Be careful out there. Fake NFC stickers?

[El Presidente]

Brought to my attention by a member. Thank you 

Buy the vendor and not the sticker. Even better, buy the vendor and the sticker 

Don't buy below. 

https://www.swisscubancigars.com/ramon-allones/ramon-allones-specially-selected

[cnov]

Can't be a fake, it has "Guaranteed Genuine" on the sticker.

[ha_banos]

Reminds me of this place. Not the best. But after enough of the amber nectar.

[TacoSauce]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Don't buy below. 

https://www.swisscubancigars.com/ramon-allones/ramon-allones-specially-selected

I am impressed with the level of finesse this place seems to go to in their mimicry. I begrudgingly have to give the artist(s) some respect here. 

Assuming these sticks aren't completely nasty to smoke, I am tempted to buy one of these boxes to use as a decoy to help me manage certain awkward situations when dealing with the clueless and/or mooches who have exceeded my patience.

[SPQR]

Swiss Cuban cigars is awful. Notoriously fake. 

[painfreefishing]

I almost got fooled by these jokers just before finding this haven. I completely agree buy the vendor. I can't fault the guy too much the RASS are smoking amazingly right now. 

[Shakey]

Is this a fake sticker, or does it have a NFC chip that links to the correct information?  That would be a bit worrying. 

[TacoSauce]

3 minutes ago, Shakey said:

Is this a fake sticker, or does it have a NFC chip that links to the correct information?  That would be a bit worrying. 

You've got to pay to find out!

[ViscountDick]

I used to buy online from a reputable Swiss vendor 4-5 years ago, following my good experience, I somehow suckered myself into testing this fake vendor. Bought a few sticks of the guaranteed genuine Behike 56, still have them in a drawer somewhere. Maybe I’ll do a dissection video, curious to see what nasty shit is in them 😜 

[HP2]

Swiss Cuban Cigars is also selling boxes of Bolivar Libertador’s with the counterfeit NFC sticker, as well. And the MC Edmundo has a counterfeit Hunters and Frankau EMS sticker. 

 

 

[ha_banos]

These guys have been on the fakers list for what feels like decades!

[Ford2112]

How are they still in business?

[ha_banos]

Now I'm wondering what the standard deviation is here on FoH from first to last purchase!? And it must be quite skewed!

[BrightonCorgi]

Do they actually ship from CH?

[Namisgr11]

12 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

How are they still in business?

Preying on newbies. When I began searching for Cuban cigars in 2020 I acquired some singles from them. After learning here and elsewhere about fine details to look for on banding, anti-counterfeit measures on Cohiba and Montecristo bands, and a couple of horrible smokes, I realized they weren't Kosher. The ridiculously low prices and their response to my complaint about being sold fakes finished the case.

[TacoSauce]

1 minute ago, Namisgr11 said:

The ridiculously low prices and their response to my complaint about being sold fakes finished the case.

As someone who tried their sticks, I have two questions:

1. While I assume they had zero Cuban qualities, how did they smoke? Decent construction and flavor for a cheap Dominican stick?
2. What did they say when you called them out on being fakes?Did they tell you to pound sand, or did they actually make a feigned effort to defend themselves?

[Namisgr11]

7 hours ago, TacoSauce said:

As someone who tried their sticks, I have two questions:

1. While I assume they had zero Cuban qualities, how did they smoke? Decent construction and flavor for a cheap Dominican stick?
2. What did they say when you called them out on being fakes?Did they tell you to pound sand, or did they actually make a feigned effort to defend themselves?

1.  I had little experience smoking cigars, Cuban or otherwise. What I remember is having a less than stellar Upmann Mag46 and an overpoweringly bitter Monte #2, both of which along with a couple unsmoked Siglo IIs I later discovered came with fake bands after acquiring a few authentic Cubans from reputable gray market sources as comparators.

2.  They essentially told me I was wrong because all their Cubans were authentic, and to go pound sand. The other thing they did was ask me what it was about the bands that showed they were clearly faked - I refused to answer them because I didn't want them to have that information, at least from me. But the poor, flat embossing and weaker color strike on the Upmanns and the lack of 365 nm visible stigmata on the Siglos and Montes were irrefutable.

[HP2]

19 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Do they actually ship from CH?

I had an acquaintance purchase a box from them and they tracked the shipping and she showed me the route it took. The order originated in Wuhan, China went to Budapest and then started the journey to her house. 

[BrightonCorgi]

3 hours ago, HP2 said:

I had an acquaintance purchase a box from them and they tracked the shipping and she showed me the route it took. The order originated in Wuhan, China went to Budapest and then started the journey to her house. 

So, Switzerland is just a marketing front?

[HP2]

On 1/14/2025 at 3:39 PM, BrightonCorgi said:

So, Switzerland is just a marketing front?

Has to be. I don’t think “Chinese Cuban Cigars” would generate much interest