I am flying into North Carolina next week for work and was anticipating picking up some cheap smokes and taking them back (personal use only). I was wondering what are carton prices like for premium brands like Marlboro Lights? What is the limit on how many cartons you can take back for personal use? Would I be better off picking them up in South Carolina? Is it illeagal to ship yourself back a carton or two?
Please just respond to the OP and don’t turn this into a place to post your personal comments about smoking. :rolleyes:
Depending on where you are coming from, they are probably not that much cheaper in NC. I have lived in MI, NC, GA, TN, KY and WI and have found very little price difference. Last time I was in NC (Summer 2004), they were about $25 a carton.
That is pretty significant. My friend lives in Philly now; he usually brings back two cartons without any trouble. Anymore than that, and it could look like you’re trying to smuggle cigarettes for black-market sales.
Where are you flying into? I might be able to direct you to a cheap place to buy.
From the looks of things NC is cheap for Tobacco. Even with the 25 cent tax just inacted.
Both North and South Carolina have (as of Jan 1 2005) the lowest state excise tax on Cigarettes. (NC 5 cents, SC 7cents) Even with NC jumping to 30 cents a pack on tax They would rank 46th in the country in regards to state Tobacco tax.
Mishigan where you live ranks third ($2.00 a pack) Behind New Jersey ($2.40)
and Rhode Island ($2.46)
In many states, to do this legally, you are supposed to report your out-of-state cigarette purchases and pay the difference in taxes when you import them into your state.
Of course, if you cheat on this, there is probably little chance that you would be caught.
I think SC also just raised their tax , or at least they were considering it. Those JR stores in NC bring in a ton of tax money and they were very vocal against the new tax hike. But it looks like that NC is still way lower than other states anyway.
A couple of cartons one time they’re not going to worry about. Making a habit of it is a different story.
Many people in New York and other states are now being billed for taxes because their states got their names and addresses from “tax-free” internet vendors.
Here in Minnesota, we have several Indian Reservation stores that sell cigarettes without collecting the state tax on tobacco. Many cigarette addicts go there and buy thm cheaper.
Occasionally, the State posts officers on the roads to these reservations, stopping cars and checking for smuggled cigarettes. Then they collect the tobacco taxes (and maybe penalties?) on these. Apparently they collect enough income for the state to pay their salaries and justify them being there.
I don’t know about legally bringing them in and out of state, but I can tell you that a carton of smokes in the Charlotte area for Marlboro is about $23-$25 a carton, depending if you get them on sale. The price is not signifigantly different at places like JRs- maybe a $1/carton cheaper, and you’ll spend that on gas getting there.
Actually, I just checked my local Bi-lo ad. This week Marlboro are $26.99/carton, Camels are $24.99 and Winston are 23.99.
If I were you, I would just call a grocery store near where you’ll be staying in SC and ask how much they are before you bother driving down there for little savings.