Expert: James Yee - 8/18/2010

Question
James, recently I bought Cuban cigars online from what I consider a legitimate online dealer. However the bar codes were missing off the box. I have two questions to ask.

First, is it common practice for legitimate online dealers to strip off these labels?

Second, is there a gray market out there for legit but not quite perfect Cuban cigars (bad boxes, seal imperfect, etc.) that cannot be sold in stores but are being sold to online dealers which they then sell through the web?

Many thanks for your response in advance!

Answer
Hi Dave,

No, it's not common practice for retailers to remove the serial barcode from their boxes.  In fact, the serial barcode is meant for customers to double-check the box's authenticity at Habanos SA's website.  Habanos SA encourages that customers check the serial barcode number before they buy a box of cigars.  Any retailer tampering/removing the serial barcode from a cigar box is very suspicious and should be reported to Habanos SA immediately.

HOWEVER, it should be noted that Cuban cigar carton/cardboard packs will not include the serial barcode.  There are two types of new warranty seals; a normal sized seal for regular cigar boxes and a small warranty seal for small cardboard packs.  Both seals will have the new hologram strip but only the larger warranty seal for regular cigar boxes will have the serial number and barcode.  If you ordered small cardboard packs of Cuban cigars (such as a 5-pack) and the seal does not have a serial barcode, don't worry because this is normal.  If you ordered a box of cigars (25 count) and the warranty seal has been tampered with, contact Habanos SA immediately to report the retailer.  Habanos' website is www.habanos.com.

To my knowledge, Habanos does not have a "factory seconds" market that they use to supply certain retailers.  All cigars are produced at the factory and sorted for construction defects by quality control.  Any cigars that have physical defects are usually removed from a bundle and dissected for further inspection.  The tobacco is then re-rolled into another cigar.

However, once the cigars are rolled, color sorted and packed into boxes, the cosmetic quality of the cigars can vary from box to box and a regional distributor may save the best looking boxes for their more successful, high-profile retailers.  Smaller shops and online retailers may receive the less-perfect looking boxes.  This is not always done and is left to the distributor's discretion.

I hope this info helps.  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James