Kickbacks in La Habana

[toledo1969]

I have a dear friend that goes at least every 2 months to La Habana, he has a girlfriend there, so he says he is exporting love. So for the past 2 years each time he goes I ask him to bring me back a box of Especialidades be it LE o RE Habanos. He has brought me Behikes, Coleccion Books, etc. 

But this last time he went to La Habana, he says there was no Especialidades to be found, he basically said it was a Cigar Shortage. So one of the Ladies at one of the Cigars Stores in a Hotel that I will not mention, said she could get any of the boxes from the Factory, but get this, for an Extra $100 dlls per Box. This blew me away. Really. 

I told my dear friend that it would be best to pass, since with this extra $100 im better off buying them online. I understand that people want to make a buck, nothing wrong with that, maybe a tip here and there, a 20 dlls for the extra help, but $100 per Box. 

 

Just wanted to share this with the Forum.  Hope I did not break any forum rules with this topic. 

[Doctorossi]

 This is my shocked face. No, really... it is.

[Derboesekoenig]

$100 is not that bad dude. Considering prices for Talisman = 331, BHK = 221, 292, 318, respectively. Partagas EL17 = 302.50....etc etc.

That being said, this is all contingent on if they are 100% reliable and real. If you have any doubts, then not worth it.

[toledo1969]

20 minutes ago, Derboesekoenig said:

$100 is not that bad dude. Considering prices for Talisman = 331, BHK = 221, 292, 318, respectively. Partagas EL17 = 302.50....etc etc.

That being said, this is all contingent on if they are 100% reliable and real. If you have any doubts, then not worth it.

I understand $100 is not that much if you get a Book of Maravillas or Behikes 56, but I just thought the whole thing was to much. And yes I also got suspicious since how do I know that they won't just buy the off the streets. Just did not feel comfortable. Also the receipt is very important, since I remember the time I bought some Salomones form La China  at the Factory,  and they gave me hell when coming out of La Habana at the Airport. 

[BrightonCorgi]

I'd ask for a receipt for the standard price, but kick backs & tips are common in countries where the wage isn't so high.

[Hookmaker]

Last year in August I was looking for a box of Cosig VI and got offered that they could produce some in an hour from a respectable shop in an unmentioned hotel. I waited and got 25 in tubos. I paid by MasterCard. Long story short, they were fakes. I ran a case through my card service, I won and got my money back. I later learned that the guy in the shop got fired. Too bad, for that little guy, but honestly I couldn’t care less. I’ll be very weary when buying cigars in Havana anywhere if I can smell the slightest fish. Even in a LCDH.

[El Presidente]

4 hours ago, toledo1969 said:

Just wanted to share this with the Forum.  Hope I did not break any forum rules with this topic. 

You saved yourself some fakes. 

 

They were amateurs at best.  To let someone ....ready to be skinned.... get away! UNACCEPTABLE!.  She should be reported to the cuban workers union for incompetence. 

[HopeUgood]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

You saved yourself some fakes. 

 

They were amateurs at best.  To let someone ....ready to be skinned.... get away! UNACCEPTABLE!.  She should be reported to the cuban workers union for incompetence. 

That made me laugh my a** off.  Reminds me of the Big Lebowski " ...they're a bunch of amateurs " 

[ponfed]

Some 11 or 12 yrs ago, a lady guide offered me some unbanded Bolivars during a factory tour in .... Santa Clara I think.

1CUC each. They were supposed to be the gold foiled LE Bolivar that were just out at the time. Name escapes me. Maybe Medaille D'Or. 

I bought 5. They were good. Construction was fine. They were young but I smoked one back at the hotel and it was real good. The rest went through a rough 6 months back at home but were fine afterwards.

No idea if it was legit or some other less expensive cigar, or a farmers cigar or whatever.

But it was a legit cigar. Premium even I would venture. 

I don't know if it adds much to the conversation but that's my story of contraband in Cuba. 

Cheers

[CaskStrength]

I'd rather just buy here at that price and know they're the real deal.

[Ryan]

I've never had that experience with cigar shop staff in any hotel in Cuba. I know a few of them fairly well and I've never known them to operate like that regarding boxes of Habanos cigars.

Custom rolls, shop rolls and unbanded, loose cigars from "roller friends" have a different set of rules.

There are shops that will reserve stock for "high end" clients. I'm more "low" to "if you're not going to buy anything, please leave" range but when cigar shop staff in Cuba have done me favours, like finding me a box, holding a box for me for a while, they have never accepted any gratuities, let alone asked for one.

You know yourself, don't get involved in any deal where there's a "boxes from the factory" story. There's a possibility, however slim, they could be real, but you'll never know. And not knowing affects the enjoyment of the cigars.

Not all shops in Cuba will have the stock you'e looking for, especially Cohibas, but there'll almost always be a decent box of something. Something you'll never have to doubt.

[Lotusguy]

I've never had that experience with cigar shop staff in any hotel in Cuba. I know a few of them fairly well and I've never known them to operate like that regarding boxes of Habanos cigars.
Custom rolls, shop rolls and unbanded, loose cigars from "roller friends" have a different set of rules.
There are shops that will reserve stock for "high end" clients. I'm more "low" to "if you're not going to buy anything, please leave" range but when cigar shop staff in Cuba have done me favours, like finding me a box, holding a box for me for a while, they have never accepted any gratuities, let alone asked for one.
You know yourself, don't get involved in any deal where there's a "boxes from the factory" story. There's a possibility, however slim, they could be real, but you'll never know. And not knowing affects the enjoyment of the cigars.
Not all shops in Cuba will have the stock you'e looking for, especially Cohibas, but there'll almost always be a decent box of something. Something you'll never have to doubt.

In your opinion, how do all the regular flippers on FB get access to all the HTF stock? It blows my mind how many boxes of Talisman, et cetera with “minsap” stickers on them get moved on that platform.

[Derboesekoenig]

4 minutes ago, Lotusguy said:

In your opinion, how do all the regular flippers on FB get access to all the HTF stock? It blows my mind how many boxes of Talisman, et cetera with “minsap” stickers on them get moved on that platform.

All about who you know. When you have someone going to Cuba once a month or every weekend, I'm sure they start to get recognized. Maybe there's a system of deposit for boxes that have yet to come in? 

[Ryan]

13 hours ago, Lotusguy said:

In your opinion, how do all the regular flippers on FB get access to all the HTF stock? It blows my mind how many boxes of Talisman, et cetera with “minsap” stickers on them get moved on that platform.

With some shops, if you are a good enough customer, that is buy quite a bit, regularly, staff might hold stock for you. It's an area where capitalism has affected the Cuban system! Like anywhere else, if you have more money than other people, and spend it, you'll receive better treatment. I'm not remarking on whether that's a good or bad thing, but that's just the way it is.

When I fly to Cuba, the airline gives me better treatment if I spend 1,500 euro for my flight than if I spend 700. I believe there's even complementary champagne!

In Cuba, knowing the staff helps, or them knowing you. There's the golden rule, "Treat other people as you would like to be treated", and then there's the "platinum rule", "Treat other people as they would like to be treated." In Cuba, again like anywhere else, if the staff member a sees customer come in and know's he/she is not going to have a difficult time, and maybe even have a bit of a laugh, it makes a difference.

It's very possible some people are getting extra stock in Cuba through kickbacks. I say that because I've seen utter wankers have stock held for them, people who shout and scream at staff over stupid stuff. "Why don't you have sparkling water?" being a memorable one. Having said that, nobody I know (or at least nobody I like) pays bribes to any staff.

So really it comes down to, spend some money and try to have the staff remember you as a decent human being. I'm not saying that anybody here is not a decent person, I'm just saying let the staff member know that.

The Cohiba Talisman last year were a somewhat special case. The facts as I know them: Somebody got hold of at least dozens of boxes out of Cuba before the official launch in London last November.

Many were sold by unlicensed sellers.

They did not come with facturas from a shop as they were not on sale in shops in Cuba before November last year as they had not been launched yet.

Habanos wrote a letter to retailers describing all of those pre-release boxes as fake. I've seen the letter.

I don't know who got them out, where they got them, or what they actually were. I don't care. I'm not going to speculate and this isn't the forum for speculation on that stuff.

As I said earlier, for me and probably a lot of us, not being 100% sure of the provenance of a cigar takes from the enjoyment of it.

[Nino]

6 hours ago, Ryan said:

With some shops, if you are a good enough customer, that is buy quite a bit, regularly, staff might hold stock for you. It's an area where capitalism has affected the Cuban system! Like anywhere else, if you have more money than other people, and spend it, you'll receive better treatment. I'm not remarking on whether that's a good or bad thing, but that's just the way it is.

When I fly to Cuba, the airline gives me better treatment if I spend 1,500 euro for my flight than if I spend 700. I believe there's even complementary champagne!

In Cuba, knowing the staff helps, or them knowing you. There's the golden rule, "Treat other people as you would like to be treated", and then there's the "platinum rule", "Treat other people as they would like to be treated." In Cuba, again like anywhere else, if the staff member a sees customer come in and know's he/she is not going to have a difficult time, and maybe even have a bit of a laugh, it makes a difference.

It's very possible some people are getting extra stock in Cuba through kickbacks. I say that because I've seen utter wankers have stock held for them, people who shout and scream at staff over stupid stuff. "Why don't you have sparkling water?" being a memorable one. Having said that, nobody I know (or at least nobody I like) pays bribes to any staff.

So really it comes down to, spend some money and try to have the staff remember you as a decent human being. I'm not saying that anybody here is not a decent person, I'm just saying let the staff member know that.

The Cohiba Talisman last year were a somewhat special case. The facts as I know them: Somebody got hold of at least dozens of boxes out of Cuba before the official launch in London last November.

Many were sold by unlicensed sellers.

They did not come with facturas from a shop as they were not on sale in shops in Cuba before November last year as they had not been launched yet.

Habanos wrote a letter to retailers describing all of those pre-release boxes as fake. I've seen the letter.

I don't know who got them out, where they got them, or what they actually were. I don't care. I'm not going to speculate and this isn't the forum for speculation on that stuff.

As I said earlier, for me and probably a lot of us, not being 100% sure of the provenance of a cigar takes from the enjoyment of it.

Seriously this ^^^^^^^^^is the golden rule - thank you Andy !!

And yes, I can confirm you get Champagne if you pay more for the airline ticket and sit slightly up-front ....???

[Corylax18]

Andy Nailed it. I'm amazed at how far a smile and a simple "Hola" will get you. Nobody likes dealing with assholes, but in Cuba, just like everywhere else, money talks. If you want to be treated well, be a good person or carry a wad of cash. If you can somehow figure out how to do both, Cuba can be one of the most enjoyable places on earth. 

[mk05]

No wonder people say that there are no cigars in Cuba! Thank you, very informative.