Opinions encouraged

[Andy04]

Does it look like it was never there or could it be that it was wiped clean with some type of rubbing alcohol?

It look like it was never there. If that were the case, they have done a fantastic job of not leaving any marks or smudges.

[garbandz]

Havana also does not just throw seals and labels into the box.

Strange how the fakers have not learned to do this,any serial # is better than none...........

One day a SUPERFAKER will come along.....................

[dememihel]

Just curious, on the Montes, should there be a front hinge on a cardboard box?

[Philski]

If you mean a clasp - yes.

[dememihel]

Yes clasp.

[DWC]

The white scroll work in the green lower border does not look correct on the tax stamp in the pictures of the Montecristo. it doesn't match any pictures of legit stamps that I can find.

I've bought a few boxes that appear to have no barcode but on closer look, it was obscured with "white out" or something similar. The small serial numbers thru the stamp were scratched out, but were obviously there at one time.

But Damn! everything else looks good!

-Dan

[wolfain]

Hate to break it to ya, but these are fakes. I got some and they are definitely fakes.

If you bought some with no barcodes, were they sliced off or just blank? There's a difference.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Andy04]

So as a resolution to this investigation, it seems that this distributor uses two suppliers.

One supplies legit stock, where by the other has a mix of legit and non legit stock.

Unfortunately for me, the distributor is not much of a cigar man himself, so he was unaware of the fact that he was selling a mixture of legit and non legit cigars.

Moral of the story. I will no longer buy blind (unless from here).

[msm1771]

So as a resolution to this investigation, it seems that this distributor uses two suppliers.

One supplies legit stock, where by the other has a mix of legit and non legit stock.

Unfortunately for me, the distributor is not much of a cigar man himself, so he was unaware of the fact that he was selling a mixture of legit and non legit cigars.

Moral of the story. I will no longer buy blind (unless from here).

Wow sorry to hear that.

Sent from my 86" White Testarossa

[Fuzz]

Unfortunately for me, the distributor is not much of a cigar man himself, so he was unaware of the fact that he was selling a mixture of legit and non legit cigars.

That's a pretty alarming statement. I wouldn't want to be buying something from a person who doesn't know their own stock.

[Andy04]

That's a pretty alarming statement. I wouldn't want to be buying something from a person who doesn't know their own stock.

Cigars are a very minor part of the mans business, so I don't find it too alarming.

[Habana Mike]

Time for a new and different source!

[wolfain]

Yeah what Andy said. They don't run just cigars, but a mega warehouse full of 'vices' learning point for me also, first time I got bunk cigars

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fuzz]

Cigars are a very minor part of the mans business, so I don't find it too alarming.

I'd say that's your first problem. I'd never buy cigars from someone who isn't a specialist.

[Andy04]

I'd say that's your first problem. I'd never buy cigars from someone who isn't a specialist.

I do agree with this, but in my situation I face a great dilemma.

Malaysia has two duty free islands.

If I buy from either of these islands I can have duty free products (primarily booze and tobacco) sent direct to me at duty free pricing.

If I buy from a specialist I will either be paying Malaysia's highly inflated retail pricing for cigars, or risk having a box couriered from overseas which will be subjected to customs.

[jwr0201]

I did not see any discussion on whether the source that sold you the bum sticks are going to replace them. I would insist that be the case without question. If not, he would certainly be hearing from someone from a department of a legal nature!

[Konablacksand]

On 9/16/2015 at 2:08 AM, Andy04 said:

So I have bought from a distributor for the past few years now. All in all, i have probably puchased 100 over boxes from this single distributor.

The sticks all taste correct and look as expected. All tripple capped, the 1966 have a great pig tail. The sublimes are... well sublime. The 520 shown are not excessively oily, but still look great. Choix are my staple. This is a standard box of choix.

All boxes shown above have been open and played with hence the sticks are not alligned properly. They were when initially opened.

The only issue I have is that the boxes do not have a barcode.

I am 99.99% sure of their authenticity, but that is not enough for me. How else can I verify their origin?

All opinions are welcome. 

I am not an expert sommelier by any means but I cam say that just bc a box does not come with a serial code it is automatically fake. Maybe the chances are higher however it boils down to the source. For example my source in Havana who manages a LCDH shop has boxes that are "procured" from laguito factory amd pass all black light label tests but the boxes don't have the green band bc this is the final, inventory-able (?) Item before a box is packed and shipped out. Does that mean that a missing green label automatically concludes something is fake? 

I don't know or understand the reasoning behind a missing serial code on the govt label if the label is legit with hologram and shows coat of arms under black light with 4 dots but maybe it's beyond my comprehension

[NSXCIGAR]

On 6/17/2023 at 10:02 AM, Konablacksand said:

I don't know or understand the reasoning behind a missing serial code on the govt label if the label is legit with hologram and shows coat of arms under black light with 4 dots but maybe it's beyond my comprehension

I've never seen retail boxes sold without the warranty seal. That to me is a massive red flag. In the gray market while serials are often scratched off to prevent back-tracing a box's origin to the distributor that wholesaled it the seal itself is always present. 

In Cuba a box without a warranty seal would indicate that the box never reached the HSA warehouse where the warranty seals are generated. Yes, in Cuba I have seen genuine boxes without warranty seals that have been snuck out the factory back door. But buying a box like that would require complete and total confidence in your source. 

So yes, while a box without a warranty seal could theoretically be genuine it is a huge red flag and I could not ever recommend anyone buying a box like that even in Cuba unless you have total and complete confidence in the party selling it.