Cancún Duty Free

[torrenfoot]

Hey guys, 

 

So my old man is heading to Mexico in September and I was hoping he could pick me up a couple of boxes of cigars when he comes back through Duty Free on his way back to Australia.

 

I came back from Cuba through Cancun earlier in the year, and remember there being a few boxes in Duty Free, but my bags were full of sticks i'd bought on the island, so i didn't pay them much mind.

 

I was wondering if anyone had been through lately, and could shine some light on what sort of range they had, and how much they were charging. From memory the prices weren't that much more than what I had been paying in Havana. I want to give him as clear a direction of what to buy me as possible haha 

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Torren

[forgop]

I'll be flying in and out of Cancun the last week of July and can let you know what i see.



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[NSXCIGAR]

Same blanket advice I always give for Duty Frees or just about any B & M: only look to purchase rare or vintage stock or hard to find special production. Prices at Duty Frees are generally not that great compared to our trusted vendors, and therefore I'd only be looking to buy something I wasn't able to readily obtain from those trusted vendors. 

The good news is that when you find that type of stock at Duty Frees it's typically priced very reasonably as they often don't really have their finger on the pulse of the vintage and rare market. They sell mostly other goods, and cigars are very low priority for most Duty Frees and some interesting stock can often be found. The Beirut Duty Free, for example, still has some excellent vintage and hard-to-find stock at very good prices, but they don't ship. 

[torrenfoot]

If you could @forgop that would be amazing  

 

@NSXCIGAR I appreciate the advice mate  A little different in Australia in terms of pricing due to our HEAVY taxing and duties. I bought a box of Upmann Connie A's over there for around $300AUD, that box sells here for $870AUD. If I can manage to sneak a couple boxes of anything past the federalies, i'll be a happy man haha

[BrightonCorgi]

From what I remember, the cigar selection at that Duty Free is pretty meager. 

[NSXCIGAR]

11 hours ago, torrenfoot said:

@NSXCIGAR I appreciate the advice mate  A little different in Australia in terms of pricing due to our HEAVY taxing and duties. I bought a box of Upmann Connie A's over there for around $300AUD, that box sells here for $870AUD. If I can manage to sneak a couple boxes of anything past the federalies, i'll be a happy man haha

That's a valid point--buy anywhere you can save money! I know buying domestically in OZ is a real killer. Unfortunately, in my experience, both direct and indirect, Duty Frees in general tend to be pretty light on decent stock. They really try and push petacas and rarely have much in the way of anything outside the global brands (Party, RyJ, Cohiba, Monte and HU). Should be plenty of RyJ Romeo No. 1-3 though! 

[Nguneer]

I was through there in February.  Everything was relatively new stock, 2015 and 2016 boxes.  Nothing really exciting, 3 and 5 packs of RyJ wide churchills, tubos, and other pedestrian smokes..  At the time CoRos were $376 US a box.  I bought nothing (from there).

[Pixa]

You must be all flying from different terminal than uk flights I use as really poor selection in that terminal

[dominattorney]

I was there last year, and go not infrequently.  There's nothing that ever piqued my fancy.  The prices are terrible. 

[Mattygukas]

I tend to agree, the prices are always high. If those CoRos looked good then that may have been a good deal.

Order from Rob 24:24 buddy


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[trike]

RyJ, and Cohiba is what I recall.  Davidhoff to a larger degree.

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, Mattygukas said:

I tend to agree, the prices are always high. If those CoRos looked good then that may have been a good deal.

Order from Rob 24:24 buddy

Yes, $376 for CoRo is an excellent price and if it's an El Laguito (MUO or AMO) box I'd scoop it right up. 

The OP is from OZ and gets killed ordering from Rob or anywhere else domestically. That's why he's open to buying at the duty free.

[Mattygukas]

Understood...I guess I'm a little spoiled being in the US.


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[torrenfoot]

@NSXCIGAR $378US for a Box of CoRo's is crazy good haha


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[torrenfoot]

Thanks for your words guys!


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[NSXCIGAR]

8 hours ago, torrenfoot said:

@NSXCIGAR $378US for a Box of CoRo's is crazy good haha

Yes it is, but be sure to inspect! Storage conditions at duty frees can vary widely, as can quality of stock. And also be aware that MUO and AMO are El Laguito codes from 13-16. If they have multiple boxes and codes, try to find one of those. If $376 is indeed the price for CoRo there may be some other good values to be had there, although as @Nguneer notes, stock was pretty boring there.

[forgop]

Just passed through the duty free at the airport. Run away from these guys. $140 for a box of 3 Siglo VI's and a box of Partagas Mille fleurs was $244 I think.

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[BrightonCorgi]

21 hours ago, forgop said:

Just passed through the duty free at the airport. Run away from these guys. $140 for a box of 3 Siglo VI's and a box of Partagas Mille fleurs was $244 I think.

Duty free is not "profit free"...

[forgop]

Duty free is not "profit free"...

Not disagreeing with you, but comparing the prices of booze and cigars, I quickly decided I'm just as well off buying at home and it wasn't worth the hassle to carry it.

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[torrenfoot]

ahhhh no vibe there at all!!

 

Thank so much for that @forgop, you saved me from a headache haha