[kansashat]

I just recieved a new Thompson catalog in the mail today & found a few national brand cigars that were close to, or actually beat CI's pricing. I haven't checked them with anyone else yet, but I figured up the difference if a person belonged to the 250 club & they were actually better priced on at least 4 very nice lines of cigars. [The 250 club, for those who don't know, is a purchasing club at Thompson's that gives you back a 10% rebate voucher on all your purchases after you have purchased 250 club eligible cigars.] Now, they are still way too high on many brands, but here's the lines I found.

1. Partagas Black. Actually better if a 250 club member.

2. El Rey Del Mundo. Better before the rebate.

3. La Aurora.

4. La Perla Habana.

Also they have plenty of Punch Rare Corojo in stock & better pricing with rebate.
Their prices on Padrons are a bit higher before rebate, but better after.

Are these guys beginning to wake up? Praise the Lord & pass the ammunition.

 

[G-Man]

That is truly amazing. I hope they are beginning to wake up. It seems they are leaving a lot of business out there with their price structure.

Here's to competition!!!!

 

[God]

Hat... crusing old posts and found this one... hope you don't belong to the 250 club...

 

[txmatt]

:tpd:

Laughing and pointing at 'Hat, everyone join in! :r

I will check Thompson's next time I order some La Perlas NOT! I do love the LPH Black Pearl Rojo line; a must try if you haven't yet. (and CigarInternational carries them so you don't have to use Thompson's)

-Matt-

 

[kansashat]

Yah. It's a strain to find a good deal with Thompson's, but I stand by a statement that I made recently.........you usually find 1-4 decent deals in every catalog. They actually have some of the best prices on ERDM to be had right now. Also, the H. Upmann Cedar Aged Cameroon is a pretty good cigar & well worth the money (note that this is not Vintage Cammies).

I have bought my last 2 boxes of ERDM from Thompson's :tg

 

[Jeff]

Compared Thompson's to a couple of other mags. Still high on most things. :hn

 

[kansashat]

Compared Thompson's to a couple of other mags. Still high on most things. :hn

Wrong. They are WAY high on most brands. There's a coupla reasons for this.

1. They are the most marketing driven vendor I know of......this costs money.

2. They allow people to have a charge account (I think my limit with them is $700). This promotes stupidity & the result is people who can't (or won't) pay their tabs. This drives up the cost of cigars to every one of their customers.

If you notice another thing; Thompson's doesn't agressively market the well known brands near as much as they do their own house brands. Thompson Cigars does serve a much needed function in the premium cigar market. They provide a place for the cigar manufacturers to get rid of their less than top notch tobaccos.

I buy from Thompson's, but in limited a carefully chosen quantities. As i said before.......their ERDM is the best buy I know of.
Occasionally, a BOTL will gift me a Thompson brand cigar & my heart sinks because I know that one of 2 things will happen; 1. It takes up space in my humidor for years, or; 2. I try to smoke it & ruin one of my precious daily smoking slots with a piece of crap.

 

[txmatt]

Thompson's is the only cigar vendor that actively SPAMs, this costs big money. When Thompson's comes out with a new sampler package you will get notifications from two or three separate addresses (3rd parties Thompson's pays to SPAM you).

'Hat said it best above, it might be worth it to use them on cigars like ERDM, which are tremendous smokes for the $$. If you smoke those frequently and are a member of their club you could probably save enough moeny to get the 5th box or so free with savings compared to JR. Without the club however JRs is still cheaper:

El Rey Del Mundo Robusto:

Famous $56 + $7.50 S&H= $63.50
JR $60 + $2 S&H = $62
Atlantic Cigars $53.95 + $8.21 S&H = $62.16

-Matt-