Fake R&J Mille Fleurs

[manbearpig]

Those Connie 1 look suspect too imo. If your buddy got them all at the same place I would wager that they are all fake.

 

[StogieNinja]

Those Connie 1 look suspect too imo. If your buddy got them all at the same place I would wager that they are all fake.

Agreed. But even if they looked perfect, there's no reason to put legit Connie 1 in a fake box, they're definitely fake. And I agree, if two for two are fake, the third isn't likely to be legit unless they were purchased elsewhere. And the wrappers on the Monte 4s are lighter than any Monte's I've ever seen...

 

[teamrandr]

It is just one picture but the Monte 4 look too big.

 

[Doomike]

I checked with my buddy. The Mille Fleurs were purchased in a different store to the Connie 1s & Monte 4s. He 'thinks' it was an LCDH on both occasions. So, he was sold fakes at two stores.

Damn, if I was getting fakes I sure wish they charged me fake prices!

 

[Nacho Daddy]

generally when there is a post about "my friend got these in Cuba" there is some bad news to follow.
Upmann Connie 1 have never been sold in 10s. Different lengths,loose in the box,just bad all round.
the Monte 4 are not box pressed, and the Mille Fleurs are revolting.
Bad luck...................

 

[DRed409]

Uppmans don't come in varnished boxes, all of their cabs are usually a bright maple color.

I know there have been issues where the code wouldn't read a few years back... but coming back with a different box than is listed doesn't happen.

That being said... those sticks out of the box would be dangerous to come across in the wild. My biggest fear with the lax in the travel ban has been a flood of good counterfeits making it onto the fairly second hand market state side.

 

[DRed409]

Uppmans don't come in varnished boxes, all of their cabs are usually a bright maple color.

I know there have been issues where the code wouldn't read a few years back... but coming back with a different box than is listed doesn't happen.

That being said... those sticks out of the box would be dangerous to come across in the wild. My biggest fear with the lax in the travel ban has been a flood of good counterfeits making it onto the fairly second hand market state side.

Those are real bands.... that stupid blue ink smear on the back is always something I notice about the upmanns. Why does their printer bleed blue ink?

 

[ChuckMejia]

Exactly. Cohibas are faked so often because the profit margin is so great. To fake those Connies someone had to manufacture a passable box, collect 10 usable bands and somehow remove an actual warranty sticker. All for $80.

The average salary is $25 USD. So $80 is a lot for the average person. Nothing surprising about them taking others and they have probably exhausted the fake Cohiba market.

 

[DRed409]

They even put a health warning on it...

 

[Mossome]

I wasn't trying to downplay what $80 would mean to a typical Cuban. I'm aware of the economic situation in Cuba. It's just when I put myself in the shoes of a person who makes fake cigars, I'm faking a Cohiba for the same reason counterfeiters always make $100 bills and not $5. If you're going to do the dirt, go for the bigger score. Also, they're not trying to scam cigar connoisseurs. They are out to fool tourists with too much cash and not enough knowledge who are trying to buy some souvenir to impress their friends back home. Every John Doe has heard of Cohiba, but wouldn't really have a clue about an HU Connie 1.
For those reasons I've always felt relatively safe when buying mid-priced regular production CCs. This throws even those into doubt now.

 

[ChuckMejia]

I wasn't trying to downplay what $80 would mean to a typical Cuban. I'm aware of the economic situation in Cuba. It's just when I put myself in the shoes of a person who makes fake cigars, I'm faking a Cohiba for the same reason counterfeiters always make $100 bills and not $5. If you're going to do the dirt, go for the bigger score. Also, they're not trying to scam cigar connoisseurs. They are out to fool tourists with too much cash and not enough knowledge who are trying to buy some souvenir to impress their friends back home. Every John Doe has heard of Cohiba, but wouldn't really have a clue about an HU Connie 1.
For those reasons I've always felt relatively safe when buying mid-priced regular production CCs. This throws even those into doubt now.

Cohiba bands are getting harder to fake... probably costs way too much to try to get the hologram effect nowadays so they might just be moving to easier labels.

Just my thoughts on that

 

[VeLoRoK]

Cohiba bands are getting harder to fake... probably costs way too much to try to get the hologram effect nowadays so they might just be moving to easier labels.

Just my thoughts on that

Have you seen the hideous fakes that people buy? They aren't investing much money in that area.


Love, LoRoK.

 

[ChuckMejia]

Have you seen the hideous fakes that people buy? They aren't investing much money in that area.


Love, LoRoK.

No... do tell



Hate,

Chuck

 

[Nacho Daddy]

Cuban fakes from Cuba would likely have real bands on them, easy to find in Cuba.
the really bad bands are found on fakes from other countries...........

 

[iergeni]

I recently got a bunch of Habanos from my buddy who was in Havana, including 25 x R&J Mille Fleurs (Dec15), 10 x Upmann Connie 1s (Feb14)and 10 x Monte 4s (Jul16). The Upmann & Montes checked out fine, but the R&J cab serial number doesn't verify on the Habanos website. I could tell something was wrong as soon as I saw them. There is a big variation between the colour of wrappers and construction (which is generally 5/10 or less), some have small cracks at the foot & in some instances a patch of the wrapper has peeled off. Nothing catastrophic and the one I smoked wasn't bad, though it did seem stronger & more full bodied than other R&Js I have tried. I hope they age well, even if they ain't genuine Habanos. But, at 75 GBP, I think I got ripped off.
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These don't really seem fake, as much as poorly kept. If your buddy got them from the same place he got the genuine Montecristos, i'd trust the genuinity of the RyJs as well - I'd imagine that it would make more sense to make fake Montes than the relatively obscure sticks you're doubting about.

Box codes not checking out is also nothing new for HSA.

 

[teamrandr]

The Montes are not legit

 

[MU Mike]

 

[PamunkeyHub]

+1