How fake are these?

VinnyB · July 2014

I just came back from the Dominican Republic and while I was there I bought a box of 25 Cohibas for $45 (haggled from $50). I knew there was a chance of them being fake but I didn't know anything about cigars so I split the box with my cousin. We bought it from a stand outside the mall in Punta Cana. We tried a couple when we were over there and they were ok but we don't know anything about cigars and it was both of ours' first cigar.

I included some pics and some things stand out from what I have seen online. The print on the box is inked I think and not pressed and the cohiba label on the cigar should only have 5 rows of dots in total with 3 on top of the word cohiba but mine has 3 on top and 3 on the bottom. The triple top also isn't present and the green and white seal on the front is suspicious looking compared to others.

So I just wanted to get a sense of how fake these were and if they at least looked somewhat of a decent quality. It came out to less than $2/cigar so I'm not too pissed at them being fake.

http://imgur.com/a/5lw4D#0

mmccartneydc · July 2014

Not sure how many levels of fake there are, but this is way up there. Sorry bud, but you've been duped! Do a search and you'll see all the imperfections. Sorry again!

jd50ae · July 2014

I don't smoke Cohibas at all. But looking at your photos and seeing the lack of quality and I see fakes.

Gray4lines · July 2014

From that price alone I know they are fake. There are a lot of securoty features on a box so knowing what youre buying and what type of box they come in helps. But those look pretty damn ugly too. Usual suspects (besides wrong or misplaced seals on the box) are poor bands, bad cap on the cigar, and ugly filler in the foot. Enjoy them for what they are!

I think many would be surprised at the number of fakes being pushed. Some are really hard to spot too. Even some big time cigar guys get fooled. To be safe, it's best to find a habanos dealer and go there. The classic example of a fake is one coming from the beaches of the D.R.

Lee.mcglynn · July 2014

Lmao that's pretty damn bad!! But at least you got cellos for $45

honorknight7 · July 2014

Have seen a few reviewers vids about fake Cubans and having disturbing things inside them like human hair, plastic shreds, leaves & grass clippings etc etc

VinnyB · July 2014

Do you think these are safe to smoke then or should I just throw them out?

Thanks for all the answers.

Gray4lines · July 2014

VinnyB:
Do you think these are safe to smoke then or should I just throw them out?

Thanks for all the answers.

Honestly, youd taste burnt hair or any foreign substance. There are 2 categories of fakes in my opinion; ok cigars that are given fake bands and boxes to pass off as cubans and absolute *** rolled in banana leaves. Hard to tell what you have especially since you arent a big cigar guy. However if they arent disgusting, probanly no harm.

jgibv · July 2014

On a scale of 1-10, those are an 11 on the "definitely fake" scale. Try one though, I smoked about an inch of one of those that i received as a gift on the golf course from a supplier at work. It was probably the worst cigar I ever tasted but it didn't kill me. An inch was about all I could get through.

rsherman24 · July 2014

That is funny.

kuzi16 · July 2014

VinnyB:
I just came back from the Dominican Republic and while I was there I bought a box of 25 Cohibas for $45 (haggled from $50)....We bought it from a stand outside the mall in Punta Cana.

without looking at pictures, these two lines are enough for me to know they are fake.

JGKAMIN · July 2014

kuzi16:
VinnyB:
I just came back from the Dominican Republic and while I was there I bought a box of 25 Cohibas for $45 (haggled from $50)....We bought it from a stand outside the mall in Punta Cana.
without looking at pictures, these two lines are enough for me to know they are fake.

so true, I read $45 and didn't even need to look at the pictures. Funny thing is that is a rookie mistake, but even if the same box was sold for $200 after haggling from $300, a veteran could get burned.

wwhwang · July 2014

To answer your first question, yes, those are definitely fake. As for your second question about whether they're safe to smoke or not...I'd suggest cutting one open first just to check. Just make sure there's no fecal matter, human hair, fur, twigs, newspaper clippings, etc. If it's all tobacco, it's good to go. Not real Cohibas, but some fakes are still somewhat decent.

jadelt · July 2014

I bought a fiver of similar Cohiba fakes in the same region. Spent $15 (chewed down from $100 lol) for the 5 them and figured they were fake. The good news is the smoked great and on a cruise I felt like they were real.

perkinke · July 2014

Cohibas seem to be the most faked cigars with Monte close behind. I don't see to many others faked so I don't think I'd buy either of those two outside an authorized store while in a tourist spot.

supermoves · July 2014

Something I learned....cubans, in cuba, cost about $200 per box. So someone selling them for any less, probably has fakes.

Now, many factory workers in cuba steal a couple of cigars per day, and sell their own boxes for $50-$60. Of course, people have to make money selling them to you, so if a box of a well-known brand is EVER under $200, I would be skeptical.

0patience · July 2014

supermoves:
Something I learned....cubans, in cuba, cost about $200 per box. So someone selling them for any less, probably has fakes.

Now, many factory workers in cuba steal a couple of cigars per day, and sell their own boxes for $50-$60. Of course, people have to make money selling them to you, so if a box of a well-known brand is EVER under $200, I would be skeptical.

Not exactly accurate.
There are cuban cigars available for well under $200 per box.
Upmann, Partagas and RyJ can be found for less than $200/box from reputable dealers.
Not to mention other cigars, like Jose Piedra.

So a blanket statement like that isn't entirely accurate.

rzaman · July 2014

+1

0patience:
supermoves:
Something I learned....cubans, in cuba, cost about $200 per box. So someone selling them for any less, probably has fakes.

Now, many factory workers in cuba steal a couple of cigars per day, and sell their own boxes for $50-$60. Of course, people have to make money selling them to you, so if a box of a well-known brand is EVER under $200, I would be skeptical.
Not exactly accurate.
There are cuban cigars available for well under $200 per box.
Upmann, Partagas and RyJ can be found for less than $200/box from reputable dealers.
Not to mention other cigars, like Jose Piedra.

So a blanket statement like that isn't entirely accurate.

edelrionyc · July 2014

These are super fake......

charlespe · July 2014

Answer to your question is, it's very fake. You can easily compare the original to this through internet

Rhamlin · July 2014

True Cuban Cohibas the bands will always be perfect. Plus they are always triple capped. And the C in Cuba is wrong this is one of the biggest give aways on most fakes. I used to say just smoke em if you like them but after reading up on what goes into a lot of the really bad fakes like the ones you got I'd toss em and get some Padron's.

kos22us · August 2014

at 45- bucks a box i would have been a skeptic if they were selling them as dominican cohibas

How fake are these?

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