| Online cigarettes
sales are growing rapidly. Leading business publications
predict tremendous growth of this industry in the next several
years. Online cigarettes retailers are so popular because
they can be located anywhere, and they can take advantage
of not paying high state taxes on cigarettes, thus reducing
the price of their product dramatically. Some states require
their residents to pay their own taxes when they buy cigarettes
online. It is your own responsibility as a consumer to pay
your state's tax even if you buy duty free cigarettes online.
Click here to learn more about
state taxes on cigarettes.
While it is not always easy to find reliable companies
with great products on the Internet, it is definitely possible.
It took me several months to try different online cigarettes
retailers and to study their customer service, shipping
methods, and quality of their cigarettes and other tobacco-related
products. There are several things that you want to consider
before you buy cigarettes online.
1. Make sure that you can clearly see the contact
information including mailing address and ideally the telephone
number of the company. Do not be afraid to ask questions before
you make a purchase. Good communication is essential in any business
relationship.
2. Shipping charges vary significantly from
one retailer to another. Always pay close attention to shipping
charges, methods, and time. Do not be fooled by companies giving
you good deal, but asking twice as much for shipping. It should
not take a good company more than 14 days to ship you a product.
Also, ideally all shipping should be done using UPS or other method
requiring adult signature. This assures that no minors can get
access to cigarettes.
3. Learn where the cigarettes sold by the company
are produced. Sometimes companies offer good deals, however, their
cigarettes can be produced in Eastern Europe, Asia or other places.
Very often the quality of such cigarettes is lower. If the company
does not clearly say where the cigarettes are produced, they might
be selling a lower-quality product.
What is the Deal with Duty-Free Cigarettes?
Duty free cigarettes are made in the United Stated for
overseas use. Usually, these products have different packaging,
prices, and taste than the corresponding brands that are
manufactured for sale in the United States. As an example,
duty free Marlboros do not contain "Marlboro Miles."
4. Reliable companies with good customer service
can afford professional, easy-to-navigate web design. Sometimes,
even looking at the web site can give you a pretty good idea if
the company is a start-up, or an established big company.
5. Find out what other customers or partners
of the company say about them. There are several excellent sources
that can provide you with such information. One of them is www.alexa.com
Just type in the web address of the company, and you can get a
lot of valuable information about the web site. Sometimes, customer
comments are present. Also, alexa.com
allows you to find out about other web sites listed in the same
category.
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