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

[Drazzil]

1. "I move factory disgarded batches" and "My stuff is shipped green"

Sadly, a lot of the big names that appear on Joe (even the good deals) are most likely bad batches of an existing name. A good example of this was the 601 red deal that I bought four of. They were greener then hell and for a year and a half unsmokable. I gave a few out to friends, and tried one myself... They love em, but having smoked other 601 Reds I can tell you, that there is still something slightly off about em. Great smokes, just not like regular 601's. Even when they aren't "disguards" they are shipped still reeking of ammonia.

2. "I pile it high and deep" or "I sell indifferent product and call it the second coming"

Joe is a master at picking up off brands and stuff that doesent quite meet the muster of distinguishing afficianados (Gurkha... I'm looking at you!) And selling it as if its "mana from heaven".

Sadly I can tell you exactly why they do this. As evidenced by the continued existance of places like Thompson and Swisher Sweet, most cigar smokers couldnt tell the difference between a ten year old Monticristo and a three month old Creamosa.

3. "Most of my deals, are just the box price, divided by two"

Yes it's true folks. Most of the ten pack "deals" seen on Joe are just the regular box price, divided in two with free shipping tacked on.

Take Joe's deal today for example: La Gloria Cubana Wavells



http://img.cigarsinternational.com/p/350/misc/jc-081230.jpg

It's 2-Fer Tuesday! Rather than run with the usual super-premium discount goodness, Joe's letting you double-dip on extra-enjoyable savings! Let's get right to it, shall well? Here begins the madness....

This feisty number is crafted in the legendary El Credito factory and blended by cigar-master Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. World renown for its full-flavored and full-bodied character, La Gloria Cubana employs a robust mixture of aged Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers inside a tasty Ecuadorian wrapper. The result is a rich, satisfying cigar of the highest caliber, with hearty undertones and a long-lasting finish. La Gloria Cubana Wavells for just $2.50 apiece? You betcha!

Folks, let's cut right to the chase here. This is an absolutely insane price for La Gloria Cubana. If you're a fan of bold and flavorful cigars, you'd be crazy to deny Joe today.

What they dont tell you is that all they are giving you is a hair off their regular price.. Bear with me for a few seconds for some very simple calculations:

Take Joe Cigars per stick price, you can obtain this by dividing the number of sticks by the end price. In the case of todays Joe, you have 20 sticks, so, divide the price by the number of sticks, and you get the final price of $2.50 a stick. Now, go to Cigars International's website and look up their non sales price. It's $63.95 for a box of twenty five, with box, minus shipping. You get yourself a final price per stick of 2.558 or $2.56 a cigar.

Now, heres the part where it gets intresting.

Divide 2.558 by 2.50. You get a cost savings of only 2.32 percent. Thats around five cents a stick, for giving up a box. Now, I didn't figure in the shipping because honestly, you can find free shipping pretty easily with a lot of the codes floating around, that shouldn't be a factor.

Eye opening no?

4. "I'm not as good as I used to be"

A lot of the smoking hot deals you used to see on Joe arent there. In other words, you'll see a lot more coal before you see any diamonds.

5. "Most of the good deals you wont even see"

This is the one that pisses me off the most.

CI runs most if not ALL of their good Jambalaya deals either in the middle of the night or around 6 in the morning West Coast time.

As a marketing major I can tell you precisely why they do this. This is the time when most people are either still Asleep (West Coast) or just commuted in from work. They dont want people actually seeing this deal and acting on it... They DO want people to hear about it the next day. In other words, positive word of mouth without the need to actually pay much to generate it

Inmate 1: "Dude did you hear about the smokin deal on Joe today?"

Inmate 2: "No I gotta check on Joe more often!"

And thus the cycle continues.

This, more then anything else makes me madder then hell.

Now, I'm not suggesting anyone boycott Joe, as greedy scheming bastard that he is, and as many times as I've been caught by the hype I can say that Joe is still good for the occasional fair shake. But there are three things you can do to keep Joe's hands out of your pockets unless it is a genuine good deal.

1. Unsure about a smoke? Search the forums and Ask about before you pull the trigger.

This has saved me a lot of money on the long run, and kept me from pulling the trigger on some truly awful turds.

2. Divide the cost of a box by two, then see if that ten pack is such a good deal.

Take todays deal for example

Use any garden variety calculator or calculator program. Often times unless this is really a smoke you wanted to try, you find your urge to pull the trigger waning as you find that you can get a box for twice the Joe price, sometimes even less.

3. Wait an hour and stew. Unless this is a genuine smokin deal, waiting an hour wont hurt anything, and will give you the time to really think your purchase through. Oftentimes you find yourself saying "Nahhhh, I dont really need this. Wait an hour and stew.

[houdini]

Great post! RG coming...Thanks...H

[GWags]

Wow - much appreciated info !

[Emjaysmash]

Great post! RG coming...Thanks...H

:tpd:

[elderboy02]

Great post! RG coming...Thanks...H

+1. :tu

[neoflex]

It's funny, I always wondered if the sticks I have purchased from Joe were up to snuff with the regular production lines or if it was just me who thought they were a bit off. I think Tobii and and few others and I discussed this at a herf once too so at least I know I was not in the boat alone. Good to see there are others who feel the same. The pricing aspect is also another reason why I do not always find myself jumping on the deal of the day simply because if you do the math your not really catching much of a break at all unless you are looking for the convenience of not buying a whole box.
Great job bringing the subject to the forefront!:tu

[SmokinApe]

The DPG Blue's (Toro) that Joe has up there are not the same as ones you get from the box. I've posted this quite a bit and was told I was crazy but they ain't the same.... They were either too young, too wet or a different blend...

[Coz77]

Great post! RG coming...Thanks...H


:tpd:Great post!

[GKitty]

Excellent information, Drazz!!!

In all my inexperience, I would have never considered some of the points you made. Thanks for the head's up, brother!

[UPHOTO]

The DPG Blue's (Toro) that Joe has up there are not the same as ones you get from the box. I've posted this quite a bit and was told I was crazy but they ain't the same.... They were either too young, too wet or a different blend...

:tpd:

Between the ones I got from Joe, older blues from shops and then the NEW blue's.......

It's all over the place.

[robertw1249]

great post thanks for the info ill have to watch it if i order any thing from them

[hotreds]

Yupper- very good info! Glad I've never bitten on any of his "deals!"

[dunng]

Thanks for the pointers! I always let Joe's sit... that is if I ever actually pull the trigger! :ss

[j-easy]

good post, in my month of noobness i have yet to jump on a joe deal yet. just haven't seen anything that really appealed to me. ive bought there weekly deal once (5 vegas sampler) and ive bought the olivia 6pk sampler from cigarmonster, everything else has been cbid, it does seem like the better deals are to be had on jambalaya during weird 4am times.

[alley00p]

Excellent info in this post! :tu So far, I've never been tempted by Joe into one of his deals, thank God!

Another place you have to look is when you are checking out of CI with a purchase of some sort; So far, every deal they have offered me after putting the CC # in, is overpriced in the same manner as Joe's deals. :fl



:dance::dance::dance:

[GrtndpwrflOZ]

Who's Joe?

[neoflex]

Who's Joe?

www.joecigar.com

[Pat1075]

Thanks for the info I totally agree I always thought there was something fishy about those 601's when I got them and the pepins when they landed. This just confirms it.

[BDC]

Who's Joe?

:r

[dannysguitar]

This is interesting. The Blues I got from Joe were all great IMO. Maybe I'm a little too anti-conspiracy theory to buy into this :2....

[D_A]

This is interesting. The Blues I got from Joe were all great IMO. Maybe I'm a little too anti-conspiracy theory to buy into this :2....

:tpd: I agree with the majority of the points made, and it has been a very long time since I've bitten on a Joe deal. I find it hard to believe that Eddie, Erik, or Pepin would let discards leave the factory though. Everything I've ever gotten out of the CI warehouse, whether from Joe, normal CI orders, cigar.com, or cigarbid has been shipped extremely wet, but once brought down to 65% or so has been fine.

[Lucky_Hippo]

:tpd: I agree with the majority of the points made, and it has been a very long time since I've bitten on a Joe deal. I find it hard to believe that Eddie, Erik, or Pepin would let discards leave the factory though. Everything I've ever gotten out of the CI warehouse, whether from Joe, normal CI orders, cigar.com, or cigarbid has been shipped extremely wet, but once brought down to 65% or so has been fine.

:tpd: Without a source verifying that Joe's smokes are actually "bad batches of an existing name" I really can't agree. I do however agree they are shipped too wet for my personal taste. I just let them hang out in the humi for a week or two and they smoke fine. I have to do the same for the cigars I pick up from the local B&M so it's not a big deal for me.

[Drazzil]

It's funny you should menton that. I think I overheard someone complaining about a batch of 601 Reds, and believe hearing Pete Johnson say "From CI?"

Now I still have the 601's I got a year and a half ago from Joe Cigar, because right out of the box they tasted like ass. I recently tried another two, and they are indeed okay smokes now, my friends seem to rave about them, HOWEVER I think the 601 reds I get from the cigar shop are a lot smoother.

So, I draw my conclusions from that.

[Drazzil]

One last thing I wanted to post on this subject is this:

Cigars International has a money back gurantee. Dont be afraid to send that sh-t back to the foul besmirched bunghole from which it came. If you call and complain, not only will they refund your money, they will pay for the shipping. If you get fooled by Joe or CI and dont like something, send it back.

I've started doing this myself and I've saved lots of money that I would otherwise have lost to Joe or another cigar company. If the cigar is bad, dont be afraid to tell CI or Holts or Famous about it.

Dont just hang onto em for years like I did, letting em clog up the humidor until you finally decide to gift them to neighbors or friends who won't know the difference.

[auburnfan1980]

I've never had anything but great experiences from the CI staff and their customer service is excellent. I'm not sure what your motivation is to post this nor how you can be so sure that they're selling sub-par product, if not factory seconds. Hope you've never purchased anything on CigarBid, cause that's CI, too. No matter if you think Joe's prices are a rip-off or not, the fact of the matter is, you'll never find a cheaper price on the cigars he's selling when comparing apples to apples. Ever. Just thought I'd add my :2 during the Joecigar.com bashing session.

Jason

[longknocker]

:tpd: I agree with the majority of the points made, and it has been a very long time since I've bitten on a Joe deal. I find it hard to believe that Eddie, Erik, or Pepin would let discards leave the factory though. Everything I've ever gotten out of the CI warehouse, whether from Joe, normal CI orders, cigar.com, or cigarbid has been shipped extremely wet, but once brought down to 65% or so has been fine.

I agree!:tu I buy 90% of my smokes from CI and have never had a problem. I do let my sticks rest at least a month before smoking, though. Thanks for the advice & heads up!:)

[Drazzil]

I am not really bashing Joe, just pointing out a few opinions I have on some of the sales tactics that he has. Dont get me wrong, I love me some Joe. As pissed as I get at Joe, I still love him like a brother... I just hide the silverware and lock up the small valuable things whenever he comes over.

[Paint]

Thanks for the post bro,something to keep in the back of my mind when and if i go through Joe!

[Drazzil]

I love that avatar man. I've always been a fan of monopoly.

[sikk50]

Good read, very eye opening

[stitch]

I NEVER order from CI ... They are the King of Sh@# Sticks IMHO :cb

[taltos]

I will agree that much of what Joe and CI ship needs to dry out for a while before smoking but I will not accept that they are selling seconds or rejects as first quality smokes. CI is too large a vendor and has too much to lose if these points were ever proven. I remember when as a group we were much more careful about calling out a vendor in a manner such as the first post.

[tobii3]

...I think Tobii and and few others and I discussed this at a herf once too so at least I know I was not in the boat alone. Good to see there are others who feel the same....

AMEN BRUDDA!!!!

I have bought many MANY of the Joe deals....and I'll be damned if there wasn't something fishy going on....we talked about this for a while, even pulling sticks out and comparing them to a stick fresh out of a box.....maybe it's a conspiracy...I don't know...but what I do know....

Between the Torano and JdNA sticks most recently, BOTH were FLAT.....the Toranos didn't even look similar....scary thought really.....but my JdNA's were baffling.....I'm a big face melter fan...and JdNA's don't go on sale very often..when they do, you jump.....these Consuls were duds....not that you can complain from Iraq, but they were a a FAR cry from the ones I had on hand when I deployed.....

[Asher]

1. "I move factory disgarded batches" and "My stuff is shipped green"

Sadly, a lot of the big names that appear on Joe (even the good deals) are most likely bad batches of an existing name.

Just my :2, but unless you have some facts to back this up, it's not cool to slam a vendor (and the manufacturers supplying these cigars) with an accusation like this. Some of the joecigar's deals are good, some aren't, and handmade premium cigars will never be completely consistent. To claim that CI, DPG, and others would compromise their reputations by selling second-quality products as "firsts" requires solid evidence, not just an anecdotal report of one box of cigars tasting different than another box.

[smokinj]

Very interesting post:tu

[Cigary]

I don't feel you are bashing Joe at all. I have found while doing the math that you are right and instead of buying a box I can get the 10 for less sometimes. That happened to me with some Gurkha Titans and I always compare pricing from boxes all the way down to singles and then see if a sale is really a sale. As far as having a cigar order that didn't taste like it is supposed to, I haven't had a problem with CI.

[okieRob]

Thanks for the tip. I'm enough of a noob that I would have thought I didn't care for the brand I ordered rather than suspecting what you have pointed out.

- Rob

[weak_link]

I don't order from the joe deals very often but I've had pretty good luck, no complaints from me.

[SmokinApe]

"To claim that CI, DPG, and others would compromise their reputations by selling second-quality products as "firsts" requires solid evidence, not just an anecdotal report of one box of cigars tasting different than another box."

All I am saying is that when the DPG cigars that get sold on joe come in unsorted bundles, some coal black others light tan. I do believe that when the boxes are sorted the leftover gets celo'd & bundled and sent to the bulk discount retailers... all businesses work this way, why would cigars be different? I have bought numerous boxes of DPG JJ natural and maduro, blues and blacks... I have also bought all of these brands multiple times from joe, they have been different... flaky and papery wrappers, goofy coloring, too spicy, not spicy enough etc... I am not saying they are bad or not worth it, but they are different some of the time...

[bilkay]

This is interesting. The Blues I got from Joe were all great IMO. Maybe I'm a little too anti-conspiracy theory to buy into this :2....

I've bought several of the Pepin deals from CI. I've also bought a lot of boxes of Pepin cigars. Um, same smokes.

[ChasDen]

:r :r :r

http://www.shiptonblog.com/uploaded_images/tinfoilhat-755294.jpg

Happy New Year !

Chas

[Drazzil]

:cb

[groogs]

I can't say I have ever got a bad stick from Joe. I have got wet sticks that had to sit for a few months. I will also say that I have not seen anything worth buying from Joe in months.

[Ahbroody]

I've bought several of the Pepin deals from CI. I've also bought a lot of boxes of Pepin cigars. Um, same smokes.

Same here. Infact I have had a few bad DPG from brick and mortars that were wet and burned horrid when they just got them in. I know where this shop orders from and it isnt Joe. Further if people didnt know Joe ships wet as almost every large vendor I dont know what to tell you.

The Best DPJ JJ Maduros I have ever had and still have some left were a Joe special. I tressure them and often have to fight the urge. They are every bit as good and in my opinion better then the LBM.

This said I primarily only buy CC. Joe buys are only Pepins and his associated products

*****************************************
3. "Most of my deals, are just the box price, divided by two" WT*???

Huge issue with your math by the way. Looking at my past order history
9/8/08 and 12/16/08
Joe 10 DPG Blue generoso 35.00 free shipping no tax = 3.50 a stick
Joe 25 " " 174.00 no free ship no tax = 6.96 a stick
Local B&M more and taxed also

or 6/16/08
Joe 10 DPG JJ MAD Selectos 42.50 free shipping no tax 4.25 a stick
Joe 25" " 180.00 no free ship no tax 7.20 a stick
Local B&M more and taxed also

Last week 12 5 vegas knuckles for 32.50

I could list 15 more deals to further my point but this is enough. Yes occassionally the deals are not that great. Its called marketing and business. If he gives away the farm every day there will be no farm after a while. That said I was able to disprove one of your arguments with NO EFFORT.

Dont click here as it fails your math test also
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/prodDisp.asp?item=CS-JYB&cat=3

I am sure there are holes in your other arguments but to be honest I only skimmed your post. Dont like Joe dont buy. I will continue to buy when I see deals on things I like. Are they over runs probablly some. I have smoked them and many other non joes and rarely see a difference.

#5 argument is all over the place by the way and not factual as to times deals are listed. midnight eastern on daily deal and the other ones usually come out 12pm pacific or thats when my emails come in. Where did you get these times you stated?

[brigey57]

I've never had anything but great experiences from the CI staff and their customer service is excellent. I'm not sure what your motivation is to post this nor how you can be so sure that they're selling sub-par product, if not factory seconds. Hope you've never purchased anything on CigarBid, cause that's CI, too. No matter if you think Joe's prices are a rip-off or not, the fact of the matter is, you'll never find a cheaper price on the cigars he's selling when comparing apples to apples. Ever. Just thought I'd add my :2 during the Joecigar.com bashing session.

Jason

__________________
I'm joking....but seriously.http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/image.php?u=1015&type=sigpic&dateline=1228157343


:tpd::2

As always let the buyer beware. I have bought some smokes from Joe and have been happy. I always check the price on the web before I pull the trigger. JMHO but it is up to you to do your homework first!

[SmoknTaz]

Definitely food for thought, thanks for the post.

[j-easy]

thread jack/
speaking of daily deals, cigarmonster doesn't seem to be loading for me? anyone else have any luck?

/thread jack

[silentjon]

thread jack/
speaking of daily deals, cigarmonster doesn't seem to be loading for me? anyone else have any luck?

/thread jack

Continuing your thread jack, Cigar Monster is working for me.

[j-easy]

Continuing your thread jack, Cigar Monster is working for me.

tj/ yeah its working now, was down for a couple hours though /tj

[Drazzil]

9/8/08 and 12/16/08
Joe 10 DPG Blue generoso 35.00 free shipping no tax = 3.50 a stick
Joe 25 " " 174.00 no free ship no tax = 6.96 a stick
Local B&M more and taxed also

or 6/16/08
Joe 10 DPG JJ MAD Selectos 42.50 free shipping no tax 4.25 a stick
Joe 25" " 180.00 no free ship no tax 7.20 a stick
Local B&M more and taxed also

Last week 12 5 vegas knuckles for 32.50

I could list 15 more deals to further my point but this is enough. Yes occassionally the deals are not that great. Its called marketing and business. If he gives away the farm every day there will be no farm after a while. That said I was able to disprove one of your arguments with NO EFFORT.

Sorry brother, you're wrong. And you're cherrypicking to boot. Yes, I will admit the occasional deal does roll down, but thats the exception, not the rule. The trend with Joe Cigar deals if you watch them seems to be either box price divided by two w/addition of free shipping a clearance brand that they want to get rid of, or Gurkha. You rarely see a break from that established pattern. Oh, you can try that "math" of mine again today 12/31/08 and it will prove itself. Go ahead... I'll wait.

Dont click here as it fails your math test also
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/p...m=CS-JYB&cat=3

I am sure there are holes in your other arguments but to be honest I only skimmed your post. Dont like Joe dont buy. I will continue to buy when I see deals on things I like. Are they over runs probablly some. I have smoked them and many other non joes and rarely see a difference.

You're quoting a deal that's 7 months old and telling me I "fail a math test" for talking about trends? Riiiight....

I am sure there are holes in your other arguments but to be honest I only skimmed your post.

You only skimmed my post, of which I took the time to share insights and tactics to save people money and you want to slam me for it?

Okay. Whatever floats your boat.

[tsolomon]

The trend with Joe Cigar deals if you watch them seems to be either box price divided by two w/addition of free shipping a clearance brand that they want to get rid of, or Gurkha. What's wrong with box price per cigar plus free shipping and no tax? I agree that it is not always a deal, but the prices are reasonable and you only get 10 cigars you might not want to smoke instead 20 or 25. I have picked up a number of Don Pepins (and Gurkhas in my early days) at some pretty good prices and they have smoked great.

Your post contains some good insights as to why you need to do some research on cigar pricing and check some reviews before clicking "Add to cart and checkout now", but this applies to any internet site or store where you purchase cigars. In fact, calling some if the Internet stores for pricing can save you money as they are not allowed to post lower prices on the Internet. :D

[auburnfan1980]

Drazzil, don't get upset that others are disagreeing with ya, bro. I appreciate your posts and efforts to share things that might help all the great BOTLs on this site and your opinion is definitely respected by me. I just think some others (including myself at first) thought you were unjustifiably slamming Joe, and since many of us have had a great experience with that site, we wanted to come to it's defense and present another point of view. I truly do appreciate your research and passion for trying to find the best deal around and sharing it with the rest of us, however.

Jason

[bilkay]

CI often has terrific deals. It's up to the purchaser to know what he's buying and to know how good (or not) the deal is. I just got 3 of the DPG 12 cigar samplers at $29.99 each. Even with the 2 CI Legends included, it's a great deal.

[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

[Drazzil]

You know what? You guys are right. Some times I present information in such a manner as to sound abrasive or as if I am attacking Joe. As I stated, I love CI, and I think the world of them and Joe Cigar, however they do things I wish that they wouldn't, as I noted above.

I suppose the breaking straw for me was missing out (or almost missing out depending on how you look at it) on a deal because it was posted at six in the morning, which seems to be a regular practice for Joe, posting all the good deals at odd hours in Jambalayah so that more people cant take advantage of it. After a half a dozen or so missed deals because they were posted in the middle of the night, you tend to get a bit cranky.

BlackIrish summed up my post far better then I could, and all without sounding like the south end of a north end mule while doing it, he is to be commended.

That is all :al

[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 :r :r :r

[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.

[j-easy]

You know what? You guys are right. Some times I present information in such a manner as to sound abrasive or as if I am attacking Joe. As I stated, I love CI, and I think the world of them and Joe Cigar, however they do things I wish that they wouldn't, as I noted above.

I suppose the breaking straw for me was missing out (or almost missing out depending on how you look at it) on a deal because it was posted at six in the morning, which seems to be a regular practice for Joe, posting all the good deals at odd hours in Jambalayah so that more people cant take advantage of it. After a half a dozen or so missed deals because they were posted in the middle of the night, you tend to get a bit cranky.

BlackIrish summed up my post far better then I could, and all without sounding like the south end of a north end mule while doing it, he is to be commended.

That is all :al

it is my understanding that joe's jambalaya is run like a woot off, they sell a set quantity of each deal, so whether they sell 500 of XYZ sampler at 2am or at noon, 500 people still get the sampler.

[ChasDen]

Since we are quick to point out the bad deals on Joe how about we point out a good one (price wise, like or dislike of the cigar is all personal taste so let's have that argument in a different thread).

Today’s deal

Man O' War Double Corona - JOE CIGAR PRICE: $29.99
Box price - BOX OF 22: $144 (+8 cigar freebie so that’s 30)

Reg price = $4.80ea. (Includes 8 free cigars)
Joe price = $2.99ea.

That's a savings of $18.10 on the 10 or $54.30 on 30.

That's almost a 38% discount over the sale box price.

Man O' War lovers looks like a good deal for you today :tu

Chas

[Drazzil]

Yes, today's deal is truly Joe worthy. Add to all of this of your choice of DPG Blue Generouso or Cusano 10th 10 for 34 today is a good day for Joe.

[Cigarcop]

Maybe Joes been reading these reviews!!!

[Ahbroody]

or like I said already maybe Joe is just a smart business man who doesnt give away the farm everyday. Some deals he makes little some deals he does well. Its called smart business.

OO look another great deal by the evil Joe.
The Padilla weekly deal released today is also pretty damn good. Based on my local prices the miamis alone are almost that price. Nevermind the 16 other sticks you get with it Habanos and 68's.

[oldforge]

I let all my smokes sit for months (at least) and dry box everything. Joe's DPGs, 601s, and JDNs have been identical to other vendors in my experience.

But--I haven't bit on a Joe deal in several months.

[longknocker]

Maybe Joes been reading these reviews!!!

:tu Had to bite on today's CI weekly special! Padilla Torpedo Mega-Sampler:20 of Padilla's finest for $49.99! Padilla Obsidian is my fav. smoke, so I "Had" to buy 2 at this price! Go for it!:dance:

[Nimbus]

I have not ordered from Joe for about a year now and unless it is a really good smoke, I will probably not order from them again.

Thanks for the informative post. :tu

[Starscream]

Been a while since I bit on one of Joe's Daily Deals but I'm a fan.

[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. :D

[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. :2

[MedicCook]

Just an FYI, Joe Cigar is dancing today.

[pmp]

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.

[AdamC]

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.

[Col. Kurtz]

All I am saying is that when the DPG cigars that get sold on joe come in unsorted bundles, some coal black others light tan. I do believe that when the boxes are sorted the leftover gets celo'd & bundled and sent to the bulk discount retailers... all businesses work this way, why would cigars be different? I have bought numerous boxes of DPG JJ natural and maduro, blues and blacks... I have also bought all of these brands multiple times from joe, they have been different... flaky and papery wrappers, goofy coloring, too spicy, not spicy enough etc... I am not saying they are bad or not worth it, but they are different some of the time...

My observation:

I won some 601 Blacks @ CBid, had some from a B&M. The Cbid ones looked like the oscuro, while the B&M's looked like a Connie. Had to go back and read my receipt to make sure they were Blacks. They are that much different! They both smoke great, so no biggie, but there is a big difference in those.

[awsmith4]

My observation:

I won some 601 Blacks @ CBid, had some from a B&M. The Cbid ones looked like the oscuro, while the B&M's looked like a Connie. Had to go back and read my receipt to make sure they were Blacks. They are that much different! They both smoke great, so no biggie, but there is a big difference in those.

The Oscuro is the Green label and the Connecticut is the Black label. Be careful at c-bid and NEVER trust the picture only the description.

[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?:confused::D

[TheRiddick]

Does this thread validate Legend's argument?:confused::D

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.

[TheVitaleMob]

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....:fu

[Legend]

Does this thread validate Legend's argument?:confused::D

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.

[BigJonMoo73]

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.

[beamish]

great info thanx...:tu

[marge796]

Super post thanks. It's becoming a us and them mentality with them trying too screw us if you don’t watch them carefully.



:fl

[jaymz]

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 (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4810) firefox plugin. Here's a screenshot of my homepage in firefox:


http://i42.tinypic.com/2l7qt2.png


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

[cricky101]

I've bought from them multiple times all with great smokes and great prices. When I see something I want to try or like and it is a reasonable price, I'll be buying again - just like EVERY OTHER RETAILER I frequent.

[Ahbroody]

As to the wrapper argument. I went to the B&M the other day and noticed variations in their boxes also. Further I had a maduro from joe that was darker and looked better than the ones in the box.

As to prices
2 days ago picked up 10 la aurora 1495 for 37.00 They run over 10.00 a stick at the BM
In the past 2-3 months I have gotten the following
10 JJ Beli for 39.99
5 JJ mad for 25.00
5 Pad hab for 15.00
10 Pad miami for 39.99 a 11.00 stick at my B&M
10 Pep CC black for 31.99

Many were awsome ROTT.
I really think this is a tin foil hat issue

[Drazzil]

I will concede that the last three months have been looking better for Joe.

[hornitosmonster]

Cigar Monster is making me forget about Joe cigar even existing...

[Totemic]

I will concede that the last three months have been looking better for Joe.

I suspect it all varies from time to time.

It looks almost as if CI got an overshipment of Padilla cigars recently since Padilla seems to be showing up with FAR more frequency on both CBid and Joe's. Not that, that's a bad thing since I do enjoy the Miami (I actually like the new blend more than the original--I guess I'm getting just a bit Pepin-ed out these days) and the occasional 32's.

It would also explain why certain cigars are almost never offered on Joe's (Padrons seem to be almost verboten on Joes, don't know why).

Combine that with the occasional decent offerings and it's not such a bad thing. Although, those "special" deals you're offered right before you complete your sales, I wish those were more readily available. I sometimes just go through the motion of buying something from Joes just to see what "specials" they have.

[Chemyst]

It's not just Joe, it's the Monster, too.

Now the Monster has a 'jambalaya' type round robin
of different deals throughout the day.

Sooo many deals, sooo little $$$$.

Lately I've been helping out BOTLs who have come into
hard times and need to liquidate some of their smokes.
The deals are usually as good/better than Joe/Monster,
and it helps an individual BOTL directly. Some BOTL deals
are outrageous! I recently got a very high end sampler
for an average cost of $9 per stick , including an ESG
and a large Anejo. Unheard of....

Chemyst :cool2:

[boonedoggle]

I have always had a good experience dealing with CI in the past, but I have not had any major purchases post SCHIP. I think this has changed alot of marketing and selling tactics, personally.

[alley00p]

I have always had a good experience dealing with CI in the past, but I have not had any major purchases post SCHIP. I think this has changed alot of marketing and selling tactics, personally.

I haven't purchased from CI since last November... I made a purchase and they had a deal they posted at checkout... Gurkha Titans at a decent price. The pic showed the titans leaning against the brushed aluminum presentation box. I didn't particularly want the Gurkhas, but I wanted the box, so I ordered them.

When I opened the box, I had a bag of cigars... no box of any kind. When I called, they said that only comes if you order them the regular way. I figure that I should have got what was in the picture, and they said sorry.

So, no more buying from CI for me... and I was buying from them 3 or 4 times a month. Oh well, their loss... I've been buying from Famous now, for the most part, especially with the hourly deals on Cigar Monster the last few weeks.

:dance: