Serial number scratched off

[Danskiz]

I tried a small order with a supplier other that our host recently, and got a box with the serial number scratched off.  As far as I can tell they look good other that that.  Is this common?  (Still a newbie with lots to learn)

[LordAnubis]

Very common. I wouldnt worry about it if you trust the vendor. Just means its grey market (the retailer is sourcing cigars from outside that regions distributor). Ive been seeing it a lot on orders myself recently.

[Danskiz]

Ok, good to know. Being new to CC, I’m  still trying to figure out which ones you can trust.  I’ve seen the vendor mentioned in the forums, even by our host as trustworthy, so that made me comfortable with trying them out.

[Chibearsv]

Yep, not uncommon. Sometimes they forget to remove the micro printed numbers in the seal though

[Mickey D]

As stated, not uncommon for reasons stated. 

Enjoy

[Cairo]

Here is an old thread on "grey market vendors"--good info:

 

[garbandz]

grey market, by definition, excludes fakes.

 

fakes are fakes, grey market  sticks just took a couple of detours before being sold.

 

[Edicion]

Look good. Suggest to put them away for a while, fairly complex cigars that have a lot of things happening at the same time, and age tends to blend the flavors together better on Punch, make them more balanced. 

[SCgarman]

On 5/11/2021 at 8:42 PM, Chibearsv said:

Yep, not uncommon. Sometimes they forget to remove the micro printed numbers in the seal though

Sometimes they will take a knife and scratch all the micro numbers on the government seal. Sometimes erase or cut off the bar code on the government seal. No worries, legit. As been said cigars are just sourced from outside the distributor territory. No biggie.