In my opinion, it is easily verifiable they are not cubans so you haven't broken any law. Which of course may just be a technicality. If it seems there is no way to get a refund and they are willing to trade, get some authentic dominican cigars for trade, at least they would be worth the money you paid for them. IDK maybe this shop is selling fake dominicans too. But maybe you can pick up a box of Fuentes or something. You're not the first or the last to get suckered in on fake cuban cigars.
No, the guy no longer wants to give me $40. I'm screwed. I did some investigation and it seems like a waste to file a complaint with Dominican tourism. They turn the other cheek.
The question remains, what do I do with the cigars. Garbage?
They are probably made with dog droppings and shouldn't be smoked lol. There is a chance they are smokeable, but not worth the risk. I woudl make your buddy pay for them.... If he did his due diligence, he could've easily determined where to buy them legitimately.
I ended up exchanging the bogus cohibas for fuente rothschilds. I brought the tourist cops in with me and I guess that motivated the exchange. I still would have rather had my money back, but I didn't want to get into an argument. The guy said they cost a little less than the "cohibas" and threw in some other cigar. I gave it to one of the cops. I have no idea if I got a fair deal. All I want is my $225 back, haha.
Anyway, I want to sell them and I'm here for advice. First off, are you allowed to sell tobacco on the internet? I ask because of the taxes. If so, what's the best place to sell them, or am I already here? haha If interested, I'll upload photos later when I'm back in my hotel.
Thanks to all you tobacco fiends for your help.
If they are the line that is sold here, they are worth a little more than half of what you ended up paying for them but the good news is that the fake cohibas were worth nothing,so in that respect it was a good trade. Sounds like those guys are good criminals. Ebay doesn't allow tobacco sales but people get around it by selling 'cigar bands' (the cigars just happen to come along for the ride). There are some websites that "trade" cigars out there. The easiest thing might be to bring them into a local cigar shop when you get home and see if they will make a deal with you. But yes, put them in a ziplock bag before you leave the islands so they don't dry out!
I got ripped off. I will sell them for the going rate or maybe less. Is this the place where I say they are for sale? However, the owner of my local tobacco shop says he pays $45 for them and sells them for $200! He has none in stock though.
Thats a bit hard to believe hes grabbing boxes even at wholesale of Fuentes for $45, also hard to believe hes finding people to pay $200 for a box. I think he's stretching it in both directions on that one, severely below on his "buy" price, and severely above on his "sell" price. Don't deal with someone who owns a tobacco shop and is bs'ing you that much in my opinion. There is a forum here called "trades, passes, and bombs". That would be the place to post if you have an interest in searching for a buyer. Good luck to you sir, hope you recuperate at least some of the lost money. I don't know how you didn't beat down that shop owner in the DR.
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