Are Price increases affecting your enjoyment?

[MrBirdman]

4 hours ago, jakebarnes said:

The concept of worrying about the next one or hand-wringing about what the current one costs feels counterintuitive to the purpose of the exercise that I partake in with a cigar--which is to clear some headspace. 

I feel the same way, but that's the rub - the fact that the cigar has become a $60 smoke intrudes into the experience. It's hard to ignore now, especially when I don't feel most cigars, including most Cohiba, are really worth that kind of money. But the financial aspect has little to do with why I'm enjoying the Cohiba I own much less - I also loath the culture around luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, and that is now squarely what HSA is aiming for. Now if I smoke a Cohiba in public I am "making a statement" I find distastful, to say the least. 

Luckily Cohiba's bands are some of the easiest to remove.  

As for whether my smoking habits have changed - they have in that I'm smoking less Cohiba for the reasons I outline above. I am probably smoking less Trinidad too because Coloniales and Reyes have been go-to smokes for me, and they're the only cigars that might go extinct because of this development. 

[Miguel Gracias]

- Have the increases changed your smoking habits and what you reach for?

No, I have stocked quite descent amount of habanos, and I also find some nicaraguan cigars are amazing as alternative. Of course, the taste is different, but I also appreciate them. I will stick to NC and cheap cubans I've bought since 2019 such PLPC.

- Do you factor in the current market/ environment when enjoying a cigar?

It sucks that the price went up and am upset; however, I gotta accept what's happening and gotta move on. 

[Islandboy]

1 hour ago, jakebarnes said:

I guess this is the crux of what I am getting at--can you (not just you specifically--all of us) differentiate between the cost to replace and the enjoyment in the moment? Is there something still there where it's an enjoyable ritual regardless of cost? 

I actually have a completely different reaction when I light a cigar in these times - I can feel the grin on my face as I think “damn, I got this cigar for less than half of what it costs today...yeehaw!”

I see the classic psychology of the cup half empty versus the cup half full at play here.

 

 

[wine65]

In the past, I never thought about the cost of a cigar once I purchased it.  However, with the huge increase in price in Cohibas and Trinadads, I don't dip into my stash of COROs or Esmeraldas as frequently as I had in the past, as I don't feel like I'll be purchasing more at current prices. I'll enjoy what I have slowly and just enjoy more Bolivar, Partagas, Ramon Allones H. Upmans and Juan Lopez's instead.  I also tend to smoke non-cubans quite frequently and will continue to do so even more now.  It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 5 or so years. Reminds me of when I could purchase a first growth Bordeaux or limited run bourbon and not think about the price when I opened it. Those days are long gone unless I win the lottery! I'm not too concerned there's always something good out there, just need to expand horizons and try new things.

[LordAnubis]

Price rises are worse than discontinuations. With rises you know these are out there, just not in your bal park. I suppose most of us drive toyotas insteads of ferraris, so we are somewhat used to it 😂

But yes absolutely. To me price has always been a factor as i dont have money to burn. I Haven't smoked many BHK because for the price they were not worth it. I wasnt getting as much enjoyment out of it compared to the price tag. Even regular stuff is getting expensive these days, which is a shame. 

[havanaclub]

absolutely!
The change of name could not have come at a better time 
For the first time, Ravi is thankful that he doesn't have a forum 

Does he not have to change his website name? Or is that ok by HSA?


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[frenchkiwi]

9 hours ago, Bijan said:

Those of us in high-tax plain-packaging countries have been expecting doomsday for a while now.

 

This reminds me - are we resigned to this co-equal treatment with cigarettes or should we crowdsource or somehow lobby for a study into the different health outcomes between cigarette and cigar smoking? Governments are already being forced to re-evaluate the whole picture to some degree due to vaping. 

Basically high tobacco duties due to collateral damage from the push to eradicate cigarette smoking impacts on the price/enjoyment side of things more than Habanos luxury pricing strategies (although Habanos are catching up haha)

[El Presidente]

1 minute ago, havanaclub said:

Does he not have to change his website name? Or is that ok by HSA?


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He changed it a while ago. 

COH Cigars. 

similar to FOH Cigars. 

If you haven't heard......we collude and plot the downfall of cigar civilisation 

[dominattorney]

10 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

He changed it a while ago. 

COH Cigars. 

similar to FOH Cigars. 

If you haven't heard......we collude and plot the downfall of cigar civilisation 

I bet he'd be a hoot to tie one on with. You too Prez. If you're ever in colorful Colorado you better look me and @Corylax18 up. 

[El Presidente]

1 minute ago, dominattorney said:

I bet he'd be a hoot to tie one on with. You too Prez. If you're ever in colorful Colorado you better look me and @Corylax18 up. 

He certainly is 

Would love to get a long lunch on with you lads! 

[Sir Diggamus]

I haven’t made any change in my habits this far. I am not a daily smoker as is and tend to go though seasons of smoking a few daily and seasons of days or weeks between cigars. Now that I have moved to a place with long winters that may even be extended.

I will probably smoke my Habanos a little less frequently and maybe pick up a few value boxes to help with stretching my stash. One good thing COVID lockdown did was give me a chance to beef up my inventory a little. I look forward to the days when inventories rebound and I can grab a few singles of something special along with any boxes I may be grabbing.

My enjoyment hasn’t changed at all. I still rate it judge my smokes the same. It would be shame to smoke cigars with a bitter attitude, just not the way for me.

And now we have Nudies as a viable alternative as well, I can’t wait for the release of the Dalias.


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[karp]

3 hours ago, Islandboy said:

I actually have a completely different reaction when I light a cigar in these times - I can feel the grin on my face as I think “damn, I got this cigar for less than half of what it costs today...yeehaw!”

Right on. I was thinking that the other day and enjoyed my cigar even more. The last couple of years were surprising, who knows what the next years will be like? Im going to try and keep a positive attitude.

[Samysam]

I love CC and NC cigars. I love all cigars. I stock about 100 boxes of about 85 CC and 15 NC.  I go through 20 boxes per year. The price increase has given me pause for the simple reason  that just about ever CC box has a few duds, I won't stop buying CC but I may reduce my CC stock ratio to NC. 

[BrightonCorgi]

13 hours ago, SCgarman said:

Yup, on top of $5/gallon gasoline which could keep climbing higher until who knows when? $200 to fill up the ol' F150 eventually? Ouch.

Come this fall, we'll be asking you where can we get that $200 fill up deal.

 

11 hours ago, El Presidente said:

If you haven't heard......we collude and plot the downfall of cigar civilisation 

So far, the plan is working.

[TobaccoRoad]

The price increases definitely are changing my buying habits. Bought some flavored cigars for my wife and added in some regular NC's for my stash. Went back and bought some more yesterday. First NC's I've bought in a couple years. I have somewhat of a budget. Not a hard cap on cigar spending but have to keep my expenditures in a reasonable range. I will always "park my coin" as El Prez likes to say, on good value. If it's NC's or CC's. I'm going to smoke the best I can afford everyday. 

[Puros Y Vino]

There is definitely some hesitation on my part when I choose a smoke.  For any of my Cohiba and Trinidad's there is the "fear" that I won't be replacing what I smoke given the new pricing.  In some cases I have full boxes of older sticks such as Fundy's, Sig VI, Piramides, etc and I'm left pondering do I smoke them or put them up on BR, make some $$'s and buy something else?

While I wrestle with that notion, I do have enough stock and variety to keep things interesting.  I haven't really thought about going the NC route for that reason.  A lot of newer smokers I talk to are bummed about the pricing and are spending time on forums, chat rooms asking "what NC's are Cubanesque?"

I'm no Nostradamus, but I'm starting to think that Habanos may have bet on the wrong horse.  That being, chasing the luxury consumer over the average cigar enthusiast.  Every day there is a new lament on how Cubans are becoming more difficult to get and to afford.  More talk of NC's as alternatives.  Toss in a few seasons of damaged crops due to weather, a few fires wiping out prepped tobacco, labour shortages in the farms and factories and its beginning to look like Habanos' candle is buring at both ends.

[Silverstix]

17 hours ago, jakebarnes said:

I guess this is the crux of what I am getting at--can you (not just you specifically--all of us) differentiate between the cost to replace and the enjoyment in the moment? Is there something still there where it's an enjoyable ritual regardless of cost? 

Oh it's enjoyable - but I also can't stop thinking of the fact that it's gonna cost me a ton to replace that cigar I'm enjoying.  And that's a crappy feeling 

[SGD316]

It hasn't made me lower my enjoyment, just changing my habits in terms of what I'll smoke. For example, I'll still feel ok about smoking a RASS or a JL2 on a regular basis because the sticks are still relatively inexpensive.

But whereas before a CoRo was something to smoke whenever it's a special occasion only stick. When I run out of cigars I'll see what the situation is - but I won't be rebuying Cohiba at these prices and that's too bad. 

Price of stick is definitely now a huge factor when reviewing a stick or recommending to friends and the tolerance for Cuba's less than stellar QC is going to go down. Retailers are gonna have to prepare for that. As with all things - value is a central question. That was once reserved only for very limited editions and BHK and now that consideration is across the board. 

EDIT 2: Long term I again question how bright of a move this was for Habanos SA. Having a limited customer base over the long run for a product is never a winning move and cigars aren't cars or houses. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

I can tell you it's made moderating over at /r/cubancigars a nightmare.

These price increases coincided with Reddit deciding to come down hard, especially on tobacco subreddits. They have a global rule of no discussions about trades or private sales.

Almost every post now we have comments getting removed.

[jakebarnes]

20 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

I can tell you it's made moderating over at /r/cubancigars a nightmare.

These price increases coincided with Reddit deciding to come down hard, especially on tobacco subreddits. They have a global rule of no discussions about trades or private sales.

Almost every post now we have comments getting removed.

I feel like that place has become even more of a cesspool than it was. It's almost only just complaining now. 

[Nevrknow]

18 minutes ago, jakebarnes said:

I feel like that place has become even more of a cesspool than it was. It's almost only just complaining now. 

Imma go over there and stir the pot. 😁

[Cigar Surgeon]

11 minutes ago, Nevrknow said:

Imma go over there and stir the pot. 😁

[Hoepssa]

 

Cohiba was my daily smoke til supply dried up, in West Pacific nations you paid same $$ for Siglo VI online to E2 from the local B&M, that added some enjoyment, though it was all before 2016.

I gifted 300+ sticks to my friends a year, I do my math so I'll gift less to them, not smoking less, I love quality cigars and I bought quite a lot, buying cigars is fun, 24:24 is grand prix race for me, which is fun as well, Habanos knows we can't quit them, I knew I won't, too.

 

 

[Hammer Smokin']

amazing

[PuroDiario]

I did enjoy this one this afternoon