VewyPhishy - fake cigars

[Mike33]

Just in case anyone misunderstood my previous post to make some sort of excuse for Phishy, it was definitely not meant that way. There is no excuse for his words or lack of action in this situation. A refund was requested and it should have been promptly given, period. My post was to point out that these Cohiba DCs and Sublimes that are suddenly showing up for sale, both from vendors and private individuals, should be viewed with a high level of suspicion. Just because someone bought them from a respected member or vendor does not mean that they are genuine, and that's all my post was saying.

 

[tone-ny]

These cigars are the most faked cigars of the Cohiba line. I have quite a few of the fake cigars to examine over time.

Michael has to make this right, that is the bottom line if he fails to do so he is going on the list for selling fake cigars and not making the sale right.

I've been warning many people here that this wheeler dealer stuff is going to burn you! Veryphissy hasn't been on in a while and apparently needed funds for whatever life is dealing him. He had a fire sale and everyone came running. Now the cigars he sold are in question. Just cause he has been here a long time doesn't mean he can't buy fakes. Search around and look for a fellow by the name of Shiba and see to what he resorted to.

The back and forth here is getting old. If you guys don't get satisfaction soon then Rod can ban him. It doesn't get you your money, but at least you know he won't be around. I'm sure Moki can add him to the list if need be.

CP is not fleabay and you guys have been treating it as such. If that is what you are getting out of here then you need to find greener pastures!

 

[AVB]

Well said Anthony. This needs to be fixed and the result posted up post haste.

 

[NorCalCigarLover]

CP is not fleabay and you guys have been treating it as such. If that is what you are getting out of here then you need to find greener pastures!

Well said Anthony, and what with this idea that shopping at CP should be 100% guarateed satisfaction? Are you guys kidding me?? come on, you don't really believe that do you?

Hell, I wouldn't buy anything from more than half the membership here, that's not to say that wouldn't change once I get to know you.

Caveat Emptor.

 

[miamipadronsmoker]

As a newbie I came here and received help from many established members. To me this is a learning experience and continues to be. I am a student of cigars. Mike, vewyphishy, was kind enough to show me the ropes a bit. He did my newbie samplers and I trusted him implicitly. Never in my ten months here, and I know that isn't long, has anything negative been said in the public eye against him till now. That trust has been broken and I did not expect to hear these comments especially after last nights thread regarding Eds and Tims sales. How am I supposed to know the difference between all this stuff? Hell Gary purchased from Mike so what's with all the Monday morning quarterbacking all of the sudden. Please don't take my post the wrong way. I love this place and consider it home.

 

[NorCalCigarLover]

As a newbie I came here and received help from many established members. To me this is a learning experience and continues to be. I am a student of cigars. Mike, vewyphishy, was kind enough to show me the ropes a bit. He did my newbie samplers and I trusted him implicitly. Never in my ten months here, and I know that isn't long has anything negative been said in the public eye against him till now. That trust has been broken and I did not expect to hear these comments especially after last nights thread regarding Eds and Tims sales. How am I supposed to know the difference between all this stuff? Hell Gary purchased from Mike so what's with all the Monday morning quarterbacking all of the sudden. Please don't take my post the wrong way. I love this place and consider it home.

Our comments, or my comments, aren't geared towards you directly .... okay? ..... No Monday morning quarterbacking here, you did everything right but got screwed, it happens, even here unfortunately. But yours is a good example to others that it does happen, even when you've done everything right

The "membership" really needs to understand the CP is not a guaranteed place to get those "special" cigars. There is no guarantee, there is no return policy here and sometiimes you may get screwed.

 

[miamipadronsmoker]

As a newbie I came here and received help from many established members. To me this is a learning experience and continues to be. I am a student of cigars. Mike, vewyphishy, was kind enough to show me the ropes a bit. He did my newbie samplers and I trusted him implicitly. Never in my ten months here, and I know that isn't long has anything negative been said in the public eye against him till now. That trust has been broken and I did not expect to hear these comments especially after last nights thread regarding Eds and Tims sales. How am I supposed to know the difference between all this stuff? Hell Gary purchased from Mike so what's with all the Monday morning quarterbacking all of the sudden. Please don't take my post the wrong way. I love this place and consider it home.

Our comments, or my comments, aren't geared towards you directly .... okay? ..... No Monday morning quarterbacking here, you did everything right but got screwed, it happens, even here unfortunately. But yours is a good example to others that it does happen even, when you've done everything right

The "membership" really needs to understand the CP is not a guaranteed place to get those "special" cigars. There is no guarantee, there is no return policy here and sometiimes you may get screwed.

Thank you. This is a good learning experience for everyone here. It was pointed out to me that the fake Cohiba bands usually have a larger gold box around COHIBA. Also note that the I in COHIBA is off center. The script is completely off as well if you look closely, not just the C of Cuba. Take a look at the b and you will see the loop comes off of the center line.

 

[dulaney22]

Nice pick-up on the off-center "I" Robbie. I looked back at the photos I posted and it's the same. Maybe these guys get them from the same printer? ??? Anyway, it has to make you wonder . . . they go through so much trouble to roll the stick pretty close, but can't get the print right on the band. How in the world could a decent counterfeiter make such an obvious mistake like the overlapping "C" line?

 

[miamipadronsmoker]

Nice pick-up on the off-center "I" Robbie. I looked back at the photos I posted and it's the same. Maybe these guys get them from the same printer? ??? Anyway, it has to make you wonder . . . they go through so much trouble to roll the stick pretty close, but can't get the print right on the band. How in the world could a decent counterfeiter make such an obvious mistake like the overlapping "C" line?

You should see these Miami fakes. People don't know so it's not worth the effort to them to make them perfect. Someone wanted to know if his $180 box of Esplendidos were real. I told him I don't know much but in this case I could tell him blindfolded :laugh:.

 

[dulaney22]

You have me worried about my Sublime, so here's a pic next to the Monte counterpart:

They are the exact same size. Here's a close shot of the band:

 

[moki]

Nice pick-up on the off-center "I" Robbie. I looked back at the photos I posted and it's the same. Maybe these guys get them from the same printer? ??? Anyway, it has to make you wonder . . . they go through so much trouble to roll the stick pretty close, but can't get the print right on the band. How in the world could a decent counterfeiter make such an obvious mistake like the overlapping "C" line?

It's as I stated... they are using a different typeface. As people in the print business will tell you, there are many different fonts out there that are imperfect copies or "look alikes" of other typefaces. This is one of them.

The counterfeiter doesn't really care... these bands are more than good enough to fool tourists (who are the main target) and average Joes who don't know what to look for.

 

[in2xshp]

All the BS aside with this is fake and this is not...... Why is this not resolved by Mike yet? Weather he knew they were fakes or not this should have been resolved in some manner by now i.e. by PM or Publicly. That in itself speaks volumes of his integrity to me, nothing else. You can all gone all day about the validity of each persons claim until you are all blue in the face but it really does come down to that these sticks are fakes and there is yet another member running from the truth, period.

I understand there is no guarantee but how about integrity.



Sam (a.k.a. Kim's husband)

 

[bfisher88]

All the BS aside with this is fake and this is not...... Why is this not resolved by Mike yet? Weather he knew they were fakes or not this should have been resolved in some manner by now i.e. by PM or Publicly. That in itself speaks volumes of his integrity to me, nothing else. You can all gone all day about the validity of each persons claim until you are all blue in the face but it really does come down to that these sticks are fakes and there is yet another member running from the truth, period.

I understand there is no guarantee but how about integrity.



Sam (a.k.a. Kim's husband)

Let's give him some time shall we? Some people don't reach their computers as often as others.

 

[in2xshp]

All the BS aside with this is fake and this is not...... Why is this not resolved by Mike yet? Weather he knew they were fakes or not this should have been resolved in some manner by now i.e. by PM or Publicly. That in itself speaks volumes of his integrity to me, nothing else. You can all gone all day about the validity of each persons claim until you are all blue in the face but it really does come down to that these sticks are fakes and there is yet another member running from the truth, period.

I understand there is no guarantee but how about integrity.



Sam (a.k.a. Kim's husband)

Let's give him some time shall we? Some people don't reach their computers as often as others.

I am all for time don't get me wrong. However he has had a few PM's sent to him one or two of which he decided to block/ignore. I am not taking sides here since I have not bought ISOM's from the man but I don't expect or any members here to be treated in this manner. Am I perfect? No but as a man I do respond to accusations made upon me in a swift manner as all here should, fog or not. And before I get beat up for claiming Mike is a fog let me defend myself by saying he is not. Time here does not make you a fog, how you handle a situation does however. I have said enough on this point so as far as I an concerned he needs to make it right, no questions or pointing blame on someone else.

 

[Strayvector]

All the BS aside with this is fake and this is not...... Why is this not resolved by Mike yet? Weather he knew they were fakes or not this should have been resolved in some manner by now i.e. by PM or Publicly. That in itself speaks volumes of his integrity to me, nothing else. You can all gone all day about the validity of each persons claim until you are all blue in the face but it really does come down to that these sticks are fakes and there is yet another member running from the truth, period.

I understand there is no guarantee but how about integrity.



Sam (a.k.a. Kim's husband)

Let's give him some time shall we? Some people don't reach their computers as often as others.

He's had more than enough time to make this right. He has acted without any integrity whatsoever...either that, or he's a complete moron. He called Kingantz and MPS noobies to Cuban cigars and purports himself as experienced. If that's the case, then IMO, he acted knowing full well that he's selling fakes. An experienced smoker would have spotted the fakes and if he did get taken, then a man of integrity would have immediately made this right. His mistake does not give him the right to pass them off to recoup his losses. He's had PMs for the past week from both buyers as well as Rod. He's put his profile to private so that others can't discern when he was here last. Sure sounds like his handle. Very fishy indeed. Mike, prove us wrong and make this right to your buyers.

 

[dagoR6]

I don't mean this to be a third party comment per se, but when you get things from "reputable sources" it's going to come with an order email, wouldn't it be simple enough to forward this over to Rod and/or the buyers and say "Maybe I got scammed, but this place is legit and let me make it right in a way that people know I wasn't trying to scam anyone else."

It's a good reminder to me to keep all my order emails forever.

 

[tone-ny]

I don't mean this to be a third party comment per se, but when you get things from "reputable sources" it's going to come with an order email, wouldn't it be simple enough to forward this over to Rod and/or the buyers and say "Maybe I got scammed, but this place is legit and let me make it right in a way that people know I wasn't trying to scam anyone else."

It's a good reminder to me to keep all my order emails forever.

See this is where the problem is. This influx of buying and selling here has polluted the cigar inventory you may have.

"I bought these from Joe. Where did Joe get them? He got them from Bob, he's a good guy. I think he buys from x and they have the best prices, but Bob really got these from Willie who gets his stuff from Tony on board x. Tony has a source and he gets some of the best stuff out there. You go from there and you end up where we are now."

The clock is ticking on Mike. I wouldn't hold out for any refunds of money. If he answered you the way he did, it means he doesn't have the money to repay you and doesn't take responsibility for his cigars. This is just another lesson on how things can and do get out of hand.

 

[CigarStone]

I don't mean this to be a third party comment per se, but when you get things from "reputable sources" it's going to come with an order email, wouldn't it be simple enough to forward this over to Rod and/or the buyers and say "Maybe I got scammed, but this place is legit and let me make it right in a way that people know I wasn't trying to scam anyone else."

It's a good reminder to me to keep all my order emails forever.

See this is where the problem is. This influx of buying and selling here has polluted the cigar inventory you may have.

"I bought these from Joe. Where did Joe get them? He got them from Bob, he's a good guy. I think he buys from x and they have the best prices, but Bob really got these from Willie who gets his stuff from Tony on board x. Tony has a source and he gets some of the best stuff out there. You go from there and you end up where we are now."

The clock is ticking on Mike. I wouldn't hold out for any refunds of money. If he answered you the way he did, it means he doesn't have the money to repay you and doesn't take responsibility for his cigars. This is just another lesson on how things can and do get out of hand.

While reading this saga and learning bits and pieces as I go I must say that Tony's nonsensical rambling here is about the most informative and accurate statement yet :thumbs:

 

[grateful1]

As a newbie I came here and received help from many established members. To me this is a learning experience and continues to be. I am a student of cigars. Mike, vewyphishy, was kind enough to show me the ropes a bit. He did my newbie samplers and I trusted him implicitly. Never in my ten months here, and I know that isn't long, has anything negative been said in the public eye against him till now. That trust has been broken and I did not expect to hear these comments especially after last nights thread regarding Eds and Tims sales. How am I supposed to know the difference between all this stuff? Hell Gary purchased from Mike so what's with all the Monday morning quarterbacking all of the sudden. Please don't take my post the wrong way. I love this place and consider it home.

In spite of being a little peeved...I'm not suprised, it happens.

In buying these, I use (internal) caution...expectations were low as the chance of fakes is always there.
I think I smoked the DC with Rob a couple weeks ago...it wasn't bad....just not up to par with it when I smoked them fresh...I chalked it up to timing.

Now that the bands are 'outed' it's like...ok, was this done intentionally? If not...make repayment and move along...if it was...we aren't seeing any money and Mike's done.

This is a thread and a situation and a product that may be cause to disallow these types of sales...be carefu which directions are pushed.

On other boards, this may have never been spoken of with so much input...mod's would shut shit down and delete posts....burying the past.


...as far as the quarterback...these are the guys who taught me these lessons.

 

[SPIVY]

See this is where the problem is. This influx of buying and selling here has polluted the cigar inventory you may have.

"I bought these from Joe. Where did Joe get them? He got them from Bob, he's a good guy. I think he buys from x and they have the best prices, but Bob really got these from Willie who gets his stuff from Tony on board x. Tony has a source and he gets some of the best stuff out there. You go from there and you end up where we are now."

The clock is ticking on Mike. I wouldn't hold out for any refunds of money. If he answered you the way he did, it means he doesn't have the money to repay you and doesn't take responsibility for his cigars. This is just another lesson on how things can and do get out of hand.

Anthony,
By no means is this an attack on you. You are one of the members that I look up to on this forum. This is more of a general comment. But I do not agree with this statement about wheeling and dealing. If there were not members who would split boxes up, or sell HTF cigars I would not have half of my cigars. I buy and sell a lot of cigar, but that is part of my collecting/obsessive personality. Like with any purchase you take everything with caution. I generally do my due diligence before ever purchase... and I pass that on when I sell cigars as well. This issue with Mike is a bad one...but it looks to me as an isolated incident. I can not expect every member to act this way...new or old.

Cheers Brother

Well said Anthony, and what with this idea that shopping at CP should be 100% guarateed satisfaction? Are you guys kidding me?? come on, you don't really believe that do you?

Hell, I wouldn't buy anything from more than half the membership here, that's not to say that wouldn't change once I get to know you.

Caveat Emptor.

Norcal
On a separate note. In my 8 months here, which is quite short, I have never seen members voice concerns about the number of sales being done. Or bring up the "buyer beware" mentality. That is what the 4 month rule is for, and I look at this place as a big ole family where everyone takes care of each other. We do not have people selling cigars for a profit, we generally do not have people selling fakes, and we generally do not have people scamming one another. But everything happens eventually it is the law of averages. Eventually the funk floats to the top. This is not an attack on you, just an observation on your comment about buyer beware. I take A LOT more caution when buying on other boards because the same rules do not apply. Just my two cents.

Cheers Brother