Handgun & Cigar Matched Presentation Sets

[melensdad]

One of the cigar company owners is a gun collector. He has expressed some interest in teaming up with a gun company to offer some limited edition pistols that would be matched up to some of his handmade premium cigars. Basically a fancy display case with a box of cigars and a specially finished pistol. The guns colors might match the colors in the cigar logo, or perhaps may be mildly engraved with the cigar logo, etc.

Anyone else thing this sounds like a fun idea?

Prices would be targeted at retail price of the gun + MSRP of a box of cigars with possibly a slight upcharge for a display box. Limited editions would likely be in the range of 50 to 100. It could become an annual thing.

BTW I am not affiliated with this cigar company in any way.
Thoughts?

 

[Kagnew]

One of the cigar company owners is a gun collector. He has expressed some interest in teaming up with a gun company to offer some limited edition pistols that would be matched up to some of his handmade premium cigars.

BTW I am not affiliated with this cigar company in any way.
Thoughts?

And where does this information come from?

 

[melensdad]

And where does this information come from?

I've been in the cigar industry for the past 30 years, I know the owners, presidents, and managers of many companies. This information comes directly from the source. No, I'm not releasing the name of the cigar company or the name of the owner.

 

[! twitty]

Sounds awesome to me. BTW, know where I can get a bundle of La Estrella Cubanas?

 

[melensdad]

Sounds awesome to me.

I think its a cool idea too but I wasn't sure if it would be of interest to others. Then again I'm always looking for a good cigar and I like limited run guns.

BTW, know where I can get a bundle of La Estrella Cubanas?

Nope, I'm up in N.W. Indiana. I don't carry too many bundle cigars in my stores and am discontinuing those that I have. Can't you just mail order that one, those should be under $2 each.

 

[snowrs]

It really depends on the maker and model of each, but a high end 1911 and a real good quality cigar would have me interested. That said it would have to be a gun that brings retail price on the market, see DW or Les Baer etc. , because I would not pay a large premium because those are both things I would use and not put away to just admire.

 

[mjones]

so what kind of gun are we talking?

 

[! twitty]

So what do you carry in your stores? You can pm if you want. I am fairly new to the cigar world but enjoy a great maduro. I have been simply buying sample packs at the moment and so far the LEC was one of my favorites.

 

[melensdad]

so what kind of gun are we talking?

Dunno for sure, but I have some ideas

My guess is in this world of political correctness that most of the big names (read that corporate owned gun companies) will likely not want their gun associated with tobacco. I would suspect it would be one of the smaller semi-custom/low/modest production companies.

I would say it would not be a Les Baer or other $2000 to $3000 range gun. Probably $1500 or under. Maybe $1000 range.

Oh, one thing, it was indicated he strongly preferred an all American made product and I know he is a 1911 fan so I'd suspect that is the model he'd most likely try to use.

So what do you carry in your stores? You can pm if you want. I am fairly new to the cigar world but enjoy a great maduro. I have been simply buying sample packs at the moment and so far the LEC was one of my favorites.

We aren't set up to ship cigars. But I've got everything from Brioso on the low end, we are discontinuing it at about $3 each, to some uber premium brands like GOD OF FIRE and FUENTE FUENTE OPUS X (both of those start about $18 each)

Most of what we sell is in the $5 to $9 range.

 

[! twitty]

Awesome, let me know if you ever get into shipping or heads towards Indy!

 

[SmileDocHill]

This sounds like a good idea for a gift or award package. Retirement, or some kind of accomplishment, an appreciation gift for gun related stuff (those guys that give up huge chunks of time to setup for big events like USPSA state and regionals, Appleseed guys, competition winners....)

 

[ckcollins2003]

Would be awesome if it was Kaizad Hansotia. I think the Gurkha logo and name could bring out some great engraving artwork to a 1911.

At the same time, I don't know if I'd really want to spend the money on something that I really wouldn't want to shoot because it'd get dirty and why buy cigars you can't smoke since they go with the gun as a "set"...

I guess it would depend on how much money a person has to blow on something like that and how much they are really into that particular cigar maker. I think the price and brand will either make or break the idea. I'll never purchase another God of Fire or FFOX... I didn't think they were worth the money tbh. I prefer the $2-3 Gurkha's, Augusto Reyes, and Olivero's. The most expensive one in my humidor now is a $5 Macanudo.

Edit: Doc has a good point. They would make great gifts for certain people but I don't think the regular public would be all that interested in the idea. I can't imagine what the final price would end up being for something like that. A lot of cigars are already over priced because of a name. You throw on an overpriced gun with it and you've just got a huge pricetag floating around...

 

[melensdad]

ckcollins . . . I think your points are excellent.

But look at it this way, what if it was a gun that was in the $800 to $1000 range, and what if the cigars were in the $6 range ($6 x 25 cigars = $150) and you added the price of a display box (say $30 to $50) and that was the price you paid for the collector's set . . . but you got a special gun out of the deal?

For example: $850 gun + $150 cigars + $40 display box = $1040.00

We are presuming a gun company can be found that is suitable and willing to work with the cigar company.

But using your example, take a 1911 pistol, pair it up with a box of Gurkha Ancient Warrior cigars, have the frame painted Gurkha's reddish color to match their color scheme, maybe a set of laser engraved grips with the Gurkha logo? Would that be worth paying normal retail price for that combination of goods to get the special gun, display box, and box of cigars. Perhaps a modest premium for the custom finish and custom grips?

 

[snowrs]

You know what would be cool, If the display case was a humidor. I am in the market for a decent desk top humidor as we speak so it just kinda hit me.

 

[ckcollins2003]

ckcollins . . . I think your points are excellent.

But look at it this way, what if it was a gun that was in the $800 to $1000 range, and what if the cigars were in the $6 range ($6 x 25 cigars = $150) and you added the price of a display box (say $30 to $50) and that was the price you paid for the collector's set . . . but you got a special gun out of the deal?

For example: $850 gun + $150 cigars + $40 display box = $1040.00

We are presuming a gun company can be found that is suitable and willing to work with the cigar company.

But using your example, take a 1911 pistol, pair it up with a box of Gurkha Ancient Warrior cigars, have the frame painted Gurkha's reddish color to match their color scheme, maybe a set of laser engraved grips with the Gurkha logo? Would that be worth paying normal retail price for that combination of goods to get the special gun, display box, and box of cigars. Perhaps a modest premium for the custom finish and custom grips?

$1040 doesn't sound bad. Heck I've seen boxes of cigars for around that much . I truly believe as long as the price isn't jacked up too much it will sell good. When I read about this I figured I'd be looking at $2,500-$3,000 for the package. Heck, people spend well over $1,040 on a 1911 alone. My cousin being one of those people and some day I hope to be able to afford a nice one like that as well. If it happens to have a Gurkha logo engraved in it I'd pay an extra $200 just for that.

Like I said, I think the price and brand name will either make or break the deal. I know for a fact my uncle would buy one if it was a Gurkha made 1911 and came with a box of Gurkha cigars. Well, he might sell the cigars if it's not a Empire Level VI, Evil, or Triple Ligero, but you get my point.

I'd love to see the finished product and what it markets for even though I probably couldn't afford it right away. I just hope it's a cigar that I truly enjoy paying for and marketed at a reasonable price.

 

[melensdad]

Well I was just using an $800 pricetag to see if I understood your point correctly.

Certainly the same package could be put together with a $1200 gun and a $225 box of cigars for something in the $1475 range for the gun/cigar/box.

And again the same thing could be done again with a $1500 gun, a $350 box of cigars . . . etc, etc, etc.

 

[melensdad]

You know what would be cool, If the display case was a humidor. I am in the market for a decent desk top humidor as we speak so it just kinda hit me.

That might open up a whole lot of problems. You wouldn't really want to keep your gun in a humidor so the box couldn't be a display case. But it could be a shipping case, with an insert that holds the gun for transport. Remove the insert and the gun and insert the cigars.

Then again, humidors can become very personal things. I've got them in my store ranging from about $39 to $450. Both are simply boxes that hold 25 to 50 cigars. Now I'll grant you the finish of the $450 model is amazing, the hinges are noticeably superior, the box walls are literally twice as thick, the humidification components are also superior.

For the purposes of something like this set, I'd presume the humidor should have both the gun's logo and the cigar company logo on the lid. Or would you not want that?

 

[ckcollins2003]

Well I was just using an $800 pricetag to see if I understood your point correctly.

Certainly the same package could be put together with a $1200 gun and a $225 box of cigars for something in the $1475 range for the gun/cigar/box.

And again the same thing could be done again with a $1500 gun, a $350 box of cigars . . . etc, etc, etc.

Yeah... and they can also do it with the $800 gun, $150 cigars, put it in a fancy box and still price it at $3,500... but you definitely get my point. As long as the final product is worth the price rather than just being marked up because it's something "new and exclusive" then I think it will sell well. Perhaps even to those of us who would just want a new gun and like the cigar and thought rather than it always being a gift of some sort.

Until the final product comes out I guess we'll never really know to be honest. It all just depends on what the outcome is of the final product and how much people really want it. Kind of like the INGO shooting shirts. Noone really said, "I'm in" until they seen a mock up design of it.

Are there any cigar forums you could talk around at? Perhaps that would also give you an idea of how many cigar enthusiasts also have a gun collection. If I were you and looking for an answer as to whether to start it up, I'd look in both directions. The gun enthusiast's side and the cigar enthusiast's side. Get a little of both worlds and see how they compare.

 

[ckcollins2003]

That might open up a whole lot of problems. You wouldn't really want to keep your gun in a humidor so the box couldn't be a display case. But it could be a shipping case, with an insert that holds the gun for transport. Remove the insert and the gun and insert the cigars.

Then again, humidors can become very personal things. I've got them in my store ranging from about $39 to $450. Both are simply boxes that hold 25 to 50 cigars. Now I'll grant you the finish of the $450 model is amazing, the hinges are noticeably superior, the box walls are literally twice as thick, the humidification components are also superior.

For the purposes of something like this set, I'd presume the humidor should have both the gun's logo and the cigar company logo on the lid. Or would you not want that?

What if you took the box and put a wall between the humidor section and the display section? I mean, obviously you don't want humidity on the gun because of rust and you don't want the de-humidifier on the cigars because they will dry out, but if you could seperate the two with a thick wall I think it could work itself out. Of course keeping them stable might be a tricky thing to do, but that's more up to the owner than the seller.

 

[snowrs]

Yeah I was just thinking like a glass top cedar lined humidor with maybe one shelf that could be molded to house the gun, then can be removed and replaced with a cedar tray, with the cigars laid out on the bottom in a box and the name of the gun and cigar manufacturer inlaid or engraved on the box.

Like I said i would want to shoot the gun, so the humidor / presentation case would have a second use that would be appropriate to the package. I know you would still need to season the humidor but was just shooting out an idea.