How Can I Avoid Getting Ripped Off When Buying a Cigar?
The best method to avoid paying too much at the register for a premium cigar is to do your research and become familiar with cigar prices. Our tasting database, which includes prices and ratings for more than 18,000 cigars, is a good place to start. The prices in our online database are from Cigar Aficionado magazine and our Cigar Insider newsletter; hence they have been verified. However, the listed prices are manufacturer's suggested retail prices and won't necessarily reflect the final price you will pay.
Why is this? One word: taxes. Like many products, premium cigars are taxed by individual states and the federal goverment. So what you see in your retail cigar shop's humidor will vary depending on what your state's premium cigar tax rates are. That can be zero (Florida, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire) or it can be as high as 75 percent of the wholesale price (Alaska).
Cigar brands are usually offered in multiple size formats, i.e., vitolas. These sizes will often vary in price depending on how much tobacco is used. A thin corona often carries a lower retail price than a larger Churchill. So if you want a deal, consider thinner cigars.
For a complete list of each state's excise tax rate on tobacco, check out this list compiled by the Cigar Rights of America, the national advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the rights of consumers, tobacconists, and the makers of premium cigars.
