Price & Flavor Question...

S

SmokinApe

SilverBack
This is probably more of a rant than a comment… I really am taken back by the statement “for the price it is really good!” I understand “for that price, it should have been better!”

It is either good or it ain’t… How does price effect flavor? Why not say “a good cigar at an attractive price!” or “This cigar tasted like ass, but it was only $2.00 so I am satisfied with the purchase.”?

What gives?
 
Has to be a factor, why spend $20 on a cigar that tastes worse than a $5 cigar?


For example: I find Opus X to be a very good cigar at MSRP, but when you get into the price gouging range, to me, they are no longer worth the price. This isn't because the cigar changes, but rather because I know I can buy a cigar as good for the money (for that example a Diamond Crown Maximus). :2
 
I smoke a lot of short cigars on my commute home. Some cost 70 cents, some cost 5 bucks. The cheap cigars burn great and taste good. They are not nearly as complex as the 5 dollar cigars.

Would I prefer to only smoke 5 dollar cigars? Sure, but I don't have that much disposable income.

For the price, the 70 cent cigars are more than acceptable. Good flavor great price. The others have great flavor, OK price.

It is all about price-performance ratio.
 
SmokinApe said:
This is probably more of a rant than a comment… I really am taken back by the statement “for the price it is really good!” I understand “for that price, it should have been better!”

It is either good or it ain’t… How does price effect flavor? Why not say “a good cigar at an attractive price!” or “This cigar tasted like ass, but it was only $2.00 so I am satisfied with the purchase.”?

What gives?
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You're right in a way, & wrong in a way. We don't expect as much out of a $2 cigar as we do a $10 cigar, so if the $2 cigar exceeds our expectations then the 1st statement makes sense.

I think Lew Rothman said once that the difference between a $2 cigar & a $10 cigar is $8, so your logic is sound, from that perspective.

The last statement I can never agree with. If a $2 cigar tastes like ass I'm not going to be satisfied with the purchase because it might have just wasted about an hour of my time. If I can find a $2 cigar that makes me as happy, or happier, than a $10 cigar then I guess I'm about 5 times happier than I would have been with the $10 cigar. Make sense? :)

I'm afraid my bank doesn't equal my palate, so I have to dig up a lot of $2/$10 cigars. :D
 
Call it the "Expectation Factor" -
When you spend $10 or $20 on a cigar, you have certain expectations that it SHOULD be a damm fine smoke. So what if it isn't?
The same holds true for $2 smokes, except it's almost in reverse.
You don't expect it to be much of a good smoke for that price, so when it exceeds your expectations & turns out to be a tasty stick that burns OK, it's THAT much better.
And let me tell you, I've had plenty of smokes in the $2-4 range that would knock your socks off in a blind taste test.......:)
 
SmokinApe said:
This is probably more of a rant than a comment… I really am taken back by the statement “for the price it is really good!” I understand “for that price, it should have been better!”

It is either good or it ain’t… How does price effect flavor? Why not say “a good cigar at an attractive price!” or “This cigar tasted like ass, but it was only $2.00 so I am satisfied with the purchase.”?

What gives?
Click to expand...

In micro-economic terms it is called "utils". The economic decision that balances your desire for something (willing to pay hard earned cash) compared the amount of utility/enjoyment you derive from it. Think Mercedes vs Ford vs Kia. All have 3 distinct price points. Is the Mercedes really worth 10 times the Kia? Not to some, but to others it is. Yet a Mercedes driver may be pleasently surprised by the ride of the Kia.

It's doubtful an Opus smoker will find enjoyment from a Back Woods, yet he may from a Sancho Panza. Enough enjoyment he may purchase some at a later point. It's all about them "utils". I personally don't buy into the rational explanation that micro-economics is always based on, but in the big scheme it works.

When we buy something and are happy with it our value proposition is in balance. When we buy and are disapointed in the product, well, the value proposition went out the window. And when we purchase and are happy beyond what we thought the value proposition is postive and we believe we have a good deal. it is all about matching expectations vs sacrifice (money) vs final perceived value.


damn I paid attention 25 years ago in college didn't I??
 
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Thread Hijack on { For the above Gorillas who know what they are talking about - Which outstanding cigars deliver a nice Flavor for Price and in turn "blow your socks off" in your opinion? Marcas/Vitolas? >
Danke ! } Thread Hijack off
 
demiurgic said:
Thread Hijack on { For the above Gorillas who know what they are talking about - Which outstanding cigars deliver a nice Flavor for Price and in turn "blow your socks off" in your opinion? Marcas/Vitolas? >
Danke ! } Thread Hijack off
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Bitte! I'll be glad to be the first in the "SANCHO PANZA!!!1" rush that is sure to come...so, Sancho Panza. Extra Fuerte for me. Like $2.00 a piece, excellent flavor with acceptable construction. Some prefer the Double Maduro, and a minority prefer the original.

Also, Oliva Serie G. Maduro or Cameroon Natural. $3-4 a piece and a staple in most humis here in the jungle as far as I can tell.

I am also interested in what else other people like at low price, too.
 
My position after years of smoking. If it taste like s..t, no matter what the cost then I'm canning it. I ended up with a lot of cigars early in my career that never was smoked because they were purchased under the premise "this is a pretty good stick for the price", And then they just take up space in the humi while I continue to smoke what taste better.

As has been said many time before: "Life is too short to smoke shitty cigars" and I would even add that, life is too short to smoke a cigar you don't really like when better smokes are just a clip away.

To me smoking inferior cigars is akin to cigarette smokers who smoke for the nicotine instead of the taste.

And this does not have to be an economical issue, not when there are fantastic cigars that can be had for 3-5 bucks. ( cbid, box price, buying from members here.)

just my :2
 
SmokinApe said:
This is probably more of a rant than a comment… I really am taken back by the statement “for the price it is really good!” I understand “for that price, it should have been better!”

It is either good or it ain’t… How does price effect flavor? Why not say “a good cigar at an attractive price!” or “This cigar tasted like ass, but it was only $2.00 so I am satisfied with the purchase.”?

What gives?
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If a cigar taste bad to you is not worth 1c to you, regardless if the cigar cost $4 or $10.

If a $4 cigars is as good as a $10 cigar to you, the $10 cigar is $6 wasted.

If a $10 cigar is better to you then a $4 cigar, then money well spent.

You get the idea. Cost is important. I pay for cigars I like, wont pay for those I dont and am more likely to buy the cheaper of two cigars that deliver similar smokes.

And finally, I think universally we all expect more $$$ to give better quality, but we all know this is not true the more time you spend on this board. So the statement that a $20 cigar should have been better for that price is perfectly ok as the price tag should come with high expectations.
 
kansashat said:
If I can find a $2 cigar that makes me as happy, or happier, than a $10 cigar then I guess I'm about 5 times happier than I would have been with the $10 cigar.
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Reminds me of Klugs smoking a Ghurka at the Shack and remarking there was way a 1492 is four-hundred times better than it. :D
 
I won't smoke a cigar that tastes like ass no matter what the cost. I've been known to pitch a $10 cigar or two an inch in because it never got good. I no longer smoke bundled cigars, not because I'm rich but because life is too short to smoke inferior cigars.

It's kind of like a beer for me...if the choice is Bud or nothing, I'll choose nothing.

As far as the 'value' question, I find enormous value in a Padron 1926 when compared against some CCs, any extravagantly priced Gurkha or Graycliff and many OpusX cigars. I highly appreciated the God Of Fire...while it is the equal or maybe superior of the 1926 I find less value with it's $25 price. My favorite 'value' premium cigars are 1926 #35s, #2s, and PAM at Rob@Taboo's crackhead prices. My favorite 'value' good cigars are Boliva Corona Extras when you can find them on sale (I recently paid $4 per stick), Taboo Twist, and Perdomo Habano. I find that anything less than $4 won't be worth my time.
 
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I guess it also depends on the amount of sticks you smoke.

I stocked up on ok sticks and bought a few really good one for special days. Then I realized I don't smoke enough to warrant that. If I get a cruddy stick then it may be weeks before I get to light another.

So for all the money I spent on OK sticks I could have gotten better stock and enjoyed my time more.

In my book, smoke better and less ,than more and worse. :ss
 
Thank God I haven't had too many bad experiences smoking crap cigars.....except the Romeo Y Julieta Anniversario sticks that I got from Tinder Box a few years ago....boy those are crap. I bought ten and have only managed to get through half of them in like 3 years.
 
I think the OP has a point, its something that amazes me as well. A cigar is good or it isn't, simply as that. The fact that it was free will not make a bad cigar better or the fact that it was $100 won't make a good cigar bad.

I do still use value as a driver in my reviews, because that goes to if it was an experience I'd want to repeat. But saying something is "good for the price" is kind of like saying "it almost doesn't suck" at least that is the way I read it.
 
SmokinApe said:
This is probably more of a rant than a comment… I really am taken back by the statement “for the price it is really good!” I understand “for that price, it should have been better!”

It is either good or it ain’t… How does price effect flavor? Why not say “a good cigar at an attractive price!” or “This cigar tasted like ass, but it was only $2.00 so I am satisfied with the purchase.”?

What gives?
Click to expand...

Jeremy this has been a long standing issue of mine. I like how you have defined it properly in the negative "for that price it should have been better", and i agree that price has nothing to do with flavor, that is why i loved the blind taste test takes much confusion and bias out of my cigar smoking pleasure.

I am always affraid of trying expensive smokes because i am a cheap ass and if i am paying 12.00 for a stick my EXPECTATIONS are about 5 times greater than when i am smoking my daily stick that i am very happy with.
 
Thanks for all the replys... It looks like the forum is all over the place with this issue...

I think Additction summed up my perspective with this... "The fact that it was free will not make a bad cigar better or the fact that it was $100 won't make a good cigar bad."

But as I said before; "for that price it should have been better." Is a valid point...
 
Bax said:
I guess it also depends on the amount of sticks you smoke.

I stocked up on ok sticks and bought a few really good one for special days. Then I realized I don't smoke enough to warrant that. If I get a cruddy stick then it may be weeks before I get to light another.

So for all the money I spent on OK sticks I could have gotten better stock and enjoyed my time more.

In my book, smoke better and less ,than more and worse. :ss
Click to expand...

:tpd:
 
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