappear from the retail marketplace so maybe I can flip 'em. Last week, CI was selling boxes for $249, but this week, they indicate "out of stock." I see boxes still available at texcigars.com-- but for $330, so perhaps my plan is working. (You might wonder how the cigars are. Well, in addition to the two boxes, I bought a five-pack to actually smoke. The awful truth is that I didn't like them very much-- But some people think they're awesome.)
So my question is-- are there any good bets out there for certain brands that produce certain limited edition packaging that can be expected to appreciate in the short term so we can have fun with eBay? For example, what I was looking at this morning was the 2012 "Destino al Siglo" Fuente Opus X (in either the white or blue boxes-- as they had a lesser production run than the macassar--there are only about 400 or so of each of the blue and white boxes, as opposed to about 1,100 of the macassar). So this set runs about $169. Do you think this is going to look like "The Mummy" in the insane collector aftermarket down the road? I also recently bought a tin of Opus X 1992 Rare Estate Reserve in Perfecxion for $50 on eBay, fully intending to smoke these because that seemed like a good price for these special occasion cigars (and I am turning 50 in 2013). But since I got the tin in the mail (which I have not yet unwrapped), I see that they're now going for almost $100 on eBay-- and CigarsDirect also is selling them for just under $100. So do I smoke 'em or flip 'em? *sigh*
(I do apologize for speaking in such mercenary terms of our beloved leaf. Rest assured, I have a few humidors full of fine cigars that I fully intend to savor and enjoy before the Big Sleep.)
