Cigars becoming like baseball cards?

[TripleF]

I remember when Topps, Bowman and Donruss were the main baseball card companies. Then came Upper Deck. Then Skybox. The Fleer Ultra. Then blah, blah.

Then there were subsets. Then subsets of the subsets. Then "one of's". Then game used jerseys. And so on.

The cigar industry is reminding me of the same thing. It's not just having a box of, let's say Fuente's, it's having an Anejos, or better yet a cameroon wrapped Anejo.

Your thoughts?



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[kelmac07]

Oh yes!! The days of hunting inserts...now it has turned into hunting sticks.

It's madness I tell ya!!

[The Poet]

One difference I see - with baseball cards, you buy a pack in the hope that it might have that "limited edition hologram platinum signed rookie throwback contest winning" card inside, thus giving you a windfall as well as as a delighting treat. With cigars, they don't toss these primos into random boxes of the "regular" line, and instead expect you to pony up for a stick they tell you is "special", but which may totally suck.

[KenyanSandBoa]

Originally Posted by The Poet

One difference I see - with baseball cards, you buy a pack in the hope that it might have that "limited edition hologram platinum signed rookie throwback contest winning" card inside, thus giving you a windfall as well as as a delighting treat. With cigars, they don't toss these primos into random boxes of the "regular" line, and instead expect you to pony up for a stick they tell you is "special", but which may totally suck.

And to be honest, it's pretty rare that I can justify spending so much more on a "special edition" versus the regular line. Perfect example for me is Tatuaje...I LOVE my Tats, but I won't shell out a ton of money to get my hands on the next special edition that could be near impossible to find, and when it's found, near impossible to afford.

I see it this way...when I was collecting baseball cards, I abandoned all of the sub-sets and just stuck with what I loved...I'll do the same for my cigars.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by The Poet

One difference I see - with baseball cards, you buy a pack in the hope that it might have that "limited edition hologram platinum signed rookie throwback contest winning" card inside, thus giving you a windfall as well as as a delighting treat. With cigars, they don't toss these primos into random boxes of the "regular" line, and instead expect you to pony up for a stick they tell you is "special", but which may totally suck.

I heard that Pete Johnson was going to randomly toss one uber-rare, solid gold, transforming into a motorcycle, talking, painted, tattooed cigar made from twenty-three different tobaccos into 3.1415 regular production boxes of cigars each year.

But then some jerk on the w00t.com forum whined about legalities and so he couldn't.

[Buena Fortuna]

Originally Posted by TripleF

I remember when Topps, Bowman and Donruss were the main baseball card companies. Then came Upper Deck. Then Skybox. The Fleer Ultra. Then blah, blah.

Then there were subsets. Then subsets of the subsets. Then "one of's". Then game used jerseys. And so on.

The cigar industry is reminding me of the same thing. It's not just having a box of, let's say Fuente's, it's having an Anejos, or better yet a cameroon wrapped Anejo.

Your thoughts?

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Agree...

I used to try to stay out front of new releases, chasing the sticks to be one of the first to smoke them and offer my opinion to those who hadn't tried one yet. I soon found out that good, quality, consistent cigars are few and far between. I've stopped buying the hype completely, don't care anymore. Most cigars are rolled in the same factories, by the same people, with tobacco from the same fields. Everything beyond that is just marketing...

[Bax]

I only hunt for cigars with an RG too large to fit in my mouth. I bet those will be worth something in a few years

[MajorCaptSilly]

Good analogy. Rocky Patel is definitely the Upper Deck of cigar manufacturers. Now I'm off to put some coronas in my bike spokes.

MCS

[TripleF]

Originally Posted by MajorCaptSilly

Good analogy. Rocky Patel is definitely the Upper Deck of cigar manufacturers. Now I'm off to put some coronas in my bike spokes.

MCS

[JJG]

I blame Fuente, since it seems they started the whole idea of ultra rare, one-of-kind footballs and culebras with stripes and polka dots, etc...

Not everybody does it, but certain cigar makers have certainly followed suit and embraced the whole idea of collectible limited runs with great success, (like Tatuaje). Regardless of whether or not you agree with it, limited editions seem to generate tons of publicity and excitement among cigar nuts like ourselves.

[neoflex]

Originally Posted by JJG

limited editions seem to generate tons of publicity and excitement among cigar nuts like ourselves.

We love to ***** about them but we all scour the ends of the earth hunting them down. We are a nutty bunch.

[T.G]

Ya know, I was just wondering why the box of cigars I bought the other day came with a stick of stale bubble gum in it....

[cort]

Now I just gotta get a new Beckett to see what my stash is worth

Originally Posted by Cort

Now I just gotta get a new Beckett to see what my stash is worth

It's called cigarcyclopedia.org!!!

[cort]

Originally Posted by whodeeni

It's called cigarcyclopedia.org!!!

touche'

[muhren]

I like the concept of this thread! I couldn't agree more. We even have TRADES just like baseball cards. I'll give you five of these, for 2 of those and three of that. Hilarious and TRUE analogy.

[JJG]

I was about to say, "I buy to smoke. period" and then I realized that there are a handful cigars in my collection I bought just because they are limited and I don't really have any plans to smoke them, like my Opus Sharks.

lol, how funny is it that even though I'm opposed to the idea of collectible cigars, I'm just as guilty of buying and stashing them just because they look cool in the humi.

[E.J.]

Perfect analogy....

Originally Posted by JJG

I was about to say, "I buy to smoke. period" and then I realized that there are a handful cigars in my collection I bought just because they are limited and I don't really have any plans to smoke them, like my Opus Sharks.

lol, how funny is it that even though I'm opposed to the idea of collectible cigars, I'm just as guilty of buying and stashing them just because they look cool in the humi.

A little off topic, but I had a cigar bet with a colleague( "a good cigar") and paid off with a opus & anejo shark... Told him it was a shark attack.... He is a regular smoker(pipe and cigar, paid his last loss with a Opus Double Corona).... Fairly confident he had no idea WTF I was talking about....(not that there is anything wrong with that)

I still buy to smoke, though admittedly have a hard time smoking some stuff... Not that I have super rare stuff, but things like T110's & Opus Sharks have been bombed from my humi....but I have not smoked either....

[sjnovakovich]

I agree with the original post. That's why I stick to the gars that were around when I started in the 70's. Pretty much stick to the Fuente stock brands, Partags, Montecristo.

[SaltyMcGee]

So, which brand would be the Garbage Pail Kids? Gurkha?