luckme10 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 So a friend of my wife dropped me off a few cigars today. Last time I had spoken to him, he wanted to see if I had some time to sit down and talk for some cigar advice as he was just starting to get into the hobby. He had a strange worried look on his face which I sort of shrugged off but anyways as the story we've all heard many times, he had just came back from Mexico, and brought me a few cigars, a custom, a legit epi 2, and well... this: I'm just not sure what to tell him because I don't want to discourage him. Considering the look on his face as he was talking to me, maybe he knows. I could gently nudge the attributes of counterfeits? Maybe ignorance is bliss? To think that this could have been purchased as a retail talisman or a robusto reserva consecha, I'd hate to think how much he spent on it. This is probably a fairly common question among here, so I do apologize if it's been beaten to death. Would you tell someone their purchase was a counterfeit? Maybe I'll start with the story about how my friend and I went on a tour in vinales in pinar del rio and were scammed into buying cigar ashes that were sold as coffee grounds and $200 of custom cigars that, although was shown in a demonstratration with long filler, had floor sweepings as short filler in the center. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxcjs0101 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Id tell that/any person right in their face that they’ve got a fake. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MD Puffer Posted December 21, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted December 21, 2018 You say he's your friend? Then you're obligated to laugh and rag him endlessly about how it's so obviously fake that any amateur off the street would have known better than to buy that thing. After all, what are friends for? 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc1016 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Best to be honest. Also best to have some comments from other people to show them. That way you can say ‘hey, man. It’s not just me. I showed your pictures to other people in the know, and there’s consensus. I’m nlt just trying to make you feel bad’ That band alone is a big red flag, even without seeing anything else of the cigar. Honestly... I wish people who were new to the hobby wouldn’t drink the koolaid of double/triple bands, and ‘super premium’. There are so many great regular production cigars at supet reasonable prices, which are rarely, if ever, counterfeited. It almost seems silly to buy the lther stuff, atleast as a beginner to the hobby. Any minuto (partagas, scdlh, ra, boli), perlas (rg, cohiba siglo 1), most mareva-esque vitolas - partagas and ryj both make a whole series of reasonably priced, really good cigars in this format range. You might also link your buddy to @Ethernut ‘s “noob thread i never read”. Lots of good, demystifying info in there for beginners. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKA27 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 You should be able to speak and tell your friends anything without upsetting them. Thank him for the thought, tell him its a fake but light it up and give it a puff anyway. At least he will know that next time he should be more cautious and your intention is to educate him in not getting ripped off in future. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lomey Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 I would want to know so I say tell him. I do have a buddy who gets upset if told he has gotten a fake. I've never understood that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houdini Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 If the friend is into cigars, yes....educate and tell him. If its a friend who thought of you while on vacation, graciously accept it. Theres no reason to ruin a kind gesture. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGipper Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 ALWAYS be appreciative of a friend bringing you a gift. ALWAYS. Be genuinely thankful to him. And leave it at that for the time being. At some point in the future, you may want to show him a fake you bought (if you still have one languishing in your stash). If you don't have one, then describe ones you bought and how you figured it out. Everyone getting started in the hobby gets taken by fakes when new to the hobby, and you can help him understand that at some point down the road. That takes the edge off the situation. Hopefully that will spark his interest in acquiring the knowledge to distinguish real from fake. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisky91 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 If it’s a gift I would politely accept and thank him. If it’s his cigar let him know what the deal is and how he can prevent that sort of thing happening to him again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckme10 Posted December 21, 2018 Author Share Posted December 21, 2018 Thanks everyone. I'm going to thank him and I'll probably give it some time. Was going to send some cigars his way too. Maybe I'll send a cohiba and an EL so he can take a look at the wrappers and bands. Wouldn't be a bad idea to sit down with him sometime next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99call Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 4 hours ago, luckme10 said: I'm just not sure what to tell him because I don't want to discourage him Tell him to buy from FOH...........simples!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamz84 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Yea best to tell him it's fake...I've had to do it to a few friends... especially when they go Cuba...even though I tell them where to buy it they still buy a factory box with DIY labels Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedame007 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 So when is the vivisection taking place!? Show me the sweepings/hair/stones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc1016 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 1 hour ago, thedame007 said: So when is the vivisection taking place!? Show me the sweepings/hair/stones! Honestly not all fauxhibas are that bad. I’ve seen a few that looked like they were maybe just rebandef JLPs, selectos, bauzas, etc. i saw some on a Reddit post once that actually looked halfway decent. Not saying I’d pay cohiba prices for them, but still - they’re not all hair and plastic and rocks dipped in cyanide, as the urban legends might have us believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unitedfly Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 The box of fauxhibas that I recently posted on here were given to me by my lawyer buddy, which came from his friend in Cuba. Hes been getting them for roughly 5-10 years. He still doesn't believe me. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc1016 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 23 minutes ago, unitedfly said: The box of fauxhibas that I recently posted on here were given to me by my lawyer buddy, which came from his friend in Cuba. Hes been getting them for roughly 5-10 years. He still doesn't believe me. ? Can you link to that post so i can see em? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unitedfly Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 2 minutes ago, cfc1016 said: Can you link to that post so i can see em? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverstyx Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 If someone knew I had a fake and didn't say anything, once I found out I'd be embarrassed. And I wouldn't trust the guy much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connoisseur Kim Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 The Cohiba and EL bands are obviously thicker than necessary compared to legit ones. This is the reason why I never ask someone to buy cigars for me unless who is familiar with Cuban cigars... Also, if someone is just getting to cigar hobby, I suggest them to begin with easy peasy regular production cigars like Petit Coronas, Robustos and Grand Coronas in every marcas. No need to jump straight into super pricey cigars at the beginning stage imho. I myself also started with approachable size (Siglo II) when I was new to CCs. ? 7 hours ago, 99call said: Tell him to buy from FOH...........simples!! Much agreed! ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc1016 Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 12 hours ago, unitedfly said: Yeah some of those actually look decent. Did you smoke any of em? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrightonCorgi Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 It's simple as starting your conversation off as "you know this is fake, right?" I don't see why you'd want to walk on egg shells over this. It's just a cigar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unitedfly Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 16 hours ago, cfc1016 said: Yeah some of those actually look decent. Did you smoke any of em? Nope, not yet. Going to give a couple to a buddy tonight for him to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsolomon Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 The same thing just happened to me, we are back in Maryland for the holidays and we stopped by one of favorite restaurants. We know the owner as he use to live across the street from us. After greeting us and getting up to date on things, he said he had some cigars for me as a friend had brought a box back from Cuba for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcarlson Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 On 12/20/2018 at 11:15 PM, MD Puffer said: You say he's your friend? Then you're obligated to laugh and rag him endlessly about how it's so obviously fake that any amateur off the street would have known better than to buy that thing. After all, what are friends for? Lol. Yup. That's what "friends" do. Sparing feelings is for ladies and "acquaintances." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 ... Your friend got off easy. A friend of mine once bought me a fake Dupont lighter... It cost way more than your fake Cohiba. Imaging what goes through my mind every time he asks, "hey, where is that lighter I bought you?" Cheers! -Piggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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