My question would be this... How does one determine the cigars value if not with its original coffin ? Would it still be the same price or lesser in value? If it would be cheaper, what determines the "value" of the coffin?
For now, the cigars are not mine...they are the cigars of the passers. Everyone has a duty to help keep things in check, whether you are the first person or the last in the pass.. If you see something out of whack, or that you don't agree with, it's an obligation to say something so we can talk it through. With some cigars, the knowledge is black and white...with others, it can be subjective. It's rather simple. Everyone decides on what is fair for the grey areas or what a pass host leaves up to the masses for a majority vote.
Take the Felipe Gregorio for example under this scenario....and noo, it's not an expensive cigar. If for example I aged a $4 romeo y julieta for 20 years, would it be worth anything? No, or at least, not much. But, it would be an interesting smoking experience...that's for sure. There might be some appreciation...but this isn't a cigar that appreciates much in value under any circumstance. If I was a pass participant, for the sake of a pass, I might put $.50 - $1 of an over-put on it as a minimum. Then it's up to the pass participants and/ or host to decide whether they think it's fair. Sometimes you can't put an exact price when you consider these factors...you have to guesstimate. In all passes over puts are allowed, and sometimes they work out to your benefit. What I mean by that is that if I ballpark a cigar at $7, I might put a $9 or $10 cigar because I now have the opportunity to smoke something I never had the chance to before....and to be honest, trying to guess an exact value, well, I'd rather part with the extra $2-$3 than tackle that headache and discussion.
Now, the Stradivarius. LOL, I did this on purpose....just to see everyone go back and forth on it. The discussion is healthy, and inspires questions and ideas....exactly what I planned on. No, I didn't expect anyone to really take the cigar...but it certainly inspired the intended debates. For this example, I'll bring in a couple of other cigar lines into the discussion....like Gurkha and Graycliff. Gurkha and Graycliff cigars are often found WAY overpriced on B&M shelves. In fact, in almost all of the non-newbie passes I run, I strictly forbid these two cigars in the pass rules. What most B&M's get $15 for, many a smokers buy them for $4 on cigar bid. So how do you price them? Well, yes, there is a manufacturer suggested MSRP. HOWEVER, in Gurkha especially, the cost of putting these cigars on a B&M shelf is largely consumed in the exotic boxes and packaging, whereas they can ship them to cigars international without the boxes for online sales on the cheap. Therefore, a passer can buy them for $4 and up-trade through a pass (essentially profiteering). So we eliminate that option with cigars that have the highest possibility of facilitating that behavior. That being said, many will say a Stradivarius is in the same boat. Looks good, but can be had cheaply through sales at retailers just trying to get out of their investment by breaking even with them and selling them at cost. Consider that with it missing a coffin....and now you have a debate by passers on what a fair value should be.
Have I confused the $*** out of you yet? I hope so. As you can see....not all cigars are black and white. Some are very very grey. A more common example, some ISOMs that were produced between '99 and '01 went for 50% off due to terrible production and quality control issues. When those particular dates pop up in a pass for one of those cigars (a vitola that may still be produced) you can't in good consciousness mark that cigar at MSRP when you know it was bought cheaper, or even if bought at MSRP ( a counter argument offered by most people using them as a put) you know it's worth less.
Food for thought....we'll call this Newbie Pass 401...an advanced senior level class. lol.
