dondford
Well-Known Member
"You guys just wait and see. If the embargo is lifted we will have tens of thousands of counterfeit cuban cigars everywhere you look. The"real" ones will sell for $40.00 a piece"
There are tens of thousands of counterfeit Cubans now, included those sold on the streets of Cuba (Hey, man want to buy some Cubans, my brother-in-laws works for Partagas and slips them out the back door...$40.00 a box) Yeah right. If the embargo on Cuban cigars is lifted, I'm not sure that much will change. The price will likely stay high, the European and Asian demand has always been high and will remain so. Any knowledgeable American who can afford real Cubans are getting them now from legitimate sources (legitimate in the sense they sell the real deal) but only a fairly small % can afford them. A box of Monty # 2's will run you around $260 not including international shipping. Of course there's plenty of non-ISOM cigars that cost that much, but there again, only a fairly small % pays that much. I suspect that market will try a few boxes of Cubans if they become legal, then likely go back to their Opus X's. There are cheap, lower qualityand even short filler cigars produced in Cuba and I can see them selling well in the US for no other reason of the perceived. value of Cuban cigars. What excites me is the possibility of top notch Cuban leaf becoming available in the US, but I wouldn't be surprised, if the embargo was lifted and the US allowed it in, the Cubans would export the cigars, but limit the export of leaf to protect the cigar factories. In any event, it's going to be fun the next few years watching how this story unfolds.
There are tens of thousands of counterfeit Cubans now, included those sold on the streets of Cuba (Hey, man want to buy some Cubans, my brother-in-laws works for Partagas and slips them out the back door...$40.00 a box) Yeah right. If the embargo on Cuban cigars is lifted, I'm not sure that much will change. The price will likely stay high, the European and Asian demand has always been high and will remain so. Any knowledgeable American who can afford real Cubans are getting them now from legitimate sources (legitimate in the sense they sell the real deal) but only a fairly small % can afford them. A box of Monty # 2's will run you around $260 not including international shipping. Of course there's plenty of non-ISOM cigars that cost that much, but there again, only a fairly small % pays that much. I suspect that market will try a few boxes of Cubans if they become legal, then likely go back to their Opus X's. There are cheap, lower qualityand even short filler cigars produced in Cuba and I can see them selling well in the US for no other reason of the perceived. value of Cuban cigars. What excites me is the possibility of top notch Cuban leaf becoming available in the US, but I wouldn't be surprised, if the embargo was lifted and the US allowed it in, the Cubans would export the cigars, but limit the export of leaf to protect the cigar factories. In any event, it's going to be fun the next few years watching how this story unfolds.
