A couple of days ago I posted about a new penny auctions site from Famous Smoke. We had a gift-pack of Romeo y Julieta cigars to give away to one lucky reader, and the winner is, according to Random.org, foozer69! Congrats! You've just won this:
And, of course, don't forget to participate in the beta test from Friday, 10/21 at 10am through Monday, 10/24 at 6 pm (eastern).
A few days ago I participated in a closed beta test of a new project created by Famous Smoke Shop, called Cigar Sniper. It is a cigar-oriented penny auctions website. You probably know the idea behind penny auctions websites - you purchase bids with real money, use them to bid on low-priced items (like an iPhone for $10.05) and if you're the last person to bid you get the item for a ridiculously low price. I tried the concept a few times but, having never won anything, gave up. Famous Smoke did something clever by making the non-winning bids count as credit towards a future purchase, so technically they are not lost. Have a look at this document for more details about the project.
As I said, I used the site a bit and it looks rather good. Now, why am I telling you this, do I get a box of cigars for this post? I don't, but there's some free stuff for you if you participate in the open beta test this week-end (from Friday, 10/21 at 10am through Monday, 10/24 at 6 pm [eastern]). You will be set up with 250 'paid' bids and 125 'free' bids to use during the beta test. Note: during the beta test, all auctions are for test purposes only so you can play around without worrying about winning too much stuff :)
All participants will get 20 'free' bids for registering and 20 more free bids for bidding on at least one item. Three participants who win the most auctions will get respectively 280, 120 and 60 'paid' bids. You'll be able to use those bids when the site opens to public.
To finish with, some more free stuff for you: thanks to Famous, we've got a Romeo y Julieta Edicion Limitada 6-cigar gift set, pictured below ($110 value). One of our lucky readers will receive this sweet pack. In order to enter, just leave a comment below describing your experience with penny auctions if any, or just your thoughts about the concept. The winner will be randomly chosen on Friday and the contest is open to anybody as long as the cigars can be shipped to your country. Good luck and don't forget to head over to CigarSniper.com this week-end (at the moment there's not much to see there though).
One week ago I posted about a very special whisky tasting event called The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza, during which one can taste over 100 different whiskies and enjoy a cigar (or a couple) afterwards. We had 2 tickets to the fall session to be given away to one lucky commenter, and the winner is mike, the one who is ready to make a 30 minutes trek to LA (chosen by randomizer.org). Congrats! An e-mail has been sent to you regarding your prize. Big thanks to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America and Gabby Shayne for making it possible. Remember, CigarInspector.com readers get a $15 discount on their ticket. More details here.
In January, we did a giveaway for 2 tickets to the spring session of "Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza", event that combines our passions - a fine drink and a fine cigar - in a very pleasant manner. The winner of these tickets e-mailed me to let me know how he enjoyed the event so, thanks to Gabby Shayne from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America, we're continuing our giveaways.
It's now time to get ready for the 2011 fall session, which will be held in Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Washington DC and San Francisco. Tickets cost $135 and the price is reduced to $120 if you use code "TCI2011" when placing the order (here is the form). Again, we've got 2 tickets to one of the Fall 2011 events, ready to be given away to one lucky reader. Check out the schedule and if it sounds like something you're interested in and you can make it, just leave a comment below to be entered in the draw, mentioning the city of your choice. The winner will be announced in one week.
Ladies and Gentlemen are cordially invited to enjoy a connoisseur's evening featuring over 110 rare & exceptional single malt and Scotch whiskies. The evening includes a delicious dinner buffet as well as a selection of premium imported cigars for our guests' later enjoyment. The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza brings the discerning enthusiast the opportunity to sample the participating whiskies in a sophisticated and elegant environment with genuine camaraderie and knowledgeable representatives from each participating distillery.
I guess it's now time to announce the winners of our "share your cheap smoke" contest, as this is what everybody's waiting for. We had a close look at all the great reviews that were submitted and, by a solid vote, decided that the winner is jesseboston81 with his excellent review of the Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8. Congrats, you just won a box of these fine smokes!
That's not all though. Given the quality of other reviews, we thought it would be fair to reward runner-ups as well. As a result, Brian P (Brickhouse Robusto review), MoBarbq (Perdomo Fresco Torpedo review) and boBh069 (Partagas Mille Fleurs review) each get a 5-pack of cigars they reviewed.
...and of course we haven't forgotten about all the social promotion. @PapaLad gets a mystery 5-pack for tweeting about the contest and Gomon wins another one for being a fan on Facebook.
Huge thanks to all of those who participated, I hope you enjoyed the contest. Stay tuned for more!
Just a quick heads up to let all of you know that submissions to the contest are now closed. We will be announcing the winners in the next few days, so stay tuned!
Check out all the excellent submissions we received:
About one month ago we launched a contest called "Share your cheap smoke". By sharing thoughts about their favorite cheap cigars, readers had a chance of winning a box of these cigars. We were also giving away two samplers of mystery sticks for those active on social networks. We are happy to report that we've already received 10 excellent submissions, which means that the contest will end in 10 days from now. You still have some time to enter the contest, feel free to check the original post for details!
Here is the list of reviews that have been published so far:
Following last week's giveaway (well, at least now I know what kind of music a lot of you don't really appreciate...), it's time to announce the winners of 2 CDs. Congratulations Cindi and marco polo! You will receive an e-mail from me soon.
Thanks everyone for participating and watch out for more contests in future!
