JR Cigars: Total Joke

[oldgeezersmoker]

I actually used a 40% off sitewide coupon, and ordered several tins of various tobacco and 3 bags of MacB Dark Twist. Two days later, a small box showed up with just the tins. And a packing slip with numbers on it that bore no discernible relationship to any math I have been taught. Next day, I emailed customer service, got a reply that said oops, the MacBarens is back ordered, refund coming. Next day, they indeed did refund my PayPal account.

For the full retail price, not the 40% off price I had paid. Thanks, JR!! I have been a loyal customer since the mid 1970’s, so this was a nice, bonus, but, no, I didn’t keep it. Rather than try to explain over the phone, I made a copy of the packing slip, wrote a note with the math as I figured it, wrote a check and mailed it. That was 10 days or so ago, and I haven’t heard or a word nor has my check cleared.

When I was smoking more, I spent buckets of money there and was a JR Plus member for a few years when they were the cheapest place to get McClellands with either one of their sitewide promos or a Dojo code that seemed to be evergreen for the longest time. Never had any major issues, minor ones, like this most recent experience, were always resolved to my satisfaction promptly.

I noticed, btw, that the MacBarens did come back in stock in January, but when I tried again, this time with a 30% off code, for a three bag order, it said backordered, for a two bag order it said backordered, but it would let me order one bag. Out of curiosity I tried the same drill with other MacB bags, same thing. They now have no listing at all for any MacBarens.

If they are exiting the pipe tobacco business, I will be very sorry. They, like P&C and their related companies, have saved me a s**t ton of money, in JR’s case over a 40 year+ period.

 

[shanez]

Good thread.

I was a little surprised when I saw the title give JR's reputation but then again, I haven't ordered from them in some time. (Thompson's was always the place to avoid for me.)

Sad to hear they've changed but good to know of the problem before ordering from them.

 

[dcon]

I got a pipe and cigars just this past week. If you were getting Escudo or Capstan they are now gone. As I mentioned, I have been buying from them regularly the past couple of years and, despite their recent denials to me, they are obviously clearing out their pipe and pipe tobacco business. They have been in this mode for at least a year. I have made some good buys and have gotten some nicely aged tobacco in the process
They have had very good discounts (especially of late). While I primarily buy from our forum sponsors (and will continue to do so) they, frankly, have had some deals that were impossible to pass. I am afraid those days may be gone for pipe tobacco. Their stocks are now primarily OTC tobaccos (I have bought sme of those, also).

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

On another forum, looks like a few members ordered and received Kiribi pipe lighters using the 40% off code. And some members there didn’t get one thing or another that they ordered. No temper tantrums that I saw.

 

[BROBS]

Are you considering this a temper tantrum that a business doesn’t answer the phone, orders sit unshipped and non-refunded for 2 weeks on out-of-stock product advertised as in-stock, with no responses to my repeated calls or emails asking about my order?

Mac Baren Virginia No. 1 | JRCigars

www.jrcigars.com

Does it say the item is in stock, or out of stock in the link above?

it allowed me to go through and pay out of PayPal, so they got the money right away. However I got no response that anything was out of stock etc... so what would have happened had I never asked?

 

[danimalia]

Haven't bought cigars in over 10 years or whenever Lew last ran it. Would always get my cigars from them back then. Loved their catalogues because of the stuff Lew wrote in them.

Maybe (ok, definitely) I'm a big nerd, but a little effort and time spent on copywriting makes a big difference. You can always tell when a vendor does their own vs re-prints from the manufacture or industry buzzword Madlibs. I get embarrassed for some of the sites, the way they try to showhorn words in that barely make any sense.

I've never actually ordered from jR. I buy my cigars pretty exclusively from Atlantic cigar or from abroad. I have nothing but contempt for a seller that would cancel an order just because they didnt want to honor a discount that was used fairly and in good faith.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

Are you considering this a temper tantrum that a business doesn’t answer the phone, orders sit unshipped and non-refunded for 2 weeks on out-of-stock product advertised as in-stock, with no responses to my repeated calls or emails asking about my order?

Mac Baren Virginia No. 1 | JRCigars

www.jrcigars.com

Does it say the item is in stock, or out of stock in the link above?

it allowed me to go through and pay out of PayPal, so they got the money right away. However I got no response that anything was out of stock etc... so what would have happened had I never asked?

When merchandise I order doesn’t arrive, I ask. As I did. And I got a refund. For more than it should have been. Sorry you had problems. And when I just searched JR for MacBarens, I got
“We couldn't find any results matching "MacBarens"

When I placed my order, the same in stock message appeared, but, gee, the world is coming to an end because they screwed up. Not.

Every vendor I have dealt with has had issues at one time or another. (Well, except Al Pascia). Smoking Pipes, on three occasions in the last two years, has sent me “Gee, we oversold that Esoterica sorry” hours after I had gotten a confirmation. On one occasion all they wanted to do was issue me a store credit. When I threatened to open a PayPal dispute on my fourth email to them, they coughed up the refund. But their s**t doesn’t stink.

But hey, I really thank you for these vendor bashing threads. The more people you scare off, the better?

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

I have nothing but contempt for a seller that would cancel an order just because they didnt want to honor a discount that was used fairly and in good faith.

You have no basis except another members speculation for that statement. As I mentioned above, they sold multiple Kiribi lighters to members of another forum, along with Escudo, Capstan, and some premium cigars that slipped through the excluded items. Their 30% and 40% coupons were endemic in January. One member at another place figured out how to stack a 20% promotion with a 30% code and made five orders before they stopped the ability to stack. He has reported receipt of every single order. (why five orders? He was working and every time he got a break, PAD, TAD and CAD struck again.)

Maybe you want to do business with JR, maybe not, but in my experience they honor their discounts on in stock items, baseless speculation to the contrary notwithstanding which is of course fully intended to achieve exactly this piling on result.

 

[danimalia]

You have no basis except another members speculation for that statement. As I mentioned above, they sold multiple Kiribi lighters to members of another forum, along with Escudo, Capstan, and some premium cigars that slipped through the excluded items. Their 30% and 40% coupons were endemic in January. One member at another place figured out how to stack a 20% promotion with a 30% code and made five orders before they stopped the ability to stack. He has reported receipt of every single order. (why five orders? He was working and every time he got a break, PAD, TAD and CAD struck again.)

Maybe you want to do business with JR, maybe not, but in my experience they honor their discounts on in stock items, baseless speculation to the contrary notwithstanding which is of course fully intended to achieve exactly this piling on result.

Yeah it's a discussion forum where people share their experiences and then comment on them with their own thoughts. I was pretty careful to not state that JR actually did cancel the order based on not wanting to honor a price (though OP wasn't the only person who suspected this had happened)... Just that I find such a practice contemptible. It's pretty clear that OP (and others!) had other issues aside from not getting the product, and shitty service and shitty inventory management systems are certainty fair game for criticism. People are going to have different experiences and they have no obligation to keep silent about bad experiences to spare the sensitivities or of a retailer, just as you're entitled to share your good experiences

 

[logs]

I've been asked that. After investing so much time waiting, I am excited to see how it goes in a few more years. It definitely gets better with age, but it hasn't lost any of the bitey-ness yet though.

Let me know if you ever decide to part with a pound or so because I love this blend aged, partly because of the great flavor the develops when it has a few years on it, but also because the fresh stuff has a very notable vanilla topping that I find objectionable. While I'm not sure you can age away Mac Baren bite, you can definitely age out the ridiculous "Captain Black Royal" levels of vanilla.
(The only way I've found to reduce the bite is to keep the burn temperature down).

 

[jeff540]

I used to drive by their outlet in Statesville a few times a year. Never stopped in, but when I finally decided to check them out this year I see they've shut down the physical location and are now online sales only?. Kicking myself, but since @BROBS online experience with them doesn't inspire much confidence, I'll just stick with SP and other online retailers that support this forum.

My experiences with JR were primarily the Burlington NC store circa 2004 to 2008. I had a client in the area and would make monthly trips. The Burlington location had a massive pipe and tobacco section (a whole room dedicated to pipes and tobacco). To be honest, I think it was the most pipe tobacco inventory I ever saw at a B&M. It was at this same store that I first discovered Sam Gawith, and for that it will always hold a dear place in my heart.

 

[bullet08]

always see cars at their burlington, nc location, even now days. but their web site says e-commerce only.

 

[jeff540]

always see cars at their burlington, nc location, even now days. but their web site says e-commerce only.

They have a huge outlet for "consumer goods" at that location (clothes, housewares, etc.). The tobacco B&M was a store within the larger store.

 

[odobenus]

Maybe (ok, definitely) I'm a big nerd, but a little effort and time spent on copywriting makes a big difference. You can always tell when a vendor does their own vs re-prints from the manufacture or industry buzzword Madlibs. I get embarrassed for some of the sites, the way they try to showhorn words in that barely make any sense.

I've never actually ordered from jR. I buy my cigars pretty exclusively from Atlantic cigar or from abroad. I have nothing but contempt for a seller that would cancel an order just because they didnt want to honor a discount that was used fairly and in good faith.

+1000

 

[python]

This one has runs its course.