Hi all, I was reading some poor comments about thompson cigars in another post, and not trying to hijack that thread I wanted to ask all what is wrong with thompson cigar. Now I know that you don't want to get on their mailing list for phone calls as they are a pain, but just considering their cigars, how do they rate?

I bought a humidor with 5x 5 types of their house smokes for just 30 bucks (with a lighter that I don't use much) . Of that pack 15 were crappy, 5 were ok, and another 5 were quite good. The way I look at it the 5 good ones plus a $30 humidor with free shipping at the time made them well worth it.

Can anyone comment on their name brand cigars, do they arrive fresh and are they competitively priced? I'm still a newb with cigars and I like samplers. Thompson seems to have many in that aspect, and until I find a list of favorites, I'm looking for good sampler websites.

Thanks all for your replies.

I too started with them. Some of thier smokes were good, some tasted like ash trays, literally. The problem is they pressure new people into thier "cigar of the month" club and have trouble taking no for an answer. Then they'll hound you for days trying to get you to buy this or that. Finally, I had to tell them what part of "no" don't you understand and hang up. They finally quit.

If you do order from them again, the Tusker I thought was really good. Course I was drinking that night, but something about it was very good.

By the way, welcome to the forum and enjoy. Cigars International is really good to deal with, good samplers.

I have always stated that I hate...yes hate...for a phone rep to try to upsell me when I am placing an order...just give me my d**n smokes, would ya?!

They try to upsell you for vacation packages, coupon packages, etc.etc..if I wanted those things, I would ask for them.

Early last week I called to cancel my Cigar Club membership and they kept trying to stall me. The rep kept saying they could delay my shipments for however long I wanted, etc., etc...finally, pissed off, I said no and told them in no uncertain terms to CANCEL IT !!!

This past Saturday I get a letter in the mail telling me that "as per my request, they are putting a hold on my shipments and membership" and that I could just notify them whenever I was ready to order my club cigars again.

AAARRGGHHHH!!!!!!

I am now going to call AND write to the main store and speak directly with someone at Thompson and not some phone service.

Unless they are giving away a free God of Fire or Opus X (of which I have never had one)I am through with Thompson.

GONZO !!!

Holts is known for very nice high end samplers.
The dirty 30 sampler for $99.95 will give you a nice mix from mild to full and everything in between.
A good start for someone trying to find their niche taste.

I ujsed "T" back in the 1990's when we were in a cigar boom. There were a few cigars that they had that nobody else seemed to have.

Then I noticed that some of the cigars I requested were on "back-order" and would I like this cigar or that cigar. I received a catalog from JR cigars and found that I was paying much more at "T" for the same cigars. The cigars I ordered from JR also seemed fresher and smoked better.

I still have the free humidor that I got from "T". It never held humidity. The offered to exchange it if I returned it postage paid. I figured that the postage would be more than the humidor was worth.

It took about 5-years to get off their mailing list.

Personally I would say look around and you will find better prices on better cigars,

Their prices on name brand (read: quality) cigars is at MSRP or sometimes higher so that they can steer you into buying their generic (read: crap) alternatives.

As everyone has said, they also sell loss-leaders as a way of getting you onto their mailing list, which you will never get off of.

There are so many better options with better prices, better products and better service. Holt's is great, so is Cigars International, Famous Smoke, New Havana Cigars, Tower Cigars, Mike's Cigars, Atlantic Cigar...the list goes on and on.

I did the desktop humi and 5x5 of their house brands too, just for the desktop. I mostly give them away to buddies that want to smoke just because I am (told them what they were smoking was the generic of my padron 1926 or hoyo 1066. heh, heh). The desktop humi is now in my apartment where I work while my big one is back at home until we move. It wasn't a bad deal but I knew what I was getting into. I don't answer when it shows up unknown so I don't listen to their drivel and I put their catalogs in the can for an emergency...

Ryoko,
If you like samplers try famous-smoke.com. They have a "pick a sampler" where you get a free stick for every 5 singles you buy. Not endorsing them over anyone else, just helping you with your sampler fetish. BTW, which ones did you like?

Hey Pete, its good to see another Okie on this forum board.

Highest prices I have seen from any online vendor, usually full MSRP. I haven't used them for that reason in many years.

Thank you all, lots of great info and I'll definitely look up those other cigar sites.

Pete918, Corojo Cubano was the type I liked.

Ryoko,
me too.

CANAC,
where are you in OK?

Using the search engine on this board kept me away from Thompsons when I first started smoking. I use cbid, CI, and Holts. Famous' prices seem to be comparable to Holts, I just think Holts' site is easier to navigate.

I've been reading this board almost everyday for months, but have almost no post count because I can pretty much find an answer to every question I have just by taking a minute to search for it.

X2 for Cigar International, and Thompson cigar will try to pressure you with "cigar of the month" got stuck with that a few months ago and it took awhile to stop them and get my money back for returned cigars...Tuskers are pretty good also

Mack

quote:

Originally posted by cherrymaxap:
I too started with them. Some of thier smokes were good, some tasted like ash trays, literally. The problem is they pressure new people into thier "cigar of the month" club and have trouble taking no for an answer. Then they'll hound you for days trying to get you to buy this or that. Finally, I had to tell them what part of "no" don't you understand and hang up. They finally quit.

If you do order from them again, the Tusker I thought was really good. Course I was drinking that night, but something about it was very good.

By the way, welcome to the forum and enjoy. Cigars International is really good to deal with, good samplers.

I had originally signed up with T when I first started smoking because I lived in an area where there was no good B&M. They suckered me into their cigar of the month club but I cancelled it when I moved to an area with a fantastic B&M.

Recently I saw a samplier of Oliva cigars so I purchased it from T...I should have known better. They put me back on their cigar of the month shipments and sent me a bundle of garbage cigars. I have to call them today and see how much it's going to cost me to send the cigars back to them. They told me that all I had to do was go online and put my order on hold and they wouldn't ship me anything until I wanted to place another order.

UPDATE:

since my last post I received a phone call form Thompson!

They began with, as per your previous phone call, we have placed yor club membership 'on hold'. WTF?!!! I told them that I did not put them it on hold but rather wanted to cancel it and assumed it had been cancelled.

The rep asked why...finally I told them about being upsold on non-cigar related options, etc. He stated "That is how they make their money" to which I replied, Not from me they dont! I want it cancelled and I want it done right now!" I then told them that I now buy all of my cigars from m local shop at higher prices and from JR Cigars and Cigar International.

He was pissed but finally agreed.... am flying to Tampa on the 2nd..I am attemtped to go to the store and let them know exactly why I dont want their cigars.

If you have a club membership, call them and tell them you want to cancel and ten sit back and watch what happens.

GONZO !!!

GONZO !!!

GONZO I just did the same thing this morning. I had a club membership years ago and then stopped it. A few months ago I saw a special T was running on an Oliva cigar samplier and so I called and ordered it.

The guy then says to me that he noticed I was once a member of their cigar club and why did I cancel my membership. He said he could reinstate the membership due to the Oliva order and I wouldn't lose the 250 points I had acquired. He then said I had to place another order with them for the autoship but that I could go online and put the order on hold or cancel it until I was in need of more cigars and I wouldn't lose the club points I had already earned. So I did just that...well the other day I get a package from T on my doorstep and the package contained some cheap cigars that he had ordered for me when he reinstated my club membership. I had cancelled this order and told the customer service rep of this fact this morning and I told her to take the charges off my credit card or I was calling my attorney. She informed me that what the previous customer service rep said to me was incorrect and that I was obligated to either pay for the cigars or return them. She also told me that I'd get my next shipment of said garbage cigars a few weeks from now again. At this point I went ballistic and told them that I just wanted to cancel my membership completely and that I would NEVER buy from T again. I told them my Oliva purchase was a one time thing because they had a really good deal on a samplier and I only wanted to take advantage of that special. She then told me that I could go online and cancel or delay the shipment. I told her that this was the same routine I was calling to complain about and I'm not that stupid to make the same mistake twice. I then told her I would NEVER EVER in a MILLION YEARS buy anything from T again and that I'd rather pay 1000 times what I paid for the Oliva cigars from any other reputable vendor then do business with T again. I also told her that I was going to put a post on Cigar Aficianado to describe what happened to me so that they don't get to screw over another of the fine BOTL that I've gotten to know on CA.

Sad thing was I had to waste over an hour of my morning with this issue. I am even considering contacting the Better Business Bureau and filing a complaint with them.

On a side note, are there any cigar of the month clubs that are reasonable and worth the money?

rechtien