Tatuaje Drac and Boris

[JHolmes763]

It's what you get when you make a "secret" list public to buyers and sellers at the same time. I would have told anyone calling yesterday that they were in-store buys only. If they didn't sell well or you got a bunch of boxes, then change the policy later. Or at least tell them to wait a week so you figure out what's going on and figure out how much local support you got. Why play this stupid game with people calling you only get their hands on a certain limited smoke?

 

[Yeahthatsme]

It's what you get when you make a "secret" list public to buyers and sellers at the same time. I would have told anyone calling yesterday that they were in-store buys only. If they didn't sell well or you got a bunch of boxes, then change the policy later. Or at least tell them to wait a week so you figure out what's going on and figure out how much local support you got. Why play this stupid game with people calling you only get their hands on a certain limited smoke?

I don't think any hard sales were made. It seemed more like a frenzied attempt by retailers to get a hold of the situation, hence all the lists that were made, and in some cases the lack of preorders at all. Not to mention all of the gimmick attempts, sending people to facebook pages and holding raffles, and the one retailer I heard of requiring you buy a box of other tatuajes to be put on the reserve list.

 

[tmoney2007]

Pete has already said that there would be guidelines for how the sales go down next year. Hopefully the shops will know before the public next year.

If I were a shop owner, I would let the regulars get first dibs, then walkups, then internet/phone sales. If everybody doesn't get what they want... so be it.

You know you are going to sell all of them, so give the people who support you the most the first chance at them.

 

[jorel]

Even Pete's Facebook status (below) speaks volumes!

Tatuaje Cigars
This is out of control. Thank god that you don't have to camp out in front of stores like those guys at Johnny Cupcakes waiting for a limited edition t-shirt to release.23 hours ago

 

[Bxcigrfan]

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me. If i was an owner and made a list and saw that i had locals on my list then i would give the first 5-10 first dibs even if they were at the bottom of the list. But I would leave some for mail order because you know its gonna happen.
The same goes with wine, when wine hunters go making cold calls when a new highly wanted bottle comes out, stores will keep some in house cause they already know they have a few customers who would be looking for it and then sell some via mail order.

i just want my box!<crying>

 

[Bsneed51]

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me.

In order to even be in the drawing for the Dracs you have to be a top Tatuaje retailer. You get to be a top retailer by your locals walking in the door and putting down their money to buy them. So then when they get selected for a special release of Tats, you expect them to sh*t on the guys who go in there everyday to spend their money? Instead they should sell their reward to you, a person that's never spent a dime in their shop before, and who will probably never spend another dime in there again? Please, try to justify that logic to me again!

 

[tmoney2007]

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me. If i was an owner and made a list and saw that i had locals on my list then i would give the first 5-10 first dibs even if they were at the bottom of the list. But I would leave some for mail order because you know its gonna happen.
The same goes with wine, when wine hunters go making cold calls when a new highly wanted bottle comes out, stores will keep some in house cause they already know they have a few customers who would be looking for it and then sell some via mail order.

i just want my box!<crying>

Many hardcore cigar smokers don't troll these forums and don't always know about what is coming out when.

To maximize the benefit from this windfall they should be focusing on strengthening the bonds that they have with regular customers and expanding their repeat customer base. For a store that doesn't even do internet sales, are YOU going to call them and order stuff in the future? I don't think so. So why should they care about being fair to you? If they can sell all the boxes locally, more power to them.

 

[Golfanatic]

Does anyone know what these are going to look like? Besides this...

 

[Bxcigrfan]

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me.

In order to even be in the drawing for the Dracs you have to be a top Tatuaje retailer. You get to be a top retailer by your locals walking in the door and putting down their money to buy them. So then when they get selected for a special release of Tats, you expect them to sh*t on the guys who go in there everyday to spend their money? Instead they should sell their reward to you, a person that's never spent a dime in their shop before, and who will probably never spend another dime in there again? Please, try to justify that logic to me again!

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me. If i was an owner and made a list and saw that i had locals on my list then i would give the first 5-10 first dibs even if they were at the bottom of the list. But I would leave some for mail order because you know its gonna happen.
The same goes with wine, when wine hunters go making cold calls when a new highly wanted bottle comes out, stores will keep some in house cause they already know they have a few customers who would be looking for it and then sell some via mail order.

i just want my box!<crying>

Many hardcore cigar smokers don't troll these forums and don't always know about what is coming out when.

To maximize the benefit from this windfall they should be focusing on strengthening the bonds that they have with regular customers and expanding their repeat customer base. For a store that doesn't even do internet sales, are YOU going to call them and order stuff in the future? I don't think so. So why should they care about being fair to you? If they can sell all the boxes locally, more power to them.

Yes I would buy from them again, every person that I have done business with on CP and outside of CP, if the business was well received (meaning they treated me professionally and delivery was done right, packaging, timeliness) then I go through the list the next time I’m looking for something.
Am I saying to shun their walk in… No. A lot of shop owners know their regulars (well because they are their regulars) and know what they buy, so they know they would need to keep at least some boxes for their regulars.
But knowing this is a product that is limited, that has never been tasted before and will not be back in the store once sold out, does it really hurt the bottom end of the store and its regulars considering it is not a regular production item that brings in regular revenue.
Now I don’t buy a box every month, so I could not get back to every person I have dealt with on CP and buy again from them or every retailer I do mail order with but I do try to get back to them; and I will refer business to them when ever I can.

Now I pose this
Are you really going to believe that random people who do troll the internet and do know it’s coming and live near that store but have never brought anything there before would not walk in and be like can I have a box. Should you turn them away because your regulars have not come in yet to get a box?

 

[tmoney2007]

A walk in is different from an internet/phone sale. More than likely, they are within driving distance of the shop so there is a chance that a new regular could be made from that sale. That's why I would favor face to face sales above all else.

Would I turn away a guy that walked up and asked for a box? Absolutely, if I thought that my regulars would buy everything I had, I would get his name and number and start a list. Once most of the regulars had their chance, I'd start going down the list of walk-ups.

If I knew I had enough to cover most of the regulars, I would set some aside but sell to walk-ups.

It doesn't matter that a new customer can't come back and buy THAT smoke. Getting them into the shop is the hard part. Hopefully from there you win them over and get them to come back with your service, atmosphere and selection.

Would you want to use these to make $3k now and not worry about the opportunity, or would you make the $3k and try to maximize the income that could come from it in the future?

You are going to sell everything you have no matter what, so why not prioritize the sales to benefit you the most?

 

[Yeahthatsme]

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me.

In order to even be in the drawing for the Dracs you have to be a top Tatuaje retailer. You get to be a top retailer by your locals walking in the door and putting down their money to buy them. So then when they get selected for a special release of Tats, you expect them to sh*t on the guys who go in there everyday to spend their money? Instead they should sell their reward to you, a person that's never spent a dime in their shop before, and who will probably never spend another dime in there again? Please, try to justify that logic to me again!

Right, because nobody does business through mail order. What about the people, like me, who don't have a local tatuaje vendor? I call several different retailers to get tatuajes, so shouldn't I get a chance at the special releases that my money helps attain?

 

[tmoney2007]

If they know you, and know that you buy tats from them often, they'll sell you a box.

There are way more cigar smokers that want this smoke than will get it... You'll get your chance but your chances aren't going to be quite as high as those that are regulars at one of the selected shops. There is absolutely no way to avoid this disparity unless they do a huge release, which would defeat the purpose.

Life ain't fair. If you really want some, they'll show up in the BST forum and you can buy them there.

The B&M that I go to is getting a couple boxes and I don't know that I'll get any of them. Such is life.

 

[uptown_isy]

Pete...gotta disagree with you a bit. I have some regulars smoking Tats who ARE NOT on the boards. They ALSO know the Dracs are coming out and want some too. Now these guys normally don't buy boxes from me, being that we tax 46% in this state, but they're in here every other day. It wouldn't be right if all the boxes I get (however many that is) are sold through mail order. I have more internet customers smoking Tats, but there are a few in store customers that smoke them, too. Being that they're in here every other day, wouldn't it make sense to keep a box or 2 on hand for them?

 

[Bxcigrfan]

Tmoney, isy that's why I'm saying just give everyone a shot keep some in house and some mail order
I know I have a snow balls chance in hell and I know If I get some it will be by the means I got my box of tat franks
I'll stop here b/c I am on my phone on the bus, this is easier via a real keyboard

 

[Bsneed51]

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me.

In order to even be in the drawing for the Dracs you have to be a top Tatuaje retailer. You get to be a top retailer by your locals walking in the door and putting down their money to buy them. So then when they get selected for a special release of Tats, you expect them to sh*t on the guys who go in there everyday to spend their money? Instead they should sell their reward to you, a person that's never spent a dime in their shop before, and who will probably never spend another dime in there again? Please, try to justify that logic to me again!

Right, because nobody does business through mail order. What about the people, like me, who don't have a local tatuaje vendor? I call several different retailers to get tatuajes, so shouldn't I get a chance at the special releases that my money helps attain?

And the shops that you do mail order business with, or that you have bought from before will know you as a "regular". For example, you and the Outlaw. You've spent money in there on multiple occassions, just because you aren't in there every day, I think you would get consideration on their list. What I'm saying is that bxcigrfn has never spend at penny in there(I don't know that for a fact, but lets go with it for this example) so in my opinion he shouldn't get priority for a box over me, or OpusXKC, or JHawk, of kcben. I'm sorry, I drop a lot more time and money in that place than any of you so in my opinion, Yes I should get priority. Once all the regulars have passed on them, then free for all.

The above is all a generalization and isn't intended to single out anyone or anyplace.

 

[uptown_isy]

Pete...don't worry about it, brother. I think the whole point of this is that stores that rely on mail order biz BUT ALSO have locals that frequent the place regularly should put SOME aside for those regulars. That's all. Otherwise, what's the point of having a local store to go to, if they won't reward the loyalty?

 

[Bxcigrfan]

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me.

In order to even be in the drawing for the Dracs you have to be a top Tatuaje retailer. You get to be a top retailer by your locals walking in the door and putting down their money to buy them. So then when they get selected for a special release of Tats, you expect them to sh*t on the guys who go in there everyday to spend their money? Instead they should sell their reward to you, a person that's never spent a dime in their shop before, and who will probably never spend another dime in there again? Please, try to justify that logic to me again!

Right, because nobody does business through mail order. What about the people, like me, who don't have a local tatuaje vendor? I call several different retailers to get tatuajes, so shouldn't I get a chance at the special releases that my money helps attain?

And the shops that you do mail order business with, or that you have bought from before will know you as a "regular". For example, you and the Outlaw. You've spent money in there on multiple occassions, just because you aren't in there every day, I think you would get consideration on their list. What I'm saying is that bxcigrfn has never spend at penny in there(I don't know that for a fact, but lets go with it for this example) so in my opinion he shouldn't get priority for a box over me, or OpusXKC, or JHawk, of kcben. I'm sorry, I drop a lot more time and money in that place than any of you so in my opinion, Yes I should get priority. Once all the regulars have passed on them, then free for all.

Yes a name that is known be it walk in or mail order should take place of a unknown name but
life's a bitch and then u (fill in the rest)

The above is all a generalization and isn't intended to single out anyone or anyplace.

 

[GregSVT]

My local told me they would be taking care of the regulars at least with single stick sales. I don't exactly need a whole box so that made me happy. If I can score one somewhere else I will but it made me feel good that I would have the possiblity to buy some at their store.

 

[redraider]

When are they going to actually be released? Serious in Houston is my go to shop most days...

 

[Yeahthatsme]

i am all for the locals getting a piece of the action but if someone local really wanted one, then they could have called in just as easy as me.

In order to even be in the drawing for the Dracs you have to be a top Tatuaje retailer. You get to be a top retailer by your locals walking in the door and putting down their money to buy them. So then when they get selected for a special release of Tats, you expect them to sh*t on the guys who go in there everyday to spend their money? Instead they should sell their reward to you, a person that's never spent a dime in their shop before, and who will probably never spend another dime in there again? Please, try to justify that logic to me again!

Right, because nobody does business through mail order. What about the people, like me, who don't have a local tatuaje vendor? I call several different retailers to get tatuajes, so shouldn't I get a chance at the special releases that my money helps attain?

And the shops that you do mail order business with, or that you have bought from before will know you as a "regular". For example, you and the Outlaw. You've spent money in there on multiple occassions, just because you aren't in there every day, I think you would get consideration on their list. What I'm saying is that bxcigrfn has never spend at penny in there(I don't know that for a fact, but lets go with it for this example) so in my opinion he shouldn't get priority for a box over me, or OpusXKC, or JHawk, of kcben. I'm sorry, I drop a lot more time and money in that place than any of you so in my opinion, Yes I should get priority. Once all the regulars have passed on them, then free for all.

The above is all a generalization and isn't intended to single out anyone or anyplace.

I feel targeted, and offended. Just FYI.



All told, I think we can all agree this was a big clusterfuck, and we can only hope that the future Halloween releases will be better organized.