Not sure how I feel about this.....

K

kansashat

What would Skeeter do?
I called a vendor today to purchase a box of cigars. I think, but am not completely certain, that this is the first time I've done business with these folks.

If I have done business with them, it has been years, & I have moved within the last coupla years. Plus, I have changed my e-mail addie within the past few years too.

Anyhow, I give the guy my name & zip & he rattles off my address, plus my e-mail addie!

I say, "Gee, I must have signed up for something with you guys at some time or another."

He says, "No. Many vendors sell their customer lists & that is probably where we got it."

This jogs my memory. A few years back I recieved some junk mail from someone & it had special instructions" of "Leave on Doorstep" on the address label. I had given the instructions to one of my cigar suppliers. I called & asked them about it at that time & they denied ever giving my address to anyone.

I named this vendor (------) to the salesperson & he said, "Yep, that could be the one."

I am a bit irritated about this whole thing.......I mean I'm not righteously pissed or anything, but this doesn't seem exactly kosher to me.

Any thoughts from the jungle?
 
i wouldnt see any harm in a cigar retailer acquiring my name and address, as long as they keep it rom being sold to just anyone for any purpose.

and of course since i live in the usa, i would not want that info sold to any cigar retailer that sells and ships cuban sticks (most certainly illegally) into the usa. i could end up answering questions from the authorities if they were to seize the list from that cigar retailer.

on the other hand, the idea of one cigar vendor selling your personal info for profit doesnt sound good to me. i don't think this is really terrible, but yet at the same time i would question the ethics of both the seller and the buyer of the list.

does this make any sense at all? lol
 
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I'm not sure how I feel about it either Mr. Hat. A bit irregular I must say. Kinda like my bowels.
 
Sure it's a tight market for cigars. Lots of competition and all, but come on. I don't give out their names. I don't want them to have shipments stopped. Apparently, this vendor does not place the same care and thought in you. I'd not deal with them again and I'd tell them why.

However, is it possible that the two vendors are linked? Perhaps they share some partnership? It still sounds fishy and somewhat wrong, but perhaps it's common practice.

Dunno, but I'd let the vendor know it's not appreciated. Can you PM the vendor to me so I can find out if its mine as well? If it is I'll let them know what I think.

D
 
It's a very grey area, business ethics-wise, since unless stated somewhere that you deny/give them permission to disclose your information. Legally, there might have fine print somewhere, in which you have no legal recourse, but in the cigar industry, respect seems to be alot and personally, if a vendor had to sell shipping lists for profit, I'd be a little dissapointed in them.
 
Unfortunately, it's perfectly legal to sell the info. I'd call the original business and gnaw on their ear about the situation- let them know that all your buddies have found out about the business practices that they hold near and dear. May not change anything, but might get a few neurons firing in the gray matter.
 
gene said:
Unfortunately, it's perfectly legal to sell the info. I'd call the original business and gnaw on their ear about the situation- let them know that all your buddies have found out about the business practices that they hold near and dear. May not change anything, but might get a few neurons firing in the gray matter.
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Gene! Good to hear from you! More ordnance heading your direction soon.....I think Dave just fired off, so will wait a week or two.
 
The "T" vendor Alan?

I decided not to use them anymore when I noticed I was receiving the same "deals" from two and three 3rd party mass marketers (aka spammers). I believe they stopped that practice but had to wonder what they would do next..
 
On a different, but similar note, does it bother anyone that vendors store your CC info without asking permission? There was another vendor that I had to fill out the CC info in order to register and even though they had a great price I decided not to buy from them.
 
txmatt said:
The "T" vendor Alan?

I decided not to use them anymore when I noticed I was receiving the same "deals" from two and three 3rd party mass marketers (aka spammers). I believe they stopped that practice but had to wonder what they would do next..
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Nope. Wasn't the T vendor.

The T vendor did call my cell phone a coupla weeks ago though when I was with a customer. Normally, I don't answer the cell phone when I am with a customer, but I didn't recognize the number, so I answered after apologizing to my customer. I told them I was working & they hurriedly let me go.

Dang! That did irk me quite a bit!
 
kansashat said:
Nope. Wasn't the T vendor.

The T vendor did call my cell phone a coupla weeks ago though when I was with a customer. Normally, I don't answer the cell phone when I am with a customer, but I didn't recognize the number, so I answered after apologizing to my customer. I told them I was working & they hurriedly let me go.

Dang! That did irk me quite a bit!
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I hate it when my customers get in the way of cigar shopping. :D

Sucky deal Allan. Whoever the retailer was that sold your info, I'd certainly think twice before ever doing business with them again.
 
Honestly, nothing is sacred anymore, and it's best to operate under the assumption that all of your info is out there for anyone to access. (barring of course private, personal docs, social security (though not as much anymore), and so on)

Even if that vendor had not purchased that mailing list, anyone on this forum could easily find your address with just your name and zip code. It wouldn't be quite as instantaneous if you were Bob Smith from Brooklyn of course, but anything more specific than that and all you need is a single piece of information, internet access and in the case of Bob Smith from NYC, a little persistence and perception.

In this climate, if you have assets, having a lawyer on retainer has become nearly ubiquitous. Hence the rise of the firms that allow pre-paid legal and such........
 
I agree with the majority. I hate the idea of this infomation being passed, but I hate it for a different reason. There are rumors that the tobacco cops are going to start cracking down, wanting their taxes from out of state internet sales. (This may be unconstitutional, but who wants to hire a lawyer and spend the $$$ to find out.) :dr I figure the more lists there are floating around, the more chances the red flags will go up. The first time I purchased via the net, I made it a point to ask their policy about their lists and they were adament that they NEVER disclosed their lists to anyone.

Now, this may sound paranoid...but you're not really paranoid if everyone IS really against you. :)
 
Funny that this thread was started yesterday as today my wife received a JR Cigar catalog at our house in HER name today. I receive many cigar catalogs myself, however, my wife has only made two purchases from cigar vendors for christmas presents for me over the last two years. So she has only had dealings with two cigar vendors ever and neither one was JR cigars.

The two vendors she ordered from were both located in Pennsylvania, and I myself have used both numerous times. The only conclusion is one of the vendors sold a customer list, which one, who knows?

I personally don't like when a vendor, whether cigars or anything else sells my info, but unfortunately I believe it is a common occurence throughout the retail world.
 
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