Make money building humidors?

[Jason White]

I have a Daniel Marshall humidor. I bought the smallest, cheapest one they make. It holds 50 cigars and is painted black. VERY well made! I think I paid around $200 for it.

Got me thinking -- is there money to be made building humidors in my own home workshop? Not sure if there as many cigar smokers out there as there were during the 90's (the "boom" years). But the more high end humidors seem to go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Being an occasional cigar smoker, I do have a sense of what goes into a well built stogie-holder. Some of them are really works of art, too! Could be a fun thing to do part time.

Any thoughts from you guys who actually build them?

Jason

[Rick Moyer]

I'd say if Bill Wyko doesn't respond here, which I suspect he will, you should contact him. He seems to be the resident "humidor man" as his work is beautiful and he does make/sell them to other cigar aficianados. I suspect he is more interested in the work than the profit but I don't want to speak for him.

[Jamie Buxton]

The question is "how are you going to sell them?" I'm sure you have the woodworking skills to build them. You can probably learn the financial and tax stuff. The challenging part of your business plan is figuring out how to sell them.

[Peter Scoma]

I sold my humidors for some time during the cigar boom which has died down substantially. At the time there were smoke shops popping up everywhere willing to take my pieces on consignment. Some I sold directly to smokers through networking but its a tough business.

Many boom smokers were not well educated and saw no need to spend 500$ when Thompson cigar gave you a free one with every box you purchase. Elie Bleu were and still are top of the line and pretty tough to match in terms of finishing.

I did well making cabinet humidors and humidor furniture. There aren't many companies making nice cabinets and many serious smokers get tired of filling desktop humi after desktop humi. A well made cabinet and electronic humidifier with internal thermostat will keep cigars so much better than the best desktop box ever could. Check out arlinliss; he makes custom humidor furniture that is really incredible.

PS