First 3 Months of Buying CC’s

[TomsRibs210]

I was watching an FOH TV interview where @El Presidente said that the first few years of the CC hobby can be disastrous. I decided to tally up how much I’ve spent since buying my first 3-pack of HDM Epicure 2s in June 2024 and I have spent an astronomical sum of money. Holy mackerel! Has this been the experience of others as well?

[Ciscojohansson]

No no no...I'm not hiding boxes or bank statements from my wife!

[Ford2112]

8 grand in stogies my first year getting back into this hobby. Now 8 grand would get me 5 boxes, lol.

[NSXCIGAR]

And Rob probably said that before the 2022 price hikes. 

[bmac]

Yes and learn something new everyday. What a beautiful pursuit.

[Lt4-396]

Unfortunately yes. Roughly 10k cigars in my current stash. Don't like thinking about the cost. At the same time I enjoy thinking about how 90% of them were purchased pre-hike.

[TomsRibs210]

22 minutes ago, Lt4-396 said:

Unfortunately yes. Roughly 10k cigars in my current stash. Don't like thinking about the cost. At the same time I enjoy thinking about how 90% of them were purchased pre-hike.

I spent about 11k USD since June and that doesn’t even include New Worlds. I did get a cool cigar stand from FOH though so there’s that! 

[JohnS]

What Rob is alluding to here is the average learning curve that a Habanos enthusiast goes through in this hobby. The trajectory is familiar. It starts off with the hobbyist sampling different marcas and vitolas to see what they like/prefer. After that period, there's a tendency to buy up boxes and buy up big. At this stage, the hobbyist is spending a lot of money and building their inventory quickly. 

There comes a point, however, when the hobbyist no longer has any more purchases they'd like to acquire, exclusively. Occasionally things come up, sure...but in general, they're not likely to care too much about what's 'going down in the scene' currently because they have plenty of stock on hand. Furthermore, it's nice to have some regular production cigar/s aging away somewhere that you forgot about three or four years ago.

That's how it goes. A number of our members are familiar with this story.

[Chibearsv]

  

[Havanaaddict]

I never think of how much it costs. It is one of the only things that keeps me going crazy and relaxed. I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs anymore LOL so this is it for me. Everything costs money, if you like it why think about how much money you’ve spent on wine since you started collecting? Everything costs money, think about how much money you spend on food. Not everything comes down to money. I do have a maximum I will spend a cigar. I have had to cut back from smoking four cigars day to two cigars a day😐

 

[chasy]

I’ve helped get a close buddy into CCs. He now has the bug. And a larger budget than I do, so it’s come full circle for me. I’m getting to try a lot of stuff I would never have otherwise.

[SCgarman]

11 hours ago, Lt4-396 said:

Unfortunately yes. Roughly 10k cigars in my current stash. Don't like thinking about the cost. At the same time I enjoy thinking about how 90% of them were purchased pre-hike.

Pre Covid 10K could buy you a ton of cigars, 200/ robusto, 275/ Monte2, 150/ PC. 

Today's pricing? Ouch! Not much anymore.

[TomsRibs210]

2 hours ago, JohnS said:

What Rob is alluding to here is the average learning curve that a Habanos enthusiast goes through in this hobby. The trajectory is familiar. It starts off with the hobbyist sampling different marcas and vitolas to see what they like/prefer. After that period, there's a tendency to buy up boxes and buy up big. At this stage, the hobbyist is spending a lot of money and building their inventory quickly. 

There comes a point, however, when the hobbyist no longer has any more purchases they'd like to acquire, exclusively. Occasionally things come up, sure...but in general, they're not likely to care too much about what's 'going down in the scene' currently because they have plenty of stock on hand. Furthermore, it's nice to have some regular production cigar/s aging away somewhere that you forgot about three or four years ago.

That's how it goes. A number of our members are familiar with this story.

Prophetic. Truly. Thanks for breaking it down,@JohnS

[Shakey]

4 hours ago, JohnS said:

What Rob is alluding to here is the average learning curve that a Habanos enthusiast goes through in this hobby. The trajectory is familiar. It starts off with the hobbyist sampling different marcas and vitolas to see what they like/prefer. After that period, there's a tendency to buy up boxes and buy up big. At this stage, the hobbyist is spending a lot of money and building their inventory quickly. 

There comes a point, however, when the hobbyist no longer has any more purchases they'd like to acquire, exclusively. Occasionally things come up, sure...but in general, they're not likely to care too much about what's 'going down in the scene' currently because they have plenty of stock on hand. Furthermore, it's nice to have some regular production cigar/s aging away somewhere that you forgot about three or four years ago.

That's how it goes. A number of our members are familiar with this story.

I resemble these comments. 🙂 Thankfully the humidor is full and I’m only adding new stock as I make space. 

[BlueWS]

I started buying a year ago and I literally bought EVERYTHING I thought I'd be interested in. 300 sticks. I stopped buying after the May '24 price hike. I know Rob delayed the latest round of price hikes as long as he could and that's when I stopped - seven thousand'ish dollars later. I even made an in person purchase during my Australian vacation in April. Five sticks $500. I ended up throwing a $75 Choix Supreme in the trash, it was horrible, and the wrapper cracked in three places. What I really have come to enjoy are the MOFO Trinity Robustos. Shipped out of FL to CA and no hassle. GREAT CIGARS! Bar none one of my all time favorites in 20 years of smoking and 100% consistent. They hit just right for me. What I have come to dislike are Cuban DUDS. If I'm paying that much money for a box every stick should be a 9/10. I literally grab the same cigar from the same box... stored right next to each other and one's a hit and one's a dud. WTF. I'm over it. I'm done buying. I can't even buy a BHK 52 of BHK 54 for my 50th bday because I can't trust it won't be a dud. I refuse to throw my money away. I think I bought 24 different marcas in 9 months. My sample size is pretty big and I've smoked at least 2 of each.

[SCgarman]

7 hours ago, BlueWS said:

I started buying a year ago and I literally bought EVERYTHING I thought I'd be interested in. 300 sticks. I stopped buying after the May '24 price hike. I know Rob delayed the latest round of price hikes as long as he could and that's when I stopped - seven thousand'ish dollars later. I even made an in person purchase during my Australian vacation in April. Five sticks $500. I ended up throwing a $75 Choix Supreme in the trash, it was horrible, and the wrapper cracked in three places. What I really have come to enjoy are the MOFO Trinity Robustos. Shipped out of FL to CA and no hassle. GREAT CIGARS! Bar none one of my all time favorites in 20 years of smoking and 100% consistent. They hit just right for me. What I have come to dislike are Cuban DUDS. If I'm paying that much money for a box every stick should be a 9/10. I literally grab the same cigar from the same box... stored right next to each other and one's a hit and one's a dud. WTF. I'm over it. I'm done buying. I can't even buy a BHK 52 of BHK 54 for my 50th bday because I can't trust it won't be a dud. I refuse to throw my money away. I think I bought 24 different marcas in 9 months. My sample size is pretty big and I've smoked at least 2 of each.

That's astounding, a $75 Choix Supreme!! My first and only box of Choix Supreme came from our host here. A 2010 box, and it was $176usd. I ended up trading half the box away because I thought they tasted like smoking flavorless newspaper. Worst Cuban cigar I ever had, followed by Romeo Y Julieta Cazadores.

[Gamehawker]

14 hours ago, SCgarman said:

Pre Covid 10K could buy you a ton of cigars, 200/ robusto, 275/ Monte2, 150/ PC. 

Today's pricing? Ouch! Not much anymore.

Ditto, me too. 
I am glad that I have over 80 boxes (over 2,000 Cuban cigars) that I bought well before pre Covid and before 2022, “Cigarmageddon”. This should see me out because I am 63 and I only smoke about 4 - 5 cigars per month. 

[Lt4-396]

15 hours ago, SCgarman said:

Pre Covid 10K could buy you a ton of cigars, 200/ robusto, 275/ Monte2, 150/ PC. 

Today's pricing? Ouch! Not much anymore.

Agreed, though I meant the quantity of current cigars, not the cost of them. I truly feel for those just starting out or are at a point that they can begin building inventory. Sadly, it's just not the same hobby anymore.

[BoliDan]

4 hours ago, Lt4-396 said:

Agreed, though I meant the quantity of current cigars, not the cost of them. I truly feel for those just starting out or are at a point that they can begin building inventory. Sadly, it's just not the same hobby anymore.

Yeah, I couldn't imagine trying to build a collection currently. Especially not large enough to age properly.

[Chas.Alpha]

21 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

  

I remember a post some years back, where a relative newbie was trying to decide which double corona suited his fancy. I think he had an Espy, S Winnie, Lusi, Punch DC and an R&J Churchill all going at once! Collective jaw-drop. Y’all were very nice to him, though…😳

[zeedubbya]

Just a small piece of advice to add to this thread. Get a great humidity system and humidor. Spend money on the humidity system. It’s worth the investment. For all the (relative) newbies here, you might wake up one day and realize you have accumulated a small fortune in cigars, but if they are not stored properly you’re going to be very unhappy. I picked mine up from @PigFish 8 years ago and wish I would have sooner.  When the CORO Supremos came out, none of us dreamed ONE would be worth what we paid for the whole box in 2014/15.

*** I’m attaching an “aged stock” snippet from 2008 (a mere 16 years ago), for your consideration (or consternation)…. Mods take down if not allowed, but I do believe it adds to the forum. In 2016, these 2008 prices seemed crazy, in 2024, the 2016 prices seem crazy. In 2030… well, I think you see where this is headed.  

[JV0505]

Looks like I’m gonna closet.