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NUMBER ONE REACHES NUMBER ONE Print E-mail
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Los Angeles, April 29 – Few features on this site receive more attention than our exclusive Comparison Shopper and the National Retailer Rankings on which it is based.

Each year, we get plenty of comments about how we compile the list of what we consider the top online cigar retailers in America, some of which can be considered constructive criticism and some which are just criticism. But we considered all of the constructive ideas carefully and have incorporated some into this year’s rankings:

  • Many readers asked us to reflect shipping and handling as a larger part of the overall cost of acquisition, especially when buying five-packs or bundles or boxes that cost under $100.

  • Numerous complaints noted that some retailers have very thin stocks and only one or two sizes in a brand instead of a comprehensive selection.

  • Some readers wanted to know why only very expensive brands such as Davidoff and Padron were included in the breadth test, instead of more popularly-priced, higher-volume brands.

    We listened and our fourth National Retailer Rankings reflect these comments and others we have received. So, in compiling this year’s rankings, we used a four-part test:

    (1) First, as we have done in the past, we selected four “test” cigars that would be widely available in order to create an initial ranking. This year, with the trend toward tubed cigars and boxes of less than 25, we chose the H. Upmann Monarch Tubos (7 inches by 46 ring in boxes of 10), the Macanudo Hyde Park (5 1/2 x 49 in 25s), Punch Pita (6 1/8 x 50 in 25s) and the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Churchill (7 x 50 in 25s).

    Of the 157 sites checked, 50 had all four test cigars and were ranked 1-50 on the average price. Another 56 sites had three or less of the test brands and did not qualify for further ranking and 51 sites either did not sell cigars in boxes, did not post prices or were not functioning at the time of the test.

    (2) Of the 50 sites which did qualify for further ranking, we took the top 25 and expanded the pricing test to four sizes in each of the four brands, adding three of the more popular sizes in each brand to the one already priced: the No. 100 Robusto, Churchill and Corona for H. Upmann; Baron de Rothschild, Hampton Court (in tubes) and Prince Philip (in boxes of 10) for Macanudo; the After Dinner, Champion (a perfecto) and Rothschild for Punch and the Romeo y Julieta 1875 Belicoso (torpedo), Bully and Exhibicion No. 3.

    That 16-cigar average accounted for 60 percent of the final score. Of the 25 sites we checked, 18 had all 16 cigars, four had 15 and three had 14; those with 15 or 14 were ranked at the end of the table.


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    Did you know?

    “At the time of nationalization of the cigar trade in Cuba, there were reported to be as many as 960 brand trademarks!