Well known online vendor evidenced selling fake cc

[ha_banos]

Due to the rules here I won't mention names. A very well known online vendor has been evidenced to have sold fake Cohibas. They even admitted saying they had been duped by a sub vendor but only after a lot of evidence surfaced.

Be very very wary out there.

It's all over Reddit and other forums and groups now.

To spot the fakes you need to know the sequencing of the serial number on the box in relation to the box year and know the seal under UV looks like this.


Screenshot_20220928-080022.png

[Romeo Allones]

Thanks for that, any key words we can Google to find more info on this?

[ha_banos]

Not found a search that will surface this without the vendor name

[BullittBoy]

I found it just by putting in a few of the more famous and popular online vendors with ‘fake’ ‘cohiba’ terms.

I haven’t purchased from them myself - but have viewed their website a few times.

Very worrying since they have featured a lot in a number of cigar focused influencer’s videos.. and are very popular in the US I hear.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[moppy]

Thanks for that, any key words we can Google to find more info on this?

Was going to PM you the link then realised I don't have PM privileges yet 😆

Buona fortuna finding the information as my Italian friend would say 😉

[ha_banos]

Was going to PM you the link then realised I don't have PM privileges yet 😆

Buona fortuna finding the information as my Italian friend would say 😉

Fortuna indeed.............. this might actually help you find it.............

[moppy]

This is the reply from the company when asked about the issue:

Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention! This is completely unacceptable and we would like to apologize to you and anyone else who may have received these questionable Cohiba boxes and we can of course compensate any customer who can show us any questionable box codes so please get in touch with us right away if you believe you may have. we have immediately taken what we believe to be the affected Cohiba cigars from our shelves and these shall be destroyed and we will also never be working with this supplier again. I understand you have contacted the Pacific Cigar Company (PCC) and I would just like to reiterate that we do not currently work with this company and this is not where these have come from nor did we mention that these are where they had been purchased this must have been an assumption. Again, we are very sorry to say that we have been tricked with these affected cigar boxes from which we believed to be a reputable vendor and then in turn sold them on believing them to be of course authentic. We do our best to guarantee authenticity but when working in the cigar community and a trusted supplier begins to sell some of the best cigars around you can not turn up an offer like this which has unfortunately resulted in this huge mistake! We totally agree that this is unacceptable and any persons affected by this please contact us right away at [redacted] and we will arrange your compensation immediately. We hope you continue to place your trust in us as a verified Vendor and we promise not to let down our customers this way ever again!

821Euros for a box of Cohiba Robustos and that reply sounds to me like 1: they don't independently verify authenticity and 2: they had a deal that was "too good to be true" from a trusted supplier.

Not that I was ever in the market for what they're selling, but I don't think I'll be rushing in to order in the future either.

[Drewster]

Can say I have never bought from these before I have looked and almost bought but I was never sure if it was a legit site or not guess I shall steer away from here

[gav_sw20]

Just seen the Reddit thread, not good for the buyers nor the retailer for that matter. How were these not checked prior to shipment !!!

[Kickback]

Operational people are minimum wage processors so wouldn’t have a clue.
Buyer got what they thought was a deal.
No QC
??

[Dorsetman]

Also included in the scam are Siglo VI and possibly Behike!

[Romeo Allones]

Was going to PM you the link then realised I don't have PM privileges yet 😆

Buona fortuna finding the information as my Italian friend would say 😉

Thanks for the tip, I think they have gotten very big, esp being promoted by Cigar Obsession, the top cigar reviewer online, and they probably got careless.

[Hookmaker]

Just seen the Reddit thread, not good for the buyers nor the retailer for that matter. How were these not checked prior to shipment !!!

Believe it or not, most grey market dealers and even (I think) Habanos dealers do probably not have knowledge of these anti-counterfeit measures. But a couple of smart guys in the US who apparently scrutinises their boxes, seals and labels under microscope detected these measures about 6 months ago - good for all of us😎


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Moley]

Shitty that its taken them to admit this after being called out

[ShaazK]

I thought everyone checks their boxes?! Along with the Habanos serial checker, I check every single box I get under a little UV torch when they get home. A couple bucks from Amazon will save you mega £££ as I’ve had two boxed failed the check and had the vendor refund me.

Not sure how foolproof it is as I’m sure some sophisticated counterfeiting operations will be able to recreate the UV stamp, but I still do it nonetheless.

It doesn’t make sense to spend such a large amount on a box and not know if it’s legit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk