EAR: Trade Etiquette

[El Presidente]

EAR: Email Assistance Required

 

"So hey Rob, I think I might’ve rubbed one of your members the wrong way, but honestly that wasn’t my intention at all. Maybe you or some of the crew here can give me a little perspective on where I went sideways?

Here’s the deal: we set up an off-forum trade...his 2019 Cohiba Robustos box (23 cigars, which he wasn’t feeling) for my 2023 Trinidad Fundadores box (22 cigars). I’ve tried, but I’m just not a Trinidad guy. He said he’d picked his box up from you.

I get his box and…it’s actually a 2020 with a Spanish sticker. Looks fine, no problem there, but it’s not the year nor source implied. So I asked to unwind the trade. Been about a week now, total radio silence.

So my question. Should I press this, or am I just being kind of a dick about it? Would appreciate what any of you think."

 

Over to you good people 

[Dmex]

If two gentlemen and BOTL agree to a trade with such specific details as to the year, origin from where the box came from, so on and such, and you deliver on your end and then you get something that is completely off from what was described... I'd feel a certain type of way about it.  Obviously this person isn't telling the full truth as to the origin of the box. Why would someone do that? Seems strange. And then the radio silence? Very odd and I think you should call out that behavior and who this person is. Just my .02 

[riderpride]

I'd want the same thing if contents weren't as described. An unfortunate situation and a follow-up is certainly warranted. 

Good luck.

[Mr.Q121]

I agree, a follow up it most warranted if the date and source where part of the negotiated trade. Then he needs to hold up his end of the deal a agreed upon. 

Good Luck.  

[JohnS]

Cigar enthusiasts tend to have traces of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), especially when it comes to cataloguing their collection (in other words, they don't do this, in general...it's not normal). Unfortunately, this person who has requested advice is being hampered by their decency. And furthermore, the person who has not being honest in the specificity of the trade from their side is banking on this, in my view. I say this because the complete silence after a week strongly suggests unethical and dishonest behaviour. If they had genuinely made a mistake and they are someone who maintains personal integrity, they would have communicated that by now. 

So, how to we move forward with this? In my opinion, this situation needs to be followed-up with diligence. Hold the person who made the mistake, whether it's deliberate or not, to account.

[BrightonCorgi]

That sucks, sorry to read this. That's a big box trade. Mistakes can happen but not returning you messages is poor form, if not suspect.

Did you ask for pictures of the box? Could he have seen the date wrong? Rob has offered Spanish market boxes before. I would refrain from smoking one until you talk. 

Do the Fundadores look decent? Maybe he'll be accommodating to you smoking one at an agreed price? If you think the cigar is on par for what you expected; move on.  

 

[Çnote]

Ick. Photos. References. Real name email; real postal addresses. Cell numbers. Any balking at authentication is suspect, really. 

This forum is quite gentlemanly compared to the Wild West of others, but considering that it sounds like you're beyond the rules of the trading forum, the quicksand is deep. I greatly doubt much can be done to unwind the deal, only in repercussions by the forum would there be any justice satisfied.

I wouldn't fret too much about the Spanish marks, Rob often had Ex-Spain Cohiba for a minute, and they all started in the same place, right? A misremembering of date codes? Understandable. The radio silence though? Pretty suspect.

Personally, I'm in the middle of a similar circumstance, but where packing was the issue. (To be very clear, not in anyway an FoH deal). The gentleman looked at the 1st picture of damages and seems to have ghosted immediately. We'll see.

[99call]

13 hours ago, JohnS said:

Unfortunately, this person who has requested advice is being hampered by their decency. And furthermore, the person who has not being honest in the specificity of the trade from their side is banking on this, in my view. I say this because the complete silence after a week strongly suggests unethical and dishonest behaviour

I love it when @JohnS gets into his Delbert Grady zone. 

"I would suggest they need a good talking to...............perhaps Sir......a bit more!"

[ha_banos]

Don't assume anything before the trade. Full due diligence. Photos. Newer forum member? History of trading?

Could be the guy is on holiday? Something major has happened? No excuse for radio silence a week unless out of even Starlink coverage though! That is bad form.

Everything else has been said.

Good luck.

[LordAnubis]

If the code matters to you then for sure it’s your right to get a swap back. Were box pics with box code exchanged before the trade? As in was it a bait and switch situation in which case sink the MoFu. 

If it’s the source that’s in question then I thought there was a period there where Rob (as in PCC) was getting stuff through Spanish region? So if you can confirm something of the like then I’d be happy with source from that front. 

[Fugu]

No matter what - radio silence an absolute no-no.

[JohnS]

3 hours ago, 99call said:

I love it when @JohnS gets into his Delbert Grady zone. 

"I would suggest they need a good talking to...............perhaps Sir......a bit more!"

Haha...indeed, a good "correction!"

[Hammer Smokin']

Open box trades are always extremely challenging. You have no idea if the cigars in the box are actually from the box. If I don't 110% trust the person, I'm not considering an open box trade. Same reason I don't purchase open boxes, again, unless I 100% know and trust the person.

[zeedubbya]

Sounds odd, and if it’s not what was agreed on, there’s a right to be disappointed and possibly ask for a swap back.  

However, from an overall standpoint I’d say they still received a fair trade. Cigars with more age, more of them, more valuable box (most likely), more desirable to the person who didn’t like the Fundies. Zoom out a bit from the minutiae and OCD nature of our hobby/passion and it’s probably a “chalk it up and move on” situation. To play devil's advocate, what if it was a 10 for 10 trade instead, or what if the Cohiba trader re-boxed a new bundle into an older box? These would never have been issues. I have no doubt there’s been many trades done like this over the years and I’m sure I’ve been unknowingly on the receiving end of some of these trades.

Bottom line—person has a right to demand a swap back, but maybe is getting a bit too caught up in small specifics to stop for a second and think- I did well here, I am going to smoke and enjoy my new box of 5 year old CORO. Life is too short to smoke cigars you don’t like and I don’t think they’ll find anyone else who will trade a box of 2019 CORO for a 2023 Fundy. Keep the CORO or keep the Fundy is what it boils down to in the end. I’m keeping the CORO.  

[Fireball]

They ‘may’ be out of town. But radio silence is pretty damning.