IAmA tobacco wholesaler

How much has the rise in popularity of e-cigs impacted your business?

We sell e cigs as well so it goes from one end to the other

Do you smoke yourself?

Unfortunately I do. It's harder to quit also, whenever I try throwing away a pack, I end up "shorting" a customer a carton and bringing it back the next day

Could you explain what you mean? As in you give your customer one less carton than they pay for and keep it for yourself?

I bring it to them the next day lol, I can't give them a carton with a pack missing because my hands where shaky lol

As somebody who does smoke and has a serious problem like this, do you feel any guilt about supplying other people with the means to have the same?

Not a troll question, I've legitimately wondered about that for a while.

I'm sure there's guilt in me, I honestly wish cigarettes would die out.

What job do you want to do when cigarettes die out??

something in logistics

If your state allowed it, would you start growing marijuana?

I'm in NJ, I'm hoping to be one of the first wholesalers of it when it becomes fully legal.

I believe NJ has a weird thing where you have to 19 to purchase cigarettes. Has this led to a problem of people assuming they can purchase at 18? Do you often have to turn people down?

I sell to stores, but we try and educate them, it's caused a big confusion when it first became a 19yr old thing, but now people know

Where in NJ? What district?

mostly within the 287, but I go down to Sandy hook as well

Do you sell dokha?

haha not a lot of people know what that is, but no we don't.

Were you the guy that sold all the cigarettes to Sebastian Bach in Trailer Park Boys season 7?

lmao

How big of a deal is counterfeit cigarettes?

It is insane, selling counterfeit cigarettes or out of state cigarettes is a federal crime. You might as well be selling crack lol

How often do you think the average consumer unknowingly ends up buying counterfeit cigarettes?

smokers know, we can taste the difference.

WTF is a counterfeit cigarette? Honestly never heard of this. People growing their own and selling?

There's just like you get counterfeit sports jerseys, there's counterfeit cigarettes, made with lower standards and packaged as regular brands, the biggest one being counterfeited is Newport.

Also there's out of state cigarettes, people run down to VA purchase cigarettes for around 30 a carton sell in NJ NY for 50/60 easy, essentially making 10x times the profit we do.

I know someone who got arrested for out of state cigarette distribution, they went so far as to put his 13 and 14 year old kids on house arrest, with the ankle bracelets.

Is there any way to get original Djarum clove cigarettes in the us? Please say yes.

No, I'm sure you've seen the cigars, they just have a higher tobacco content.

Do you have a back up career plan as more people stop smoking?

I've worked logistics most of my life. I'm currently trying to go to school for logistics management, to have that degree in the future. Logistics management is a well paying job, but 10 years experience gets you no higher then driving a forklift without a degree.

Its funny because that works the other way too. A degree with no experience in anything lands you on a forklift ... source: have a degree. Drive a forklift

Take my Upvote, can't half ass anything today.

Can confirm.

Have degree, drive forklift as well

I used to be on forks and clamps

I have no degree and got run over by a forklift so...

Take my Upvote, because I got my foot run over by a forklift, well it was the tip of my shoe but I didn't like the guy and wanted a reason to hit him.

I am a liquor wholesaler and this is very interesting to me. How did you end up in this profession?

My bestfriend owns a chain of 711 convenience stores, he got me the job.

At first I thought you were saying he owned 711 different convenience stores.... That's an awful lot.

lol

Where do you see the tobacco business in 10, 25, and 50 years?

I'm hoping it's dead in 10 years, I have 2 little kids I don't want them making the same mistake as me, In reality it might take longer then 10 to die out

What are you going to do if it's dead in 10 years?

Either selling ecigs and marijuana, or hopefully logistics management.

would you sell tomacco?

Doh!

I don't know if you're proof is enough, by the looks of the amount of the cigarettes you may just be my aunt

haha, it's a mid day picture most of the stuff is gone, and it's just 1 corner

What is the difference in a nice cigar tobacco and tobacco that is in, say, a Newport?

It all comes down to the mixture I believe.

Do different stores get different pricing on cigarettes based on their contracts with the tobacco companies?

Ie if you promise only to sell Marlboro and have signage up just for Marlboro, do you get a discount?

There is a state minimum we are allowed to sell to stores. They however can get manufacturer kick backs per carton if under contract. kickback varies based on the percentage of shelf space their brands are visible in.

what are the most profitable cigs?

The No Name brands, I'd say eon smoke, and the hookah pens ... logic and blue is tight margin

Can I bum a smoke?

I never say no to smokers.

Can you hook a brother up with some coupons for grizzly?

Hahaha, you have to find the sales reps, they usually promote by 711s convenience stores like that, rarely by mom and pop stores.

Does anyone ever yell "CANCER MERCHANT!" at you?

lol yes

Is all Cuban tobacco really illegal in the states?

As far as I know

how much money do you make a year before taxes?

I'm a step under the company owners, they make the real money.

what range can a wholesaler make?

It's ranges, I know someone clearing 2k a day working alone. Yes a day.

How do you even start in the wholesale business? Like how do you even find this? You can see from the outside how it seems difficult. How much startup do you need?

Start up is the difficult part because customers usually need bill to bill, you end up covering their overhead with tobacco. We have hundreds of thousands of due bills out. So startup cash is a must.

Also most customers here have their wholesaler who they've dealt with for years, difficult to get their business.

You have to do a federal background check to recieve a wholesalers license to make your business legit.

Why did tobacco production leave Maryland? The Amish grow a lot of it, what's up with that?

I'm in NJ, and I really don't have an answer for that.

How do you deal with all the different tax jurisdictions? In Illinois there are at least three different tax zones that I know of and the price differs greatly between them.

NJ it's easy, the cigarettes are taxed by the state, about 4 dollars a pack (guys that's that little stamp on the bottom of a pack, that cost 4 dollars God dammit). On other tobacco it's 30% tacked onto cost, invoices show the tax collected and that in turn is sent to the state.

We as a wholesaler do not "charge" tax but really we collect it for the state.

What's the most drastic thing someone was willing to do/barter for a pack of smokes?

lol, I'm not allowed to sell to people, only to stores with tax I.D.s and cigarette licenses

Do you deliver to the sellers? Any armed robberies or similar attempts?

Our warehouse was robbed over a weekend, they got away with over 200k in merchandise.

I'm assuming you were able to recover? How do you even deal with that kind of loss? Insurance, police investigation?

Yes insurance and police, also recently we had someone try to sell 100 Cartons at 35$ a pop to 1 of our clients lol, the client called us we called the police. The guy was stupid he wasn't trying to sell high volume cigarettes but rather store PREbooked Cartons which are rare.

I didn't know counterfeit cigarettes were such a big deal. What are PREbooked cartons?

PREbooked cartons for example are dollar off packs, we get cases and the manufacturer tells us X amount for this store Y amount for that store, we don't recieve extras just what is going to each store. And the amount is low, 1-10 per store depending on there volume.

In your experience, what is the best brand to buy for an e-cig ?

check out /r/electronic_cigarette/ , lots of helpful people there that can get you started. As someone who quit smoking with them in 2011 there are lots of options now that we didn't have when I took them up.

Thank you for that, I just subscribed and will be sure to take a look.

I'm trying to start smoking them, but it's all about personal preference. If you're asking what's the best seller with us its logic.

What is your moral stand on selling such harmful things for a living ?

Society as a whole is starting to shun cigarettes. I'm not out there selling to children nor would I. Would I rather be working somewhere else, of course. Will it pay me enough with my lack of a higher education, I've tried and that's a no.

Do Any of your relatives/friends etc. criticise you and your business?

If so, is it a big deal to you?

We joke a lot, they say I kill people selling cigarettes, I tell them I save lives getting weed rolling utensils out. They ask for 10$ Cartons cause they're paying 8$ a pack, then I tell them it costs me 70$ a carton and they ask who gets all the money, uncle Sam.

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E cigs and the like, the profit is a lot better. Cigarettes is when its about volume.

Do you ever feel like punching the preachy, mettlesome, anti-tobacco busy-bodies?

Freedom of speech is not only for the things you want to hear, I'm Ok with them speaking. But I speak back and when they get loud/violent I know I've won, it feels good.

How long does it take to go from seed to harvestable plant? I have been thinking about growing a few tobacco plants for myself in my backyard and was wondering if a summer is enough to mature them.

As I said I handle from state to store. I receive and deliver finished product.

What are your thoughts on the emerging Marijuana industry? Do you think major players like Phillip-Morris will get involved at some point? Have you considered it (assuming it eventually becomes legal)? Any thoughts as to whether or not it will follow the same business model as tobacco?

Phillip Morris and Newport where late to the Ecig party, I think they won't make that same mistake twice. I'm hoping that it follows the same suite as tobacco, and I'm gearing up to branch off from my company and sell it for myself by myself. My current owners would not touch the stuff, they wouldn't even sell melatonin brownies because they implied marijuana!

Once the big tobacco players get involved, do you think the lobbying/money they have will give it the fast track to recreational use?

Have you seen those shopped pictures of Marlboro packs into marijuana packs, maybe they're secretly starting. 😶

I used to put the state tax stamps on cigarettes, at my current job. The picture you submitted as proof, made my ocd kick in when I noticed that you have Mavericks in the marlboro good box (3840).

haha that's going to a store it's his order, we use the empty boxes to pack the orders in.

Do you support or oppose the legalization movement of Marijuana?

I'm not a marijuana smoker, but I support it because I know a lot of people that do, and they're not the stains on society they're made out to be. I have 0 problems with anyones choices and believe they should be free to choose, so long as they're responsible for any downfall and consequences of their actions.

I roll my own cigarettes for penny's on the dollar. Why can I get the materials to do it myself so cheap compared to buying a pack or carton?

Money.

People are lazy, the companies can raise the prices.

What he said

Hook it up with the wraps! ! ! Also do you know what the wraps are used for ?

of course I do.

Do you sell nicotine gum too?

No we don't sell that.

Why can't I just go somewhere and buy a single cigarette? That would be so beneficial to me and a lot of people.

You can if you know the right places lol, but can you imagine the cost increase on having to individually wrap, barcode, and stamp each cigarette?

What's the craziest story you have for us that happened to you?

haha nothing crazy yet lol, although I have been witness to several bum fights while working. Have the tail end of one on potato quality video.

Do you work for a specific company, or are you like a "smoker broker" selling this stuff independently and sourcing through multiple vendors?

How'd you get into this?

My bestfriend owns a chain of 711s, one of the owners was by him one day saying he was stressed searching for someone trustworthy/reliable 6 years ago. I was unemployed and in trouble and my friend told him look no more.

Are you seeing a big trend towards smokeless? I know a lot of people (myself included) who have ditched the cigs for dip, nasal snuff, etc.

It's doesn't seem that big on the wholesale level.

How do you feel about electronic cigarettes?

I'm trying to start smoking them

What is your wierdest customer experience?

There are customers that live in their stores ... I've walked in on this guy with his wife sleeping on a mattress behind the counter ...

Do you only sell dry tobacco or does your company also supply hookah retail as well? If not how do you feel about hookah's and the tobaccos used with a hookah?

In our part of NJ there were major players in the hookah side before they became popular, if our customers need it we know where to get it but we're not big with hookah products.

Do you sell shisha? If so hook me up with wholesale pricing!

lol, now do you mean imasal or Egyptian shisha

That "proof" is less than one of our twice a week shipments at the gas station I used to work at. Do you deliver to Bumfuck Egypt?

Every store is different lol some get 20 Cartons some get a hundred, some get 300. That was just the corner behind me.

How many tobacco products do you think you've sold to date?

haha, too many to count.

How's the cigar market? I've looked into getting into them from the taste/artful aspect and less for the nicotine rush. Are people shying away from cigars as much as they are cigarettes?

The cigar market is niche, we don't do too much on that end so I couldn't really tell how that market is doing.

What brand do you smoke?

I was with Newport but recently switched to Marlboro

How does it feel to be worst that Hitler ?

jk, I'm a smoker.

Worse then Hitler!!??!! Do you know how many lives I've saved!!!!! I deliver the wraps people smoke their weed in to calm down and not go on a killing spree!!!!!

Yes, I've heard you deliver that line on 20/20, but enough dancing. What are you going to do when your son turns 18? C'mon, Mr. pspitbull. On his 18th birthday will you share a cigarette with him? Will you spend a lovely afternoon -- like one of your ludicrous cigarette advertisements? You seem to have to have a lot to say about how we should raise our children. What of your own? What are you going to do when he turns 18?

I have 2 daughters, I answered previously that I hope the cigarette business dies out before they're at that age.

How does it feel distributing something that can kill people?

Cars can kill people. You don't see car salesman checking to see how well people drive before selling them one.

Honestly though, this is just a job. I'm not happy with it, I'm not angry with it. People want to commit subconscious suicide that's their choice. I'm just trying to get to the next day. I will say this though I am happier business is moving to the ecigg side and less on the tobacco.