This could be bad.

[Puros Y Vino]

Saw this on another site in relation to Alibaba.com

A search on "Cohiba" & "box" yields. This

Some particularly troubling items.

Fake BHK Festival 3 packs.

BHK56 Box Also in BHK54 size.

Fauxhiba Exquisitos anyone?

Made to order SLB's? From the picture, it looks like wine fakery is already underway.

And Cohiba 1966 boxes.

I could go on.

How long until Chinese grown tobacco starts populating these boxes and proliferating world wide? It's one thing to make unlicensed goods that don't resemble any current Habanos offerings. But making copies of current products is going to be a nightmare. Trademarks are near impossible to enforce when it comes to China. It looks like the CC market is going to have a real tough time if these hit the market with cigars inside.

Thoughts?

[Smallclub]

Luxury items, clothing, food, toys, cosmetics, spare parts, drugs, the nightmare has already begun…

[helix]

Nothing is out of bounds for China's manufacturing machine.

[rcarlson]

What solutions are there?

[cigcars]

...Tell me about it! One of our guys on the police force was using a pair of handcuffs he'd bought himself...turns out (we suspect) they were manufactured in China. They didn't work, wouldn't lock - then wouldn't unlock, then finally pieces came out and they fell apart. What a nightmare. Thank GOD he'd hadn't made an arrest with those @%$&*'s!!!

[rcarlson]

You know, if Cuba decided it wanted to get technologically advanced enough, it could use chips to guarantee authenticity, at least I would think. Codes and holograms ain't gonna do the trick. Deactivation of a box after purchase would.

[Puros Y Vino]

You know, if Cuba decided it wanted to get technologically advanced enough, it could use chips to guarantee authenticity, at least I would think. Codes and holograms ain't gonna do the trick. Deactivation of a box after purchase would.

Yes. If they were to think strategically. They would see this as a serious threat to their business. This hobby is already difficult enough to wade through when it comes to counterfeits. Given how cheap the per unit costs are for the boxes, I'm sure fake cigars made to match will be even cheaper. With those margins, there'd be a lot of temptation to toss a few fakes in the mix and see if they don't get caught.

[Dmatzkin]

Unfortunatelly corruption can and will (already is) in pretty much everything. People in charge want to make money at all cost and they will not stop...In Cuba, China and any Country.

It is very concerning....

My apologies for not being optimistic about this but I have seen it first hand and it is very hard to fight....

[rcarlson]

Yeah but the singles would be hard to unload without guaranteed authenticity -- to the inclined.

[oliverdst]

As a rule made in China products have no quality. I avoid them even if I have to pay more.

[shlomo]

...Tell me about it! One of our guys on the police force was using a pair of handcuffs he'd bought himself...turns out (we suspect) they were manufactured in China. They didn't work, wouldn't lock - then wouldn't unlock, then finally pieces came out and they fell apart. What a nightmare. Thank GOD he'd hadn't made an arrest with those @%$&*'s!!!

What?! Where do you live that p/o's are even allowed to supply their own items??? Thats absurd.

[shlomo]

As I have been saying for years and years, many of us undoubtedly already have plenty of fakes in their collection without even knowing it. Even buying from trusted vendors is no guarantee, although it is better than buying from random sites and shops...

[Rye]

Scary indeed.

I hate even seeing links to these things as it can give some ideas that otherwise wouldn't know where to look.

Maybe taking screenshots of the pics instead of paving the road?

With news of China asking for Cuban help with producing cigar grade tobacco recently, I fear that sooner than later we will start seeing evidence of complete frauds being passed as genuine and likely through sources that we'd never have suspected.

[Dmatzkin]

As a rule made in China products have no quality. I avoid them even if I have to pay more.

I will have to disagree with you on that one. Currently China has thousands of factories for the same product. As a buyer you can choose from all different kind of qualities. If you want cheap you will get chep, if you want descent you can certainly get descent quality. Even if is made in China, lots of products get manufacuterd based on the "Main Factory/Retailer/Wholeseller" specifications. Hope you get what I am trying to say here. .

[oliverdst]

I will have to disagree with you on that one. Currently China has thousands of factories for the same product. As a buyer you can choose from all different kind of qualities. If you want cheap you will get chep, if you want descent you can certainly get descent quality. Even if is made in China, lots of products get manufacuterd based on the "Main Factory/Retailer/Wholeseller" specifications. Hope you get what I am trying to say here. .

"As a rule..." Sure there is good stuff.

[Dmatzkin]

"As a rule..." Sure there is good stuff.

Fair enough!!!!

[Habana Mike]

...Tell me about it! One of our guys on the police force was using a pair of handcuffs he'd bought himself...turns out (we suspect) they were manufactured in China. They didn't work, wouldn't lock - then wouldn't unlock, then finally pieces came out and they fell apart. What a nightmare. Thank GOD he'd hadn't made an arrest with those @%$&*'s!!!

Not sure I want to know what he was using them for at the time

[mk05]

Not sure I want to know what he was using them for at the time

Beat me to it. Guessing fluffy and hot pink.

[stargazer14]

The solution is for Cuba to lower their prices SO MUCH that it is not worth producing fakes.

I'm sure this will happen any week now and I am making room in my humidors for the extra stock I will be able to afford.

[CaptainQuintero]

I wonder where (regionally) most fakes are sold. Cuba's largest market (Europe) it is quite difficult to buy fakes in person, ie from a B&M in fact unless you are buying from someone down the pub I can't see how you can get your hands on them.

Online is obviously a whole other issue. Craigslist in any country can get you nice fakes. Maybe Cuba thinks that its revenue comes mainly through B&Md so is not overly concerned with fakes yet?

I'd hazard a guess that the most fakes are sold in the US purely down the to location to fake manufacturing locations and the effect of the embargo. AS Cuba isn't officially in the US, maybe that is one of the reasons behind their lack effort.

I don;t buy the band changes being Cuba's way to prevent fakes. If people buy fakes from glass top boxes on the beach then slight changes to bands or fonts/embossing isn't going to be anywhere on the average "fake buyer's" radar.

Maybe Cuba is happy with knowing that most serious cigar smokers will do their research for online sales if they are not going to a B&M; someone buying a box of fakes on holiday once a year isn't chewing into their profits too much?

[LLC]

Yeah but the singles would be hard to unload without guaranteed authenticity -- to the inclined.

Even in Cuba, singles from reputable shops are a crap shoot.

[Colt45]

I wonder where (regionally) most fakes are sold.

If a merchant could acquire bands (there are sites where anyone can do so) and boxes (site shown here) for less than what the legit product would cost, then apply them to inexpensive cigars from any region, what would keep them from doing so?

At least one well known / respected (formerly for me) Euro merchant has been caught selling fakes. I'm not sure what would be worse - that they knew, or that they didn't.

So, are we more likely to buy fakes where we can walk in off the street and buy Cuban cigars, or where we can't walk in off the street and buy Cuban cigars....

[El Presidente]

I'd hazard a guess that the most fakes are sold in the US purely down the to location to fake manufacturing locations and the effect of the embargo.

Cap, fakes are plentiful throughout Asia. China is a boom market for Habanos but also for the fake trade. I am not singling China out here, you can go anywhere in Asia and spot them easily. The fakes one sees in Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia etc are not of Chinese origin but Central and South American origin.

Eastern Europe is also a haven for fakes. Australia has plenty.

When you have global fake supply companies bombarding retailers with offers of $190 Cohiba Robusto etal (full inventory of pseudo Habanos), retailers who do not know purchase, and even some who do know purchase regardless. $'s talk.

I have detailed it before but when HSA actually spent 3 years and $400,000 taking a Singapore retailer to court for selling fakes, the court process quickly became a case of HSA having to prove that the retailer knew they were selling fakes. The retailer denied any knowledge and stated that he was selling them in good faith. The end result was a fine and 16 weeks jail time from memory. That was a poor return on HSA time and $ investment.

And now Plain Packaging in Oz and other countries shortly. What a field day.

[MostlyHarmless]

Scary indeed.

I hate even seeing links to these things as it can give some ideas that otherwise wouldn't know where to look.

Maybe taking screenshots of the pics instead of paving the road?.."

Reverse Image Search and you go directly to the Website.

What's the deal with the plain packaging coming to OZ? Does it mean only one standard box for every Marca and Line? Living in Europe, I have not yet heard about it, but as it will be required to put those huge Stickers and Photos on the box - 65 % of the front and 65 % of the back have to be covered by 2017 here - i can see them getting other ideas as well.

[santela]

Damn these Chinese! (I'm Chinese American so I get to say it)

That link is gonna give me nightmares. I'm hoping these are mostly targeted toward Cohibas? So my cheap Juan Lopez are still safe.