I'd like to start a premium/super-premium box pass open to experienced traders and relatively new traders alike (more on what constitutes "relatively new" in a bit.)
Admittedly, I've never done a box pass before but think I get the drift.
Ideally, I'd like to put together a group of fifteen people.
It works like this:
I will put together a travelling tupperdor of 30 premium or super premium sticks. All sticks will be either highly-rated by CA (88+), or cost $10 or more per. Some CC's may be included but are exempt from the 88+/$10 rule.
I will forward this box to the first of fifteen people on the list. That person will take three sticks of their choice out(TAKES) and put three sticks of their choice in (PUTS).
That person will then send the box to the next person via USPS Priority shipping. It should be insured for $200 and tracked.
Anyway, it continues in this manner through the rest of the list of fifteen, each person taking three cigars of their choice and returning three. At the end, the box will be returned back to me.
RULES:
The sticks you put in MUST be of equal or greater value to the sticks you take. However, you can't take two $5 sticks and put in one $10 stick. The goal here is value parity. Obviously, CC's are once again immune from this rule as price for them varies widely. Also, rarity for NC's will be taken into account. That is, the MSRP value of, say, a PAM principe is relatively low, but given how hard it is to obtain, it is worth somewhat more. This rule should be more or less self-enforcing by the other passers. We don't need to get down to pennies here. Within a few bucks is acceptable.
You may not take a CC unless you put a CC. You may, however, take an NC and put a CC in its place if you are so inclined. You know, if you have a bunch of RyJ's just burning a hole in your humidor.
You must forward the box to the next person on the list within 72 hours, unless that falls on a weekend, in which case it would be better to wait until Monday so that these precious, precious sticks are not sitting in some post office truck in the hot sun.
I will choose the order of the 15 participants based on rough geographic proximity to each other to minimize shipping time. If you want to take your turn out of order because of a vacation or something, just let everyone know.
Once you receive the box, notify the group of your takes and puts in a post on this forum. I'll do my best to post an updated inventory after every pass. Please compare the posted inventory to what's in the box as soon as you get it home. Also, please post the tracking nbr and ship date when you send it out so the next person knows when to expect it.
Finally, as this is a premium pass, please do not put any segundos, machine-mades, or "house brands" from anyone (Thompsons, J&R, your local shop, etc.) These may be fine smokes, but they do not conform to the 88+/$10 rule.
And please, no flavored cigars or Drew Estate Naturals (which are tainted with flavors by sharing space in the Acid warehouses). Nothing against them, but they will taint the rest of the cigars.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE:
As the value of the box is going to be high, for obvious reasons we need to be careful about who we send the box to. For that reason, I'd like to keep this pass open only to those who have more than 100 posts to their name on the CA forum or have completed at least one successful trade on the "Pay It Forward Noob Edition Take 3."
Also, for the sake of simplicity, this pass will be open only to those in the continental US. Apologies to our neighbors to the north.
I don't need to mention that the success of this box pass will depend entirely on the integrity and trustworthiness of all its participants.
Please post a response below indicating your willingness to participate. Once we have fifteen qualified players, I'll let you know.
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"Live every week like it's Shark Week."
