Maybe the people buying just don't want to chase this shit down and money isn't an object.
That's it. If you have money, and aren't part of a great network of brothers who help each other out, this is really your only option to get some of these kinds of sticks.
Here's my take on the whole thing: If this guy has ever been part of a cigar community and benefited from being part of that community, it would be much more appropriate for him to help guys within that community with these rare/htf sticks. If he benefits from the brotherhood, he should pay it forward, and help out others within the brotherhood. It's entirely inappropriate to take advantage of a community, and then stick it to them.
IF, however, he's
not part of the cigar community, then he really has no obligation to keep prices low or hook anyone up. He's simply running a business, and I have no issue with that, and in fact support it. On principle, I fully support a guy who sources product, then sells it to willing buyers. That's the free market, and he's actually providing a positive benefit to those who need his services.
I might be trashed for this post, but unless he's benefited from the cigar community, he doesn't have any obligation to the cigar community. As such, saying that because he's charging what the market will bear makes him a douchebag is naive at best, and puerile at worst. It's complaining because you feel entitled to have something at the price you want, not the market price.
Now, hear me: being part of this community does provide that opportunity on many occasions, and that's a wonderful, wonderful thing. I have BOTLs who have hooked me up with really HTF cigars at their cost or just as a gift, and I've done the same for many others. We pay it forward amongst ourselves, and that's fantastic. It's what being a BOTL is all about. As as member here, I owe it to all of you to help out when and where I can, because I know you all would do the same for me.
BUT, that doesn't mean we should apply those same principles to people
outside the community. They don't owe us anything, and in fact, it would hinder the free market system if we could somehow price fix things. Trust me, that's a bad thing. Furthermore, I've paid way over MSRP for sticks on the secondary market, simply because I couldn't find them or act fast enough to snatch them at their original prices. And you know what? I was
glad the guy charged more... because it meant that 100 other guys didn't grab it first. I was provided me a service I was happy to pay for.
If you're upset because a BOTL is gauging others after benefiting from them, I
totally get you and I'm right there with you. But, if you're just upset because you can't have what you want from a total stranger who owes you nothing, well... you're behaving like a child.