I am sure this has been discussed a million times but here's 1,000,001:
The "Vendido en Cuba" ink stamp is the "kiss of death". They put this on the fakes to explain away everything else that does not match up (e.g. UV Image, micro-printed seals, factory codes, box color, and another anomaly.
Habanos is promoting the bar-code (not serial number) at the end of the stamp/label as the only true authentication device.
I live in the USA and none of my 25 boxes have a valid bar-code. I would say that my most likely authentic boxes have had their bar-codes removed. Gray-market vendors remove the bar-code to "protect their sources". I'm not certain what they are protecting but I suppose they are protecting keeping you from buying from their source and not protecting their source from the source's distriburtor or area.
I suppose if I were to buy my CC from LCDH or any other authorized Habanos dealer (which is exactly none in the US) that I could use the
www.habanos.com authentication web-page at the store and verify whether I wanted to buy that box there on the spot. Unfortunately, this is very rarely available and I guess shortly that the counterfeiters will fake the bar-codes.
As a collector, I find it disturbing that vendors are removing items that will provide evidence of providence and authenticity in the future. I'd pay more to get more but like I said "I'm in the US" and it's not possible.
My ramble for today... --Jimmy