I'm relatively new to smoking cigars and even newer to this forum. I've recently been looking at online retailers for Habanos and notice that some of them especially out of Switzerland guarantee authenticity by manually checking each cigar box. Why would they do this? It seems to me that someone buying from an authorized importer would know the product is real and wouldn't need to open it. Would I be correct to avoid retailers that say they do this?
Please don't flame me as I'm just trying to gather information so I can make an intelligent decision as to who to do business with.
Retailers open boxes to make sure there aren't any problems that are visible. While their boxes may, indeed, be legit, sometimes a box might be a "bad" one...there might be an infestation of parasites; it might be apparent that the cigars that were put in were lacking in some respect (underfilled, overfilled...); it might be that the tobacco was immature and the box might reek from ammonia or some other off aroma; it might be that they're looking so that they can save the "best" boxes for their walk-in or best customers, or that they can put aside boxes that fit their best customers' criteria and then send the regular stock to overseas customers. There are many reasons for a merchant to check stock before sending it out.
Good luck...it takes a while to understand the difficulties that exist in the Cuban cigar market because of all the doubts, all the unscrupulous vendors, and all the fakes that abound in the marketplace. So be patient!
___________________ Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER (not Ann)! VIVE CPD! Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go...(Oscar Wilde)
Posts: 10302 | Location: Avenida de las Nalgas, Quericæstan | Registered: May 02, 2002
It's not so much that they are going to guarantee authenticity by opening the box. They're just checking the the quality. If you trust your vendor you would not be concerned about the box being opened. I prefer my boxes to be opened and inspected prior to shipment just to make sure I'm not getting a bunch of moldy cigars.
"Here's the deal. I'm the best there is, plain and simple. I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence." Ricky Bobby
Don't see a reason for flaming, since you don't ask for sources. Welcome aboard.
As for your question: they're checking not necessarily the authenticity, but the quality. A reputable vendor doesn't want to send a box with cracked sticks, or full of bugs, or something like that.
------- "And it is not just a business. It’s a love affair." Paul B.K. Garmirian about making cigars
Wow!! I never expected so many responses so quickly. Thank you for that everyone. I'm a little worried and cautious. A "local" vendor that my father in law has been doing business with for 20+ years and has supplied me with what I believe were authentic CC's in the past recently sold me a box of Cohiba Robustos that had the proper box and markings, the bands seemed to be right as far as I could tell and they even felt right. When we lit 2 of them up last night they were flavorless and burned terribly. I am now a little skeptical of their CC supply and don't want to throw my money away on counterfeited goods. So I have taken the initiative to try and source my own. Any helpful tips on what to look for would be appreciated so I can try not to get burned again.
A "local" vendor that my father in law has been doing business with for 20+ years and has supplied me with what I believe were authentic CC's
"Local" meaning US? If yes, you believed in vain. Forget it. It's guaranteed fake. Do a search in these forums and you'll see. And good for you that you are doing your own search - a little brain and effort, and you'll find legit suppliers.
------- "And it is not just a business. It’s a love affair." Paul B.K. Garmirian about making cigars
Good idea about getting your own source. Take out the middle-man. I'm sorry to hear about tasteless CoRos. They should be anything but! Terrible burn can happen to any cigar, regardless of price/origin, especially if stored improperly. Were these properly humidified etc.? If not (over a long period of time), that could sap the flavor from them, even if they were genuine. Unless it's an old, and badly abused cigar, though, it should still retain quite a bit of flavor.
I hate to say it, but it does sound like you were sold fakes (whether or not the source knew). Boxes can always appear genuine - or the box itself may even BE authentic, but the proof is in the pudding. Even that can be misleading to inexperienced smokers who have a psychosomatic response, thinking "I'm smoking a real Cohiba Esplendido!"
If you've been smoking fakes, you'll know it the second you start toasting the foot on the real thing.
Good luck in your search for a good supplier. I'm sure you'll eventually settle on the right one. I've dealt with vendors who sent sealed boxes, and ones who open and inspect. As stated above, this is done to ensure you get cigars that are free of obvious problems such as mold and beetles.
Buying "Cuban" cigars in the U.S. is always a losing proposition. 99% of the time they're fake and the other 1% of the time, you have to go through a middleman who probably buys them online anyway (where you can get them yourself) and marks up the price.
Better beautiful than perfect
Posts: 1023 | Location: AZ | Registered: September 11, 2005
I don't like the idea retailers opening MY boxes. If you go and buy groceries, you buy them closed or open? God knows what are they doing when they open those boxes. Did they washed their hands before they took out the cigars from the box? Afterall, I will be putting those cigars into my mouth....
"What's the deal with golf? You hit a ball with a stick and then you walk after it and you hit it again! I say if you hit it and then you find it, you got f...king lucky, pal! Put it in your pocket and go home. (Lemmy, White Line Fever)
Got news for you, Tomaz...I'd be MUCH less worried about the hands that might come into contact with the cigars in a box that's at a top-notch tobacconist compared to the hands of the rollers and others who handled the cigars back in Cuba! Heaven knows WHERE those hands have been and the last time they were washed with soap and hot water. And yes you DO put them in your mouth...
There are no FDA stamps of approval or sanitation standards like there is in packaged food you might be eating. So you CAN trust the consistency and production standards to an extent you cannot when it comes to Cuban cigars.
___________________ Santa Cabilla...patron saint of Quericæstan. VIVE COULTER (not Ann)! VIVE CPD! Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go...(Oscar Wilde)
Posts: 10302 | Location: Avenida de las Nalgas, Quericæstan | Registered: May 02, 2002
Originally posted by Hammurabi: I don't like the idea retailers opening MY boxes. If you go and buy groceries, you buy them closed or open? God knows what are they doing when they open those boxes. Did they washed their hands before they took out the cigars from the box? Afterall, I will be putting those cigars into my mouth....
Do you think the rollers, sorters and packers in Cuba wash their hands with Purel every 10 minutes and wear latex gloves?
________________________ "Tobacco is my favorite vegetable." --FZ
"Government is the Entertainment Division of the military-industrial complex." --FZ too
Originally posted by Hammurabi: I don't like the idea retailers opening MY boxes. If you go and buy groceries, you buy them closed or open? God knows what are they doing when they open those boxes. Did they washed their hands before they took out the cigars from the box? Afterall, I will be putting those cigars into my mouth....
Do you think the rollers, sorters and packers in Cuba wash their hands with Purel every 10 minutes and wear latex gloves?
Exactly. The vendor inspecting is for sure to have cleaner hands than the roller. Up to 100 hands or more have touched that tobacco from seedling to completed product.
... and not just hands. They carry stacks of sorted leaves from one room to another. Since they are flattened out leaves stacked on top of each other it is easier to carry them in their arm pits than trying to hold them out flat. Wearing tank tops, of course.
After all the info I've gotten so far I decided to go back and really look at the "Cubans" I had. As I'm sure you all figured and I now sadly realize they are all fakes. Oh well live and learn, but it's an expensive lesson to learn.
Now I need to figure out what to do with all the fakes! Any suggestions??
don't sweat it man, most of us have been there done that. (me included)
unless they are dog rockets, i say smoke them. the worst sticks in my humi are not my Fauxhibas, so I light one every once in a while for a change of pace. Makes you appreciate the "good stuff" all the more.
oh yea, and go back and kick the snot out of the guy who pimped them off to you in the first place.
Originally posted by jayro75: After all the info I've gotten so far I decided to go back and really look at the "Cubans" I had. As I'm sure you all figured and I now sadly realize they are all fakes. Oh well live and learn, but it's an expensive lesson to learn.
Now I need to figure out what to do with all the fakes! Any suggestions??
Return them and get your money back.
Better beautiful than perfect
Posts: 1023 | Location: AZ | Registered: September 11, 2005
Originally posted by jayro75: Now I need to figure out what to do with all the fakes! Any suggestions??
Dissect one of them and post some photos for us. Basically, unroll it and spread out the leaves, I guess. I've never done it but here's an example of a dissection some guy did.
Posts: 52 | Location: Toronto Ontario Canada | Registered: November 30, 2003
I'm sorry to hear about tasteless CoRos. They should be anything but! Terrible burn can happen to any cigar, regardless of price/origin, especially if stored improperly. Were these properly humidified etc.? If not (over a long period of time), that could sap the flavor from them, even if they were genuine. Unless it's an old, and badly abused cigar, though, it should still retain quite a bit of flavor.
