CIGAR.COM & C.I...Connection?

Until recently, I thought they were one in the same vendor. After a call to each one, I was told they are not, yet they DO share a joint shipping-receiving department. This seems very, very odd to me. I was wondering if anyone had some further insight to the relationship.

Anyhoo, I decided to give C.com a try. They promise FREE 3-day shipping when your order tops $125. It got to me on the 4th day, UPS. CI's freebie has consistently hit on the 6th or 7th day, in my mailbox. No problems at all with the order. Their catalog is clearly different, and in some ways, I like the features better. It's even printed on better quality stock than CI's, though I don't think they showcase as extensive a selection. However, they do offer many choices in singles, and far more in 5-packs, FWIW.

Tit for tat, C.com seems to be slightly higher-priced than CI. However, if you're looking to sample something new, w/o having to risk a full box or bundle, I'd certainly recommend you give them a try.

They operate separately but are owned by the same company (General Cigar) and basically share the same inventory. CI, C.com, CBid etc are all owned by General. General in turn is owned by Swedish Match, which owns 49% of STG (Macanudo, CAO, Partagas, Cohiba). Which is why you see those brands in a lot of their samplers.

Gotcha. Thanks for that background.