EAR: Hard Lessons

[El Presidente]

EAR - email assistance required. 

 

 

"Hey Rob, it never even crossed my mind. I was collecting for eight years before I stumbled upon my first private collection in Jersey, which I grabbed at a decent price. The second one was an estate out in Austin about 18 months later. I can't remember which podcast I was tuned into, but you talked about the risks of buying bulk private collections. Something clicked, and I started digging deeper into my purchases. It's been six exhausting and frustrating months of research. Bottom line, I've got about 90 boxes of fake cigars and I'm out nearly 50K. Luckily, not all of them are fake, but I have no idea what to do with the ones that are. It's heartbreaking just looking at the pile. Any advice, Rob?"

 

[MagicalBikeRide]

Heartbreaking indeed. Title of the thread is pretty spot on - a hard lesson. Not sure what other way you could spin it. 

[Chitmo]

Expensive lesson to learn, I’d say get a second opinion first before you panic too much. Unless you bought a whole collection of Montes and Cohibas any less expensive boxes would be unlikely to be counterfeit in my experience (I could be wrong). However if it turns out that you’re correct, I’d say smoke 'em and figure out a way to move on. 

[Chas.Alpha]

Could always slap some 2022 EL bands on ‘em! 😀

[Chibearsv]

8 hours ago, Chas.Alpha said:

Could always slap some 2022 EL bands on ‘em! 😀

Or Chas can make artwork out of the fakes. His cigar taxidermy skills are noteworthy 😁

[MoeFOH]

Is this from the YouTube guy with the snake boots and grand seiko etc etc? 

 

[Fuzz]

An expensive lesson. Just smoke them and see if any are decent. You can always hand them out to your non-smoker friends who just want a cigar, but will probably not get anything out of the experience or barely finish the cigar.

[westg]

Tough indeed and never good to hear. Maybe sell some of the real stock you purchased to recoup a few $ and take some of the sting out. Sounds as though you have been exhausted and frustrated enough so going after them for money back is only going to lead to more of the same. Did the seller actually know they were fake? Yes, no...maybe? Tough road to be on. Fuzz stated smoke a few, hand out a few, not a bad idea as you may get some joy out of them. For me however with anything fake there a just too many unknowns, me...personally I would not smoke them. 

Know this! Posting it hear gives us all an ongoing awareness and informs us all to what is out there. So thank you! I hope some day to meet up somewhere somehow, you will definitely be receiving a few cigars from me. 

 

[NeoGeo]

This is brutal...a pain in the gut just reading it. It's exactly why even if I had the money to burn on a whole collection for several thousand dollars, I don't feel confident enough in my ability to be 100% of authenticity to pull the trigger. I think a part of me would always wonder; then the mind starts playing tricks on me as I'm smoking. UGH!

[Li Bai]

Always sorry to read things like that. 🥲🥲

 

[Marco_011t556]

Sad for him/her…lesson learned: only buy from trusted seller.

[99call]

Horrible to hear...but this is the risk people run when their buying enthusiasm is out of sync with their knowledge of subject.

[RDB]

Painful. There’s a big risk here of obsessing over the loss and extending the period of pain. I would suggest trying to find a way to draw a line and move on. Honestly I wouldn’t want to sit with 90 boxes of fake cigars for years and years. That is bad psychological baggage!

Very few people are ever in the position to spend this kind of money on a luxury personal consumption good. If it was me, I’d try to do the following:

- Decide whether there is any chance of redress. Presumably not really. So make that decision and then mentally write it off.

- Maybe try a stick from the boxes that look interesting. If they are ok, then keep em and smoke em.

- Dispose of the rest in a responsible way, eg give them away minus bands and boxes, or to people you are sure will not try and resell them. Most spectacular option is a bonfire. Make yourself a strong drink, light up a really good stick, and smile ruefully as you burn the lot. Or mulch them into a garden. I bet they make good fertiliser.

- In the immortal words of William DeVaughn: be thankful for what you got.

 

[BrightonCorgi]

@El Presidente Do you have his email address? I have some art I'd like to sell. Originals from masters.

[99call]

2 hours ago, RDB said:

Painful. There’s a big risk here of obsessing over the loss and extending the period of pain. I would suggest trying to find a way to draw a line and move on. Honestly I wouldn’t want to sit with 90 boxes of fake cigars for years and years. That is bad psychological baggage!

Very few people are ever in the position to spend this kind of money on a luxury personal consumption good. If it was me, I’d try to do the following:

- Decide whether there is any chance of redress. Presumably not really. So make that decision and then mentally write it off.

- Maybe try a stick from the boxes that look interesting. If they are ok, then keep em and smoke em.

- Dispose of the rest in a responsible way, eg give them away minus bands and boxes, or to people you are sure will not try and resell them. Most spectacular option is a bonfire. Make yourself a strong drink, light up a really good stick, and smile ruefully as you burn the lot. Or mulch them into a garden. I bet they make good fertiliser.

I think this is all great advice. 

Life can be humbling, we can either choose to take ourselves incredibly seriously and live with the endless toxic frustration of a particular mistake, or we can bathe in the black comedy of life. Don't allow the frustration to live with you, let it go. set it on fire, turn it to ash.   

 

[BrightonCorgi]

He may be able to donate the cigars to a charity for a tax deduction.

[SCgarman]

I find it difficult to have empathy for adults who make extremely bad decisions with their money. The even worse part is having to email the owner of a cigar forum and elect him to be a "grief counselor". SMH

[Arabian]

A fake Cuban might be a decent Dominican.

[Chitmo]

The thought just occurred to me about the poor spouse of this person. I know my wife would none to pleased with me if I’d found myself in this pickle. 😅 

[99call]

He could sell the cigars at a nominal figure to someone going through a messy divorce, and then the solicitors crunch the numbers find that the cigars are worth nothing. Two birds, one stone.

[Li Bai]

30 minutes ago, Chitmo said:

The thought just occurred to me about the poor spouse of this person. I know my wife would none to pleased with me if I’d found myself in this pickle. 😅 

I've seen couples get divorced for far less...

[Chibearsv]

6 hours ago, Chitmo said:

The thought just occurred to me about the poor spouse of this person. I know my wife would none to pleased with me if I’d found myself in this pickle. 😅 

What part would be disappointing to your wife? The buying of $50K worth of cigars or the part where a bunch were fakes? That kind of spend/investment and the risk associated with it should not be a secret or a surprise to your spouse if you've got a good partnership. I have experience to know it's not always a good partnership though. 

Ultimately, my wife would know I was going to make the purchase and accept the risk. My wife would probably look at it as an opportunity for a questionable spend request of her own that she's been waiting for. It would certainly give her a trump card to play. 😁

 

[Chitmo]

5 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

What part would be disappointing to your wife? The buying of $50K worth of cigars or the part where a bunch were fakes? That kind of spend/investment and the risk associated with it should not be a secret or a surprise to your spouse if you've got a good partnership. I have experience to know it's not always a good partnership though. 

Ultimately, my wife would know I was going to make the purchase and accept the risk. My wife would probably look at it as an opportunity for a questionable spend request of her own that she's been waiting for.  It would certainly give her a trump card to play. 😁

Well, to be fair I’m speculating and the scale of loss is kind of irrelevant. I would assume the purchase was discussed and agreed to prior. If it wasn’t than good luck. But my comment relates to the apparent lack of research prior to pulling the trigger. I don’t buy used cars without having a mechanic check it over, or a home without an inspection. So I wouldn’t buy a substantial collection of cigars without having a second opinion from someone more experienced than myself as well. Caution is always the name of the game when risk is high. I have the added benefit of being married to a divorce lawyer as well, so I’ve heard all the stories of what not to do 😆 

[El Presidente]

5 hours ago, Chitmo said:

Well, to be fair I’m speculating and the scale of loss is kind of irrelevant. I would assume the purchase was discussed and agreed to prior. If it wasn’t than good luck. But my comment relates to the apparent lack of research prior to pulling the trigger. I don’t buy used cars without having a mechanic check it over, or an home without an inspection. So I wouldn’t buy a substantial collection of cigars without having a second opinion from someone more experienced than myself as well. Caution is always the name of the game when risk is high. I have the added benefit of being married to a divorce lawyer as well, so I’ve heard all the stories of what not to do 😆 

I have come across this scenario more than a few times. This is an example of how it happens. "Bob is a higly respected cigar member on a forum/FB group. Bob passes away, gets sick, loses interest and his cigar collection is sold to Paul who has known of Bob online for many years but they have never met. Paul puts them away for a year or two  and then submits  one up on BR for auction. Flags are raised by the admin team. Puts up another one. Flags are raised again. The original seller had no idea they were fakes. Anyway, he is 85 + now or passed away. The buyer Paul had no idea they were fake when they were submitted to BR. Paul does a review of his cigar stock portfolio and get's a nasty surprise." 

Bottom line is that good people can be caught out. 

[Chitmo]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

I have come across this scenario more than a few times.  This is an example of how it happens. "Bob is a higly respected cigar member on a forum/FB group. Bob passes away, gets sick, loses interest and his cigar collection is sold to Paul who has known of Bob online for many years but they have never met. Paul puts them away for a year or two  and then submits  one up on BR for auction. Flags are raised by the admin team. Puts up another one. Flags are raised again. The original seller had no idea they were fakes. Anyway, he is 85 + now or passed away. The buyer Paul had no idea they were fake when they were submitted to BR. Paul does a review of his cigar stock portfolio and get's a nasty surprise." 

Bottom line is that good people can be caught out. 

That context is helpful, kinda hard not to speculate on scenarios with minimal information. These are good lessons for everyone.