Cheap vs. Affordable: How to Buy Handmade Cigars Online Without Getting Burned

If you want to buy cheap cigars online and you think finding the one with the lowest price does the trick, you’re deeply mistaken. The trick is to find the lowest price on a cigar that’s still well made. Now those are two very different searches, and mixing them up is how people end up with cigars that burn unevenly.

Firstly, start looking at how the cigar is made. Handmade cigars use whole-leaf long filler that is rolled by a person who checks the draw whereas the machine-made cigars like Avanti, which uses Kentucky and Tennessee fire-cured tobacco and has been made in the US for a century, are honestly priced and unpretentious. Having said that, they’re two completely different products, so it's always better to know which you’re buying.

Now that you know how the cigar is actually made, find out why something is cheap before you actually proceed to buy cigars online. There’s usually a structural reason behind good value. For instance, Oliva keeps costs down partly by growing its own tobacco in Nicaragua. On the other hand, Perdomo’s catalog has long included entry-level bundled cigars alongside its premium line. Similarly, Alec Bradley’s founder gained early traction by selling bundles. Bundles generally save on packaging and cosmetics, not the tobacco itself. The trick is to compare per-stick price rather than box price, since a 20-count box and a 25-count bundle can’t be compared until you divide.

And lastly, taste before you commit. You can go for a small sampler of affordable handmade cigars that tells you whether you like Connecticut, Habano or maduro wrappers. This is the kind of knowledge that will save you more money than any coupon ever!

Whether you want to buy cheap cigars online or aim higher and go for something premium, Cigar Outlet offers bundles and boxes at a range of prices, so it’s easy to buy affordable handmade cigars from known brands and scale up once you’ve found a favorite.