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So I think that I received a box of fakes

SmokinNukie

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A friend, and supplier, of mine gave a box of "Cuban" Cohibas today. Immediately I noticed some red flags and have convinced myself that they are fakes. My question is do I ever tell him? I don't want to hurt his feelings, but more importantly I don't want him wasting his money and getting scammed. I'm also concerned now that he's found a "source" that he will buy me more again someday. My gut says just to be thankful and gracious that he's thought enough to gift me a box. Thoughts?
 
D Quintero

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I'm sure it's not the easiest news to break , but we're all grown ups . I'd therefore behoove you to put all feelings aside and learn him up to speed . Providing proof on the spot if need be .

I myself don't readily see any glaring discrepancies .. Are there giveaway signs on those pics
 
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NJ_Ken

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If I were the one gifting it, and the possibility existed that they were fake, I would want to know. Like you said, the guy thinks he's doing you a favor, and he might keep buying you more, wasting more money. Even worse, he may be giving these out to other people as well (possibly an important client he is trying to impress), who also think they are fake. They could think he is intentionally being deceitful, and it may impact his business

Out of curiosity, what are the red flags?
 
Cigary43

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Don't see anything alarming. ..a lot depends on the Vendor and where it was scored ..once determined then you can tell your friend if it's reliable
 
Jmphotog

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Honestly bro looks good to me. Triple cap, band looks good has all the right holograms.. I think your good. But I only just really started my CC game this year. Might want to wait for the heavy hitters to chime in.
 
Master Shake

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I'm seeing some triple caps for sure and the labels look pretty solid, the C in Cuba looks to be spot on as well, and those are the top giveaways as fakes. What are you seeing that makes you think otherwise?

How about some more pics and pics of the seal and box code?
 
atbat82

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I don't smoke a lot of Cohiba and I don't do much "verification" on the CCs I buy, since I trust the vendor. But those look pretty good to me.

Only question I have...does it say "Totalmente a manos" and should it say "Totalmente a mano" (no "s") I'm not sure if I'm 100% correct on that, but that does give me pause. So does the outline around the head on the box label. Again, someone who smokes these and has an actual box to check could say for sure.

Also, pictures of the box and box date would help. It didn't have a glass top, did it?
 
SmokinNukie

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The red flags that I saw:

Gold overlays on inner lid don't align perfectly on letters and head. Also, the white square alignment is at a slight angle at the top of this same label.

Cheap nails on clasp. Not hidden.

Box lid alignment slightly ooff to base.

No glass top.

Cigars don't have the rich coloring I'm used to seeing. Not washed out either though.

No date stamp on box

No hologram label on outside of box.

I decided to go ahead and smoke one. Good draw. Even burn. Nice firmness. Smoke like a pretty good stick.

Triple caps and labels look good.

I put them in the freezer to kill any potential beetles.

Real or not, I will smoke them.


The guy is straight up. No Mis-intentions whatsoever. I'm probably the only guy he has bought smokes before.
 
Cigary43

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Xavier Dredo said:
Umm, this seems a 'lil off



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Click to expand...
SmokinNukie said:
A friend, and supplier, of mine gave a box of "Cuban" Cohibas today. Immediately I noticed some red flags and have convinced myself that they are fakes. My question is do I ever tell him? I don't want to hurt his feelings, but more importantly I don't want him wasting his money and getting scammed. I'm also concerned now that he's found a "source" that he will buy me more again someday. My gut says just to be thankful and gracious that he's thought enough to gift me a box. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I'm looking at the last photo of the squares .....they are cut off on the top...the rounded corners and from the top left to the right the squares get smaller until they are barely noticeable at all. The right side going down you can see the squares are shaved off....the left side is a bit more full but the stamp on the lid should never look this inconsistent at all ....the first time I looked at the pics I didn't focus on the last photo long enough because the color/shading and the triple cap looked good. The "proof" is in the details and those squares look really suspect even after looking at the same pic from ChefRoy at the LCDH in Hong Kong. There needs to be more pics of the box...the hinges...ALL of those small details of lettering that tend to get overlooked sometimes.....while maybe...just maybe....the cigars could be legit those squares are bugging me.
 
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