EAR: Received Five fake boxes.

[NYGuido]

2 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I am curious to what determined some boxes were fake when many were not. Most of us have bought boxes from legitimate sources that most well-known indicators may point to them being fake but were not.  Chevrons in the wrong place, missing box code, etc...Sure, the glass top Cohibas are one thing, but someone with 100+ boxes probably isn't buying those to start with.   

You’ve touched on something I’ve long thought about in two distinct ways:

1-Trust your source means trust but verify. When I have a trusted vendor that’s a reseller as opposed to FOH or an LCDH, I trust their intent but I don’t always trust their own supply chain. Good and honest people can get duped, themselves, and unwittingly pass fakes on to the next buyer. That in itself is less important than the dispute process, customer service, and overall track record. A vendor who got duped by highly sophisticated fakes and sells them really believing they’re real but makes it right when shown they aren’t will likely keep my business. Things happen. It’s how they’re resolved and the intent behind them that matters. 

2- Taste and flavor seem to be the only true indicators. I’ve heard of real boxes with all sorts of things wrong and fake boxes that look perfect enough to be in HSA marketing materials. At the end of the day, there’s always some risk. But the palate never lies. 

[Gemini_Man]

41 minutes ago, joeypots said:

I wrote merchant. Whomever has the cigars is looking to sell them, merchant, private party, whatever. I almost didn't post on this thread because the original text of the email to Rob is not the clearest bit of writing I've ever seen.

I read it the same way. Hence the supermarket analogy...

[rcarlson]

15 hours ago, Gemini_Man said:

Your supermarket buy 100 boxes of cereal from General Mills, 25% of it has tested contaminated/rotten/has pebbles in it. Supermarket has no obligation to alert for a recall or to warn its customers?!

Unless they don't want to get sued into oblivion. Of course, a supermarket is obligated to pull a contaminated product. Not a good analogy, but "yeah."  You pass along a contaminated product, you're on the hook. Not the same here, but FFS. B.S. is B.S. No problem with telling the truth.