So I was thinking today about how everyone loves the taste of a well aged cigar. However, every B&M I go to has only fresh cigars on the shelve. Why do B&M's not buy additional boxes of sticks and age them for several years, and then sell the aged sticks at a higher price? Seems like it would be a win win!
B&M idea
- Thread starter Jhard1121
- Start date
Sounds good in principle but i think everyone who likes/appreciates would already have aged ones at home. Also having the money tied up for that long how much markup can you really add and still have it be profitable. Myself personally i go to B&M to see what's new. just my .02
Ehh...I don't like the idea of selling sticks at a higher price for increased profits. I understand that it would cost a B&M to store them for an extended period of time, but as a consumer, I'd just buy the sticks I want to age and keep them at home. It would be nice to have some aged cigars to choose from, but I feel it would get into the catch-22 type of situation I mentioned.
For a casual smoker/poser smoker, it'd probably be a nice way to get an aged cigar, but for most/all of us here, I'd imagine we have a means to age cigars as it is, so paying a premium on them would be annoying.
For a casual smoker/poser smoker, it'd probably be a nice way to get an aged cigar, but for most/all of us here, I'd imagine we have a means to age cigars as it is, so paying a premium on them would be annoying.
podman28
Podman Cigar Company
Most shops don't have that kind of capital to invest in inventory that they aren't going to be turning over for quite some time. Space is an issue as well. You hear guys that need to sell some stuff to make room for something new. It is the same in the shop. While a great concept it isn't really feasible for most shops. On occasion though, it does happen when a certain cigar that was hot dies down some or gets lost in the shuffle.
Volusianator
BoM Nov '07 & Jan '09
Nobody likes to pay additional money for aged cigars, however, there is a great deal of expense for a store to purchase those cigars and not sell them. In addition, the benefit for the consumer is THEY don't have to lay out hundreds of dollars on boxes of cigars, store them properly for years while they continue to purchase other sticks. This way you could go in, and get one, two or a handful of aged sticks, at a premium. I think it's a wonderful idea.
Exactly, I am not suggesting that they raise the prices on every stick, but I personally would pay more for a well aged cigar. Others would still have the option to buy a fresh stick. I don't have the storage capacity to age cigars like a B&M would.
there's a B&M in Biloxi, MS called The Epitome with yellow cellos on at least 80% of their inventory. It's a wonder how they stay in business, but i think most people shop there for their pipe tobacco/accessories.
i remember going there when i was a young noob and thinking, "what's wrong with their humidor? these things look nasty."
now i know the error of my ways...
i remember going there when i was a young noob and thinking, "what's wrong with their humidor? these things look nasty."
now i know the error of my ways...
You could also buy double what you would normally buy and say 'I'm aging this for (insert length here).' I'm not suggesting that someone buy a box to age, but for the sake of having an aged cigar, buy an extra 2 or 3 and just let them sit. However, if you have the funds and space to age boxes, go for it.
Frankly, I don't want to spend an extra $5 on a stick that is not necessarily improved; rather, it's likely just 'changed.'
Can't imagine most shops would be able to stay in business having to meet expenses and pay employees...turning over shelf inventory is the only way to stay in business for most of these guys. very sucessful shops with more capacity will be able to order extra inventory. Most of the aged cigars I have bought from my retailers were sleepers no one new about/too expensive for average smokers/ things that i like nobody else wanted. the more educated you become about cigars, the more likely you will find these things. I don't think many retailers would see this as a way to make more money. Sitting on inventory for 4 to 5 years ties up too much money. Box dates are so important. Thanks to Tat/garcia for making this so readily available. It makes collecting and aging easier.
You can age singles just as easily as you can age boxes.
gibbleguts
BoM april 09
If you are selling Cubans generally you just get random aged boxes. I would be surprised by any store going out of their way to age stock when it just shows up at random like that. Cuba has one of the worst inventory control systems I have ever seen. Over the last year I have personally bought out of our store 3 boxes of 97 Sancho, 02 Du maire, 02 du prince, 01 des depute, 00 Cohiba corona especiales, 00 cohiba lanceros, 03 petite robusto's and countless more singles. Today we got a box of 05 PSP2's. My guess would be that most places that claim to age there inventory are just making the most out of Cuba poor distribution. I think it would be great if stores aged their own boxes but don't think that it make very good business sense. On a cash flow sense if you looked at the average item on the shelf moving every 3 months, I know some will be faster some slower, at even a low margin of 30% hanging on to cigars for years get really expensive. That capital could in most cases be put to better use somewhere else. My greedy math says I would have to be able to mark it up at least another 100% above my standard pricing to make it worth my while to do. I wouldn't be willing to pay for that.
I have seen aged cigars in a few B&M's in the states as well. Last time I was in New York JR's had a few boxes advertised as aged. Not cigars I wanted but aged none the less.
I have seen aged cigars in a few B&M's in the states as well. Last time I was in New York JR's had a few boxes advertised as aged. Not cigars I wanted but aged none the less.
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I can see where this would sound like a great idea, and perhaps on a small scale (since its going towards a target market) of lets say 2-5 boxes and then sell them at 125-150% as singles, it maaay pay off to do such, again depending on how long one would want to age them. I also think that with inflation, its just like investing in wine or another good for the cigars will maintain or increase in value yet the money you put 'into' the cigar stock did not change.
I could be totally wrong but I feel that if done on a smaller scale it may pay off.
I could be totally wrong but I feel that if done on a smaller scale it may pay off.
Mitch
BOM 2/09-Keeper BOTtLe
The shops already do sell premium aged cigars for a higher price. Look at the age already put into premium lines like VSG, ESG, Opus, LE's etc. they demand a higher price and the tobbacco is older when it's rolled, and often aged for longer once rolled as well. To keep from confusing the consumer they brand them differently than "Fresh" cigars. If you compair a new Padron 40th to a new PAM you can taste some difference, but it's much harder to tell a difference if you compair it to a PAM you've aged for a few years.