Cigar Journal Promotional Insert
I don’t normally look at the inserts that come with a package but this one caught my eye because it was different. Cigar Journal, which is the cigar magazine of record for Europe, as far as I know, was able to have a shortened version of its magazine inserted into a shipment of cigars that I recently received. I’m guessing they paid for this placement although I can’t rule out someone surreptitiously putting it in the box.
As far as promotional inserts go this one actually got my attention. I entered a contest one of their advertisers is hosting, which is nothing more than me signing up for more emails, and I even read some of the shortened articles. Their Top 25 (which is something I have to get on, although it will be a Top 10 for me) was interesting because it featured a few cigars that I am unfamiliar with and now will look out for the next time I see one in a shop.
What really got me though was the short format of the whole thing. There weren’t these long winded articles about luxury items having nothing to do with cigars; it was all about cigars. I don’t know about you but if I want to learn something about the BMW M3 I’ll head on over to Car and Driver or Top Gear. (I’m sure they have some of that in their magazine as well but probably not as much as that other magazine. Can that even be possible?)
One thing that did catch my eye was the little snippet about Cigar Journal’s newest member: James Suckling. Now, I already knew he was their newest employee but I have to admit that it was odd seeing him in a different publication other than Cigar Aficionado or Wine Spectator. Suckling was always more interested in Cuban cigars so the change makes sense for him, I guess. While thinking about him I now remember I still haven’t seen his ode to Cuba: Cigars: The Heart and Soul of Cuba.
Going over to that site I quickly realize that it’s actually a pay to play community. As cigar media business ventures go this is probably a decent one for him. There are obviously a lot of Cuban cigar devotees and others who are just interested in learning more about the Cuban cigar history and culture. Personally, I would fall into the latter group but I don’t know if I fall into that group enough to become an active member of that community. Maybe I’ll buy the documentary someday; not a priority though.
As I divert my eyes from the screen for a moment they fall on a picture of Cigar Journal’s staff gathering for a team photo in St. Moritz, which has to be one of the better places to hold a tasting panel. A couple of pages later there are pictures of cigar luminaries like Guillermo Leon, the tattooed Pete Johnson and Pepin Garcia receiving awards from Cigar Journal. All in all that awards ceremony looks like it had more meaning than any Academy Awards ceremony.
At the end of the day, when all is said and done, if you want to you can get access to all their editions on their website for free. I’m sure the magazine is better than looking at the digitized version and I might consider subscribing in the future. That insert, A Taste of Cigar Journal, was actually a pretty deft piece of marketing.
CigarSprintSale.com
It seems that our cup is running over with new retail cigar deal sites. The other day I talked about Cigar Sniper and now I am going to talk a little about Cigar Sprint Sale.
Both of these sites have a couple of things in common. First, they are about selling cigars and cigar accessories. Second, they are auction sites. True, Cigar Sniper goes the penny auction route and Cigar Sprint Sale, which is brought to us by Cigar.com (and Cigar.com is owned by Cigars International), goes the countdown to purchase route. More on that later. The other thing that these sites have in common, which is something that I did not totally grasp until quite recently, is that they both share exquisite timing; they were both launched right before the American shopping season. That’s strategery right there!
Cigar Sprint Sale has that name for a reason: it is a sprint to see who is going to win the item on the block. Basically, it works this way:
- New item goes up – and only one item is available per lot, first come only served
- It starts at a certain price – usually around MSRP
- Every second that the item is not purchased the price of the item goes down – it can go down a dime or more than that depending on how expensive the item is
- All this time there is this little red man racing from a start line to a finish line picked by the proprietors of the site and if that little red man were to reach the other end then there would be no sale
- If, on the other hand, and this other hand has always been the case when I’ve been looking, someone will bite and buy the product before it hits its reserve
- Repeat
It’s actually a pretty ingenious setup that they have going. The whole sprint motif gives the buyer all the motivation that they need to buy that product that they want, especially at the price it’s going for. Another motivating aspect is that for each lot there is only one product available at a time. So you better act fast or that deal may be gone for good (or it may come back in a few hours, you never know).
Yeah, sure, this site sounds a little addicting. So do all the other auction and deal sites out there. If you are the type of person who cannot control their buying habits then you have to stay away from these sites because even though you may be getting a deal on certain items that doesn’t mean it’s a great thing for your personal finances when you have bought a dozen “great deals” in a single day.
On the other hand, if you can exert a certain modicum of self control or you have a plentiful enough supply of money to make your self control problems a moot point then a site like Cigar Sprint Sale can be a good place to find great deals. For example, I have seen the Xikar XTX Double Flame lighter go on this site for considerably less money than any other site online is asking. That’s a good thing. I’ve also seen Don Pepin Garcia Series JJs go for much less than they normally would and the same goes for a number of great cigars.
But that’s the thing with sites like this. If you are willing to devote some time to it then you will find some great deals. Cigar Sprint Sale also has a mix of products that does tend towards having some good quality cigars. Sure, there are going to be some value sticks thrown in frequently, but if you wait long enough you will find cigars that you like.
The question is: are you willing to wait long enough to get a good deal but not too long so that someone else doesn’t get the product you want?
CigarSniper.com
A little over a month ago I participated in a beta test for a new cigar auction site called Cigar Sniper. Developed by Famous Smoke, Cigar Sniper is a penny auction site, which means you pay a fee for each bid ($0.60 is the value for the “paid” bids and, depending on the package you purchase, you will receive a number of “free” bids – more on that later) and because the bids cost money the overall price for the product can be much lower than the retail price of said product. Here are some of the rules you can find on the Cigar Sniper site:
Cigar Sniper is unlike other penny auction sites, where you forfeit the money you spent bidding on auctions. Instead, any money you spend bidding counts towards the purchase of the item at Famous Smoke Shop’s everyday low price.
Cigar Sniper is perfect for anyone who was already going to buy a box of cigars: you either win the auction at a steep discount, or you buy the box at the everyday Famous price by simply paying the difference.
That, right there, is the salient point that you have to seriously take into consideration when using this site, once it’s live, to make purchases. There’s also a hidden point that I did not find explained on the Cigar Sniper landing page: there are “paid” bids and “free” bids. The hierarchy here is simple: only the “paid” bids, which have a $0.60 value, count towards purchasing the item you lost out on. “Free” bids are just that, free. You can use them to bid on items but if you happen to lose out on that item those lost bids do not count towards your purchase of that item. That is a serious consideration to keep in mind when bidding.
Now, when I was going through the beta test the site would just automatically use the “free” bids up before moving onto the “paid” bids. I don’t know how it is going to work once the site goes live but just remember if you use this site to note which bids you are using.
I think there is going to be a distinct strategy that develops on this site. Free bids, with less inherent value, are going to be used more in the “spray and pray” approach to sniping deals. And why not? Someone may be willing to pay $80.00 for a certain box of cigars but not $125.00 for that same box and, as long as he’s using “free” bids, he has every incentive to jack up the bidding to $80.00 for that box.
This is a bad situation to be in if you are using “paid” bids, however. Let’s assume we are in the same situation as above but instead of “free” bids you are stuck with “paid” bids. And you’re up against a guy who is frivolously using his “free” bids, recklessly jacking up the price of the product. You bid ($0.60) and then he bids ($0.00) and then over and over again a number of times. The bid price is going up and up, you are paying for each bid, and, before you know it, the bid is now at $74.50 and you have made ten bids ($6.00 total) and that is more than you are willing to pay for that box. So you quit, which means you lose both the box and the $6.00 in bids. Bummer.
On the other hand, if you are using paid bids and you are going up against someone else who is using paid bids and you both fit into the customer category that Cigar Sniper described above (i.e. both of you are going to buy the box no matter what) you will both have the incentive to keep on bidding up the price because you want to win the box as cheaply as possible. At the end of the day you will both end up paying retail for that product because both of you are incentivized to keep on bidding until the combination of the cost of the bids and the bid price equals the retail price of the product.
Complications will assuredly arise as this site attracts more and more visitors. I can foresee a situation where the “free” bid gangsters muck up the works for “paid” bidders because there is appreciably less value in “free” bids. And the more people on the site actively bidding the more chances this type of situation will arise.
It isn’t all bad though. I think that during the early stages of this site there will be some awesome deals to be had. And if you do fit into the customer category laid out by Cigar Sniper (you’re going to buy the thing anyways so why not take a chance and get it for less?) then this site does have some value to it.
Some people, however, should stay away from this site and they include:
- People with poor self control.
- People with poor math skills.
- Those without a lot of free time available to win an auction.
- Non-smokers.
Personally, I’ll check the site out and see what products are going for. If there are deals to be had I’ll jump on them. If not, I’ll take a pass. Just remember to do your homework and know what items on the block are going for out on the normal market. And, probably most importantly of all, if you are going to be bidding on a product with “paid” bids then you should only be bidding if you are going to end up buying the product regardless of the outcome of the auction. Using paid bids to get a product you don’t want to pay full price on is a bad idea because, chances are, the eventual price of the product is going to trend towards the full retail price.
PS: Make sure to read and understand all the rules to this site before playing. I didn’t get into all the rules (like the one where if there is a bid during the last 15 seconds then the clock goes back up to 15 seconds or the one where people can place auto-bids, which will jack up prices for you). So educate yourself and be prepared with a plan of action before taking on the other bidders at Cigar Sniper.
Help Exempt Premium Cigars from FDA Regulation
I was alerted to this by one of my more loyal readers the other day and I think it warrants its own post. As many of you know, there is a chance that the FDA will unilaterally start regulating premium cigars in a manner that would throw the industry on its head. What follows is an explanation of what could happen from CRA and, if you want to take some action, follow THIS LINK to send a message to your representatives.
|
|
Whereas on April 26, 2010, December 20, 2010, and July 7, 2011 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration publicly posted their intent to regulate cigars in the Federal Register, it is incumbent upon the cigar enthusiasts of the United States to voice their opposition to any proposed new regulation of premium/traditional cigars by the United States Government.House Resolution 1639 has been filed in the U.S. House of Representatives; and a companion bill, Senate Bill 1461, has been filed in the Senate. Both are filed under the banner of the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act. This bi-partisan legislation would decree that premium/traditional cigars should be off limits to FDA regulation and, ‘to clarify the Food & Drug Administration’s jurisdiction’ in the ‘sale, manufacturing and distribution of traditional and premium cigars.’
Such legislation could have a profound impact on protecting the industry, from the fields and factories of Central America , to the supply-chain throughout this nation, to the community tobacconist, to enjoying a cigar in the local shop, club or back porch.
We can assure you, nothing could rip the soul of the cigar industry apart, like FDA actions. For example, some of the (again) hypothetical possibilities, but that are not beyond the realm of reason include: No more walk in humidors (Canadian model); Limits on advertising and promotions; Banning the very word cigar or tobacco; Manufacturers having to submit blends to FDA for “testing,” before heading to your local shop – imagine the impact on boutique cigar makers; Adverse impact on flavored tobacco products; And price impact due to new fees on manufacturers. This, is the short list.
Nestor Miranda Day 2011 Video
You probably have plans for Cinco de Mayo but what about Seis de Mayo? If you’re a cigar smoker then you are in luck because Seis de Mayo is actually Nestor Miranda Day! This is how it works: go into a participating tobacconist and buy a cigar, any cigar, and they will give you a Nestor Miranda Art Deco cigar for free while supplies last. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me. For more information watch this video.
