Cuban cigars
Like all things, Cuban cigars have a production cost. Even if you buy them in Cuba (where you pay about 35-40% less than retail price), nobody will ever be able to offer them at a bargain price. Unless, of course, they’re selling us fakes.
Here is an example to better understand the thing. One of the most counterfeit cigars in the world are the Cohiba Esplendidos, due to its value and fame. Currently, this cigar is sold for more than $ 30. In Cuba it is around $ 20. That said, a box of 25 Esplendidos has a retails price of around $ 750 (in Cuba $ 500). If someone is trying to sell this box in your country for $ 100-200, or you fnid people selling it for $ 50 in Cuba (sellers on the street), the situation is quite clear: in both cases, an alarm must sound in your mind. It is unlikely that someone will decide to sell off cigars at their own expense.
So if the box of cigars we are about to buy looks like a crazy bargain, there is probably something wrong. So it is good to go deeper into checking the box and the cigars, to make sure you don’t buy fakes. So let’s see what other checks we can do.
Cuban cigars
The type of box gives us important information on whether cigars are fake or not. There are 3 things to discuss about this topic:
1) very often fakes are sold in wooden boxex with a glass/plexiglass cover. These boxes often carry the Cohiba brand. There are no cuban boxes with glass or plexiglass covers. If we are facing one of these boxes, we are facing a 100% counterfeit product.
2) even the color of the box can give us precious informations. Cohiba boxes are lacquered on the outside, and therefore we are in front of an unlaqured box of Cohiba, unless it has been made for particular editions, we are facing a fake.
3) opening mechanism on box: some boxes have a mechanism that allows you to firmly close the box. This mechanism always comes with a logo on top. In counterfeit boxes, this usually has an incorrect print of this logo. The fake logo looks like it has been made in a very rudimentary and not detailed way. It often look like it has been badly printed.
