New Feature on the Site: Price adjustments

A new feature has been added to the site that is moving it closer to us all better understanding our cigars and their inherent value. When the price increase was announced, we at Cigar Keep pounced like the Proprietor’s British Blue might on a mouse. We wanted to take a good look at what it meant and how Cigar Keep could perhaps be a conduit of understanding to you, dear member, as to what has actually changed. And this is where the good folk at Hunters & Frankau come in. Our friends there have a little something referred to as EMS, or English Market Standard. This is a system that across the world is considered a stamp of authenticity and quality, more so than the one from Habanos. The stamp was introduced over 25 years ago and denotes a box that has gone through a further process of inspection after arriving in the U.K., and before being passed on to merchants, and then you, the customer. 

We shall do more on EMS as a concept in due course but the important part with regards this missive is that EMS pricing is what people use as a benchmark to price their cigars. When a cigar on Cigar Keep has a price committed to it, this has been taken from the EMS list and should therefore indicate the value of your cigar. Obviously with the changes that have occurred vis-à-vis price adjustments, this has been updated by EMS too and we have used those numbers to show adjustments over time. For example, the Trinidad Reyes has risen by 44% since April 2022, the Partagas Maduro No. 2 by only 6%. This will be ongoing with the aim that five years down the line, you can all look back at graphs of what your cigars have done from a value perspective. Trade will be key to this, so once our Stick Exchange board is up for you to trade with other members, we think this may impact value and demand all over the world, as with the secondary market now opened up through Cigar Keep, what is out there is all the more transparent, and your investment of time and money and effort into maintaining your cigars, has a value metric which you can follow easily with this change.