Premium Mark Up Prices

[cbenham73]

BOTL/SOTL,

 

I am going to the Bahamas this week and at the Bahr Mar there is a very nice bar that usually has some boxes of premium sticks.  What are your thoughts on paying premium prices at a reputable cigar lounge at a resort that has some hard to find cigars?

Your feedback is much appreciated.

[Eric05]

Bahamas has no Cubans. If they do most likely fake. 

[PartagasIV]

Normal. Just mind the above^^.

[cbenham73]

@Eric05Have you been to the cigar lounge I am referring too? 

[Eric05]

I have not, but the reputation on the island is that anything you find is most likely fake. I would BYOC

[cbenham73]

That is why ask. It is not your typical tourist trap found near the cruise ships. It is in a luxury hotel and is owned by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake called T2. I have been there several times during my business trips. They usually have some hard to find stuff at crazy mark up.

[NSXCIGAR]

What are you considering "hard to find" cigars? Like Cohiba ELs or Gran Reservas?

Chances of finding anything genuinely rare at a Bahamian tourist trap that's not fake are zero, let alone something rare or "hard to find".

As noted above there are only a couple LCDHs in the Caribbean that have genuine CCs and even at those I'd never be 100% confident. And none of which are in the Bahamas. 

 

[SmokyFontaine]

I dropped $33 on a Bolivar Soberano at a cigar bar in Seoul. Business expense, but there's no way I'd spend my money on a markup like that. Co-worker had a $26 Magnum 54 if I remember right. Just pains me considering how value conscious I am when it comes to cigars.

[El Presidente]

In terms of premium prices at premium locations, my rule is that if you intend to park your arse in their premises, you need to be prepared to pay.  Premium facilities come at a cost. If you are not prepare to pay, don't play and hook yourself across the road to the street/beach table, grab a beer and smoke your cigar.  

I can normally be found at the latter location 

[cbenham73]

@El Presidente and @SmokyFontaine I appreciate the thoughts and from the other BOTL. When I visit the establishment it is a business dinner. My last smoke there involved a $46 Partagas E2 lmao. When I visit Nassau I walk up to the Graycliff facility and buy a few of those sticks which are not bad.

[NSXCIGAR]

12 hours ago, SmokyFontaine said:

I dropped $33 on a Bolivar Soberano at a cigar bar in Seoul

That's not a high price at all. I haven't seen a 10 box going for less than upper $200s. The $26 Mag 54 is a bit high though. 

Keep in mind most of these establishments are paying more than we do for their boxes. They have to make money. No different than selling $20 bottles of wine for $70 which is quite common.

[Derboesekoenig]

If you want to see cigars at premium prices, just go to the cigar bars/lounges in Dubai. Granted, I always bring my own, as I knew they were going to be astronomical.  But the drink prices tend to reflect the other prices. I have to say though, I've been to some pretty amazing lounges and bars, so there's that.

In short, always bring your own as not only is it a $ saver, but you don't know how the available cigars have been stored.

[Dozerhead]

Atlantis use to have a cigar shop called the Havana Humidor, don't if it's still there. They had genuine habanos but they were definitely at a premium. Every other place we saw were full of fakes, and bad ones at that.

[SmokyFontaine]

7 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

That's not a high price at all. I haven't seen a 10 box going for less than upper $200s. The $26 Mag 54 is a bit high though. 

Keep in mind most of these establishments are paying more than we do for their boxes. They have to make money. No different than selling $20 bottles of wine for $70 which is quite common.

Oh I don't disagree at all with the overhead, the refuge that the cigar lounge provides, the expenses that far outweigh my own. It was a business expense. For me, I couldn't justify spending my own money on a $33 Soberano. Especially considering you don't know age of the thing. I mean in theory, it was 2mos old. I like to have more control over the whole thing, and I'm a cheap-ass in general. There aren't any cigar lounges near me so I'm not used to those markups. I know what I can get them for online, then figure about double is what you'll see at a lounge. Again, I get why they have to price things they're selling to cover the whole experience they offer, but as a value-minded fella, it isn't enough to warrant the upcharge. It's just why me and cigar lounges in general wouldn't mesh. Backyard firepit? Covered deck with a heater? That's where it's at for me. 

[cbenham73]

I am little surprised no one else has visited this bar cigar lounge at Baha Mahr hotel in Nassau. It is like top end Las Vegas hotel. I would never buy any cigars from the cigar places near the port area. All fakes.