At what price would you quit?

[Cairo]

5 hours ago, djrey said:

The taxes and smoking restrictions that many of you are discussing in other countries is largely shaped by the political atmosphere you may have voted for. If you don't like it, change it. The US is often criticized for fighting for their rights and distrust of an overreaching government. Well, that is how we still have cheap (or what I would call normal) priced cigars. 

Ouch.

In addition to illegal Cubans (noted above), the reality is that US cigar policy has been an ugly battle between the Karens and the cigar industry lobbyists.   That is how the sausage actually gets made.

Citizens "fighting for their rights" has nothing to do with it....

[Hammer Smokin']

11 minutes ago, Focal_Banger said:

Only purchasing from Cuba. We can purchase them from other countries. Also, if you are able to visit Cuba, as my sister did in 2019, you are able to take some Cubans back. Whether you declare them in customs is your prerogative. My sister did and I got 8 cigars from it. 👍

thanks. I learned something. I thought it was illegal to purchase cuban cigars from any method in the USA. 

I didn't know it was only illegal to purchase them FROM Cuba. 

Wasn't there a big "to do" about a bunch of Cuban cigars getting confiscated coming from a European distributor? I did not know you could purchase them from other countries. 

[ChangBang]

2 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

thanks. I learned something. I thought it was illegal to purchase cuban cigars from any method in the USA. 

I didn't know it was only illegal to purchase them FROM Cuba. 

Wasn't there a big "to do" about a bunch of Cuban cigars getting confiscated coming from a European distributor? I did not know you could purchase them from other countries. 

Yea no you were right originally, Cuban products are illegal in the US. In trump's last days in office he closed the allowance we were allowed to bring back from Cuba or other countries. 

Our customs can seize packages of Cuban products regardless of where we ordered from and can take them at the airport if we attempted to smuggle them in

[Cigar Surgeon]

42 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

aren't cuban cigars illegal in the USA?

The last US President reversed the Obama Presidency decision that allowed US citizens to purchase and smoke Cuban cigars abroad (whether that was from Cuba directly, or other countries that also sell Cuban goods). But US customs doesn't tend to care very much whether someone brings prohibited Cuban cigars in (unless it's Miami), and their border services are fairly porous in seizing incoming shipments.

Since no one will ever be charged with smoking a Cuban cigar, it ends up being like speeding. It's against the law, but there isn't much in the way of consequences and you only have to worry if you get caught. 

  

23 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

thanks. I learned something. I thought it was illegal to purchase cuban cigars from any method in the USA. 

I didn't know it was only illegal to purchase them FROM Cuba. 

Both are prohibited. For whatever reason there tends to be a lot of confusion around US duty free allotments and purchase restrictions regarding Cuban cigars.

Edit:

I moderate over at /r/cubancigars and we used to have links stickied at the top because there was so much misinformation.

Cuban cigar legality change for US citizens: 

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/president-trump-tightens-sanctions-on-cuba-no-cigars-no-rum-and-no-hotel-lodging-for-americans

Duty free allowances:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg/customs-duty-info

Quote

For example, a returning resident is eligible for the $800 duty-free personal exemption every 31 days, having remained for no less than 48 hours beyond the territorial limits of the United States except U.S. Virgin Islands, in a contiguous country which maintains free zone or free port, has remained beyond the territorial limits of the United States not to exceed 24 hours. This exemption includes not more than 200 cigarettes and 100 cigars:

 

[RichG]

36 minutes ago, ChangBang said:

Yea no you were right originally, Cuban products are illegal in the US.

As a point of clarity, Cuban products are not illegal in the United States, as I understand it. They could have been imported during the Obama relaxation period. Current importation is what is illegal. 

 

30 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

I moderate over at /r/cubancigars

God bless you, it can be quite the circus over there. Perhaps there is a way to apply image recognition to allow for filtering of posts containing glass top boxes!

[djrey]

1 hour ago, Cairo said:

Citizens "fighting for their rights" has nothing to do with it....

Of course it does. The cigar industry lobbying is absolutely "fighting for rights." Laissez Faire. And yes, it does have an impact but not nearly as much as politics do. States that lean heavily left have the highest taxes on tobacco. They also have the highest restrictions on where you may smoke. CA, MA, MD, CT, NY all have some of the most strict laws and highest taxes. Comparing these states to much of EU, Canada and OZ is very logical. Invite more govt in and taxes go up. Lower tobacco taxes has much more to do with limited government rather than lobbying. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

25 minutes ago, RichG-LI-NY said:

God bless you, it can be quite the circus over there. Perhaps there is a way to apply image recognition to allow for filtering of posts containing glass top boxes!

Believe it or not the most difficult thing is explaining to people they can't make jokes about someone giving them free cigars because trades and sales and any discussion of trades and sales is completely banned by Reddit and they've made it clear they'll ban communities for violating it.

You try and be as patient as possible but at a certain point we're just going to start dropping ban hammers because people don't want to read, listen, or understand. 

[RichG]

15 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

people they can't make jokes about someone giving them free cigars

Looking at the rules I think perhaps this concept could be more clearly outlined. That being said, if you take the time to graciously explain a simple concept to someone and they continue to violate the policies...well...that would be guilt free hammer time IMHO.

[smbauerllc]

God bless you, it can be quite the circus over there. Perhaps there is a way to apply image recognition to allow for filtering of posts containing glass top boxes!

I believe cuban products are not really illegal, as confiscation is the only punishment I'm aware of.

I don't believe there is any fine or criminal charge for importing a personal amount or simple possession, so really its just banned

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong

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[SCgarman]

1 hour ago, ChangBang said:

Yea no you were right originally, Cuban products are illegal in the US. In trump's last days in office he closed the allowance we were allowed to bring back from Cuba or other countries. 

Our customs can seize packages of Cuban products regardless of where we ordered from and can take them at the airport if we attempted to smuggle them in

Exactly. Can your box be seized? Of course. Will you be thrown in prison? Here in the US there are prosecutors that want to let murderers go free in society with no consequences. So no. 

[djrey]

Just now, smbauerllc said:

I believe cuban products are not really illegal, as confiscation is the only punishment I'm aware of.

I don't believe there is any fine or criminal charge for importing a personal amount or simple possession, so really its just banned

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

Currently illegal to import or own products made in Cuba regardless of where you got them from. However, everyone at this point including law enforcement realizes what a joke it is so therefore it is not enforced. There were even some members who had shipments opened by customs here in the states. They boxed the smokes back up with a label saying they had been inspected and sent them on their way to the customer😆. So yes it is illegal but nobody actually gives a damn.

[RichG]

5 minutes ago, djrey said:

Currently illegal to import or own products made in Cuba regardless of where you got them from.

Is ownership itself illegal? As I mentioned above, I thought ownership itself was not illegal as goods could have been obtained during a period where there was limited legal import. Do you have a specific understanding to the contrary of this point?

[djrey]

1 minute ago, RichG-LI-NY said:

Is ownership itself illegal? As I mentioned above, I thought ownership itself was not illegal as goods could have been obtained during a period where there was limited legal import. Do you have a specific understanding to the contrary of this point?

Honestly a great question and one I am not sure on. You are right, since there was a period you could legally obtain them ownership should be legal as you would assume possession would be grandfathered in. But that is not how the law always works. There was a time cocaine was legal. Even when you could legally bring them back to the US the amount you could obtain was heavily restricted. So if you were caught with say 2K sticks I wonder if that would raise a flag? I'm not sure, I bet its tied up with pages of legal jargon that nobody cares to understand.  

[ElLoboLoco]

I reach for non cubans the majority of the time. I have a good supply of cubans but the price has made it easy to not continue down that path.

[RichG]

19 minutes ago, djrey said:

Honestly a great question and one I am not sure on. You are right, since there was a period you could legally obtain them ownership should be legal as you would assume possession would be grandfathered in. But that is not how the law always works. There was a time cocaine was legal. Even when you could legally bring them back to the US the amount you could obtain was heavily restricted. So if you were caught with say 2K sticks I wonder if that would raise a flag? I'm not sure, I bet its tied up with pages of legal jargon that nobody cares to understand.  

"I'm sorry officer, but I will not be headed to jail this evening. This cocaine was extracted by evaporating cans of Coca Cola from the 1890's. Good day sir."

[Cairo]

3 hours ago, djrey said:

CT, NY all have some of the most strict laws and highest taxes.

Lol--I live in CT, own an insane amount of cigars, Cuban and non-Cuban and have never paid a CT tax or been affected by these "strict laws" and "high taxes" in any way.

Sometimes the headline is not the real story....some of us cats just won't be herded...

[Fuzz]

8 hours ago, djrey said:

Currently illegal to import or own products made in Cuba regardless of where you got them from. However, everyone at this point including law enforcement realizes what a joke it is so therefore it is not enforced. There were even some members who had shipments opened by customs here in the states. They boxed the smokes back up with a label saying they had been inspected and sent them on their way to the customer😆. So yes it is illegal but nobody actually gives a damn.

And then there are the boxes that get opened, trashed and returned to the vendor with that pretty green "Inspected by US Customs" tape.

I do not think you want to see a pic of what happens to the cigars.

[Nevrknow]

Son in law in law enforcement. Sent this very question up his chain of command. Answer I got was " As long as no money exchanged hands in the US ( ie, gifts of cigars ) no harm no foul. Possession legal. Take that for what it's worth.

I would also follow this with, it very well may depend on who you run into and where you are.

My personal stance comes from (ugg) Bill Clinton. Don't ask, don't tell.

[djrey]

9 hours ago, Fuzz said:

And then there are the boxes that get opened, trashed and returned to the vendor with that pretty green "Inspected by US Customs" tape.

I do not think you want to see a pic of what happens to the cigars.

Seeing pictures would likely give me anxiety with every order. 

[ElReyDel757]

I just purchased my first non-Cuban cigars since 2015 due to the price increases. I’m getting low on some of my faves, but I have enough of most Cubans to hopefully get over this price bump. For Cubans, I have only purchased a 50 cab of RASS and Hoyo de Monterey Epicure # 2 during the COVID era, but the price increase for these was reasonable. 
 

I feel Cubans are definitely superior, but the standard Cuban Robusto 25 box is now pushing nearly $300 USD ($280ish). A Padron Robusto 26 count box can be had for $175-$195 USD. Cubans are better, but not $100 better average per box for most marcas. A standard Cuban Robusto isn’t worth $4 more per stick than a Padron.

[havanaclub]

Why?

Case and point. You clearly have no idea.


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[Jonboy4074]

Case and point. You clearly have no idea.


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Nice nonanswer.

[havanaclub]

20 minutes ago, Jonboy4074 said:

Nice nonanswer.

Ok. As he said, he is pissed about Yankees whining about price increases. Fuzz explained the duties and issues with shipping.
So when you have to pay 200-1750 extra in duties for one box, or even sniff a little extra duty of 15 bucks maybe you’ll understand. Plus wait 2 months to get the box while it sits in there. You fellas have it easy.


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[JY0]

On 9/29/2021 at 12:30 PM, Focal_Banger said:

Only purchasing from Cuba. We can purchase them from other countries. Also, if you are able to visit Cuba, as my sister did in 2019, you are able to take some Cubans back. Whether you declare them in customs is your prerogative. My sister did and I got 8 cigars from it. 👍

Unfortunately this is no longer the case. We cannot purchase from other countries. The rules apply all Cuban cigars, from any country. 

[Shrimpchips]

On 9/29/2021 at 2:39 PM, djrey said:

Honestly a great question and one I am not sure on. You are right, since there was a period you could legally obtain them ownership should be legal as you would assume possession would be grandfathered in. But that is not how the law always works. There was a time cocaine was legal. Even when you could legally bring them back to the US the amount you could obtain was heavily restricted. So if you were caught with say 2K sticks I wonder if that would raise a flag? I'm not sure, I bet its tied up with pages of legal jargon that nobody cares to understand.  

To my understanding, it is currently illegal to import or purchase/sell Cuban cigars in the US.  But you’re allowed to own them, as the cigars themselves are not subject to control after they would have been imported previous to the current ban.  Just because the importation is made illegal, doesn’t necessarily make the product itself illicit unless explicitly done so in the legislation.  It’s just tricky explaining owning cigars with a box date after October 2020, but owning Cuban cigars in itself isn’t illegal.