Quote:
Originally Posted by larryinlc
As I look around at the various online vendors I use regularly, I see no price changes. Possibly the large mark-up in cigars allows them to absorb the new tax??
Larry
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No. Like someone in an earlier post stated; The tax increase is at the manufacturer level and is in effect on all shipments of cigars imported (or produced as is the case for US based makers such as Don Pepin) into the US on or after April 1. So, several cigar makers are not raising their prices until their current stock is depleted and new shipments arrive from their factories. Others have elected to raise prices on April 1. Others, such as Drew Estate, elected to raise theirs in the middle of March.
So retailers who have inventory on hand at the old price would theoretically continue to offer the old price to their customers UNTIL such a time as they receive new orders that they placed AFTER April 1.
Bottom Line: When we get a shipment in and the invoice reflects a NEW, higher price as a result of SCHIP, we will then adjust our price accordingly... and not before.
Final Note: You will notice prices going up considerably higher than the .40 cents everyone it talking about. A few reasons are added state tobacco taxes, retailer margins (we gotta pay the bills), and PRICE INCREASES THAT ARE NOT A PART OF SCHIP BY SOME CIGAR MAKERS. I won't mention any names here, but one VERY popular cigar maker has also added a price increase on their entire line IN ADDITION to the SCHIP tax.
So you will see a wide range of price increases on different brands. Tatuaje and Esencia are the only two that I know of that have elected to absorb the entire tax increase... at least for this year.