Sigh... It's so hard to explain on here and get what I'm really trying to say across.
I made a mistake, saying that I wanted to sell my collection, posting most of everything I had worth selling on CF, even the CC's to lure interest, not knowing that they were more common than NC's., (long story, but I needed to money for medical bills) Then once I started seeing the reaction and responses, I thought "maybe I shouldn't have done that, this community works lot differently than collecting/selling other thing I have a hobby in, and didn't sell". Luckily, the whole ordeal with my medical bills were covered, hence the reason why my financials allow me to continue to purchase.
I left CF immediately, and then came here because it seemed to genuinely be about helping people out. I wasn't trying to sell anything, but just read/post/learn/etc.
When I saw the passes going on, I thought it was a genius/fun idea and "couldn't wait to join" so I could have friendly passes/trades/PIF. And by that, I didn't mean "YES. I get to pawn off my fake cigars and others I have no idea about!!"....
Something told me that my CC's, which are not my specialty, were a little fishy even after all of the the research I did, so I asked for help authenticating them.
As far as selling, I've done 4 total transactions on ANY site. A guy was looking for 3-Padron 80ths for him and his buddies. I had four, and even though they're one of my favorites & paid more for them than what he was asking, I helped him out. The only other 3 items I sold were 5-packs of Tatuaje TAA, which is probably my favorite cigar. I happen to smoke the last one (first in a couple of months) from my very first box and thought, "man, these ARE really great. I wonder if others would to either want to try these or stock up too". I had 2 more boxes left, so I sold those. I also like the Cojonu '03s a lot, so I thought I'd offer a decent deal on those, but didn't sell any of those. I thought I was doing positive by helping/sharing (on another site nonetheless) but it seems to have backfired on me.
All in all, I made a newbie mistake and I've been a man enough to admit it tons of times. I would NEVER send/trade/pass/etc something to someone I wasn't sure about. Why would I make a post, asking for help on authenticating cigars that I thought might be fake, with the intention of including it in a pass/sale/trade?
I don't know what else to say.... Do I still have a lot to learn? Of course. Most do. Yes, I've sold a few and helped a few. Yes, CCs are still relatively new to me and I have a lot to learn. Do I know a lot about NC's like any Fuente and etc, yes, I do. Would I ever intentionally try to rip someone off, sell something fake or something I'm not 10000% about? NO, never have, never will.
I've never done anyone any wrong and don't plan on it. I plan on taking everyone's advice on just sitting back and learning more, but I really wish all this would just stop. I'm not a bad/dishonest person, I never tried to rip anyone off, I'm just trying to learn and be a part of the community. And that's it. I like it here, so I'll continue to contribute when I can, and ask questions when needed as well, but as far as this topic goes, I feel like its been beaten to death and I'm being treated like a crook, when I actually haven't even done anything wrong to anyone to begin with.
Again, I'm still learning, but I would never pass/trade/sell/etc anything i wasnt 1000% sure about. Theres a 4-month waiting period for a reason (to learn the rules/ways of the forum, earn trust, and etc) and I get everyone's point and will take the suggestions of most and move on. I really don't know what else to say. Hopefully, i can prove to everyone that I AM an honest guy with good intentions. And I'm sure that it's going to take some time, but it'll be proven. Thanks everyone.
