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fauxhiba esplendidos

mrtapes said:
I went to a Herf the other day that held auctions for charity.
There were two 25 count dress boxes of "Cohiba Esplendidos" in Tubos.


Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the tubes or cigars but this box has obvious issues. Besides the fact that this vitola only comes in a varnished box as far as I know.

Here is the box code.


The code also has obvious issues.
Anyone have any experience seeing this type of fake before.
Click to expand...


Whats the saddest is that the boxes were auctioned for charity. Mind if I ask the cause?


"Box of dog rockets, goin' for $350, donated to MS research!!!"
 
Sad thing is, some schmuck who donated those cigars likely paid a pretty penny for 'em...
 
Why would any charity take Cuban cigars (real or fake) as a donation for a raffle to begin with?

GONE TO THE GUY IN THE BACK WITH A BADGE FOR 200 DOLLARS!
Click to expand...

You know, its sorta kinda like asking for trouble...
 
souldog24ca said:
Whats the saddest is that the boxes were auctioned for charity. Mind if I ask the cause?


"Box of dog rockets, goin' for $350, donated to MS research!!!"
Click to expand...


I'd rather not bring the cause into this because it wasn't the fault of the cause. This took place at the NERF in Boston the other day. I wasn't going to out these guys as they run a good event with great vendor support. However after I saw these cigars on the raffle table I asked one of the members about the fact that he should know they were fakes. He mentioned they thought so too and that they were debating what to do about it. I suggested they give them back to the donor with a 'thanks but no thanks' statement. Or that they let them go stating that the origin is questionable.

However the cigars (two separate lots of them) went out in the raffle as prizes. Here's where it gets real sketchy.... The "winner" of the raffle gives them back (he apparently knew what was up) to the event holders to Auction off for the charity". They sold for $300 I believe. The buyer, who let me photograph the box, obviously had no clue.

Anyway, In my review of the event on CW I mentioned the "cigars of questionable origin". I then start to get insulted by one of the organizers, Rockridge. I PM'd him and he proceeds to post my pm on line in the thread.

Check this out! .... (Linky)

The reading starts to get really good after my post of "Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:30 pm"
 
That's really crazy man, I have no idea why he's getting so unbelievably defensive. It's so blatantly obvious from just reading that thread that you have no intention of screwing him over. He's just a complete and total ass I guess.
 
Mark,
I don't get this guy Rockridge's atitude. I understood your point right from the get go. Is he someone so high up in the orginizational staff for the event, that it would be a black eye on him to admit this? That is, that he surely had to know that these donated cigars were fake, and he turned a blind eye.
He uses the "Blah, Blah, Blah" on you, when your post seem well thought out and articulated. You made an observation, and merely made mention of it. I did not see any insults hurled.
His post on the other hand............Well,let's just say I see it as some people don't know when to shut up, or bow out gracefully.


Rockbridge, If you read this. You should be ashamed of yourself for allowing these cigars to be auctioned off at the event, if you so much as even glanced at the box. From the tone of your post, I get a strong feeling you were very aware of what was going on. That makes you an ass, and puts a smear on what your charity is trying to do.
 
Below is my post that I made on CW. No changes were made.

I too am not an active poster here, but have attended the past three of four NERF including the last one.

First hats off to the NEWK for another great event. Left with some really nice smokes and swag. And of course the efforts for Jack Williams’ Wednesday’s Child. Being a lifelong Bostonian, I remember Jack’s support of his foundation from growing up.

As to the situation at hand. I have never met rockridge and never met mrtapes until this weekend at NERF.

I thought Mark’s original post was fine. He made no accusations or negative statements towards the event or it organizers. Rockridge immediately laid into him.

First, I too think the weather held some people back. The Boston area got about 3” of snow that morning and the outside areas (where most people were coming) got more. So it I think it is more than likely some people did not show. Boston is a terrible place to park and worse during bad weather.

Second regarding the questionable smokes. As stated, there was nothing ever in question about the smokes provided to the attendees from the vendor sponsors. Again NEWK had a terrific line up and the vendors went above and beyond with their contributions.

In reading Mark’s post I thought he was talking about people’s personal smoke and some trades that had taken place. I was at the ‘table’ when they were discussing a question Bolivar cigar acquired in a trade. I also don’t think anyone there was purposely trying to scam or defraud anyone. We all are quite aware of the issues with fakes in this little hobby of ours. All Cuban cigars are probably considered suspect until proven otherwise.

Mrtapes was 100% correct in taking this to PM and rockridge was wrong for taking it public. This issue should not be discussed in public for many reasons. First and foremost for the fact that this event took place in a local Boston establishment. I would hate to think this event could cause harm to the host of the event or cause problems down the line.

I for one do not have enough knowledge to know the legitimacy of the cigars in question. Rockridge, from reading your posts I don’t believe you do either.

Lastly, if was going potentially to spend my money on items such as this in the future I would want feedback from those who know about the authenticity of those items. Again, this is not directed at the hosts of the events in way, shape or manner. I stand by their actions and believe they were acting in the best interest of the attendees and offering something for raffles which the received as a donation. This is no different than raffling off an autographed item and having someone question the authenticity of that piece. Both hobbies are plagues with fakes.
Let’s put this issue to bed.

Any further discussion should be taken to PM.
 
Sorry to hear that a word of caution was received so poorly.
 
I saw the box. I've never heard of or seen 2005 Esplendido A/T's until Sat....that's because they don't make legit ones.

Part of the fault lies with those who noticed and did not comment right then and there....that would be me.

It's a mistake I will not let happen again - especailly when 3 or 4 of us were in agreement.

Funny, now that I think about it, I wonder....did they only announce 'Cohiba Esplendido's' or did they add a comment like 'from an island' - as with the other 'island' items they had?

Either way...it was a mistake to not speak up.

Also - I don't think they came from a 'vendor' - rather someone donated the cigars.
 
Oh gosh. What a cluster-f#$@. Multiple failures of judgment there and extremely questionable action/motive on the part of the raffle winner. In effect, he legitimized and put out for circulation cigars he knew were counterfeits. This is a moral failure on his part and potentially deserving of his listing in the Scumbag List. Is this guy a member of CP? Now a black stain will be associated with this event where those in the know did not speak up enough and the ignorant and innocent were swindled.

Wilkey
 
I don't know which is more disappointing: A) They were auctioned off for a charity to someone who probably had no idea they were fake. B) They were auctioned off at a HERF where supposed cigar smokers should have known these were fake. C) The Raffle winner gave them to be auctioned off. D) That either that guy on CW, "Rockbridge," can't read and understand about why there were concerns about the cigars or he is just a jackass. Either seems plausible. E) All of the above.

Obviously all of the above. The part that is really troubling to me however, is that no seemed to know that these were fakes and the ones who did didn't speak up. I mean, c'mon, these weren't even GOOD fakes. In all fairness to Gary and after Rockbridge's idiotic repsonse on CW, if someone did speak up at the herf, they probably would have been told to "prove they are fake."
 
Is this the poor guy that "won" 'em?

Charlie_Jack.jpg
 
grateful1 said:
Part of the fault lies with those who noticed and did not comment right then and there....that would be me.

It's a mistake I will not let happen again - especailly when 3 or 4 of us were in agreement.
Click to expand...


That would be me also.

I saw those and first thought they were there just to support this display leaning up against them. I didn't know they were actually part of the auction. I left before those were won.
 
That's a douchebag move by that rockridge guy.

He should have admitted his defeat and moved along.

Someone should contact the winner and let him know that he received fakes.
 
JHolmes763 said:
Is this the poor guy that "won" 'em?

Charlie_Jack.jpg
Click to expand...


F**K!!! They are fake? I paid alot of money for those! :sign:


On another note, reference the NERF, like Wilkey said, what a cluster f@$k. Any desire or drive I had to go to this event next year has gone from me, especially reading that back and forth on the thread on CW.


In one testament to the forums here from a newbie perspective, I strongly believe that if experienced members saw someone "shooting from the hip" like Rockbridge, he'd have his pants pulled down and spanked with moon rocks.

It really sucked to see another older member on the CW thread just sort of "ho-hum-haw" at the discussion that was going on, and instead of jumping in and either:

A.) Putting an end to the "flame-war" discussion (mostly cultivated by Rockbridge),
B.) Reprimand Rockbridge for his childish actions such as posting a PRIVATE MESSAGE publicly,
C.) Using his knowledge and experience and saying, "Hey fellas, these suckers ARE fake, MrTapes is right, let's all go home now,"

He just simply states, "Gentlemen... I'm going to make a simple, straightforward request at this time. Please try to conduct yourselves in a civil and respectful manner.

Thank you. "


Incredible.

MrTapes, you handled it like a champ. You were calm, collected, articulate, and you knew that the hell you were talking about. Great jorb! :thumbs:
 
EDIT: it was made clear that authenticating Habanos is not welcome in public on CW, so I edited my post, and sent it via PM to Rockridge. Why they would not want information on fakes to be public, I don't know... but there you have it.

My post in the thread on CW:

.....

I can confirm that a box of 25 Cohiba Esplendidos in tubes is about as genuine as glass top box Cohibas (that is to say, not at all)... but beyond that, I didn't see the cigars myself.

However these photos:

Photo #1

Photo #2

...are not of genuine Cohibas either. Reference:

http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/brands/cohiba.htm

http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/8-packaging.htm

http://www.cigarnexus.com/counsel/counterfeit/

An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars by Min Ron Nee
 
Great post.

I'm a little suprised they don't (allow) leave it up there. (edit)

Are they trying to protect the person who donated the prize?
 
grateful1 said:
Great post.

I'm a little suprised they don't leave it up there.

Are they trying to protect the person who donated the prize?
Click to expand...

They didn't delete it, but one of the mods seemed to suggest that it was unwelcome, so I edited my post and sent it to him via PM
 
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