America's #1 Online Cigar Auction
first, best, biggest!

Last post 1 day ago by Ram27. 1910 replies replies.
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NEWBIES INFO: PLEASE READ (v. 2.1.3
delta1 Offline
#1251 Posted:
Joined: 11-23-2011
Posts: 28,754
TrishS@CigarBid wrote:
The original post was 3/7/05, updated 10/19/09 and 4/14/11. The original author was long-time forum member sketcha. I haven't seen him around here for a while but want to give him props for doing all the leg-work. I'm making it a sticky at recommendation of several of you along the way.

Edit, added 11/1/14: Despite what you may read or hear, there are NO platinum memberships here.

***********************************************

I thought I'd start this thread to answer some of the standard suggestions for the newbies in order to save some time. You’re looking at a collection of thoughts here in no particular order. Hope it helps.

First off, do read the "Forum Rules and Conditions" before posting. It's not a novel and this could save you some heartache.

Use the search function before asking questions. Many of the old-timers are a little burnt on answering some of the standard newbie questions; and rightfully so. There are lots of newbs popping in here every day.

Contact Customer Serv. with any problems before you post them here, they are excellent!

Some bidding hints…

Bid Low, be patient and let some go. There WILL be more. Do your Brothers and SistersOTL a favor and DON’T get wrapped up in a bidding war! No one gives a crap if you throw your own money away, but when your auction closes at a higher than usual price, this can set a precedent for anyone watching, and it may take weeks or even months for prices to return to normal.

Don't worry about over-bidding, zealous morons. They're the ones who pay to keep this site up and running for you and I to steal the rest

Keep Cigar International's site open for price comparison. The beauty of this site is paying LESS than standard internet prices, not more.

Try adding cigars that you’re interested in to your watch list. Track them for a few weeks and see what they close at. Then use the list as a reference for your bidding.

If you don’t already have a large capacity humidor, build a Coolerdor or Tupperdor, you will fill it soon, believe me. Thanks to little self control over several years, I am finally down to just 1 Cooler and one Tupper plus 3 large desktops.

Do a search for...

Coolerdor

Coolador

Coolidor

Colemandor

Igloodor

Tupperdor

Sweaterdor etc.

PG

Propylene Glycol (there have been reports that this liquid humidifying agent may cause a "chemical" taste in cigars

50/50

Hygrometer

Humidity

Credo

Climmax (better than 50/50)

Season

Seasoning (Humidors)

Cello (cellophane) on or off is up to the individual. They may breathe a little better and age a little faster with 'em off. They are delicate and prone to damage if handled improperly though, so use your judgment. The links below expand on this. Also, if you like, do a search.

BOTL, SOTL = Brothers/Sisters of the Leaf .

Don't know what to buy???

Everyone has different tastes so it is extremely difficult to tell you what you are going to like. The best thing to do is to get some Ideas and begin sampling for yourself. Here's a recent excerpt of a response to a newbie by Slimboli...

***"The choices out there are so numerous (thousands of cigars and factories to choose from) ... it would be hard to narrow it down, without you first providing a few parameters.

1) Light, medium or full-bodied smokes ...

2) Lengths and ring guages you prefer ...

3) Particualr shapes your like, ie. Corona, Torpedo, Robusto, Perfecto, etc.

4) Wrappers that you prefer, ie. Sun-Grown (Shade Grown), Maduro, Cameroon, etc.

These are just a few ... and once you provide us with a few guidelines, it will be a lot easier to guide you in the direction of a cigar (or cigars) that would be more to your liking!"***

Do a search for...

favorite

favorites

daily

everyday

special

premium

super premium

etc. etc. etc.


A little secret...

Keep an eye on the "Cigars and Related" forum. Once in awhile, one of us will post a favorable review of a cigar that they might not normally let slip for fear of bidding competition. Often times the prices will go up for a few weeks after. Be patient and get some when the gettin's good.

When you have an idea what you want, buy 5-packs. Let them acclimate in your humi for 2 weeks or more if possible (especially boxes). Sample at least 2 before critiquing. Generally the cheaper the stick, the younger it will be. Some may need at least a few months and some, even more expensive cigars can benefit from 6 months rest to a year or more. It’s always fun to lay down at least one of most every type for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years just to see how they do.

The flipside of this becomes apparent with certain, quality smokes. Some, like the PAM (Padron Anniversario Maduro,) for example, are pretty well ready to go and may actually lose some of their character with too much humi time.

Keep a journal

Most of us here have been, and will continue to buy 5-packs forever... even if we have already established our favorites. You'll often hear a pro use the phrase, "my rotation," for example. But there's nothing like always having new cigars to sample!

A contribution from Smelly4tay...

A little info on cigar aging....copy & paste.

.... the cigars go to the aging room, where the media-ruidas are placed in cedar cabinets called escaparates. Each factory ages their cigars for a certain amount of time. The Fuentes typically age their cigars for at least a year, with the Don Carlos and Hemmingway lines undergoing a eighteen month period of aging, and the Opus X, Anejo, Diamond Crown, and Ashton VSG lines undergoing an aging period of two years. Most cigars made by Altadis undergo an aging period at the factory of six months, and end up undergoing about a year's aging by the time they hit the shelves, as they are first transported by ship from the Dominican Republic, and then transported to the stores by ground. Carribe's cigars undergo an aging period of six weeks, which is sufficient to dry out the cigars, as the cigars straight off the bench are somewhat wet, and will burn and taste differently. Carribe’s cigars also get a good deal of aging in during transport by ship from Honduras to Florida... Furthermore, cigars need to age at least a year. Cigars are best smoked during the first three months after they are rolled, or a year after they are rolled. During that nine-month period, known to aficionados as "the sick period," cigars are relatively tasteless compared to the brash young cigars, and the much more refined cigars that have been aged a year or more. From the one-year mark on, cigars will get more refined as time goes by. Typically the flavor peaks after about five years for cigars from the Dominican Republic and Mexico, and peaks at fifteen years for cigars from anywhere other than the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Practically every single cigar available on the shelves of tobacconists in the US has been properly aged, and "the sick period" is something that only people who smoke Cuban cigars should worry about.

Seasoning Humidors...

Any new Cedar lined Humidor will require "Seasoning" before you can place your precious babies inside. This is the process of slowly bringing the humidity inside up to the desired humidity of 65 to 73% (I prefer 68. Most wouldn't go over 70).

Here's an excerpt from the...

http://www.cigargroup.com/faq/

***I can't get the humidity in my humidor high enough!***

Be patient! A new wooden humidor will take up to 3 weeks to stabilize. Misting the interior lightly with distilled water can hasten the process in a new box, but only patience will stabilize it. Don't try to rush a new humidor....

Also, is your hygrometer calibrated correctly? 70% is the "correct" storage level, but since many new analog (dial-type) hygrometers are as much as 20% out of calibration when received, you should verify its accuracy before trusting it.

Check the lid. Is it a tight seal? Looking along the "crack", can you see daylight through it? In dry weather, this small crack can result in enough moisture loss to limit the humidity...

If you've checked the cal and the lid, the problem's almost gotta’ be in the way the exterior wood is finished and sealed. You see, the moisture must be going somewhere.... Moisture will readily seep right through the wood of a poorly sealed humidor - especially in the dry season. Be sure the bottom is properly finished (and sealed)!!! This is a common oversight of home-finished boxes. You can check if poorly sealed wood is your problem, simply enough. Put the whole system into a tightly sealed plastic bag (with wet credo and hygrometer inside), and let it sit for 3 days. Did the humidity come up? If so, you'll have to seal the exterior of your box better. (See section on humidor finishing)

Trading...

If you're looking to make some trades, or perhaps just looking to broaden your horizons, there are several, newbie trade threads on the "TRADES" board. At press time they’re up to 24 now. May not answer all you questions, but should get you started. There are some real cool BOTLs and SOTLs over there that get a kick out of spreading the love to worthy brothers and sisters.

(A helpful hint from Leoscat)

“Don’t jump into a thread and get all offended by the banter of the ol’ timers. Keep in mind that what may seem mean spirited to you may just be playful banter between old friends.”

(I deleted the links because several of you said they didn't work. If you would like to find the 'working' links and post them, please feel free)

Watch out for E-Chick! She's a bad, bad girl!

{ =^ )

(“Esplendido Chick”/Marla hasn’t been around in awhile, but I’m leaving this here as something of an homage. She was a real credit to these boards!)

Remember to post an introduction after you've read the above. And above all, just have fun!

Thanks



1. "Read more, post less.

2. Learn to "return to forum without posting". Practice until you can do it reliably.

3. Proof read twice. Post once. " dstieger

4. "Platinum memberships do not exist here." La Princessa (aka: TrishS@CigarBid)

5. When you top this post, you must also top the "commonly used acronyms" post. ram27bat
delta1 Offline
#1252 Posted:
Joined: 11-23-2011
Posts: 28,754
Got them...
gae9jang2j Offline
#1253 Posted:
Joined: 12-13-2012
Posts: 5,612
toppity
Bur Offline
#1254 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
And to keep them together on the forums
delta1 Offline
#1255 Posted:
Joined: 11-23-2011
Posts: 28,754
that's
delta1 Offline
#1256 Posted:
Joined: 11-23-2011
Posts: 28,754
better
Bur Offline
#1257 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Topped for the weekend
Bur Offline
#1258 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
And back to page one
Bur Offline
#1259 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Man, slacking off since Wednesday.
Bur Offline
#1260 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Shameless boost
Bur Offline
#1261 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Someday I'll have 5000 posts
Bur Offline
#1262 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
just keeping the posts up near page one
Bur Offline
#1263 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Finally closing in on 4900 without too many BS posts. Well except for topping these.
Bur Offline
#1264 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Double posting because GAE is an AOTL
Bur Offline
#1265 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Topping to re-synch the count. My poor abused "CDO" around these jerks.
Bur Offline
#1266 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Getting these to the top and on the same page
dstieger Offline
#1267 Posted:
Joined: 06-22-2007
Posts: 10,889
TrishS@CigarBid wrote:
The original post was 3/7/05, updated 10/19/09 and 4/14/11. The original author was long-time forum member sketcha. I haven't seen him around here for a while but want to give him props for doing all the leg-work. I'm making it a sticky at recommendation of several of you along the way.

Edit, added 11/1/14: Despite what you may read or hear, there are NO platinum memberships here.

***********************************************

I thought I'd start this thread to answer some of the standard suggestions for the newbies in order to save some time. You’re looking at a collection of thoughts here in no particular order. Hope it helps.

First off, do read the "Forum Rules and Conditions" before posting. It's not a novel and this could save you some heartache.

Use the search function before asking questions. Many of the old-timers are a little burnt on answering some of the standard newbie questions; and rightfully so. There are lots of newbs popping in here every day.

Contact Customer Serv. with any problems before you post them here, they are excellent!

Some bidding hints…

Bid Low, be patient and let some go. There WILL be more. Do your Brothers and SistersOTL a favor and DON’T get wrapped up in a bidding war! No one gives a crap if you throw your own money away, but when your auction closes at a higher than usual price, this can set a precedent for anyone watching, and it may take weeks or even months for prices to return to normal.

Don't worry about over-bidding, zealous morons. They're the ones who pay to keep this site up and running for you and I to steal the rest

Keep Cigar International's site open for price comparison. The beauty of this site is paying LESS than standard internet prices, not more.

Try adding cigars that you’re interested in to your watch list. Track them for a few weeks and see what they close at. Then use the list as a reference for your bidding.

If you don’t already have a large capacity humidor, build a Coolerdor or Tupperdor, you will fill it soon, believe me. Thanks to little self control over several years, I am finally down to just 1 Cooler and one Tupper plus 3 large desktops.

Do a search for...

Coolerdor

Coolador

Coolidor

Colemandor

Igloodor

Tupperdor

Sweaterdor etc.

PG

Propylene Glycol (there have been reports that this liquid humidifying agent may cause a "chemical" taste in cigars

50/50

Hygrometer

Humidity

Credo

Climmax (better than 50/50)

Season

Seasoning (Humidors)

Cello (cellophane) on or off is up to the individual. They may breathe a little better and age a little faster with 'em off. They are delicate and prone to damage if handled improperly though, so use your judgment. The links below expand on this. Also, if you like, do a search.

BOTL, SOTL = Brothers/Sisters of the Leaf .

Don't know what to buy???

Everyone has different tastes so it is extremely difficult to tell you what you are going to like. The best thing to do is to get some Ideas and begin sampling for yourself. Here's a recent excerpt of a response to a newbie by Slimboli...

***"The choices out there are so numerous (thousands of cigars and factories to choose from) ... it would be hard to narrow it down, without you first providing a few parameters.

1) Light, medium or full-bodied smokes ...

2) Lengths and ring guages you prefer ...

3) Particualr shapes your like, ie. Corona, Torpedo, Robusto, Perfecto, etc.

4) Wrappers that you prefer, ie. Sun-Grown (Shade Grown), Maduro, Cameroon, etc.

These are just a few ... and once you provide us with a few guidelines, it will be a lot easier to guide you in the direction of a cigar (or cigars) that would be more to your liking!"***

Do a search for...

favorite

favorites

daily

everyday

special

premium

super premium

etc. etc. etc.


A little secret...

Keep an eye on the "Cigars and Related" forum. Once in awhile, one of us will post a favorable review of a cigar that they might not normally let slip for fear of bidding competition. Often times the prices will go up for a few weeks after. Be patient and get some when the gettin's good.

When you have an idea what you want, buy 5-packs. Let them acclimate in your humi for 2 weeks or more if possible (especially boxes). Sample at least 2 before critiquing. Generally the cheaper the stick, the younger it will be. Some may need at least a few months and some, even more expensive cigars can benefit from 6 months rest to a year or more. It’s always fun to lay down at least one of most every type for 1, 2, 3 or 4 years just to see how they do.

The flipside of this becomes apparent with certain, quality smokes. Some, like the PAM (Padron Anniversario Maduro,) for example, are pretty well ready to go and may actually lose some of their character with too much humi time.

Keep a journal

Most of us here have been, and will continue to buy 5-packs forever... even if we have already established our favorites. You'll often hear a pro use the phrase, "my rotation," for example. But there's nothing like always having new cigars to sample!

A contribution from Smelly4tay...

A little info on cigar aging....copy & paste.

.... the cigars go to the aging room, where the media-ruidas are placed in cedar cabinets called escaparates. Each factory ages their cigars for a certain amount of time. The Fuentes typically age their cigars for at least a year, with the Don Carlos and Hemmingway lines undergoing a eighteen month period of aging, and the Opus X, Anejo, Diamond Crown, and Ashton VSG lines undergoing an aging period of two years. Most cigars made by Altadis undergo an aging period at the factory of six months, and end up undergoing about a year's aging by the time they hit the shelves, as they are first transported by ship from the Dominican Republic, and then transported to the stores by ground. Carribe's cigars undergo an aging period of six weeks, which is sufficient to dry out the cigars, as the cigars straight off the bench are somewhat wet, and will burn and taste differently. Carribe’s cigars also get a good deal of aging in during transport by ship from Honduras to Florida... Furthermore, cigars need to age at least a year. Cigars are best smoked during the first three months after they are rolled, or a year after they are rolled. During that nine-month period, known to aficionados as "the sick period," cigars are relatively tasteless compared to the brash young cigars, and the much more refined cigars that have been aged a year or more. From the one-year mark on, cigars will get more refined as time goes by. Typically the flavor peaks after about five years for cigars from the Dominican Republic and Mexico, and peaks at fifteen years for cigars from anywhere other than the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Practically every single cigar available on the shelves of tobacconists in the US has been properly aged, and "the sick period" is something that only people who smoke Cuban cigars should worry about.

Seasoning Humidors...

Any new Cedar lined Humidor will require "Seasoning" before you can place your precious babies inside. This is the process of slowly bringing the humidity inside up to the desired humidity of 65 to 73% (I prefer 68. Most wouldn't go over 70).

Here's an excerpt from the...

http://www.cigargroup.com/faq/

***I can't get the humidity in my humidor high enough!***

Be patient! A new wooden humidor will take up to 3 weeks to stabilize. Misting the interior lightly with distilled water can hasten the process in a new box, but only patience will stabilize it. Don't try to rush a new humidor....

Also, is your hygrometer calibrated correctly? 70% is the "correct" storage level, but since many new analog (dial-type) hygrometers are as much as 20% out of calibration when received, you should verify its accuracy before trusting it.

Check the lid. Is it a tight seal? Looking along the "crack", can you see daylight through it? In dry weather, this small crack can result in enough moisture loss to limit the humidity...

If you've checked the cal and the lid, the problem's almost gotta’ be in the way the exterior wood is finished and sealed. You see, the moisture must be going somewhere.... Moisture will readily seep right through the wood of a poorly sealed humidor - especially in the dry season. Be sure the bottom is properly finished (and sealed)!!! This is a common oversight of home-finished boxes. You can check if poorly sealed wood is your problem, simply enough. Put the whole system into a tightly sealed plastic bag (with wet credo and hygrometer inside), and let it sit for 3 days. Did the humidity come up? If so, you'll have to seal the exterior of your box better. (See section on humidor finishing)

Trading...

If you're looking to make some trades, or perhaps just looking to broaden your horizons, there are several, newbie trade threads on the "TRADES" board. At press time they’re up to 24 now. May not answer all you questions, but should get you started. There are some real cool BOTLs and SOTLs over there that get a kick out of spreading the love to worthy brothers and sisters.

(A helpful hint from Leoscat)

“Don’t jump into a thread and get all offended by the banter of the ol’ timers. Keep in mind that what may seem mean spirited to you may just be playful banter between old friends.”

(I deleted the links because several of you said they didn't work. If you would like to find the 'working' links and post them, please feel free)

Watch out for E-Chick! She's a bad, bad girl!

{ =^ )

(“Esplendido Chick”/Marla hasn’t been around in awhile, but I’m leaving this here as something of an homage. She was a real credit to these boards!)

Remember to post an introduction after you've read the above. And above all, just have fun!

Thanks



1. "Read more, post less.

2. Learn to "return to forum without posting". Practice until you can do it reliably.

3. Proof read twice. Post once. " dstieger

4. "Platinum memberships do not exist here." La Princessa (aka: TrishS@CigarBid)

5. When you top this post, you must also top the "commonly used acronyms" post. ram27bat


6. Don't feed the trolls
Bur Offline
#1268 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
or lollygagging.

Nope

Slacking
Bur Offline
#1269 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Take a day or two off CBid and you azzhats gotta poke my OCD
Bur Offline
#1270 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
1271 matching the other thread.

My OCD twitch will subside sometime
Bur Offline
#1271 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Jokers over on the other thread
Bur Offline
#1272 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Helping my slow slow ascent to 5000 posts
Bur Offline
#1273 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
At least 4 today unscrewing their shenanigans
delta1 Offline
#1274 Posted:
Joined: 11-23-2011
Posts: 28,754
almost
delta1 Offline
#1275 Posted:
Joined: 11-23-2011
Posts: 28,754
there!
Bur Offline
#1276 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Fixed and
Bur Offline
#1277 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Everybody's working for the weekend
Bur Offline
#1278 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Happy Day After International Lost Sailor Day
Bur Offline
#1279 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Friday at last
Bur Offline
#1280 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
TTT on Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday
Bur Offline
#1281 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
And if you ain't got them, tell Palama or Jules you're low.

Go for it, Noob, show some guts!
Bur Offline
#1282 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Cameroon
Bur Offline
#1283 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
is
Bur Offline
#1284 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
an
Bur Offline
#1285 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
azzhat
Bur Offline
#1286 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
but
Bur Offline
#1287 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
this
Bur Offline
#1288 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
helps get
Bur Offline
#1289 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
my count
Bur Offline
#1290 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
Closer to
Bur Offline
#1291 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
5000 posts
gae9jang2j Offline
#1292 Posted:
Joined: 12-13-2012
Posts: 5,612
yolo
Bur Offline
#1293 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
5000
Bur Offline
#1294 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
A few more posts on this page
gae9jang2j Offline
#1295 Posted:
Joined: 12-13-2012
Posts: 5,612
ttt
Bur Offline
#1296 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
So are you back from the homeland?
gae9jang2j Offline
#1297 Posted:
Joined: 12-13-2012
Posts: 5,612
im in the homeland. planning on retiring here and getting a gs job
Bur Offline
#1298 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
How close? If the Army transition classes aren't good, hit me up. Working some VA issues for my best friend's widow and my disability.
Bur Offline
#1299 Posted:
Joined: 07-31-2012
Posts: 5,638
On deck, where's Delta1 for the cut and paste?
delta1 Offline
#1300 Posted:
Joined: 11-23-2011
Posts: 28,754
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