Welcome back to another episode of Smoke and Steel! We packed the garage for Episode 028 with our regular crew plus our buddy Matt making his first appearance. Between discussing the Cigar Page Plus discount club, planning our trip to Louisiana, and having one of our most honest conversations about supporting local cigar shops, this episode covered a lot of ground.

Matt’s been a loyal listener and came prepared – he made custom keychains for everyone. So if you’re planning to be a guest on the show, just know the bar’s been set pretty high.

What We’re Smoking Tonight

Before we dive into the heavy topics, let’s talk about what everyone was enjoying:

• Mark – Camacho Connecticut
• Eric – Intemperance Volstead by RoMa Craft
• Matt – Liga Privada No. 9
• Rob – Davidoff nicaragua
• Eddie – Crowned Heads Thunderkiss
• Walt – Crowned Heads Thunderkiss
• Big Rob – Grand Architect of the Universe from AG

The Thunderkiss continues to impress everyone at just $6.75. When you find a cigar that good at that price point, you stock up. We actually got them in our LACC Collective Pack and the response has been incredible.

Social Media Fans of the Week

Before we get too deep, we’ve got to give some love to our most engaged fans. The growth we’ve seen in the last two weeks has been insane. Just this week alone, we picked up 70 new followers, which is absolutely wild.

And yeah, we had a whole discussion about Discord emojis because apparently giving a thumbs up makes you old now. The fire emoji is where it’s at, according to the younger crowd. We’re all just out here trying to keep up.

The Collective Pack Launch and What’s New Wednesday

Big Rob joined us remotely to talk about how the first month of the LACC Collective Pack went. The response blew everyone away. Rob and Kyle spent two hours before Rob’s vacation just boxing everything up, making sure it was perfect. Then Rob took off and just enjoyed checking in to see who got their packs.

The feedback has been incredible. Some people are smoking through four cigars a day from the pack. Others, like Eric, are hoarding them because they don’t want to touch these great sticks. There’s no wrong way to do it, though with month two shipping in about 10 days, it’s time to start working through them.

Big Rob also gave us the rundown on What’s New Wednesday releases.

The Thunderkiss Phenomenon

We talked about the Thunderkiss cigars and their wild success story. According to the latest episode of Oz Heads (the podcast with John Huber and Tim Ozgener), the Thunderkiss was supposed to be a slow burn release. They gave it to all their reps to take to shops and get people to try it organically.

Then they went on Creekside Cigar Co show and talked about it. The cigar blew up.

Their initial shipment of 1,000 bundles sold out in days. The second shipment of 1,000 bundles is already over 50% allocated, and it’s not even January yet. At $6.75 per stick, it’s becoming one of those cigars that’s hard to keep in stock.

The concern is whether it’ll start becoming hard to find as demand increases. And if they ramp up production to meet demand, will quality slip? It’s made at the same factory as the Juarez, which is a smaller operation to begin with.

For now, we’re just enjoying the hell out of them. At that price point, they’re almost too good to be true.

Cigar Page Plus: Is the Membership Worth It?

Walt took one for the team and signed up for the new Cigar Page Plus membership. For $100 a year (with $50 back in store credit during the promotional period), you get access to member-only pricing that goes beyond their already impressive deals.

The whole concept revolves around MAP – Minimum Advertised Pricing. Brands set these prices to protect their brick and mortar retailers. By creating a membership club, Cigar Page can apparently work around these restrictions and offer even deeper discounts.

Here’s what Walt discovered by comparing side-by-side windows – one logged in as a member, one incognito:

Some items have “special pricing” labels that are actually the same as regular pricing. A little deceiving, but whatever. The real savings come with items marked “member pricing.”

Some five-packs save you two or three bucks. Not earth-shattering, but it adds up. Where the membership really shines is box pricing. Walt found boxes that were $80 cheaper than regular price. He mentioned one cigar we all love that drops from an $18 per stick price down to around $10 with the membership.

Think about that. You’re essentially smoking premium cigars at half price.

The math works out pretty simply. If you’re a regular Cigar Page buyer, you’ll probably recoup that $50 (after the promotional credit) in three to six months. Even when the promotional period ends and it’s the full $100 annually, Walt thinks it’s worth it based on his buying habits.

The membership isn’t auto-renew either, which is a nice touch. No surprise charges a year later when you’ve forgotten about it. You have to manually sign up each year, which Walt appreciates because he’s been hammered by forgotten subscriptions too many times.

You have to be logged into your account to see the member pricing. There’s no special code or member number – it’s all tied to your account automatically.

The Big Conversation: Supporting Local Cigar Shops

This is where things got real. We tackled a question that’s been floating around in everyone’s mind: when is it okay not to support local?

The cigar industry has this general mantra – support your local brick and mortar. Guys like John Huber from Crown Heads constantly emphasize it. And for good reason. Local shops build community. They give you a place to hang out, especially when it’s 18 degrees outside and you still want to smoke.

But here’s the reality: not everyone has the same situation.

The Case for Local Shops

When you’re at a good local shop, you’re not just buying a cigar. You’re buying the experience. You’re buying the ability to sit down during an Eagles game with your buddies. You’re buying that personal relationship where the owner knows what you like and can recommend something new.

Jim made a great point about shops that take care of their regulars. Back when Tim owned the shop where we all met, if you wanted a box, he’d give you a price break. He’d discount it. He understood that regular customers deserve to be taken care of.

Eric mentioned another shop in King of Prussia where the guys know him and they’ll discount boxes. That loyalty goes both ways. When a shop treats you right, you want to keep coming back even if you’re paying a little more than online prices.

When you’re getting that personal touch – when they let you stay for games, when they throw you a cigar at Christmas, when they make you feel like family – that’s worth paying extra for. It’s the environment. It’s feeling like you’re at home.

The Hard Truth About Pricing

But let’s be honest. The price gap between online retailers and brick and mortar shops can be massive.

Walt pointed out he was buying AJ Fernandez New World cigars from his brick and mortar for $160-170 a box after taxes, but getting bundles online for $80. That’s not a small difference when you’re smoking a couple of cigars a day.

Not everyone makes the same money. Not everyone can justify spending an extra $80 on a box when they could use that money elsewhere. And there’s no shame in that.

Eddie brought up a good point about being frugal. He can smoke in his garage while watching TV or working on motorcycles. He doesn’t need the lounge space as much, so a lot of his cigars come from online orders. But he acknowledges that without that original local brick and mortar where we all met, none of this would exist.

When Local Shops Miss the Mark

We also talked about shops that make it difficult to want to support them. When you’ve got an owner who kicks everyone out mid-Eagles game because he feels like closing early, or doesn’t give loyal customers advance notice about private events, or just treats people poorly – why would you keep giving them your money?

We have one local shop that’s the close to all of us, and literally no one will go there anymore. Everyone we’ve ever met has a story about how they were mistreated.

Eric shared a story about guys who’d been going to that shop every Thursday for five years. It was their tradition, their time together. One Thursday they show up and the owner’s standing at the door telling them they can’t come in. There’s a private event. No advance warning, no heads up – just “you can’t come in today.”

That’s where shops lose customers for life. You can’t treat loyal customers like that and expect them to keep coming back.

Our Take: It’s Personal

Here’s where we landed: supporting local cigar shops is a personal choice. Nobody should make you feel like an asshole for buying online if that’s what works for your situation.

Some of us don’t have good local options. Some of us can’t get to shops during their limited hours because of work schedules. Eric mentioned his schedule makes it nearly impossible to get to shops during normal business hours. Some of us live miles from the nearest lounge.

That’s actually why we started this podcast. One of our listeners told Eric that he watches because he doesn’t have access to that lounge atmosphere. He can’t just pop into a shop and hang with the guys. So he watches us freezing our asses off in the garage because at least he feels like he’s in the room with people who love cigars as much as he does.

That story hit us hard. If we can provide that sense of community for people who don’t have access to a local shop, then we’re doing something right.

The Brick and Mortar Advantage

Where local shops excel is the experience. Online retailers can’t compete with that. You can’t sit at Cigar Page’s office and smoke during a football game. You can’t build friendships with a website.

That’s where brick and mortar shops need to be exceptional. If you’re going to charge more than online prices, you better be offering something worth that premium. Customer appreciation, a welcoming environment, and treating regulars like family – that’s how you compete.

Eric compared it to going to Eagles games. Jeffrey Lurie isn’t cutting you a deal on tickets – in fact, prices go up every year. But if you found someone selling tickets at 20% off and you could go to five games a year instead of one, you’d probably do it.

It’s about value. When the value proposition makes sense, people will pay more. When it doesn’t, they’ll find alternatives.

The Discounter Problem

We also acknowledged that all brick and mortar shops struggle with heavily discounted online retailers. Kyle and Big Rob at LACC will tell you straight up – it’s devastating to compete with those prices.

It’s the same as Walmart versus local grocery stores, or Wawa and Sheetz on every corner driving out small gas stations. The little guys can’t compete on price alone.

That’s why the experience has to be exceptional. That’s why customer service has to be top-notch. That’s the only competitive advantage local shops have.

Finding Balance

The conversation came back to loyalty going both ways. Shops need to be loyal to their customers, and customers will be loyal back.

When Walt was regularly going to his local lounge, he didn’t mind paying extra because he was supporting a local business and getting value from the experience. When things changed and that value proposition shifted, he made a difficult choice.

And that’s okay. We’re all adults making decisions based on our own situations.

Looking Ahead: Exciting Guests and Events

We’ve got some killer stuff lined up:

Mo from Patina Cigars is confirmed for an upcoming episode. We’re coordinating dates now. Jim’s already pumped since he’s our resident Patina expert. He won’t shut up about those cigars.

Joe Macko, a huge fan of the show, is going to join us for an episode. We need to lock down dates with him.

Charlie from Abbina Craft Sipping Sodas is sending us product to try. He’s sending some sodas for us to sample before the show, plus some to drink during the episode. Big Rob tells us that once Charlie explains the concept, it’ll blow our minds. The shop just got restocked on all four flavors.

Barry Stein from A Cigar Smoker will be joining us. For anyone who’s been following cigar media for a long time, Barry’s a name you know. He ran a cigar review website for years, went on multiple factory tours, worked in the industry for a period, and started his own business. He’s got about 20 years of experience in the industry.

Our Louisiana trip is taking shape for late September or early October. We’re planning to record from LACC and film multiple episodes. We’re thinking Thursday through Sunday, and we’ll film as many episodes with Kyle and Rob as we can while we’re down there.

Big Rob said he’s already excited and they can definitely make it happen. Eric is already researching food spots. He found this place called Drago’s that does chargrilled oysters. Big Rob said it’s decent but the best food in the area comes from the sketchiest looking gas stations. That’s where you get the best seafood and po’boys.

Fan appreciation event is also in the works. More details coming soon.

Discord Live Hangouts – We’re going to start doing live voice hangouts on our Discord, similar to what Kyle and Rob do. It’ll be a scheduled time where we jump on and people can ask questions, hang out, and chat with us live. Big Rob said their last one had about 50 people, which is a lot to manage but they make it work.

We’re also working on a behind-the-scenes channel in Discord reserved for our top fans. A way to give back to the people who are most active in the community beyond just joining to get early episode releases.

Random Observations and Good Times

Matt brought up that he got into cigars about six years ago near the end of his marriage. His buddy Mike introduced him and it spiraled into a love affair with cigars ever since. As for why he loves the show, he said it’s because he loves hearing Eric talk all the time. Which, you know, checks out.

We talked about AI-generated photos and how Matt’s become our resident expert. He’s created some hilarious stuff – Eric as a timid whale jumping through a flaming hoop, Eddie on the Shelf with his elf hat, and the legendary fishing trip story. But we had to acknowledge that AI photo generation has gotten out of control in some spaces.

The emoji conversation was gold. Apparently thumbs up is the old man’s version of acknowledgment now. Fire emoji is what the kids use. The 100 emoji means you agree with something. Walt’s just trying to keep up, still dropping thumbs up like it’s 2010.

Final Thoughts

This episode covered a lot of ground, but the conversation about supporting local versus buying online resonated with everyone. There’s no right or wrong answer. It depends on your situation, your local options, and what you value.

What matters is that we’re all here for the same reason – we love cigars, we love the community, and we want to share that with anyone who’ll listen.

The cigar industry is built on relationships. Whether those relationships happen in a brick and mortar lounge or in a garage in Pennsylvania or through a podcast that reaches someone 100 miles from the nearest shop – it’s all valid.

Support local when you can. Buy online when you need to. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about your choices. And most importantly, enjoy the damn cigars.

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends who might be struggling with the same questions about where to buy their cigars. Send it to that buddy who loves cigars but doesn’t have anyone to talk to about them. That’s what we’re here for.

And if you’re looking for some great deals, check out our affiliate links for Cigar Page and JR Cigars – support the show while you stock up.