Just watched the news about a story in Nashue, NH. In the background, there was a sign for Marlboros--$3.90. In Massachusetts, you can not buy them for less then $6.50.
Phil Schwachman had an interesting piece in the Telegram today.
WRRB/Telegram District City Council Forum 10/18
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This forum is for all district council candidates; all candidates are here
today. Format: 14 total questions, 4 questions across districts (for all
candida...
6 months ago
7 comments:
Is there anything stopping a retailer from driving to NH and picking up 100 cartons of smokes and selling them in their store?
I realize it's bootlegging/black market, but the profit appears hugh.
I quit smoking twenty years ago, so really don't care.
Do they still put tax stamps on cigarette packs?
oh yah..they check machines all the time..I know a VFW Post in Somerville that got caught doing this
Steve:
A retailer would get screwed. DOR does random inspections to make sure that they cigs are selling with Mass stamps. You get huge fines if caught so to answer your question--NO.
On the other hand if you were on a Paul Pajama People, you could take your monthly welfare check drive to NH and buy 20 cartons (35 per) for a total of 700.
Drive back to Worcester and sell them for $5 per pack, while a retailer is selling them for $6.50 to 6.75.
Net profit $300. Not a bad business.
I am waiting for the state to bust Joe Six pack who goes to Cow Hampshire just for himslef and a few freinds for cigs & beer.......with no profit motive other than maybe covering his gas cost.
It will be blasted all over the front page of the Herald & Globe.........as a potentail deterent to those who are considering transhipping beer & cigs across state lines..........Probably get Boston's upstanding FBI involved, too.....then they can say they actaully caught a bad guy ,even though his name isnt Whitey
I heard the Worc Police story covered on a boston radio station last night..wow....the Boston media comes to Worc and it isnt to cover a snow strom from high atop Bell Hill......like i said before....summer doldrums = slow news days
File under: Boys in Blue go for the Green
Thanks Bill. I didn't know if they still did tax stamps. They stopped putting them on liquor bottles, didn't they?
Two questions:
1) Have you noticed a decline in cig sales?
2) If yes, do you think people are going to NH, or have they quit.
Jahn,
I heard a story (maybe true, maybe bs) about some guys in a factory that used to sell packs of cigarettes from out of the tool crib. They would buy them by the carton, and sell them at cost. (this was back in the day a carton cost less than 10 packs).
They got raided one night by ATF. It turns out they were bringing the smokes from out of state, and had 1500 cartons stashed in the tool crib.
Saw a good t-shirt:
Shouldn't ATF be the name of a convience store?
Steve:
Huge drop in cigs already. At least a third of my business has disappeared overnight. Actually a few have quit but most are buying cigs that are coming from out of state.
Consider this to be the case in Worcester which is in the Central part of the state. Imagine what has happened to the cig business along the NH border.
Lastly Steve people need to remember that if someone is buying cigs in NH they are most likely buying booze and lottery tickets, which is more lost revenue.
Bill
Steve I can tell you another tale of minor interest that I recall. Years ago the traveling carnival came to Mt Carmel Church every year in mid July an dit was for at least one full week......maybe even longer possibly??
They had a game of chance......you stand around a square that was about 15 feet acroos....each side had maybe 8 or 10 plastic cubes that were each a diff color............you'd palce your bet ($.25??) and if the light stopped on your color you won 2 or 3 packs of cig.....frnakly cannot recall excatly how many packs you won..............then u could start betting with teh packs of cigs as betting currency that you won.........i think a pack represetned $.25
anyway when all the dust settled If you walked away a winner with packs of cigs that were not the brands that you smoked.......(and you didnt get jumped after the carnival....LOL)........you'd bring them to a local corner store and if you were a regular customer they would exchange them for your brand of cig...........only problem was most of these carnies bought the cigs they gave out as prizes down south where cigs were cheaper and of course they had no Mass state tax stamp either........
Of course back then rules were may be a litte less stringent then they are now.....and/or not enforced as vigorously ......and a small local merchant who if ever busted would maybe get a slap on the wrist for trying to help out a regular customer...as the merchant had nothing to gain & everything to lose
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