How to Price Cigars: Start by Doubling What You Paid

The question I hear more than any other from a new account: what do I charge for these?

Here is the answer I have given for fourteen years. Double what you paid. That’s it. If a cigar cost you $6, sell it for $12.

Pricing is the most subjective part of this business, and nobody can hand you a number that is right for every shop in every town. But doubling is the rule nearly every cigar retailer starts from, it is easy to do in your head, and it leaves you a healthy margin. Start there, then adjust using the few pointers below.

Step 1: Find your cost per cigar

You buy by the box. You sell by the cigar. So the first job is simple division.

Box price ÷ number of cigars in the box = your cost per cigar.

You paid	Cigars in the box	Cost per cigar	Your price (doubled)
$100	20	$5.00	$10
$130	20	$6.50	$13
$180	24	$7.50	$15
$250	25	$10.00	$20

If you bought one of our best-seller packages, the same math works. Each box on your invoice has its own price, so price each box by itself.

Step 2: Add what it cost you to get it

Shipping and tax are part of your cost. If your state charges a tobacco tax that you pay, add it to the box price before you divide. Same for freight if you paid any.

Tobacco tax rules are different in every state, and some are steep. If you are not sure what applies to you, ask your accountant before you print price tags. It is a five minute call that can save your whole margin.

Step 3: Double it, then round up

Double your cost per cigar and round up to a clean number.

• $6.20 cost becomes $12.40, so charge $13.
• $8.75 cost becomes $17.50, so charge $18.

Whole dollars are easiest for your staff and your customers. Nobody at a bar wants to do math on $12.40. And always round up, never down. Those quarters are yours.

Step 4: Adjust for where you are

Doubling is the starting point for a normal retail counter. Where the cigar gets sold changes what it is worth to the person buying it.

Liquor stores, smoke shops, convenience and vape shops: double it. Your customers are buying to take home and they notice price. Two times cost is right.

Bars, restaurants, steakhouses, golf courses: two and a half times is normal. Your guest is buying a cigar to enjoy right now, with a drink, on your patio. You are selling the moment as much as the cigar. A cigar that cost you $6 sells easily at $15.

Hotels, resorts, casinos, private clubs, cigar lounges: two and a half to three times. This is the top of the range, and guests expect it. The same $6 cigar is $16 to $18 here and nobody blinks.

If you are somewhere in between, start at double. It is much easier to nudge a price up after a month than to explain a price cut.

Step 5: Check the names people know

Most of your customers have no idea what a cigar should cost. A few of the big names are different. People who smoke them every week know roughly what they pay elsewhere.

For well known brands, take thirty seconds and look up what the big online shops charge for a single. If your doubled price is close to that, you are fine. If doubling puts you well above it, come down a dollar or two on that one cigar. If doubling puts you well below it, go up. You do not need to be the cheapest. You just should not be the surprise.

Selling by the box or the five-pack

Some customers will want a whole box, or a handful at once. A small break is fine and it moves product.

• Five or more of the same cigar: 5% off.
• A full box: 10% off the single price times the number of cigars.

Stop at 10%. Give more than that and your regulars learn that the price on the tag is not the real price.

What this does for your margin

Doubling your cost means half of every sale is gross profit. On a $12 cigar, you keep $6.

Here is why that matters. Say you sell just five cigars a day at an average of $13.

• 5 cigars × $13 = $65 a day
• $65 × 30 days = $1,950 a month in sales
• About $975 a month of that is gross profit, from two square feet of counter

Ten a day doubles it. That is why a small humidor earns its space so quickly.

Four mistakes I see all the time

Pricing too low to be nice. New accounts mark up 30 or 40 percent because doubling feels greedy. It is not. Doubling is what the whole industry does, and it is what pays for the cigars that dry out, the ones that get handled, and the time your staff spends selling them.

No prices on display. People will not ask. If they cannot see a price, most of them will not buy. Put a tag on every box or print a one page menu. Here is how to write one.

Discounting to move a slow box. Before you cut a price, try moving the box to eye level or having your staff recommend it. If it still will not sell, tell us. Our no-risk exchange swaps it for something that will, so you never have to dump inventory at cost.

One price for everything. It is tempting to charge $12 for every cigar in the humidor. Don’t. You will lose money on the good ones and overcharge on the everyday ones. Do the division for each box. It takes ten minutes and you only do it once per order.

The short version

1. Box price, plus any tax and freight, divided by the number of cigars.
2. Double it.
3. Round up to a whole dollar.
4. Bars and restaurants, go to two and a half times. Hotels, casinos and lounges, up to three.
5. For the famous names, check you are in the neighborhood of what others charge.

That is the whole system. If you want a second opinion on a specific box, reply to any email from us or get in touch and we will tell you what we would charge for it.

---

Related reading

• How to Set Up Your Humidor
• How to Write a Cigar Menu That Sells
• 5 Best Ways to Sell Slow-Moving Cigars
• How to Pick Cigars That Sell at Your Store
• No-Risk Exchange Program