In doing research on various aspects of fakes in order that I might avoid purchasing them, the thought has crossed my mind that tubos would be much more difficult to fake. Is this a logical assumption or am I failing to consider something? I'm thinking that if the caps are secure and snug on the tube, then the cigar inside is likely an authentic cigar. It seems that bands would be much easier to reproduce as fakes than tubes would be. How many counterfeiters are going to go to the trouble to produce fake tubes? I'm wondering if you guys with experience could share some insight with me. Are tubos routinely found to be fakes or am I correct in my assumption that they are more likely to be authentic?

A place that sells fakes doesnt care that much about how it is packaged. Find a good source and trust them until they give you a reason not to. A legit source doesny knowingly sell fakes and a bad source usually sells fakes.

I've seen plenty of fake tubos, they generally are terribly faked though

quote:

Originally posted by dstokely:
I've seen plenty of fake tubos, they generally are terribly faked though

Agreed; some aren't that bad, so you should still know exactly what the tubo should look like.

There are plenty of counterfeit tubos. Notably Romeo y Julieta Churchills and Cohiba Siglos, but sometimes they imitate nonexistent cigars, like Cohiba Esplendido tubos and Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona tubos. There are companies out of China that produce cigar tubes of any size and with anything printed on them that you want. But you can feel safer about cheaper cigars generally, like the Romeo y Julieta Romeos, Bolivar Tubos and the Hoyo de Monterrey and Punch Coronations. Those aren't really counterfeited at all, or at least I've never heard of it. But it's all about trusting your vendor, not about buying cigars less often/easily counterfeited.

I do understand the neccessity of finding a trustworthy vendor and have been frequenting some foreign forums where vendors are openly discussed by name, so I think I'm getting a pretty good handle on who is considered trustworhty. However, it seems that even those who are routinely praised as legit are still sometimes questioned by others. I guess I am still not completely understanding the concept of non-LCDH vendors getting their hands on authentic cigars. I don't doubt that they do, but I'm wondering how it all works. On some forums I've visited, I have read that you are only guaranteed authentic cigars if purchasing from LCDH. I've seen some LCDH prices and have noticed that some popular non-LCDH vendors offer substantially better deals. How does that work? Anyway, I was just thinking that purchasing tubos might take away a little more doubt as to authenticity.

There are fake tubos too. As long as they're in high demand (and tubos are, since they're portable and pretty), there will be counterfeits. If you're looking for a CC that is least likely to be counterfeited, look for a lesser-known brand, something like a Vegas Robaina Famosos, Por Larranaga Petit Coronas, or Ramone Allone Specially Selected. These are also cheaper cigars, making them less profitable to counterfeit.

For someone new to CCs, it is definitely a good idea to find out as much as you can so you don't get ripped off. There are some who are so naive that there is no way they'll believe the Cohiba Edicion Limitada 2007 they got under the table from their local B&M is a fake, but there is also some that even the slightest wrinkle in a warranty seal will make them think the cigars are fake. I hope you're somewhere in the middle. Good luck in your search for some good CCs.

You could get a real empty tube and chuck a fake in it and sell it that way... Buy from somewhere trustworthy and you'll be fine.

yea, I have to agree that it's all about trusting your vendor, like bo said, the less popular cigars are less likely faked, but in the end it's about how well you know your vendor. There is always going to be a degree of uncertainty until you know what a real CC taste like. I remember ordering my first CCs, even though I've gotten a few sources that was confirmed by many helpful botls here I still had a slight doubt. It wasn't until I got a chance to smoke some cigars at the LCDH, comparing to the flavors to the cigars I got from the other vendor, was I assured that I am getting the real deal.

quote:

Originally posted by NfN:
I do understand the neccessity of finding a trustworthy vendor and have been frequenting some foreign forums where vendors are openly discussed by name, so I think I'm getting a pretty good handle on who is considered trustworhty. However, it seems that even those who are routinely praised as legit are still sometimes questioned by others. I guess I am still not completely understanding the concept of non-LCDH vendors getting their hands on authentic cigars. I don't doubt that they do, but I'm wondering how it all works. On some forums I've visited, I have read that you are only guaranteed authentic cigars if purchasing from LCDH. I've seen some LCDH prices and have noticed that some popular non-LCDH vendors offer substantially better deals. How does that work? Anyway, I was just thinking that purchasing tubos might take away a little more doubt as to authenticity.

La Casa del Habanos is simply the official chain of stores run by Habanos, S.A. They sell cigars to other vendors via regional distributors, like cigar shops and the such, which then sell to people online. To give a reference you can relate to the U.S., it's the same difference between Casa Fuente and a regular cigar shop in Vegas. Casa Fuente is the "official" shop run by Arturo Fuente, but they sell their cigars to other shops in town. The non-LCDH vendors can offer better prices because they use the gray market, are located in tax-friendly countries and deal in large numbers of cigars.

ALL premium cigars will be faked, are faked, and can be faked. The black market is huge.

A bit about tubos. Unlike dress boxes where the cigars are arranged according to appearance and color, when it comes to tubos, they're usually filled with cigars that are often 'misfits' that do not fall within the right color scale, or have wrappers with certain characteristics that do not match other cigars. While they may be nice to protect your cigar, there's absolutely nothing magical about a cigar from a tubo because flaws in the wrapper can be and are hidden.

If the tube had a wax seal, then maybe you can insure that the contents are sealed and legit. But a cap on a tubo can be affixed as it can be removed.

Another thing to consider is that it's easier to sneak tubes out of the factories than cigars or raw materials to make them on the side, although it's still very difficult. If it were too easy, the factories could not stock tubes ever because they'd all get pilfered. But - once a tube is in circulation, it can be filled with anything.

Ok, then I'm understanding that tubos are not any safer against counterfeiting than anything else. It was just a thought anyway. I suppose all I can do is to go with vendors who seem to have a good reputation for being legit and see what happens. My plan is to choose the three top vendors that I've determined to have good reputations and order about $100. worth of similar cigars from each and see how they compare. Hopefully I'll end up with $300. worth of great cigars! Thanks for all the replies...they are quite helpful to my learning experience.

tubes are great too put in your pocket...i totally agree with r&j i have owned a bunch of monte petite tubes,and i find alot of unsmokeables...plugged etc....i for one would rather get a case then continue with these ..