What are Your Buying Habits?

[ironpeddler]

Gard asked a great question about how often we smoke and on average what we spend on cigars a year. This got me thinking.....

What are your buying habits?

Do you buy cigars at a consistent pace and constantly review the market and read CP and other boards checking out what others are smoking and their comments....and buy slowly and try a lot of different brands and sizes over the whole year?

Do you put aside a certain amount of money weekly or monthly from a paycheck?.... or as one CP member said, he puts his overtime money towards his cigar purchases.

Or do you buy in one shot...getting a year end salary bonus or tax refund and treating yourself to 4-5 boxes and various single sticks of cigars you have been reading about over a period of time and had put on a list? Then start trading and getting involved in GBs and buying 5ers from others?

I happen to fall into a different category all together. I buy in spurts when my interest gets re-kindled due to interaction with others. I go to a cigar dinner, cigar event, a Big Smoke, take a vacation to a place where we can buy ISOM sticks, etc...then I get psyched and go off on a buying binge. I jump on the Internet and start reading about what is hot and what others are smoking and start placing orders till I run out of room in my humis.
Example...my 20yo son just started smoking cigars and I joined CP.....bang.....I'm $1,500 in for the last month or so...and I can fit about one more box and 15-20 singles. I smoke almost every day, but I buy in bursts.

At what pace do you guys buy your sticks?

(maybe this has been covered before but I searched and didn't find anything)

 

[KeyserSoze]

First hand experience is key. I do check out reviews from others for feedback but it's all about what 'I' like. I'll either support my local b&m and get some singles or go to my online sources for some I can't find around me. Always good to support your local shops but don't forget the fine members/vendors here that make this place what it is.

I'm usually buying a box or two every month or every other month. It all depends on what's out and what new cigars I've come across. With some of my favorite makers releasing alot of new cigars recently, it's hard to keep up. Alot of new cigars and makers are putting out some nice stuff. I think that's what makes this great hobby/addiction of ours so much fun. Experimenting and meeting some fine gents in the process.

 

[vortex]

My system is really simple - I buy when I seem to have money and sell when I realize the truth.

Steve

 

[grateful1]

This may help to understand...linky!

 

[{tpc}]

My buying habits seem to form arond the same time the losing starts at cp poker....pretty much in the last 5 months I've only bought to cover my losses...ah well...its good entertainment!

 

[Bsneed51]

I only have a 100 ct humidor for a reason. I tend to buy 6-8 cigars whenever I go into my B&M, and I pick up a few 5ers on here from time to time. I only smoke 2 or so cigars a week so I often find myself out of room. When that happens I will begin gifting cigars until I get to a point that I have the room to buy another 6 or so. It's a vicious cycle, but I love it. :laugh:

 

[mmburtch]

I only have 28cuft of humidified space to use, so I have to be cautious.

 

[flamchop]

I went through a long period of buying a handful of singles every week after I got paid. I would try to mix it up a lot and try a lot of smokes I hadn't had before to get a sense of what I liked. I still do that to some extent but after a while I got to know what I really like, so I started getting fivers and deals from websites and through this site.... group buys, etc.

Now that I'm getting a wine fridge set up and have a good idea of the smokes I like, I think it'll be a better idea to just grab boxes here and there. That way it's one payment that will last and it'll let them age as they wait to be smoked.

I still grab some singles from the B&M when I can though. I'm still single, and no kids, so I think it's easier for me to buy at will with nobody to answer to, but I do try not to go crazy, especially since I'm only smoking 1-4 per week.

 

[JayBay]

Generally, I'm an opportunistic buyer; I pull the trigger when a good deal pops up on the internet. Having said that, I do go into my local B&M from time to time and pick up a few singles...usually something I want to try out for the first time, but sometimes a special occasion cigar that I'd never buy in quantity (too expensive to buy a whole box).

 

[chainer]

I buy in spurts when my interest gets re-kindled due to interaction with others.

Aye, this for me as well... I have been buying anything under 10 bucks I've seen people raving about on this site, so I recently dropped ~100 bucks to add a decent amount of sticks to my humidors. Might have to make a small coolidor soon. Thankfully, there are great sources of how to make those here too!

 

[Hot Coffee]

I've tried to get a variety of singles through the B/S/T, NST, and singles/fivers from some websites. I've stopped buying (hopefully) till I can put a dent in what I got. I hope to one day be able to pick up boxes of my favs. I just haven't decided on them yet My goal is to not have a cooler till Im out of college (crosses fingers).

 

[Lightninrod]

Do you buy cigars at a consistent pace and constantly review the market and read CP and other boards checking out what others are smoking and their comments....and buy slowly and try a lot of different brands and sizes over the whole year?


Yes!

 

[cabaiguan juan]

my cigar buying habit can best be explained as a poorly managed diet: I wont buy more then a few singles for a while, and then I'll buy a few boxes or a bunch of fivers, or make some other expensive cigar purchase. Then i realize what I've done, and go back to the self-imposed ban/limit. One day I'm going to have to seak help- professional or otherwise.

 

[cabaiguan juan]

I'm still single, and no kids, so I think it's easier for me to buy at will with nobody to answer to, but I do try not to go crazy, especially since I'm only smoking 1-4 per week.

Dude, now is the time to go Buck-wild! I'm getting married, and now with the 'tranperency' of finances, its only a matter of time before my self-imposed ban looses the 'self' prefix.

 

[puroman]

I spend way too much and smoke too much. Enough said on that.

 

[ashauler]

I used to pretty much buy the "good deals" on the internet for boxes......but there are so many damn good deals that this lead to over-stuffing the cooler......which led to having to play extended games of cooler tetris whenever a shipment arrived. One day the arrival of a shipment and the arrival of the AMEX bill happened at the same time.......the wife opened the bill, then caught me trying to fit the boxes in the cooler.

I now have a new strategy and only buy when I can just open the lid and drop them in......and the AMEX bill comes to my office. :whistling:

edit: Well, that will be my strategy once my not self-imposed ban is lifted.

 

[mysterea]

...my cigar spending habits are way more than my budget allows.. :laugh:

 

[alexgtp]

I spend more than I can afford and physically smoke!

 

[MC2712]

I buy singles most of the time, if I find a great deal on a five pack i'll buy them, but otherwise singles. I buy about 7 to 10 cigars a month. And smoke about 5 to 7 a month.

 

[rectifythis]

I buy when I find good deals on sticks that I know I like. I tend to buy in large quantity in the cooler time of the year as I don't like shipping in 100 plus degrees (Arizona). As for sticks I haven't tried, if one interests me, I'll buy 1-5 and give them a test run.

If it wasn't so friggin hot here, I'd buy that outrageously cheap Graycliff deal at CI right this minute.