Have you ever picked up or read a copy of Cigar Insider? How many of you subscribe to it? What makes it worth $50 a year? Is it worth that much?
I’m not trying to bash Cigar Aficionado or any of the people there. I think they’re great writers that put together some stellar editorial copy. But I don’t think I know anyone who subscribes to CI. What are your opinions on it?
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
A local retailer subscribes and prints out for folks in the lounge to peruse. It’s interesting, but the content seems primarily geared towards cigar retailers, rather than cigar consumers. If I owned a cigar shop, I would probably subscribe, as there’s a lot of good market information in there.
When I first started getting REALLY into cigars and cigar smoking, I subscribed.
I really liked the publication, but found it to be not worth the fee, especially when much of the same information was delivered to my doorstep in the form of Cigar Aficionado Magazine slightly after it appeared in Cigar Insider.
Now that I’m a more experienced smoker, I rely much less on how other people and publications rate cigars….so I’m no longer a subscriber. But there is definitely value for some people in Cigar Insider.
I subscribed for a year but I’m kinda like JoeBob above. Industry cigar ratings rarely reflect my opinion of a cigar anymore and I have come to rely on my own instincts. I will say one thing that I find interesting in CI is the vertical tastings. Even if their rating varies from mine, I can usually decipher which vitola I may prefer from the discussion. And rarely can I afford to buy each size in a line to make that choice efficiently.
I like it because they have a decent understanding of what’s going on at the factories, and I kind of use it as a guide of what to buy for the month.
Having been associated with the cigar industry, in one way or another, for 50+years, I find CI to be both interesting and informative.
If you subscribe to CA, the cost is only $25.00 per year for the twice monthly on-line publication. From my standpoint, it is well worth the cost.
That’s true.
What kinds of jobs have you held in the cigar biz, purolover?