which cigar merchant? We occasionally receive emails from disgruntled customers of other so called ‘Havana cigar merchants’ from the UK and other countries, so here’s a few tips when considering choosing your cigar merchant.

The tips probably apply more to cigar merchants in the UK, but most are also relevant if you are considering selecting a cigar merchant from any another country.

Buying Havana cigars on the internet is not an easy thing. The common problem is that if you don’t have a relationship with the cigar merchant and obviously you can’t see the cigars you are purchasing, you leave yourself open to being sent the second rate cigars from his inventory, whilst the merchant keeps the best looking cigars for his retail shop customers.

For Simply Cigars it works in reverse, as our internet and mail order business is our only business and we have no desire to have a retail cigar shop.

Buying on the internet is very convenient as you can order from the comfort of your office or home 24 hours a day. You can get rapid responses to your email enquiries on the purchase that you wish to make and although you can?t actually see the cigars you are purchasing we are always happy to decipher date and factory codes and select wrapper colour as best we can!

So here are a few tips to follow…

When purchasing from an internet cigar company ensure that they have a physical address and telephone number clearly displayed on their website and check that the telephone number actually exists. PO Boxes are always suspicious.

What country are you purchasing from? We believe the UK and indeed English Market Selection (EMS) cigars are of the finest quality in the world. Other countries do have excellent quality Havana’s, as well as excellent cigar merchants, but make sure you know which country you are dealing with. As some countries do have lower grade Havana’s than ours in our opinion. Further more other countries have little or no quality control whatsoever. The vast majority of our cigars are English Market Selection, supplied by Hunters & Frankau, the official importers and distributors for the United Kingdom for over 200 years.

Sealed boxes or not? Attractive though they may seem, I would personally NEVER purchase a sealed box of cigars from anywhere in the world, as you simply don’t know what you are going to find inside. You can easily find bad wrapper colour or far worse tobacco beetle rendering your purchase useless. All Havana cigar boxes imported to the UK are opened and inspected by Hunters & Frankau and quality controlled accordingly. Simply Cigars does a mirror EMS quality control check when the cigars arrive in our humidor, if they don’t make the grade, we return them to the importers. This ensures that our customers are only sent the highest quality Havana’s possible.

Does the Cigar Merchant offer a no quibble guarantee? Is he’s happy to give you your money back if you’re not satisfied. Is he happy to replace the cigars if they arrive damaged? Or refund your money if they don’t arrive at all! These are all things that you should be asking before making your purchase and if a full and comprehensive guarantee is not provided then you could simply be throwing your money away. Lower prices can indeed be a terrible false economy! Remember, you get what you pay for!

Always ask the cigar merchant where does he store his Havana cigars? And at what temperature and humidity? Correct storage and conditions are essential for Havana cigars to be in optimum condition. If they are a UK cigar merchant have their staff been trained in the manufacture, storage and service of Havana Cigars? If you have any questions or comments please visit us at Simply Cigars or e-mail us.

To find some of the finest cigars retailers in the UK, visit the Association of independent Cigar Specialists website.