History: 3 Friends formed Cigar Federation as a place for cigar lovers to go and talk about cigars. They were successful, and went on to form Ezra Zion as a vehicle to sell cigars. leaving Cigar Federation to be run by the marketing and web folks. See
http://cigarfederation.com/page/history-of-cigarfederation. So the 3 friends (Kyle, Chris, and Alan) run Ezra Zion now, and eventually Cigar Federation gets sold to their old website/marketing manager, Logan. See
http://cigarfederation.com/profiles/blogs/news-cigar-federation-now-under-new-ownership. Now, Logan jumps into the retail business with the Cigar Federation store, and soon begins to release their own boutique blends, much like Ezra Zion's been doing. (Trivia: The Ezra Zion name honors children the founders have lost at a young age.)
I too find Cigar Federation's ads way over the top, and that turns me off, primarily because their advertising too general; you know, the "Best in the World" phrase and all- totally unsubstantiatable (is that even a word?). However, though Ezra Zion marketing is almost equally exuberant, at least they give far more useful details into the flavor profiles of their cigars. I'll get the ad, then look up the cigar. If I find "Notes of coffee, dark chocolate, cinnamon, hazelnut, bourbon, oak, and butter in the second third..." I may spring for a 10-er. If I find instead "Leather, brown sugar, and cedar in the first third followed with a blast of peat moss..." I may pass. Their flavor profiles are pretty accurate (or should I say my taste buds and theirs line up pretty good) so I use that as my guideline.
Sure, sure, there's still the "These ain't gonna last long, so getcha some now!" which is an age-old "sense-of-urgency" sales trick, but unfortunately it's true: 2 years ago, you could ponder a new release for a couple 4-5 days. 1 year ago, you had to jump on it within 24-36 hours of release. Now, we're literally down to about 2 hours before a new release is sold out. Soon, it will be 5 minutes. I don't know if that's popularity, or that more people simply know about them, or faster technology, but it IS getting insane, and I unfortunately often miss new releases just because I'm not married to my god--mn computer.
Anyway... I've rambled on a bit. I love Ezra Zion cigars, and I spring for a new release once in a while when the stars align, but I tend to avoid Cigar Federation except for cigars I can't get anywhere else (e.g. The Collective).