TodaysCigar.com: Why do I bother?

M

MikeyC

SilverBack
I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this (feel free to move if not), but here we go:

As far as I know, there are three "one day deal" websites for cigars:
  • Joe Cigar
  • Cigar Monster
  • Today's Cigar
I check them all everyday to see what they offer. I've bought cigars on many occasion from Joe Cigar (and usually add more to the cart to take advantage of the free shipping). I've even bought cigars on a few occasions from Cigar Monster. However, I've never been even close to buying a cigar from Today's Cigar.

I do like that they have a viewable history of past deals a forum to discuss their daily offering. The forum is a great thing because I've never even heard of most of the cigars the sell. Simply put they rarely offer anything I would even want to buy.

On the rare occasion that they do offer something I want to buy, it either sells out before I wake up in the morning or is not priced attractively. One example is a few weeks ago they were selling a 5er of AF Hemingway Classics. By the time I saw them at 9 AM EST they were already sold out. Today's deal is definitely a cigar I would buy, a 5er of Tatuaje Reserva J21. But, the price is nothing special. I could buy a box from Holt's and split it with some BOTL here and it would be cheaper. I think my local B&M even has these at a lower price. On Joe Cigar and Cigar Monster sticks are normally priced at least 30% off what you would normally pay for them.

My last complaint is that this is the only cigar one day deal site that doesn't offer free shipping. Shipping is cheap, but free would be better. If the prices are higher and they charge shipping, why would anyone buy from here?

So, with all these problems with the site I can't figure out why I continue to check it daily. I guess I'm just stupid. :hn
 
I do the same thing bro, and they dont even offer free shipping, all i can think is that they get alot of buisness from people who arent on forums...
 
think of it as shopping from walmart (CI / Famous) vs. someone smaller. You're going to pay a little more at todayscigar, but I still find its generally cheaper than my local B&M's, and I don't mind splurging on occasion if they have something I want, which isn't everyday, but I'm thankful for that truthfully.
 
earnold25 said:
think of it as shopping from walmart (CI / Famous) vs. someone smaller. You're going to pay a little more at todayscigar, but I still find its generally cheaper than my local B&M's, and I don't mind splurging on occasion if they have something I want, which isn't everyday, but I'm thankful for that truthfully.
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That's a good way to put it. Still, it would be nice if they had better sticks more often and at least prices that beat my local B&M.
 
Somewhere around here there is a thread that contains responses from the owner of todayscigar.com.
He asked for valuable input as to how he could make his site/specials better. If you could find that thread and send him a PM containing valuable suggestions I'm sure he would respond to your concerns.

What business owner doesn't want to make his store better?
:2
 
bobarian said:
LOL, Someone must be buying them. Tats are sold out.:tu
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Usually when he puts up something worth buying it's sold out EARLY in the morning (i.e. when I and most others are asleep). This one might have taken longer to sell out because the price wasn't a deal.
 
I agree, TodaysCigar.com is pretty much worthless (based on points stated previously) so I stopped wasting my time a while back.

I do watch Cigar Monster every now and again as some of the Famous house blends are decent but for the most part I just call one of our great vendors when I want something as they seem to always have great prices.
 
I don't really understand the need criticize a retailer who hasn't - as far as I can tell - done anything wrong except not live up to the expectations of a few people who, from what it sound like, aren't even customers, or prospective customers.

I have bought from today's cigar two or three times and been very pleased with the price and quality cigars I received. The site even introduced me to a couple brands, like Maria Guerrero cigars, which have become a humi staple for me. I had never heard of them before, but since it was an inexpensive five-pack of cigars, I made the purchase.

Not everything is a winner, and I have missed out on a few deals I would have probably bought but they were sold out, but that is the nature of "deal-a-day" sites. First come, first served. :2
 
cricky101 said:
I don't really understand the need criticize a retailer who hasn't - as far as I can tell - done anything wrong except not live up to the expectations of a few people who, from what it sound like, aren't even customers, or prospective customers.

I have bought from today's cigar two or three times and been very pleased with the price and quality cigars I received. The site even introduced me to a couple brands, like Maria Guerrero cigars, which have become a humi staple for me. I had never heard of them before, but since it was an inexpensive five-pack of cigars, I made the purchase.

Not everything is a winner, and I have missed out on a few deals I would have probably bought but they were sold out, but that is the nature of "deal-a-day" sites. First come, first served. :2
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It's just constructive criticism. The owner of the site even went so far as to request it in another CS thread. So, here it is. We're giving it to him. No one here has been nasty or overly critical. It's just feedback on what we think of TodaysCigar.com.

As far as the nature of DOD sites, sure they're hit or miss but the more sucessful ones have at least some hits and not all misses. Joe Cigar has plenty of hits and many CS members will tell you that they have jumped on those deals. I've never once seen them sell out on anything either. I would ABSOLUTELY buy from TC.com if they a) offered better cigars, b) offered them at a price that was lower than other retailers, and c) were not sold out when I went to buy them. :2
 
I'm with the majority on this'n. Today's Cigar is yesterday's bookmark, and I won't be checking it regularly. Never been close, tempted, or thought twice about on of TC's deals. However, I've been interested in CigarMonster's a few times, and have purchased from Joe's more often than I should.

I for one, am glad that I read this thread. It inches me towards that normal feeling again. Its good to talk about things, it really is. :sl
 
St. Lou Stu said:
It seems that there is some improvement.......
http://todayscigar.com/

Not a bad deal.
Even http://todayscigar.com/store/past_products shows some ok deals lately.
It's hard for the smaller fish to compete with the CI's and such, but when they do make an effort......why not patronize?

:2

By the way, I have NOTHING to do with this site. I'm just intrigued by the need of some to beat them down.
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Oh i think part of the bashing is really a complaint because we would LIKE more sites like joe cigar, lets be honest, who else competes in price, quantity, and free shipping? cigarMonster is decent but alot of times those deals reach 100+ dollars... too much for me, I have seen joe as high as 59 i think but normally 20-40 is their range and that is pretty acheivable!

I would love for todays and monster ot hit that 5-20 smoke quantity, as welll as the price!
 
bigben said:
Oh i think part of the bashing is really a complaint because we would LIKE more sites like joe cigar, lets be honest, who else competes in price, quantity, and free shipping? cigarMonster is decent but alot of times those deals reach 100+ dollars... too much for me, I have seen joe as high as 59 i think but normally 20-40 is their range and that is pretty acheivable!

I would love for todays and monster ot hit that 5-20 smoke quantity, as welll as the price!
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I totally agree.
That is part of why I was so intrigued by the bashing. While constructive criticism aimed at todayscigar may not produce another Joe, it may help to make some of todayscigar's deal better.

I wish famous would make some deals out of decent smokes instead of using it for a clearinghouse for :BS. In my opinion, todayscigar at least has quality smokes for sale.
Oops, now there I go bashing!:D
 
MikeyC said:
Joe Cigar has plenty of hits and many CS members will tell you that they have jumped on those deals. I've never once seen them sell out on anything either.
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They sold out of RP Selects earlier this week. But yeah, it's rare, they definitely put enough stock away for the deals. CI has C-Bid to get rid of old stuff and returned goods, so they can put decent stuff on Joe Cigar.
 
St. Lou Stu said:
I wish famous would make some deals out of decent smokes instead of using it for a clearinghouse for :BS. In my opinion, todayscigar at least has quality smokes for sale.
Oops, now there I go bashing!:D
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See I would call that constructive criticism. You made a suggestion for improving the site. If that's not constructive criticism then I guess I better get out my dictionary and refresh myself on what the definition is. Bashing on the other hand would be if I said, the people who run Cigar Monster have their head up their rear (just an example not something I believe).

I just want TC.com to give me a reason to shop with them. My feeling is that price and selection wise they don't (and maybe can't) compete with the other two cigar DOD sites. Often times their prices aren't even better than the regular prices at cigar webstores. The other day they had Pepin Cuban Classics up. It was a 5er for $35. Not a horrible price, but certainly not a great deal. I could do a box split with some BOTLs here and end up with a 5er for $31. That's almost a 12% difference in price and not in TC's favor.

For comparison, the last Joe deal I bought was a 10er of Don Pepin Blue Label Generosos. I can't remember exactly what I paid, but it was either $35 or $39. That's a 33% price discount compared to what you would pay for a box (if split) or two 5ers from CI. Plus I didn't have to pay for shipping. A great deal on an enjoyable cigar.

For me it boils down to this: if you're going to be a "deal of the day" website then you need to offer GREAT prices (not the same prices as everyone else). Otherwise there's no reason for me to buy from you. If your prices are the same as everyone else then you need to change your format or come up with some other type of hook like free shipping or that you offer rare/hard to find cigars.
 
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