What Joe Cigar won't tell you, and how to fight it

[BlackIrish]

Thanks for the thought-provoking post. Here's my $0.02.

1. JoeCigar describes its offerings in glowing terms, even when they don't deserve it. But every vendor does this (take a look at Famous, Holts, JR), and that's why we spend so much time reviewing cigars -- to provide an independent perspective.

2. The prices on JoeCigar's deals often are not much better than the box price divided by two. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, as others have noted. There are times you want to try 10 before committing to a box, and less-than-box quantities typically cost more, on a unit basis, than a box does. To get 5 or 10 sticks at the same per-cigar price you'd pay if you bought a box can be a good deal.

3. Even so, JoeCigar prices aren't always a great deal. There are other vendors that offer better prices on a regular basis, which is why it's critical to do your research homework, using tools like CigarCyclopedia's comparison shopper. It's not uncommon to be able to buy two 5pks of a cigar from Atlantic Cigar, for instance, for about the same price as you can buy the JoeCigar deal.

4. JoeCigar and CI do ship quite wet, as virtually everyone else has observed, but we expect that. I always put my purchases in a humi for at least 30 days to stabilize. But I do that with everything I order over the internet.

5. I don't have enough evidence to conclude that the cigars offered on JoeCigar are of lower quality. There's enough variation in handmade premiums that it's hard to draw any conclusions without a much more controlled comparison. Maybe I'm too big a science geek, but before I'd make any conclusion, I'd want to compare a cigar from JoeCigar with the same cigar from another vendor and from a B&M, all stored in my humidor for a decent amount of time (3mos?). And then I'd want to do that repeatedly, to try to control for the inevitable inconsistency between cigars even in the same box. It would be an interesting experiment, but I don't have the patience to do it.

My approach: be an educated and critical consumer. Expect that the descriptions on JoeCigar are hype. Expect that JoeCigar is offering sticks that are moving slowly. Expect that they'll be shipped wet. Read reviews, shop around, and compare prices before clicking the buy button.

Being a critical consumer means that I take everything a vendor says with skepticism, because that's the way the marketplace works. But it doesn't mean that I'm quick to conclude that a vendor is acting in bad faith or engaging in unethical conduct. I've bought subpar cigars from CI and sent them back, without hassle, simply because I didn't like how they tasted or were constructed. My experience with their customer service has generally been good, and that experience leads me to believe that they engage in hype and puffery but don't cross the line into deception or unethical practices.

Nevertheless, I think your post is thoughtful and a valuable contribution to our discussion here.

Have a new year full of delicious smokes.

BlackIrish

[Silound]

Unfortunately, CI lost my business for a while after a botched shipment of a 5opk of GoF's. The box came in terrible shape, and CI wouldn't make good on shipping damage on "top end" sticks, even when UPS wouldn't do anything.

I expect, at the very least, that they could take it up with UPS about shipping and simply make good to me, or tell me they would "work on it", but instead I was told flat out, no.


Ahh well, I have enough cigars right now, I don't need more.

[Drazzil]

I cant believe CI would do that, that sounds like an issue to take up with the Supervisor or the manager, and barring that, with your credit card company to reverse the charges.

[Ahbroody]

Like I said. Are all deals good? No
As I said if Joe gave away he farm everyday there would be no farm after a short while. His style and tactics are business 101. He is in business to make money after all. You are basically chastising him for being a good business man and providing great deals on some items and average to no deal on others. You do realize this is a capatilist economy right? This tactic is employed by every business that sells. They have loss leaders, bait items and profit making items. This is the basic model of almost every large volume seller. It is YOUR job as the consumer to determine what to buy and what not to buy.

Some of the deals are just box splits with free shipping. That said for many people in most states it is still a good deal based on retail and allows a person a way to try a cigar they may have been on the fence about. I have used this to trya few sticks at a good price without being taxed or paying shipping. Also if you see something else you want it allows you to avoid shipping and tax. Tax is a killer here in Cali and no one likes to pay shipping. Also the three deals offered at checkout are often pretty good as well.

Guess you cant see it, but the deal I listed is not seven months old, its from yesterday. I bought it yesterday as well and its still valid right now. 12 pepins for 30.00 including 2x CC, JJ, and JJ M, blue label, 5 vegas, and the CI blend. Retail on this is well beyond this.

I didnt cherry pick. I posted deals that I have purchased. I dont even check joe on a daily basis for the daily deal. I can post 15+ deals over the past year that are exactly the same or even better as the ones I posted. I still remeber getting 16 or more 601s for 49.99 earlier this year.

So as I said is every deal a barn burner? no.
As the consumer it is your responsibility to usedue diligence and determine what is and isnt. If you are expecting a businessman to not engaging in huffing when he is trying to sell product I dont know what to tell you.

I have done splits with people who have smoked box loads of pepins. While we all agree they are wet on arrive and usually need months to come around, they are not complaining about taste or quality.

To each his own brother. You think joes shady and want to blast him. I think Joe is a great businessman and has some pretty good deals on a monthly basis. I do my research and buy smart and have always been satisfied with the product and price.

[Cigarcop]

All I gotta say is...Hurry up.... CAO Gold Maduro Robusto
10 Cigars (52% savings!) $29.99...Get em while they last

[Ratters]

Eh, I've gotten some pretty good deals off joe. Sure, they come around every couple weeks, but I'm not looking to buy cigars every day anyhow.

[Ratters]

I bit twice this week, 10 Man O War for $30 and 10 DPG Cuban Classics for $32. Not bad in my book. But now no more cigar shopping.

[Bruzee]

I wait for Joe to offer my RP 1990s at $29.99 for 10 + free shipping. $2.99/ea; never seen them at that price, anywhere! But some very valid points made on your original post. Its a business, and they are very sucessful for a reason.

[MedicCook]

Just an FYI, Joe Cigar is dancing today.

I don't visit that site often(at all) like maybe half a dozen times total.

But EVERY time I have been on there they have been selling ghurkas. I see that creepy little ghurka troll playing with his knife and immediately bounce. Its like some kind of cosmic joke. I'm going to start calling it joeghurka.

Yeah I noticed that CI only takes a few cents off the actually cost of the Manufacture. Like God Of Fire. Nearly the same price.

[deschete]

I have to admit that none of my Joe buys were ready to smoke without sitting in the humidor for an extended period of time. I've stopped buying them.

The last straw was the 601 Red deal that has been mentioned in here... they are just not as good as the ones I bought at the B&M. Several friends here bit no that deal too and without me prompting them have asked me if I felt the cigars were up to snuff. I think they will be after sitting for a while, but who knows for sure?

[Starscream]

Does this thread validate Legend's argument?

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by andysutherland

Does this thread validate Legend's argument?

You see wrapper color variation in every box, with some more and some less. Padron 64 boxes at B&M near me have no two cigars with same shade wrapper. What does this prove one way or another?

As for "green" cigars sold by CBid, why a surprise. Why store (age) them when it increases your cost all around and the sale price as well? You buy them cheaper, you age them, sounds fine by me. And I age everything I buy for at least a year, anyway.

Originally Posted by andysutherland

Does this thread validate Legend's argument?

Obviously not when I said it reaction was you're crazy. Liabelous. Conspiracy theory tin foil hat wearing fool.
For this guy. RG. RG. RG. Genious.

But point 1 was exactly what I said.

I don't mean to necropost 10 days down the line here, but I wanted to put my 2 cents in. I've ordered Joe's a couple of times before and had no problems.

I also have both Joe's and Monster on a RSS feed on my Yahoo homepage. Every time I open Firefox, I see the current deals. Then again, I work nights and am finishing my day off around 3am, so I get to see the good deals.

Use a RSS feed, that way you get to see updated info without clicking over only when you remember to go to their sites.

-C

[rizzle]

Please make it go away....

[jaymz]

Originally Posted by TheVitaleMob

Use a RSS feed, that way you get to see updated info without clicking over only when you remember to go to their sites.

RSS feeds are an excellent way to monitor the deals, another way is to use the Speed Dial firefox plugin. Here's a screenshot of my homepage in firefox:





You can add as many columns and rows as you want.

Great post! Thanks for the heads up.

[kaelaria]

I have never had a bad experience with them through any of the online outlets. I've bougnt deals and regular purchases - some to supplement my normal stock. I've seen no difference after a settling period, which is true of any I get in.