Fake cigars are an unfortunate fact of life for many people who choose to purchase Cuban cigars online.
American collectors/smokers, who due to the embargo on Cuban products are not able to purchase via more legitimate means, are particularly at risk of being taken advantage of.
The number of websites/mail order companies selling outright fakes or upgrades (legitimate cigars with the bands changed to seem like something far rarer) is so large that there is strong evidence to suggest that upwards of 95% of all Cuban cigars sold in the USA are not quite what they appear to be.
The demand for Cuban cigars, fake or not, is so large that the sums of money being made by these criminals/fraudsters/scumbags is enormous. Consumers are lucky to just receive inferior products dressed up as the real thing, some of the so called ‘Cubans’ which are on the market are nothing if not downright hazardous.
Whilst I am very lucky that I live in Europe and don’t have to resort to shady tactics to get my hands on the World’s finest cigars it still makes my blood boil that fellow cigar lovers are being exploited in this fashion.
As such whenever I have definitive proof that a company is shipping fakes/upgrades I am going call them out on it. Will it stop the trade in fake cigars, hell no. But if even one person is spared the upset of blowing their hard earned cash on this rubbish then I will be happy.
The company I wish to draw your attention to today do not actually manufacture or sell cigars of any kind; fake or otherwise.
No, this particular piece of excrement is engaged in the sale of something just as damaging to consumers: fake bands, boxes, ribbons, labels and even customs tags.
What is so irritating about this particular nutsack is that for less than 20 dollars he is providing the means for literally anyone to repackage any old dog rockets as Cohiba, Bolivar, Montecristo or any other Cuban brand you can imagine.
Dr Joe from the Dr. Joe show sums things up pretty nicely in this video
Tales from the humidor 