Cigars and My Budget

Like most leisure activities that I enjoy, the cigar hobby can be an expensive one. My experience in this area comes from my other disease, golfitis. The latest driver, putter, greens fees, and balls the list goes on and on. Luckily for me my love of golf and a premium smoke do go hand and hand. However, just like I found in golf, there are inexpensive ways to make my habit more affordable. The Internet can be a wonderful place. It has provided a way to buy the latest and greatest golf equipment at very nice affordable prices. If you are a golfer I would not care to bet that there is at least one or two clubs that were purchased from an Internet site. I would further wager that they probably came by way of eBay. Before you go rushing off to see what smokes you can find on eBay, I must tell you that there not available. You can however find loads of cigar memorabilia and accessories. I have to say that I really advocate going to your local tobacco shop. The local shops are really the better choice to buy your cigars and enjoy the atmosphere that only they can provide. However, if that is not an option the Internet is a great alternative.

Buying cigars on the Internet does have its advantages and disadvantages. I have found that most places sell box quantities only, but there are some that will sell by the stick. If you are like me, and are still trying find that elusive must have everyday cigar, buying boxes of one type is just not practical. I did find a cool way to try some cigars and not have to buy a box of each to do so. I recently bought a variety sampler from a company on the Internet. The package had nine premium hand rolled smoke from some big name companies. I got some Rocky Patels, a Padron, a Maxx and a Cohiba just to name a few. The price for the package and shipping was around twenty-five dollars; making each cigar around three bucks a piece. This definitely was a pretty good price on such cigars. I have to admit that the thought of buying cigars site unseen was a bit unnerving, but at this cost I thought it may be worth a try. I waited patiently, okay I was not patient at all, but they did finally arrive. It took about a week for my purchase to arrive, and I was impressed by the way it was shipped. The cigars were individually wrapped in cellophane, collectively wrapped in bubble wrap, and shipped in heavy duty card board box. Upon inspection I found each to be in very good shape, wrapper consistency and construction all meet expectations. Along with my smokes I got a catalog full of other samplers at prices that would fit just about any budget.

My experience with cigars bought over the Internet so far has been a good one. I will have to say that I will probably purchase more cigars in the future using this method. On the con side of the coin, you are buying site unseen. I felt that the price per cigar offset that risk. I always suggest with any Internet purchase to check out the company before you purchase anything. Check to see if they have a phone number and call it. See how they answer the phone and ask some questions. Request a catalog, take note of the quality of what they send. Research them on the Internet, look for blogs, forums or message boards, people love to tell others about good and mainly bad experiences. If you still feel unsure, head to your normal cigar supplier.

Please if you have had a good or a bad experience let us know. Post a comment!

Here are a few places that I would recommend to check out. I know that there are others out, but I try to only link to places that I have bought from or have check into. If you have a favorite Internet based cigar supplier, please let me know!

Famous Smoke Shop www.famous-smoke.com
Leaf And Ale www.leafandale.com
Thompson Company www.thompsoncigar.com