Differences in retailer storage reflected in smoking quality?

[Not A Nice Person]

As many of y'all know, I've been smoking mostly San Cristobal Fabulosos for a LONG time now. Probably well over a decade? And for a number of years, I've been getting them from that Page place.

They ran out.

Turns out the next lowest price available was from Mr. Schwartz, who I usually only turn to for Opus X samplers. Here's the thing: fresh off the truck & out of the box, these are smoking much better than the ones I've been getting in. Noticeably smoother! What do y'all think? Storage issues at my regular supplier or just a one box fluke?

~Boar

 

[CgarDan]

Great question. Let’s see what happens after a month or so in your humi. If they are still better just buy a few more boxes = win win

 

[BurnBerry]

I say yes. I frequent two big name chain stores and one location is guaranteed to always have an off taste no matter which stick it is. After I told the wife I was done with them, Davidoff pulled all their stuff from the location that had underperforming smokes. May have been coincidence, but I feel it is due to a poorly managed humidor.

 

[MaytagMan]

I also wonder about stock turnover. Does the huge volume that the Page does mean they they don't typically sit long enough to truly acclimate and mature a bit where at Jack they have time to marinate for a while?

Maybe when Page gets them back, buy a box and try some ROTT, some at 6 months, some at 12 and some at 18, and see how they compare to Jack's ROTT? Then again, does the price difference make that kind of experimentation worthwhile?

 

[xyz123]

I also wonder about stock turnover. Does the huge volume that the Page does mean they they don't typically sit long enough to truly acclimate and mature a bit where at Jack they have time to marinate for a while?

Maybe when Page gets them back, buy a box and try some ROTT, some at 6 months, some at 12 and some at 18, and see how they compare to Jack's ROTT? Then again, does the price difference make that kind of experimentation worthwhile?

Page has plummeted in quality this year in my opinion. Got a box of moldy Upmann Vintage Cam tubos.. all garbage. Those Cohiba Macassars.. moldy AND fingerprints all over inside box lid.. same finish as a nice acoustic guitar.. shows prints easily. I've gotten boxes where the cello stickers are literally labeled "bulk" or "singles".

I've gotten boxes that have been manufacturer-dated between 2 AND 5 years old. I love a properly aged cigar.. but not from a mass retailer. And I've gotten several boxes with the origin country stickers already sliced open.. and just wrapped in plastic and scotch tape.. no factory-wrap.

Brandshopper owns a ton of crap. I don't buy much from them anymore.

BUT, what I'm mostly upset about is.. I had my own personal "cigar concierge" who setup an email address and direct phone number for me.. I didn't have to call the regular customer service number and the email for them, help@cigarpage.com took forever.. so he set me up with VIP@cigarpage.com and it went right to him with Priority status:



It was great and I got the best customer service ever. Then not too long ago I emailed about the Upmann's.. no reply.. days later I used the regular email and got a reply THREE days later saying he was no longer with the company and could I just use the regular email from now on...

Wtf kinda move is that?? Yeah.. pretty much done with them.. especially since I've been hearing a lot of the same experiences with them lately.

Too bad.. they were kind of a diamond in the rough.. oh well.. back to bed..

 

[CMontoya79]

In my humble opinion. Schwarts gets the primo stock. Page buys mass lots at a discount, likely sight unseen. If the price is a little higher, I’d think that should be worth it if it’s miles apart in quality. I’d say the same holds true for CC’s. Trust your source. Some have slightly higher prices, but the quality of stock is noticeably, significantly, better.

Happy smoking,

C

 

[xyz123]

This ^^^^^^^

 

[xyz123]

In my humble opinion. Schwarts gets the primo stock. Page buys mass lots at a discount, likely sight unseen. If the price is a little higher, I’d think that should be worth it if it’s miles apart in quality. I’d say the same holds true for CC’s. Trust your source. Some have slightly higher prices, but the quality of stock is noticeably, significantly, better.

Happy smoking,

C

Also, at Page, you're dealing with a TON of returned product. Who knows what those sticks have been through after some dipshit or newb gets their hands on them.. and, as always, we always have to remember these are agricultural products. How many people do you think put in a Boveda or something with sticks they're returning? Probably not many.. if at all.

 

[mjolnir01]

I haven't noticed any appreciable difference in Page stock, but I'm a relatively new customer. What I do know however, is their emails are out of control. I seem to get 10 emails from them a day, all super-spammy.

 

[Darin]

I believe it makes a big difference and have always been pleased with my preferred vendor's method of packing and speed of delivery. The sticks that arrive are usually good ROTT.

 

[JoeMO]

I haven't noticed any appreciable difference in Page stock, but I'm a relatively new customer. What I do know however, is their emails are out of control. I seem to get 10 emails from them a day, all super-spammy.

Second time/thread someone has mentioned this. It was pissing me off so I went to unsubscribe and was given the option of one email a day somewhere in that process.

 

[kann]

Page was always my preferred online vendor. The only online place that I ever had routine issues with the products was CI. Well, we won't mention the "T" place; that is just sort of an understood given, IMHO.

That said, I've always really been at the mercy of whoever ships to A/D/FPO, so I'm not even sure if I ever tried anything from JS.

 

[xyz123]

Second time/thread someone has mentioned this. It was pissing me off so I went to unsubscribe and was given the option of one email a day somewhere in that process.

That must be new. I unsubscribed.. to only resubscribe a few weeks later. I always wished they had the option to manage emails from them. Thanks for the tip Joe!

 

[Not A Nice Person]

I also wonder about stock turnover. Does the huge volume that the Page does mean they they don't typically sit long enough to truly acclimate and mature a bit where at Jack they have time to marinate for a while?

Maybe when Page gets them back, buy a box and try some ROTT, some at 6 months, some at 12 and some at 18, and see how they compare to Jack's ROTT? Then again, does the price difference make that kind of experimentation worthwhile?

Oh, man, NO cigar ever sits in my humidor THAT long!

I mean, it's a great idea. Like a double blind experiment. But I generally go through about 1-2 boxes of Fabulosos a month; month in, month out. I usually have a couple fivers of other cigars tossed in with the box purchase but I don't have the space to stock up like that.

What I might do once the Page gets them back in is order one box from them & one from Jack so I can do a head-to-head comparison.

~Boar

 

[Not A Nice Person]

That must be new. I unsubscribed.. to only resubscribe a few weeks later. I always wished they had the option to manage emails from them. Thanks for the tip Joe!

I have to unsubscribe from their email list after every order. EVERY time.

It's just habit now. Order a box, get 2-3 spam emails within minutes of my order confirmation email, hit unsubscribe on one of 'em. SMH.

~Boar

 

[xyz123]

I have to unsubscribe from their email list after every order. EVERY time.

It's just habit now. Order a box, get 2-3 spam emails within minutes of my order confirmation email, hit unsubscribe on one of 'em. SMH.

~Boar

Yeah.. I can only hold out for so long though.. all I think about is... what if they have a huge Illusione closeout or something.. sure as shit, they just had one the other day.. and I got some good deals I would have missed.

I think they've been working with the cartels to put fentanyl into their emails somehow.. I'm definitely hooked.. and I start jonesin' when I unsubscribe!

 

[MaytagMan]

That must be new. I unsubscribed.. to only resubscribe a few weeks later. I always wished they had the option to manage emails from them. Thanks for the tip Joe!

Yeah I feel like by the time I check on most specials, they are expired anyway lol. I don't buy much from them, but am always checking prices to get a feel for things when I shop around nowadays.