If you’ve been in this business for any amount of time, you’ve probably had the same moment I have. You’re working, selling cigars, staying busy… and then you look at the numbers and think: Where did all the margin go?
On paper, this business should work. Good product, loyal customers, consistent traffic. But somewhere between buying the cigar and selling it, the margin starts to disappear.
The big expenses are easy to point at—rent, labor, insurance. We all know those going in. It’s the smaller, less obvious costs that tend to sneak up and do the real damage.
And let’s be honest, we’re not operating in a vacuum. Box discounts, member pricing, loyalty perks… those aren’t going away. If anything, they’re expected. You can’t just strip those out and stay competitive, so the margin has to be found somewhere else.
Shipping was the first one that got me. Early on, I was ordering cigars as I needed them. A box here, two boxes there. It felt like the right move—keep inventory lean, keep cash moving. I didn’t think twice about it. Then I actually looked at the numbers.
Those small orders were costing me $25 to $35 in shipping. On a one- or two-box order, that can be 15 to 20 percent of your cost. Not margin—cost. When you see it laid out like that, it explains a lot. No wonder the profit wasn’t showing up.
The adjustment was simple, but it took discipline. I started being more intentional with purchasing, planning orders instead of reacting to being low on something. Once you consolidate, the difference is real. On larger orders, shipping can drop under 4 percent. And if the order is big enough, it’s worth talking through options with the manufacturer—UPS vs. LTL can move the needle more than you think. It doesn’t sound like much, but over time it adds up.
The other area that’s made a real difference for us is buying on deal.
We all know it matters, but I don’t think everyone treats it like part of a real strategy. The trade show is the obvious opportunity, but deals are happening all year. Flash sales, seasonal pushes, quiet offers that are easy to miss if you’re not looking for them. The key is being ready before they show up.
If a manufacturer is running a 5-for-1, can you stack that with a rebate or a case discount? Sometimes there are a few extra points of margin sitting there if you take the time to work through it.
The bigger piece, though, is knowing your numbers—especially your sell-through. When you know how fast something moves you can make a decision to go six to nine months deep when the deal makes sense. That’s where you actually create margin on the front end instead of hoping it shows up on the back end.
One more factor that quietly adds up: credit card fees. We all want to make it easy for customers to buy, and cards are part of that. But it’s worth giving attention to what you’re actually paying. Negotiating your rate matters, but that’s only part of it. Watch the fees layered on top of that rate. Stay PCI-compliant, make sure you’re running cards properly—tap or chip whenever possible instead of manually entering. Those small differences can carry extra costs, and over time they add up in a way that’s easy to miss.
Of course, not every brand plays the deal game. For those, we keep it simple. Buy what we need and keep cash available for the opportunities that do come around.
None of this is groundbreaking. But it’s the kind of stuff that’s easy to overlook when you’re in the day-to-day of running a shop.
In my experience, margin doesn’t usually disappear because of one big decision. It gets chipped away little by little. And if you’re not paying attention, it’s gone before you realize it was ever there.
– Article by Brandon Hayes, owner of Renegade Cigars in Richardson, Texas.
This story first appeared in PCA The Magazine, Volume 2, 2026. To receive a copy of this magazine, you must be a current PCA member. Join or renew today.