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I've got a small humidor setup that I've been using for quite a few years but recently I noticed that it was time to change my humidifier.

What I'm looking for is either pre-made humidifier solution or propylene glycol (to make my own solution). I'm also open to other suggestions on how to keep the humidity.

Thanks.

Try the very excellent cigar shop in the Oriental Hotel

Put them in the frig.

Do not PUT YOUR CIGARS IN THE REFRIGERATOR OR THE FREEZER!!!

I used to work for a cigar company in BKK and I can tell you now that this is the worst thing you can do for a cigar.

There is a great place down on Ratchada Rd.

I have not lived in Thailand for a while now, but I think that the name is Rockport. The office I worked for actually ended up buying the Hermin Miller chairs. We bought like 15 or 20 and ended up getting them for about $ 600.00 US (about the same price you would pay in the States). I think that the retail price is like $ 1000.00 US.

Anyone know a good place to buy an office chair in Bangkok? I want one with wheels, fabric-covered, not with a high back. Seen rubbish ones in Homepro, Big C etc. but want something better as I'm sat at this computer for many hours a day. Thanks!

What are the chances he'll ignore the(sound) advice and go ahead with his planes anyway?

oops, that's plans NOT planes

Do any of you who have posted about what a bad idea this is own a business in Thailand or have you in the past?

Business in the UK for 23 years.

Wouldn't dream of starting up anything in a foreign country unless I lived there for a while.

Also, you'll find the 'Thai tourists' are unlikely to spend the kind of money you're thinking of.

Don't do it. Live there for a few years. Learn about the market, then if you must, go for it.

Got cha. But just to be correct it is the farang tourists not the Thai tourists that I am after.

I will not have any employees to start and I do not really speak much Thai. I know a few Thais here and am getting to know more and more Franks.

Whether or not the business is viable - this statement alone suggests he has not done his homework and needs serious legal advice.

That is exactly what this post is for. I did not post to get a pat on the back or to get told that I am an idiot and will fail. The reason that I posted was to give a general idea and see if any of you had some ideas other than "don't do it" that could really help. For instance, when I say that I do not speak Thai and that I do not plan to have any employees to start don't tell me that I have not done my homework tell me why (aside from the obvious) this is going to hurt me. I am looking for real help here not just pointless insults and harsh criticism.

25000b on the beach road ,must be down an alleyway ,as rents on the beach road itself start at 75000b ,to go down an alley you need to advertise ,you said in an earlier post you dont need to sell to thai and tourist ? why then do you have to be in chaweng when theres many more towns a lot cheaper than there ........

Maybe I misspoke, as I will be selling to tourists. It is the Thais and the ex-pats that I am not counting on (though I would greatly welcome their business) as customers. And it is on the beach road, not down an alley. As I said it is in the property that I spoke of in the original post. Not only is the fact that it is in that property a down side but it is also towards the end of that property - which as someone said earlier runs away from the beach.

I will not have any employees to start and I do not really speak much Thai. I know a few Thais here and am getting to know more and more Franks.

Whether or not the business is viable - this statement alone suggests he has not done his homework and needs serious legal advice.

That is exactly what this post is for. I did not post to get a pat on the back or to get told that I am an idiot and will fail. The reason that I posted was to give a general idea and see if any of you had some ideas other than "don't do it" that could really help. For instance, when I say that I do not speak Thai and that I do not plan to have any employees to start don't tell me that I have not done my homework tell me why (aside from the obvious) this is going to hurt me. I am looking for real help here not just pointless insults and harsh criticism.

What are the chances he'll ignore the(sound) advice and go ahead with his planes anyway?

oops, that's plans NOT planes

Do any of you who have posted about what a bad idea this is own a business in Thailand or have you in the past?

That 'failed' italian restaurant (if it is the one i thinkit is) was doing ok until it was time to extend the lease. The new key money and monthly rent were so outrageous that the owner just said 'scr*w you' and left, never to return.

Mafia and police was not a problem i have seen, at least in Lamai.

Chaweang is expensive and getting a good rental contract is already very difficult. The 3 year contracts look nice but wait for the surprise after 3 years, i would say if you are serious about a retail shop, get a lease for at least 10 years, preferably without keymoney. Will be very difficult, but not impossible.

I have found a nice place in Chaweng for 2 years with no key money. The good thing is that it is on the beach road the bad thing is that it is more than 25,000 baht a month and it is in the shopping center I posted about.

I will be blunt, so don't take this personally.

Even in the best of locations, selling tobacco products will be a complete bust. You will go out of business in no time flat. Foreigners buy smokes in 7-Elevens and Ma and Pa shops for a fraction of what they have to spend in many countries because of sin taxes at home. I gave up smoking a couple of years ago (doesn't that cause cancer or something?) but I believe a pack of Marlboro Lights runs 60 baht or something. That's less that US$2 a pack. I don't know any Western countries that sell smokes so cheaply.

There would be next to no market for specialty tobacco or cigars.

If you are thinking of Thai customers, forget it. Either they buy the same things as the foreigners or they buy loose tobacco in the markets for a song.

Oh, and you can also get many different cigars and cigarettes here, not just a few brands (not every brand in the world, but enough to keep smokers happy).

I believe the shopping area you refer to is the new one in the center of the beach road and it is a real pink elephant. A cluster of well-kept shops (running away from the beach and the main road -- read: away from where people want to congregate) and housing expensive mall-favorite brands.

Frankly, I rarely see anyone wandering up there -- who wants to shop for brands you can buy in the mall back home?

My advice to you would be to come here and live for a month or so and scope out the scene.

To be honest, making money in a shop here is rare. You might be lucky enough to break even, but don't count on it. I've only been here two years and I've already seen numerous shops fold, only to see the next gullible foreigner come along and make the same mistake.

Basically, all the retail space along the main beach roads are taken (not all, of course...there is a big one in Lamai across and down from the Lady Thai boxing ring area that is a failed Italian restaurant...but I think the next failure is on the way as some of the debris inside seems to have been cleaned out), and the shops that are there have an absurd number of clones.

T-shirts, glasses, beach stuff...the list goes on and on.

Taking over a girlie bar rarely does more than give you headaches and enough money to stay open long enough to try to sell out. Some bars can become hangouts for a certain group of people, but unless you can attract regulars (and depending on them is iffy), you'll be scrapping by.

Of course that doesn't mean that all bars fail, but just most.

What are your aims? To make enough to live on? That and to save money? To keep your Thai lady occupied in a legit occupation?

Well I asked for advice and I got it. Thank you for being honest and blunt. I do not plan on the Thais buying any products from me and I do not even really plan on the ex pats buying any products either. What I will be selling does not exist here in Samui at all. It does exist in a few places here in Thailand, but not only will my prices be much better my quality and selection will be much better as well. I agree about the shopping center. That was one of the things that worried me. I have not seen hardly any people at all there. My main customer will have to be the tourist that has plenty of loose money to spend here. They can get what I am selling in some restaurants and hotels, but again the prices and selection are horrible. The fact that my product is sold in restaurants and hotels here tells me that someone is buying this stuff, and one employee of a restaurant told me that he has heard complaints of the lack of a retail shop here. I have also heard from a guy that runs the majority of these types of shops here in Thailand, and he is considering a shop here in Samui. So I don't think that you are completely right about an utter lack of a market here. I don't know, I'm sure that my differences of opinion are clouded by my desire to open a business such as this.

I am a foreigner from America and I am going to open a retail shop in Chaweng. In the course of my research I have begun to speak with my foreign business owners out here and one of them suggested that I post my questions on here. So here it goes.

I am going to be opening up a retail shop that will deal with tobacco. I have found a way to get the tobacco here into the country and will have a license to sell imported tobacco. But what I want to know is how the cops in Chaweng treat farang owned businesses. I will not have any employees to start and I do not really speak much Thai. I know a few Thais here and am getting to know more and more farangs. But I can not say that I know anyone who has any real connections with the local police here. I have heard many horror stories of farangs opening up businesses here and they range from run-ins with the mafia to getting shut down because they could not afford to pay the bribes to the police. Just wondering if I will need to worry about that or not.

Secondly, I was wondering if anyone might have any suggestions on location. I am dead set on Chaweng as I feel that opening anywhere else will simply not have the tourist traffic that I will need to make any money. I know that it is expensive and I have already began to look at some locations. One in particular that I have looked at is Khun Chaweng Shopping Center. I know that they have not been open that long, but does anyone know of anything either good or bad in relation to this property?

That is about it for now, but I encourage and would really appreciate any advice or opinions that any of you may have. Thank you very much.

By the way, I have never used a discussion forum before I hope I am doing this the right way.