Posts Tagged: ‘buy’

Gold Bullion – Buy Gold Bars for the Perfect Investment

May 21, 2012 Posted by admin

Gold bullion may well be the perfect investment at the moment. Demand for gold far outstrips supply and the way things are looking, it’s going to continue that way for a long time to come. Acquiring gold bars is the perfect way to hedge against the uncertainty of the future and to bulletproof your portfolio.

The value of any unit of wealth depends on the confidence people have in it. Unlike many paper currencies, people’s confidence in gold is high and set to increase which makes it the ideal asset to acquire and hold.

Meanwhile the supply of gold is limited and the cost of extraction is getting higher. No new cheap supplies are likely to appear anytime soon.

To better understand the world gold situation, let’s look at the world demand for gold and see who relies on the yellow metal.

The fact is that gold is not just a valuable metal to be bought and kept in vaults or crafted into jewellery. Its special properties make it a key component in many medical and technological processes and systems. Its growing importance in the latter means a continuing demand for the future.

Firstly, we’ll look at gold kept for investment purposes. Gold’s beauty and scarcity have long made it the perfect medium of exchange. Gold is the best metal for this purpose because of its high value, durability, portability and easy divisibility.

When paper money was first introduced it was backed with gold. In fact until the early 1970s, the United States was on the ‘gold standard’ and promised to exchange gold for dollars at a fixed rate. Many people blame the world’s current economic woes on the ending of this system. Nonetheless, gold remains a major asset for most of the world’s governments.

Thus gold bullion is a key component of the assets of all the world’s major central banks. What’s interesting is that the state banks of the newly emerging super economies – India and China – having been adding to their stock of the yellow metal recently.

Other than central banks, investment and commercial banks also hold large supplies of gold both as their own assets and on behalf of clients.

Another use for gold is in the creation of gold coins. Issued in specific weights, these are popular ways for people to buy and hold small volumes of gold for investment. Gold coins are also issued for commemorative purposes. This gives the item both a collectable value and an asset value for gold itself.

Gold’s malleability, tarnish resistance and ductile qualities, together with its beauty and luster have long made it the metal of choice for the crafting of the finest jewellery and this is something that will only continue despite the popularity of platinum. After all, what would a wedding be without a gold ring?

Gold is an important material for use in medicine. The use of gold fillings, permanent bridges and crowns in dentistry is long established but nowadays, gold is used for an array of essential medical instruments, particularly in the use of lasers and medical electronics.

Industrially, the main use for gold is in electronics. This is because it’s such an efficient conductor of electricity and resistant to corrosion and tarnishing. Gold is perfect for use in connectors, switch and relay contacts, soldered joints, connecting wires and connection strips.

Other key industrial uses include computers and catalytic converters. Gold is needed to build everything from aircraft to space craft and cars.

The fact is that gold has so many uses, there will always be demand for it. Most of the uses of gold today have only been developed in the last few decades suggesting that many more uses are on the way in line with technological progress. Meanwhile, according to estimates made in 2005, the cost of extracting one ounce of gold stood at over $400.

When looking to acquire gold for investment rather than sentimental reasons, you should buy gold bars and gold bullion. Buying gold in the form of bars is the most cost effective method owing to the minimal transaction costs compared to coins and jewellery.

Michiel Van Kets writes articles for Bullion by Post which is part of Jewellery Quarter Bullion Limited, the company offers private UK investors the opportunity to buy gold bullion bars at trade prices. All fine silver and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://” target=”_blank”>www.bullionbypost.co.uk/gold-bars/”>gold bars are brand new and manufactured by London Bullion Market Association approved refiners. The company provides the lowest margins in the UK, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://” target=”_blank”>www.bullionbypost.co.uk/info/how-to-buy/”>buy gold bullion at real time spot based pricing and real-time stock availability.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/gold-bullion-buy-gold-bars-for-the-perfect-investment-1601228.html

Buying Homes At The Foreclosure Auction: Be Careful, Buy Smart

December 10, 2011 Posted by admin

Buying homes for sale at the foreclosure auction may seem glamorous to some, but without proper preparation you may end up with an expensive life lesson. With a few simple measures one can properly harvest profitable properties time and time again minimizing risk and maximizing profitability.

The first measure, and the absolute most important, is to thoroughly research the foreclosure auction process in your area. Specifically the trustees sale auction dealing with bank foreclosed properties. In my area, our trustees’ sales are held at the courthouse on Friday Mornings. Each state has different rights for the homeowner, bank and potential auction purchaser, start with a web search and research your area. It would be strongly advisable to spend an hour discussing with a knowledgeable local Real Estate Attorney or Realtor.

Once you are up to speed on your local Foreclosure Auction procedures and rules you need to begin attending your local auction as frequently as possible and tracking auction properties. You do not want your first time at the auction to be the same day you make your first purchase. You can obtain lists of properties in foreclosure from your local Realtor or through your local title company. A Realtor will be a great asset in providing comparable sales analysis and resale projections for your purchases.

Depending on your area, the information you receive may be sixty to ninety days in advance of the sale. To obtain more current auction data, research homes for sale on the trustee’s website, the trustee is usually listed on the foreclosure sale data you receive from your Realtor or Title company. A simple web search for the trustee name will yield their website, most sites are easy to navigate and you can easily drill down to your location and see homes for sale and often times, the opening bid of the auction. Pick a list of properties you want to watch, have your Realtor partner pull comparable sales and make a quick drive by of the properties. It’s important to note that most foreclosure auction processes do not allow interior inspection of the property and they are usually sold as-is.

In addition to comparable sales, there are some legal considerations to investigate when purchasing auction properties. This is where an experienced attorney or Realtor can come in handy to help minimize risk. There are some services which will provide all the data for you, but typically cost up to three percent of the purchase price for the data. A few important factors to consider:

You Must (absolute Must) purchase the primary lien on the property.
If you purchase a subordinate lien, such as a second mortgage, you risk the primary mortgage foreclosing and eliminating your position in the sale. Do your title research on this if you mess up here, you can kiss a lot of money goodbye in short order. Most subordinate liens will be removed after the purchase (here is a good topic of discussion with your Real Estate Attorney).

You Must research IRS liens.
Depending on when the lien was filed this can be a problem. It’s important to allocate time to research this. It’s different in each area and a good title company can help.

Some like to preview the properties at auction, I know I said that you typically cannot preview them, but in rare cases they are listed by a Realtor up until the auction. Have your Realtor partner schedule an appointment and take good notes, you may have an advantage over other bidders by knowing this “inside information.”

If you don’t have funding lined up, do it now. Most auctions are cash sales. They want paid when you win the auction. Some auctions will require a holding fee anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 or more. Get your money together and have it ready. In most cases, auction purchases must be done with hard money (through an investor usually at high interest rates, this must be factored into your budget).

While you’re doing your research, make time to attend your local auction. Track what properties are for sale and what they sell for, also track the properties that do not sell. Start keeping a simple database of properties. Most experienced I investors will suggest watching a minimum of ten auctions prior to attempting your first purchase. After attending several auctions, you’ll begin to see some familiar faces. Watch their methods, track their properties, what they purchase and what they sell for and begin developing your plan.

With several auctions under your belt, money in hand and more research than you think you need, you can step up and make your purchase at the action. Once you’ve made your purchase a number of things may happen. Most areas will have you fill out the deed on the spot, others will have a small mail in process. If the home you purchased was occupied the former owner retains some rights and may have twenty days or more to get out of the home. You may have to evict them. I suggest using a Real Estate attorney for this process, as an incorrect step may result in the former owner living in your home longer than expected and free of charge.

This is not intended to be an all inclusive tutorial on auction purchases, but a compass to point you in the right direction. Auction purchases require lots of hard work and research, if any point were to come across we’d like it to be that one. Get out there, start tracking auctions and start investing in Real Estate, it’s a great time to make great money if you track the details and make one of the great buys that are out there!

Brandon Marchand sells Spokane Homes For Sale in Spokane WA. He is an avid Real Estate Investor, Business Owner and Consultant.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/buying-homes-at-the-foreclosure-auction-be-careful-buy-smart-1496129.html

Buy Silver Bullion Bars Online

December 2, 2011 Posted by admin

It is so easy to buy silver bullion bars. You shouldn’t be overwhelmed just because this involves a hefty amount.

When you buy the 100 ounce bars, you know that you are making an investment. But before you do anything drastic you need as much as you canon how to buy silver bullion bars.

First and foremost, you need to make sure how these items will be shipped to you. If you are going to buy silver bullion bars, you can do this online. Just double check if all the information you need is mentioned online.

If that is the case, then that is your signal to go forward and invest your hard earned money in the bullion bars that you have been eyeing.

When you buy silver bullion bars, take note of the manufacturers that would be in charge of shipping. The most credible companies are the Sunshine Mining, A-Mark, US Assay, APMEX, and Johnson Matthey. If these companies are responsible in sending you the silver bullion bars that you purchased, then you are somehow set.

When you buy silver bullion bars, no matter what size these are, you can invest in any of them. You can go for the pure silver white in order to avoid the premiums that come with the others.

The advantage of the silver bullion bars with the bullion coins is that there are only a couple of legal matters to consider with the former, as opposed to the latter that had a lot of paperwork going with it. Silver bullion bars can easily be sold and purchased. The collector can stack and store his collection.

It is so easy to buy silver bars to your collection. The first step is to just buy silver bullion bars from our credited silver manufacturer.

Going on to the matter deeply, the most popular silver bullion bars that are sold in the market today are the generic silver that are .999 fine. If you buy silver bullion bars with this quality, you can start the price off for as low as 49 cents.

An important thing to note when you buy silver bullion bars is that the sometimes don’t come in a plastic. Now for the silver bar enthusiast, this is a no-no. He knows that the moist can easily affect the bullion bars.

That’s another way for you to know whether the manufacturer of the silver bars is knowledgeable. If ever they sell and deliver silver bullion bars that are not in plastic, get out.

Discover where to buy silver bullion bars online. Learn how to buy silver bullion at my site.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/buy-silver-bullion-bars-online-1473491.html

How To Buy Gold Successfully

November 18, 2011 Posted by admin

In the past decade, crumbling mainstream investment markets have caused many investors to seek safe-haven assets amidst this contracting economy, and the majority of them have learned how to buy gold as their ultimate tool for profit and wealth preservation amidst “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.” This comes as no surprise, especially since the metal has increased in value more than 400% since 2001 while many mainstream investments lost more than 25% of their initial value as a result of large economic contractions. History has proven time and time again that when paperbacked assets lose value, wise investors learn how to buy gold as a means of preserving themselves with one of the world’s most recognized stores of wealth.

Learning how to buy gold is a lot easier than many investors think, and modern technology has made it a very simple diversification. When you do decide to purchase, it’s very important that you only diversify with physical possession bars and coins because riskier precious metal investments like gold stocks and exchange traded funds have proven to be just as volatile as traditional stocks and shares. Just like with most other investments, thorough research could lead you to success with gold investments, thus I have outlined a three-step plan below that could lead you on your way to success with the metal:

Research Gold Market = There are several different factors that affect the gold market on a daily basis, and understanding these factors is the first step to success with a precious metal diversification. The spot price is the base price of one-ounce of gold on commodities exchanges worldwide, and it is the most important factor because it is influenced by external economic factors ranging from the strength of the United States Dollar to investor sentiment about the economy, stocks, bonds and real estate. You can track this spot price on reputable websites like www.GoldPrice.net.

Research Gold Bars And Coins = When learning how to buy gold, it’s important to know that there are hundreds of different bars and coins that could benefit certain types of investment portfolios. All these products are split into two major categories; modern-day bullion and pre-1933 certified rare coins. Investors who purchase modern-day bullion typically seek short-term profit from their investment while investors who purchase certified rare coins typically seek long-term wealth preservation from their investment. An excellent award-winning resource that can help you learn more about these bars and coins is www.Gold-Investment.info.

Research The Best Dealers = There are literally hundreds of gold dealers scattered across the nation, some of the reputable but most of them not so reputable. Conducting background reputability checks is important because you always want to deal with companies that hold long-standing histories of excellent service and pricing. The Better Business Bureau website is an excellent resource because simply by inputting the name of a gold dealer, you can see their BBB rating as well as any comments and complaints they may have. Precious metal firms such as www.CertifiedGoldExchange.com have held A+ ratings with the BBB since 1992, thus making them one of the industry leaders in this flourishing market.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/how-to-buy-gold-successfully-1429930.html

Canadian Income Stocks!

November 7, 2011 Posted by admin

18 High-Dividend Canadian Stocks

 

 

The 2008 financial crisis uncannily echoes what happened in Japan more than a decade ago. In the 1990s, the Japanese banking systems had become overloaded with bad loans after a property bubble collapse, according to Gillian Tett, author of Fool’s Gold. The investor psychology seemed dangerously similar too.  If this is the case, investors who buy high yield stocks now could collect big dividends while the economy fights to get back on its feet.

 

The Associated Press (AP) reported on Friday that the U.S. federal budget deficit has surged to an all-time high of $1.42 trillion. The Obama administration projects deficits will total $9.1 trillion over the next decade. For weeks the US dollar’s decline sent gold to all-time highs and helped oil to over $78. Canada happens to have plenty of these commodities. 

 

The following are 18 Canadian companies listed on U.S. exchanges with market caps greater than $1 billion, reasonable P/E ratios, and dividend yields greater than 3.5% (sorted by yield):

 

 

Name

Symbol

P/E

Yield

Market Cap

PROVIDENT ENERGY TR

(PVX)

9.0

11.1%

1.66B

PENGROWTH EGY UTS

(PGH)

5.0

10.6%

2.61B

PENN WEST ENERGY TRU

(PWE)

5.1

10.1%

6.90B

ENERPLUS RES FD

(ERF)

5.8

8.4%

3.97B

HARVEST ENERGY TRUST

(HTE)

4.2

8.1%

1.14B

B C E INC

(BCE)

21.7

6.1%

18.82B

TELUS CORP

(TU)

8.6

5.8%

9.41B

PRECISION DRILL TRST

(PDS)

4.3

5.7%

1.91B

BANK OF MONTREAL

(BMO)

17.3

5.1%

27.68B

TRANSALTA CORP

(TAC)

21.9

5.1%

4.07B

BAYTEX ENERGY TR UTS

(BTE)

12.8

5.0%

2.77B

CANADIAN IMP BK COMM

(CM)

3.7

5.0%

2.98B

BROOKFIELD PTYS CP

(BPO)

6.2

4.6%

4.47B

TRANSCANADA CORP

(TRP)

15.1

4.3%

21.71B

SHAW COMM CL B NV

(SJR)

15.6

4.2%

8.24B

ROGERS COMMUN CL B

(RCI)

16.8

4.0%

16.57B

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA

(BNS)

16.7

3.9%

45.86B

TORONTO DOMINION

(TD)

17.4

3.5%

53.70B

 

These 18 high-dividend companies are in 4 sectors: Energy, Financial, Telecom and Utilities.

 

Energy Income Trust

High demand from China and a weak US dollar make the energy sector attractive.  7 companies belong to energy income trust category:

 

Symbol

Operating Margin

Debt/Operating CF

52-wk Range

(BTE)

36%

1.0

7.84 – 26.44

(ERF)

51%

0.7

12.85 – 28.58

(HTE)

10%

3.2

3.00 – 11.55

(PDS)

28%

2.0

2.00 – 12.21

(PGH)

22%

2.5

4.51 – 11.90

(PVX)

23%

1.5

2.23 – 6.84

(PWE)

58%

2.3

6.77 – 19.01

 

 

For sophisticated traders, trading commodities directly might provide a higher reward. For income investors, commodity companies might be a better choice because they provide some buffer, in addition to regular dividends.

 

There is a small ETF called Claymore Canadian Energy Income (ENY) which includes most of these companies. Its yield is 5.45%.

 

 

Financials

The Following are comparisons between Canadian banks, U.S. major banks averages, as well as JPMorgan Chase (JPM), one of the most conservative banks in the US. Clearly Canadian banks are much more profitable.

 

Description

P/E

ROE %

Div. Yield %

Net Profit Margin %

U.S. Money Center Banks

n/a

1.1%

1.1%

1.3%

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)

52.6

2.9%

0.4%

15.5%

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)

17.6

9.4%

3.5%

22.2%

The Bank Of Nova Scotia (BNS)

16.8

13.2%

3.9%

28.9%

CIBC (CM)

3.8

7.0%

5.0%

18.8%

Bank of Montreal (BMO)

17.4

9.2%

5.1%

21.8%

 

 

Telecom

Competition in the telecom sector is heating up in Canada. When BCE (BCE) and Telus (TU) announced they will start carrying the iPhone next month which puts an end to the exclusivity that Rogers (RCI) has enjoyed, it sent RCI’s short ratio to a stunning high of 33. Unlike those 3, Shaw Communications (SJR) primarily focuses on cable services.

 

Utilities

TransAlta (TAC) is an electric utility company while TransCanada (TRP) operates through two segments: pipelines and energy. TAC’s short ratio of 5.8 makes me nervous.

 

 Conclusion

After boldly buying when others were selling, Warren Buffet is pulling back, buying fewer stocks while investing in debt.  He is warning that the economy, though on the mend, remains deeply troubled.

 

In addition, the Canadian dollar is a strong threat to the Canadian economy. CurrencyShares Canadian Dollar Trust (FXC) appreciated over 13% this year. Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada, has warned that the Canadian dollar appears to be moving away from the fundamentals. 

 

The iShares MSCI Canada Index (EWC) year-to-date’s return is an astonishing 46%. A great stock can be easily turned into a bad investment, if you buy it at a higher than reasonable price.  It all depends on the starting price.

 

Nonetheless, high-dividend, fundamentally-strong companies are more likely to survive in this stormy market. One of the greatest ways to protect your portfolio is through asset allocation: to make sure not a single sector accounts for more than 20% of your portfolio. Be sure to re-balance as it will automatically enroll you into the “buy low, sell high” camp.

 

Disclosure: I have long positions on BMO, BNS, CM, PWE, TD, and TRE. All data is from Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/) as of Oct 16, 2009. 

 

Stocks: BCE, BMO, BNS, BPO, BTE, CM, ENY, ERF, EWC, FXC, THE, JPM, PDS,

PGH, PVX, PWE, RCI, SJR, TAC, TD, TRP, TU

 

Hao Jin, CFA
Contributing Writer

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/canadian-income-stocks-1360481.html

How To Buy Mutual Funds Online

November 5, 2011 Posted by admin

If you want to make investments, you need to know as much as you can on how to buy mutual funds. Mutual funds are the way to go in order to make really good investments in your purchase.

This is because these are very easy to buy and these are also very simple to sell. Mutual funds are rich in benefits and features. You will have to do your homework on how to buy mutual funds.

You need to identify which of these can accommodate what you need and can provide you with the investment that you can get your hands on.

The first step is to get the basic steps on how to buy mutual funds. This is basically a portfolio that contains the variety of securities like bonds, certificates, and stocks.

Most of these funds have concentration or a focal point that can guide you in the kind of investment that you are venturing.

The next step if you are going to buy mutual funds is to identify your investment goals. The specific objectives eventually determine the sort of the mutual fund that is very appropriate to your needs.

If you are going to pay off for your college education or save up for your retirement, it only makes sense that you get as much profit as you can with your mutual fund.

Determine how you buy mutual funds and make it reflect in your overall portfolio. The whole investment is only the portion of your collective assets. These should then be allocated to your mutual funds in accordance to your plan.

You can determine the percentage and then just strictly stick to these. If you are going to buy mutual funds, double check whether these consist stocks which may be a risk in your investment.

After having done these, the next step on how to buy mutual funds is to evaluate your risk level. You can tailor your investments in such a way that you are less aggressive.

It is important to be averse on the market but sometimes the best thing to do is to just let it flow. You don’t need to be sleepless at night. Just make a sound decision and hope that the process you did on how to buy mutual funds is a good investment.

Finally, when you search for the mutual funds to buy then the financial magazines that you need to rate depend on the risks, performances, and the other parameters of such funds.

Discover which are the best sites to buy mutual funds online. Learn which are the best performing mutual funds at my site.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/how-to-buy-mutual-funds-online-1349623.html

Mid-Week Commodity ETF Update!

November 5, 2011 Posted by admin

Commodities and stocks have been on fire the past two weeks and I think it just may be time for things to take a breather. While I continue to stay long, taking some money off the table to lock in profits is a safe play. 

 

If you look  at the charts we can tell the odds are pointing to some type of pause or pullback in the coming days. I figure any day now we could see some profit taking.

 

Gold ETF Trading – GLD

The Gold ETF is one of my favorite trading vehicles. Using simple trend lines and looking at the recent price action you can see that the price of gold is looking ready for a pullback. Buying at this level is chasing and that generally means you buy at the high and panic out at the low.

 

Silver ETF Trading – SLV

The Silver ETF looks to be in the same boat as gold. I expect to see some sideways price action or a pullback.

 

Natural Gas ETF Trading – UNG

The Natural Gas ETF sure has given everyone a wild ride in the past 6 months. The bear market is still in place which can be seen on the daily chart. So far this week the price has broken down and trading at the $11 support level. This fund could generate a buy or sell signal with my trading model in the coming days so I am waiting for a clear entry and exit point before jumping on the gas wagon.

 

Crude Oil ETF Trading – USO

The Crude Oil ETF has broken above its resistance trend line this week but still struggling to move above the August high. Volume is declining while the price rises which is a bearish indicator. USO looks ready for some type of a pullback as it digests this breakout before moving higher.

 

Mid-Week GLD, SLV, UNG, USO ETF Trading Report

What does the general public hear and think about the stock market?

From recent emails, local financial news shows, family, friends etc… all I am hearing is how strong the market is. Indexes are making new yearly highs and company earnings are better than expected this quarter. Sounds like all we need to do is buy and life will be great!

 

Well in my opinion the market is the perfect tool for misguiding and frustrating the general public. All my indicators are telling me we need more of a correction before rallying much higher. The market (smart money) generally anticipates good and bad news several weeks if not a month in advance. So the question is:

 

Are company earnings already priced into the market?

 

Is all this positive market coverage getting the general public to buy up here at this possible market top?

 

The answer is, only time will tell. No one knows for sure what the market is going to do but short term moves can be predicted with relatively high accuracy.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I am still bullish on the market but with all this good news becoming public information you have to wonder what is next. I am still long the market but trimming my positions to lock in profits and still stay in the game.

 

Chris Vermeulen
Contributing Writer

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/midweek-commodity-etf-update-1343760.html

These Are Some Of The Disavantages Of Mutual Funds

November 4, 2011 Posted by admin

Mutual funds pool money from investors, who are constantly saving into the fund and at the same time, others are withdrawing from the fund, forcing the investment managers to keep large sums of money as liquid cash. This is one disadvantage of a mutual fund because, keeping liquid cash is detrimental to the growth of a portfolio since, it ties the money. The money is not invested in productive endeavors, thereby reducing the benefits that could have been accrued.

The various fees charged include shareholders fees, which come in the form of loads and redemption fees. Loads are divided into front load fund, back load fund, constant load fund as well as no load fund, calculated as a percentage of the amount of stock you wish to buy or sell. Annual fund operating fees include the cost of keeping shareholders records and financial statements, marketing and advertisement fees. As an investor who is only starting out on investment, it would be wise if you could start up with funds that have low investment requirements.

A front load fund entails paying the commission that would accrue up front and in a back load fund, you pay the commission upon selling all or part of your holding. A constant load fund deducts commissions on a regular basis, while a no load Fund does not charge any commission. There are many no load funds out there and in most instances, they out perform the loaded funds since all your money goes into buying shares. There are also many examples of load funds out there, but the most prominent ones are the index mutual funds.

Peter Gitundu Creates Interesting And Thought Provoking Content on Mutual Funds. For More Information, Read More Of His Articles Here ADVANTAGES OF MUTUAL FUNDS If You Enjoyed This Article, Make Sure You Read My Most Recent Posts Here MUTUAL FUNDS

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Buying Cigars from Cuba

July 3, 2010 Posted by admin

Every cigar aficionado knows that the very best cigars come from Cuba.  Unfortunately, buying the best can often be a risky proposition.  But many cigar enthusiasts are willing to take the risk to get a taste of the very best.  If you’re wondering just how one would get their hands on a box of Cubans, read on.  Because of the relationship between the United States and Cuba, know that there are a lot of people looking to take advantage of cigar aficionados.  Purchasing Cuban cigars should be done with great caution in order to avoid getting duped.  

First, know that importing cigars from Cuba is considered illegal.  The United States placed economic sanctions on the Cuban government in 1963.  Ever since then, Cuban cigars have become the holy grail of cigar enthusiasts.  There is, however, one loophole: visitors to Cuba who return from a sanctioned and licensed visit are allowed to bring back cigars.  However, visitors are not able to bring back more than $100 worth of cigars, and they must be intended for personal use, and not for resale.  

Any other ways of obtaining Cuban cigars is considered illegal.  It is in fact illegal to buy, sell or trade Cuban cigars in the United States.  Fines for illegal trading, buying or selling of Cuban cigars may face up to $55,000 in civil fines.  This type of fine, however, is quite rare.  The more likely scenario is that you’ll have your cigars confiscated.  

When purchasing a box of Cuban cigars, be prepared to fork over quite a bit of your cash.  Prices can range from about $150 to $500 or more.  If you’re offered a box below these prices, chances are it may not be the real thing.  Most Internet businesses that sell purportedly genuine Cuban cigars tend to be imitations.  Always avoid shops or retailers that offer “discounted” Cuban cigars.  

How to get your hands on the real thing?  The easiest way to get a box of authentic Cuban cigars is to head north to Canada.  Buy them in Canada and repackage them so that they are not in their original Cuba packaging.  Remove the rings and place the cigars in a different box.  Customs agents tend to not inspect cigars carefully, and it is generally not considered a serious offense to bring Cuban cigars into the United States.  In fact, many clerks at tobacco shops will even offer to repackage Cuban cigars for you.

Buying Cigars as a Gift

June 30, 2010 Posted by admin

Is there a cigar aficionado on your gift list?  Wondering how to choose a decent cigar for a friend or loved one?  Even if you know nothing about cigars or choosing a good cigar, just learning a few basics can help you sniff out (sometimes literally) a good cigar to give to a friend.  

Fortunately, cigars have now entered the mainstream.  Once the symbol of the rich and powerful, it’s easier than ever for just about anyone to purchase a good cigar.  Of course, you probably won’t be able to buy your friend a box of top-tier Cuban cigars, but you can definitely buy them a good quality cigar that will put a smile on their face.  

First, visit your local tobacconist or specialty smoke shop for the best quality and widest selection.  Avoid ‘drugstore’ cigars.  Although they may be inexpensive and convenient to purchase, drugstore cigars are usually filled with preservatives and generally of poorer quality.  They may contain, at minimum, saltpeter, paper, glycerin, and other preservatives and irritants.  You should make sure that the cigars you purchase are made of 100% tobacco.  If you have any questions regarding the cigars ingredients, ask the salesperson.  An experienced and knowledgeable sales clerk will be able to tell you extensive information about the ingredients.  

Your local tobacco shop is a good place to shop because you will generally be allowed to smell and touch the cigars.  Squeeze the cigar gently.  A good quality cigar will give a little when squeezed.  The cigar should be firm, with no excessively soft or hard spots.  Never buy a lumpy cigar. Look at the wrapper.  If you notice any drying or discoloration, best not to buy it.  Ideally, the wrapper should be tight and smooth.  Inspect the color of the tobacco to make sure it is even.  Do this by inspecting the end of the cigar.  Some color variation is normal, but if the color changes abruptly, chances are the cigar was not rolled properly.  A cigar that is not rolled properly may result in an uneven burning and unpleasant odors.  

If you’re not sure how much your friend smokes, choose a longer cigar.  Longer cigars tend to have a ‘cooler’ taste-an excellent choice for beginners. If you know your friend is an experienced and regular smoker, choose a cigar that is greater in diameter.  These cigars tend to have a richer flavor that experienced smokers will appreciate.

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