I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all Matty.
There was a thread about this a while back and I had a big, long post about what I thought the proper protocol was for gifted cigars, cigars received in trades, etc. but I can't seem to find it.
I think cigars that you TRADE for (like in a newbie sampler trade) are fine for you to use as cigars to start a pass with.
I would not sell cigars that were gifted to me but that's just MY OPINION because there are others that say "Hey, it was gifted to me, it's my cigar and I can do with it what I want."
Now that I think about it, what started this whole discussion was when gamehumper posted a "down and out" hard luck story about how he's disabled and can't work and doesn't have much money for cigars, blah, blah, blah. He seemed genuine with his posts so a few kind hearted souls here sent him some cigars.
Well a few weeks later, this prick is offering FOR SALE cigars that people had sent to him. To me, this is the worst of the worst, he clearly took advantage of others generosity so he could line his pockets with cash. gamehumper (his real screen name is "gamelover2004" but we lovingly refer to him as gamehumper :laugh: ) is about the lowest form of scum you will ever encounter on a cigar BB.
Okay, enough history for now, getting back to the original topic. There are some people who would get offended if cigars they bombed someone with wound up being used as pass fodder (cigars to start a pass with) or pass puts or sold or traded. Personally I DO NOT CARE what a person who I either sell cigars to, trade cigars to or bomb a person with does with the cigars that came from me because as far as I'm concerned those cigars are now HIS cigars and he can do whatever he wants with them. NOW, my feelings are slightly different when it comes to cigars I receive because cigars how any of us receive cigars are from any number of different ways which 99% of the time, fall into one of these six categories:
1. Bought from a cigar store or on line.
2. Bought form a private individual or another member of a cigar board.
3. Traded with someone for other cigars.
4. Received as contest winnings (a lotto like CigarPool, a Super Bowl pool, an office cigar pool, etc.)
5. Pulled out of a pass.
6. Received as a gift including Secret Santa or a bomb.
Even though I would not mind at all HOW someone uses a cigar I send him as a gift, I would personally not use cigars I received in category #6 for selling, trading or passing purposes.
There are people on other boards who will rip your head off if you "put" a cigar in a pass that you "took" out of another pass. This is where the concern that Grand Cru mentioned comes into play. I never really thought about it until I had concerns with a couple of cigars I took out of a pass. I smoked them and they seemed fake. On two separate occasions, I PM'd the guy who had "put" the cigar I took and nicely asked him "Hey, that XXXXXXX cigar I took that you put was probably a fake. Where did you get if from so we can both avoid that 'source' in the future?" an BOTH times the guys (two different people on two different boards, one was CP and the other was CW) came back with "Oh gee, I dunno, I pulled it out of a pass and I can't remember which pass it was, sorry." Well I say BULL$HIT :angry2: to that!! So I now am of the opinion that it is indeed "bad form" to "put" cigars in a pass that you "took" from another pass.
Cigars you receive from a FOG in a NST darn well better be real and in good shape therefore I say it's okay to use cigars obtained in that way as pass fodder
:thumbs:
Sorry for the incredibly long answer. I hope this helps.
