Real or not?

[Eins]

From a recommended source in HK, my QDO GC came in today. Too many cues leave a question mark, so I thought I'll ask you guys:

The wooden box appears to be real. It has got the threefold brand mark on the bottom.
The Seal Sticker is on the right hand side, not left. It appears to be printed well, but the surrounding of the red serial number is not exactly as shown in the guides. The gold-margined Habanos sticker is in the left hand corner, not right. It has a black print under Habanos which says DENOMINACION DE ORIGEN PROTEGIDA. These words don't appear on any of the pictures in the guides.

Those two stickers on the box--they were cut open along the cover edge. Both.

The production date is May 04. Inside, there are two cedar sheets with the concave corner cut top right. All sticks look the same color but the length is not equal. Some are about 1 mm shorter. I just noticed now that they are 1/8" too short. They measure 6" but are supposed to be 6 1/8".

The cigars have this distant hint of ammonia. I thought they are not supposed to have that.

Inside, there are these blister strips along the top and bottom of the cigars, for protection. The cedar sheets fit snugly only as long as those blister strips are inside.

The caps seem to be good--three steps or layers.

I haven't lit one up yet. What do you guys think?

I could take pictures and email them to you. Can't post them here.

Thanks for any hints and help,

Arno

 

[CoventryCat86]

Trust me, they're real.

That vendor ALWAYS opens each box to inspect them (unless you specifically request ahead of time that you DO NOT want them to do so) so the broken seals mean nothing.

Ya can't put the green sticker on the LEFT side of these boxes 'cause you'd cover the "Quai D'Orsay" printing on the left front panel. Ya can't put the "Habanos" label on the upper right corner 'cause you'd cover the "Hecho a mano" script on the upper right corner of the lid.

If they smell like a chicken coop, they're supposed to.

Mine are also closer to 6" in length than to 6 1/8" but IMO this is not cause for alarm.

Don't smoke 'em for a few days, let 'em rest Some people may tell you they should "rest" in the humi for a minimum of two weeks but personally I don't have the patience In my experience a day or two is all they really need.

I only have ten left in my box :0 :0 :0 :0 time to find some more

 

[Phil]

The only thing that would worry me is the inconsistant length.

 

[CoventryCat86]

The only thing that would worry me is the inconsistant length.

[snapback]153329[/snapback]​

INCONSISTENT

1mm variation is certainlly NOT enough to even mention let alone worry about

 

[CoventryCat86]

Eins, please LEVEL with me, do you feel bullied :laugh: 'cause if ya do, please let stevehawk know, he's conducting a research project

 

[dvickery]

"DENOMINACION DE ORIGEN PROTEGIDA"is on the habanos sticker of three boxes that i have...all 3 are from '04(the only '04 boxes i have(yet)).yours are also '04("The production date is May 04").

so the habanos sticker is good...the rest wellllll i wont comment...have never had a box of quai d'orsay(came close last month but decided not to buy).

derrek

 

[Matt R]

Sounds OK to me... the length will vary a bit. If they are from Ravi I don't think you have a problem.

 

[emodx]

Don't smoke 'em for a few days, let 'em rest Some people may tell you they should "rest" in the humi for a minimum of two weeks but personally I don't have the patience In my experience a day or two is all they really need.

I only have ten left in my box :0 :0 :0 :0 time to find some more

[snapback]153328[/snapback]​

A day or two...Geeze, are your taste buds so bad you can only discern mild and strong now. Even if you could taste the difference between different cigars, I doubt you would be able to remember the differences the next day. Geeez. :whistling:

Emo




:love:

 

[emodx]

^^^TOP^^^

For Ms CrabTree

 

[CoventryCat86]

A day or two...Geeze, are your taste buds so bad you can only discern mild and strong now. Even if you could taste the difference between different cigars, I doubt you would be able to remember the differences the next day. Geeez. whistling.gif

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, DADDY, emo's pickin' on me he's a big bad bully makin' fun of little ole noobler me.

LMAO, emo's got my number, shot taste buds and pre-Alzheimer’s :laugh:

 

[Eins]

Thanks all for putting a smile on my face. I'll keep 'em

I only have ten left in my box :0 :0 :0 :0 time to find some more

[snapback]153328[/snapback]​

I'll trade you some of mine in case you run out.
On that occasion, I'll look at how you package them when you ship them. I wouldn't know how to best protect them and in what.

Did I feel bullied? Let's say, I felt some yankin' on my chain but am too busy to really register. How much are you paying for me to "level with you"? :whistling:

 

[Matt R]

I think CC's exaggerating a bit, he's realy only got 5 in his "box"... I've seen pictures of PB's pecker...

 

[Kento]

I had similar issues with my shipments, even more since I had them shipped sans box and bands. I figure that if they sent counterfeits, they would not be around for very long.