Framework of a scam

[El Presidente]

2400 Euro get's you 200 bands 

 

2200 Euro get's you 300 of these

 

 

Empty Box in good condition : asking 250 Euro

 

 

So you are out $25 a cigar for the box and bands. Include a passable cigar, say $8 each, + the necessary finishing touches $5 each. 

$38-$40 a cigar wrap up. 

The guys who do this position the price inteligently. They would pitch the box at 150- $200 a cigar  3500 - 4500 a box looking plant in the buyers mind how much they could make by flicking it. 

They will often move half a dozen special boxes to the buyer (generally an enthusiastic newcomer with deep pockets) before the poor owner becomes aware that he has been suckered into a well worked scam. He normally finds out when he tries to sell his box. 

[Woody Hayes]

Do you think the bands are legit and are stolen from the printer?

[El Presidente]

6 minutes ago, Woody Hayes said:

Do you think the bands are legit and are stolen from the printer?

Possible

or simply printed off. 

[Meesterjojo]

1 hour ago, Woody Hayes said:

Do you think the bands are legit and are stolen from the printer?

Don't know about those, but I keep saying folks should look at alibaba. 

They sell the finest printed bands and box labels. With holograms and the stuff that shows up under blacklight. 

They're so brazen that some of them even have videos showing the process. 

It's not just Cohiba. It's every brand. Every cuban. Many non Cubans are available. It's insane and scary. 

Bands are no longer an absolute source for reliability in finding fakes.

Oh, and these places do the boxes as well. 

[Edicion]

Provenance is everything. I wouldn't buy anything where the owner has not kept it for at least years, and before that it comes from a collector, source, merchant that can be named and have a receipt or other records. Even private sales at this level come with written notes.

[Nino]

Happy nobody in China or elsewhere has started to print fake "Granma" newspaper articles to wrap around my Farm or Custom rolled Cubans ... 🙂

[BrightonCorgi]

Current bands etc from Cuba are sold on the grey market.  Fake cigars can have legit boxes and bands quite easily.

[MrBirdman]

21 hours ago, Woody Hayes said:

Do you think the bands are legit and are stolen from the printer?

I can’t imagine those old bands are that hard to print near perfect replicas of, especially if you’ve got the overhead those prices would afford. 

[Puros Y Vino]

Old, unused and probably legit bands make their way to eBay quite often. Even Pre-Embargo ones.  No need to fake them for the most part. Years ago I saw a roll of old Cohiba bands for Lancero/CCE sized cigars that could have made some unscrupulous person some good $'s if they could source some decent looking CC or NC custom rolls.  Boxes would be another story.  Years ago I also noticed Ali Baba was selling perfect replicas of the old Cuban Davidoff boxes.  The Dom P's, No 1/2"s. The 1000 series, etc. 

[Digi]

20 hours ago, Meesterjojo said:

Don't know about those, but I keep saying folks should look at alibaba. 

They sell the finest printed bands and box labels. With holograms and the stuff that shows up under blacklight. 

They're so brazen that some of them even have videos showing the process. 

It's not just Cohiba. It's every brand. Every cuban. Many non Cubans are available. It's insane and scary. 

Bands are no longer an absolute source for reliability in finding fakes.

Oh, and these places do the boxes as well. 

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Piano-High-Gloss-Surface-With-Gift_62127310014.html

[Puros Y Vino]

27 minutes ago, Digi said:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Piano-High-Gloss-Surface-With-Gift_62127310014.html

It's possible this could be a "double scam". Who's to say the vendor selling this isn't showcasing a legit, empty box and when you receive your order you get a subpar, piece of crap.  Which in turn, you deserve for being a rat bastard for trying to peddle off farmies as the real thing.  

[Nino]

 

40 minutes ago, Digi said:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Piano-High-Gloss-Surface-With-Gift_62127310014.html

Did you see the "mummies" in that box after 0,38  to the end ?? My God, I would have nightmares about cigars ever after !

[Digi]

56 minutes ago, Nino said:

 

Did you see the "mummies" in that box after 0,38  to the end ?? My God, I would have nightmares about cigars ever after !

HAHA!  Too true.  

I'm fascinated poking through Alibaba to see the counterfeit cigar stuff available.  Even better is reading the product reviews!  Those Faux-he-bikes have a review from Brazil praising the quality!

[Meesterjojo]

It all gives me pause to consider how far up the chain could fakes be entering the global supply. But I have total faith in our host and at least one other supplier.

[Jack]

The sad fact is that this has been going on for decades.  Way before Alibaba, or likely even the internet.