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Cigarbid

Les Nessman

Les Nessman

New Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
112
Location
Knoxville TN
So how do they do it? Seems like there are often good deals to be made there. Often, 1/3 less than the best online pricing.

Just curious.
 
I assume the profit margin on cigars is still pretty good, despite discount prices. I think C-bid is owned by Cigars International, so they must buy in massive bulk to further lower their wholesale price. Usually, an auction ends at a high to average cost, but a few end pretty low. The low ones are what catches people's attention and drive more traffic to the site. If they're losing anything on those low cost deals, you could just see it as marketing costs, because they'll make it all back from the hundreds of other auctioneers hooked in by that one sweet deal.
 
The way they do it is morons who go there and pay 2-3x msrp for relatively harder to find cigars like Opus.
 
C-Bid is the cheapest way to go broke..

Good customer service though.. I had a PAM 64 torp sent to me with a cracked foot and they told me to keep it and sent me a new one...

very nice of them :)
 
Their cigars always seem to me like they have less age on them than ones you would buy from a B&M. I would venture to say that the factories send them out earlier to cbid. Just speculation though.
 
I checked out Cigarbid today for the first time, but am disappointed ot discover that they don't ship internationally. There are a number of sampler packs and singles I'd love to try that aren't available at the local B&M. I guess I'll have to deal with the current selection I have and hope there are some nice options when I travel.
 
I checked out Cigarbid today for the first time, but am disappointed ot discover that they don't ship internationally. There are a number of sampler packs and singles I'd love to try that aren't available at the local B&M. I guess I'll have to deal with the current selection I have and hope there are some nice options when I travel.
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It's a blessing disguise!! you're not missing out on much.
 
Dios de Fuego said:
I checked out Cigarbid today for the first time, but am disappointed ot discover that they don't ship internationally. There are a number of sampler packs and singles I'd love to try that aren't available at the local B&M. I guess I'll have to deal with the current selection I have and hope there are some nice options when I travel.
Click to expand...

It's a blessing disguise!! you're not missing out on much.
Click to expand...

I know I have a decent amount of restraint when it comes to cigars. I know, I know... blasphemy! But seriously, I can get away with buying some singles or samplers. My wife doesn't know an ISOM from a dog rocket. I can hide the small purchases if needs be. I only have one humidor, and that's my limiting factor. I can't hide a second unit :)
 
trogdor | the burninator said:
I assume the profit margin on cigars is still pretty good, despite discount prices. I think C-bid is owned by Cigars International, so they must buy in massive bulk to further lower their wholesale price. Usually, an auction ends at a high to average cost, but a few end pretty low. The low ones are what catches people's attention and drive more traffic to the site. If they're losing anything on those low cost deals, you could just see it as marketing costs, because they'll make it all back from the hundreds of other auctioneers hooked in by that one sweet deal.
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Markup on almost all cigars is 100%, so cost is half of msrp.

Just watch for the good deals and they won't make much money on you. I got a box of cabaiguan imperiales for like $1 over cost, shipping included.
 
Shamrocker said:
I checked out Cigarbid today for the first time, but am disappointed ot discover that they don't ship internationally. There are a number of sampler packs and singles I'd love to try that aren't available at the local B&M. I guess I'll have to deal with the current selection I have and hope there are some nice options when I travel.
Click to expand...
Or find someone you trust in the states and get them a little sometime to cover the cost of having to mail it on to you? Keyword trust.
 
CigarBid is run by the same guys behind Cigars International, and Cigar Auctioneer is the same with Famous Smoke Shop.

Although I have yet to win any auctions on either sites, the savings one can achieve are phenomenal compared with just straight-up buying from online vendors. And that's without saying anything about how much you save off B&M prices.

I do, however, keep a spreadsheet of various items of note to see how much they go for; hopefully this will come in handy soon. :)
 
leasingthisspace said:
Shamrocker said:
I checked out Cigarbid today for the first time, but am disappointed ot discover that they don't ship internationally. There are a number of sampler packs and singles I'd love to try that aren't available at the local B&M. I guess I'll have to deal with the current selection I have and hope there are some nice options when I travel.
Click to expand...
Or find someone you trust in the states and get them a little sometime to cover the cost of having to mail it on to you? Keyword trust.
Click to expand...

The thought of that option had crossed my mind. I'd like to be at that point sometime, but I'm still new here and don't expect CP members to instantly volunteer for that. And like you said, keyword is trust... must be a mutual thing.
 
While it's true some pay very high for rare smokes and some sell very low, quite a few sell at a tidy profit. Mostly good cigars that are always in demand. Torano, CAO, DPG, LGC SR, Fuente, etc. Add to that a MSRP mark-up of at least 100% and you can see how the low profit sales are easily offset.

trogdor also has a point. The "Walmart" effect no doubt plays in their favor. Cbid is allowed to do what most manufacturers don't allow regular B&Ms to do. Just ask the folks at Outlaw what happens when they tried to discount Padrons past a certain point. Of course, Padron is one of the "rare" brands that do get bid up. But you get my point. The "don't blow them out at steep discount" rule doesn't apply to them.
 
Shamrocker said:
I checked out Cigarbid today for the first time, but am disappointed ot discover that they don't ship internationally. There are a number of sampler packs and singles I'd love to try that aren't available at the local B&M. I guess I'll have to deal with the current selection I have and hope there are some nice options when I travel.
Click to expand...


What does the I in CI stand for then? :rolleyes:

Stick around bro, you may just find someone willing to help you out after a while.
 
I have picked up several good deals on CigarBid, but at the same time I have seen several items go higher that what they are being sold for on CI. You just have to watch it and exercise a lot of self control.
 
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