Maduro Fuente Fuente opus x and opus sharks?

[barbourjay]

I got a call from a local vendor that they had these so i stopped by after work to check them out. i had been looking for the opus sharks (found a few in st augustine and got what i could) so they called me to say they had them. i was kind of shocked when i got there. here is what they had....

Opus Sharks??
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/2010-01-02185346.jpg

Maduro Fuente Fuente
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/2010-01-02185323.jpg

the sharks were in bundles of 20, they also had a bundle of 10. the fuente fuentes were in packs of 12. i had my doubts so the owner gave me a buy back on them and i picked up one of each just to document them. they were not in their humidor but stored in a locker. he is a opus x dealer and gets regular shipments and deals a lot with the special sets from prometheus. i just really doubt these are real, he wanted 25$ each for them.

i have more pics but i can't post more than 5.

[Thaplumbr]

The single Opus shark i purchased from our local shop were in a box, and didnt come with the band on the foot:confused:

[jerseystepup]

the only thing that throws me off is the lack of gold embossing on the cello.... but who knows, these batches could have been a last minute decision?

[RichardW]

Apparently a rare Fuente release:

http://www.vitolas.net/thumbnails.php?album=1

:ss

[Adriftpanda]

Nice pick up. The maduro X is very very limited.

[Sauer Grapes]

Weird. They look legit, but that seems really odd.

[barbourjay]

Nice pick up. The maduro X is very very limited.

just to put it out there, i haven't really picked them up yet. i'm trying to verify their authenticity first. the sharks look exactly like the ones on vitolas, even the caps on them. they do look similar to the box release sharks i have. this is the box release opus shark

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/P1020013.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/P1020015.jpg

[Sauer Grapes]

Did the sharks smell the same? As you know, Opus smell very unique.

[barbourjay]

Did the sharks smell the same? As you know, Opus smell very unique.

i have a cold and can't smell much of anything right now. once this clears up that would help. moki, on another site, said he thought they looked real.

he also had perfexcion x maduros. if these are real that would be great.

[Chemyst]

Go to Tampa Sweethearts and ask them.
If they don't know, then nobody knows.

If you got them from Tampa Sweethearts
they are real.

Chemyst :cool2:

[barbourjay]

Go to Tampa Sweethearts and ask them.
If they don't know, then nobody knows.

If you got them from Tampa Sweethearts
they are real.

Chemyst :cool2:

nope, not from there. they wouldn't know either, i need to send this to a rep and have them check it out. gonna do that now.

[T.G]

the sharks were in bundles of 20, they also had a bundle of 10. the fuente fuentes were in packs of 12.

Something that kind of raises an eyebrow for me is the seemingly large quantity of these rather rare and HTF Opuses that this vendor has. The FFOX maduro which should be over 7 years old now, and was never officially released, the orig OX77, very limited release 7 and 5 years ago, yet this vendor seems to have at least 50 of the old Sharks and 24 of the FFOXM.

Unless Fuente is opening the doors to the humi-vault and having a clearance sale, these large quantities seem rather odd.

[barbourjay]

i emailed drew newman. we shall see. moki from vitolas.net fame seems to think they look real.

[maverickdrinker]

very intriguing. I hope that they are real. Might be just a situation of someone who is looking to share something special with another fellow BOTL.

[floydpink]

i have a cold and can't smell much of anything right now. once this clears up that would help. moki, on another site, said he thought they looked real.

he also had perfexcion x maduros. if these are real that would be great.

Moki sighting?

[kelmac07]

Being the maduro whore I am...I gotta find one of each of these bad boys. :D

[barbourjay]

so drew responded and sent it to the local FN rep to see what the deal is. hopefully i hear back soon.

[Sauer Grapes]

Hmmm... if they are real, you may have just lost your chance to buy them if you get the B&M in trouble.

[barbourjay]

Hmmm... if they are real, you may have just lost your chance to buy them if you get the B&M in trouble.

if they were real they wouldn't get in trouble :tu

[Nimbus]

What is the verdict on these? Any word yet as to their authenticity?

[Sauer Grapes]

if they were real they wouldn't get in trouble :tu

Unless the deal is that they weren't supposed to have them to sale in the first place, thus why the rep you emailed needed to investigate further. :tu

I'm hoping that's not the case. It'd be cool to score those.

[DougBushBC]

I seriously doubt the authenticity.
A) I have RARELY seen opus with no gold emboss of the cello, occasionally they miss the gold part, but the emboss is there.
B) Opus Sharks with the foot band are the original release only found in Opus22 Boxes and Humidor release. The current box release OX77s are unbanded at the foot.
C) Bundled Opus, while sometimes sent to B&Ms to fill their singles boxes, are almost never of the rare varieties like the MADURO opus.
D) If they are legit, I must try one of each to verify authenticity.

[DoctaJ]

D) If they are legit, I must try one of each to verify authenticity.

:r:r:r


If they are in fact real, awesome score :dr

[barbourjay]

Confirmed what i suspected. These are fakes, here's a copy of the email from Drew Newman.

Hi Jeremy,

Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention. After visiting this store and conducting an investigation, we concluded that these cigars are not authentic. We appreciate you letting us know and will be taking action.

Thanks,
Drew

leaving out the cigar shops name. if anyone buys from this region you can PM me first if you need to confirm they didn't come from this shop.

[T.G]

Confirmed what i suspected. These are fakes.

leaving out the cigar shops name. if anyone buys from this region you can PM me first if you need to confirm they didn't come from this shop.

With all due respect, if this shop is an authorized Fuente dealer as you indicated in your OP, then I feel that being more forthcoming with their name would behoove the community as a whole. as who is to say that their fakes end with these HTF fakes?

Not everyone buys locally.

If this were a CC vendor, they'd be tarred, feathered and lynched by now, but to protect them in this fashion because they are in the US is, IMO, BS.

[Vigiles]

wow, that is interesting. :(

[barbourjay]

With all due respect, if this shop is an authorized Fuente dealer as you indicated in your OP, then I feel that being more forthcoming with their name would behoove the community as a whole. as who is to say that their fakes end with these HTF fakes?

Not everyone buys locally.

If this were a CC vendor, they'd be tarred, feathered and lynched by now, but to protect them in this fashion because they are in the US is, IMO, BS.

i believe the forum has a no bashing policy. if a mod clears it i will post the info.

[T.G]

i believe the forum has a no bashing policy. if a mod clears it i will post the info.

Fair enough, although I wasn't aware of such, and I seem to recall at least one recent thread which one person slammed a humidor vendor and the thread is still up.

On a personal viewpoint note, I don't see outing an NC vendor who sells fakes as bashing, but rather a public service, but I can see how the thread could quickly degenerate into chaos. Of course, this isn't my site, so what I think doesn't mean dick.

BTW, to make things perfectly clear - I have no issue with you or your actions brother, I actually wanted to edit the last sentence of my previous post because I thought it sounded too harsh and might have given the wrong impression, but I was past the time allowed for edits once I had thought about it.

[mariogolbee]

"squirrel!!!!!"

[Only Fuentes]

Please mods clear the policy on this up. I know I would certainly like to know who the former seller of fake Opus is/was! LOL !

Jay, If the mods OK this would you please post the name/adress of said shop?

It could save another BOTL some trouble.:tu

[Beagleone]

I Should have looked more closely to this post when I first saw it and not from my IPhone. When the Opus Shark made it's way to DFW, I believe that they were in boxes of 30, and not bundles of 20. Honestly, I should have just bought the whole box and be done with it. Doug is correct in that they had the gold lettering on the cello and the foot was unbanded.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i272/beagleonenet/OpusXSharks1.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i272/beagleonenet/OpusXSharks2.jpg

[barbourjay]

I Should have looked more closely to this post when I first saw it and not from my IPhone. When the Opus Shark made it's way to DFW, I believe that they were in boxes of 30, and not bundles of 20. Honestly, I should have just bought the whole box and be done with it. Doug is correct in that they had the gold lettering on the cello and the foot was unbanded.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i272/beagleonenet/OpusXSharks1.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i272/beagleonenet/OpusXSharks2.jpg

the box was actually 36 and had gold lettering. the kind the vendor was selling looked exactly like the ones on vitolas.net which is the old set style that you can only get in the fuente promeuthus humidors (sp).

someone had one on ebay recently

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280440652489&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Beagleone]

Thank for the clarification. The box was opened when I got there, so I didn't get a full count. I really should have picked it up. The EBay listing price is really much higher than what I would have paid for the box.

[barbourjay]

Thank for the clarification. The box was opened when I got there, so I didn't get a full count. I really should have picked it up. The EBay listing price is really much higher than what I would have paid for the box.

MSRP is right at 15 i believe.

[Only Fuentes]

Hi Jay, are you willing to post the name of the shop since drew newman himself stated these were fakes? I mean he is the highest authority on opus and if he declared them fakes then IMO this vendor needs outed. I think alot of botls here would benefit by knowing who this slimy shop is.

[barbourjay]

as i posted earlier if a mod clears it then i will post it. none have spoken and i'm sure at least one of them has read this.

[Only Fuentes]

as i posted earlier if a mod clears it then i will post it. none have spoken and i'm sure at least one of them has read this.

no problem and I completely understand. I feel that it could save guys here potential trouble but will defer to the mods on this one. at least you got a conclusive answer though on the cigars :)

mods can we please get a yea or nay on posting the name/address of this confirmed seller of fake HTFs?

[68TriShield]

no problem and I completely understand. I feel that it could save guys here potential trouble but will defer to the mods on this one. at least you got a conclusive answer though on the cigars :)

mods can we please get a yea or nay on posting the name/address of this confirmed seller of fake HTFs?

It will be discussed somewhere along the line today.Until then,keeping it to PM is perfectly okay Jeremy.

[htown]

Its bad enough tht he is charging above MSRP, but he is charging 66% above MSRP on fakes and does not deserve protection.

[JJG]

I'm really surprised these turned out to be fake. I've never seen a fake Opus before but those looked pretty good. They sure went to a lot of trouble too with the cedar sleeve, ribbon on the foot, etc... If they had taken the extra step of including the gold celo lettering and done some more believable sizes/wrappers, we would have all been fooled.

[Blueface]

as i posted earlier if a mod clears it then i will post it. none have spoken and i'm sure at least one of them has read this.

Come on, "you can do it".
Man I love this clip.:r
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wbSBxTLe40

[pnoon]

It will be discussed somewhere along the line today.Until then,keeping it to PM is perfectly okay Jeremy.

bump

[landhoney]

bump

bump yourself, you're one of the ones making the decision....or did someone forget. ;):D


just having fun Peter, everybody knows you're the awesomeness. :tu

[barbourjay]

to stop most of the PM's about this, if you only shop in tampa you are fine. this shop isn't in tampa. that still leaves about 50 b&m shops in the area to guess from. if you are from the area i will talk to you about this over PM if need be until instructed further.

i for one will not frequent this dealers stores. i feel that anyone from this area should do the same.

[sjnovakovich]

Pardon my harshness here, but this whole thread reminds me of a bunch of sorority chicks gossiping about who was under the bleachers with whom. This dealer needs to be outed in order to protect others. Let's go mods. Release the name! Just my :2

[barbourjay]

Just another followup. Went to the shop to get my money back.
The owner cussed me out banned me from his stores. Just reaffirms to me that he knowingly sold fakes.

[pnoon]

bump yourself, you're one of the ones making the decision....or did someone forget. ;):D


just having fun Peter, everybody knows you're the awesomeness. :tu

No offense taken, Seth. Just wanted to remind everyone that we are discussing it. Practically speaking, it may take a day or two to have more than one or two admins chime in and discuss different sides (perspectives).

For now, Jeremy can decide who he wants to answer via PM.

It's all good (except for the fakes ;))

[pnoon]

Pardon my harshness here, but this whole thread reminds me of a bunch of sorority chicks gossiping about who was under the bleachers with whom. This dealer needs to be outed in order to protect others. Let's go mods. Release the name! Just my :2

If it were that simple of a decision, it would have been made immediately. There is more to it than just this issue. It can/will have an impact on how things are handled in the future. Decisions like this are not taken lightly by the TOE. Besides, it is as much an issue for Jeremy to decide if/who he shares it with. We're just deciding if it should be something posted publicly.


I think there is a paralell here with purchasing Habanos. Trust your vendor. Should you really be buying uber premium cigars from a retailer you don't know/trust or haven't been referred to by someone you do trust?

Just my :2

[floydpink]

No offense taken, Seth. Just wanted to remind everyone that we are discussing it. Practically speaking, it may take a day or two to have more than one or two admins chime in and discuss different sides (perspectives).

For now, Jeremy can decide who he wants to answer via PM.

It's all good (except for the fakes ;))

Guess I'm not one, and honestly could give a crap. I pass through the area quite a bit but always have my herfador pretty well packed.
Curiosity killed the cat and that's all most are who are reading this are; curious. I was curious but won't buy into the apparantly self created hype surrounding rare Fuentes.

[icehog3]

If it were that simple of a decision, it would have been made immediately. There is more to it than just this issue. It can/will have an impact on how things are handled in the future. Decisions like this are not taken lightly by the TOE.




Not to mention that similar "outings" have caused Mob mentalities in sites I have moderated in the past, and sometimes it was found that the OP was the mistaken one, while the retailer was taken to task for something they were falsely accused of (not saying that is the case here at all).

[barbourjay]

Guess I'm not one, and honestly could give a crap. I pass through the area quite a bit but always have my herfador pretty well packed.
Curiosity killed the cat and that's all most are who are reading this are; curious. I was curious but won't buy into the apparantly self created hype surrounding rare Fuentes.

i did PM you back =P

[Only Fuentes]

Not to mention that similar "outings" have caused Mob mentalities in sites I have moderated in the past, and sometimes it was found that the OP was the mistaken one, while the retailer was taken to task for something they were falsely accused of (not saying that is the case here at all).

I can see how the mob mentality could take over. But it appears as if Jay posted this on multiple forums and has said that Drew Newman himself declared them fakes. Also it seems that a larger than normal amount of maduro opus have been for sale on ebay. This confirmed retailer of fakes could easily sell a fake on ebay and nobody would be any wiser as they sure looked real to me!! Jay has said he'd ge glad to post the name and address of this shop which could at least be a small victory for opus lovers. I mean if I was sold fake opus and had Drew or similar declaring them as such then I would have no hesitation to out the retailer.

Negative feedback is just as important as positive feedback. I mean heck, there are some GREAT retailers here who helped me get some opus at great pricing (including Jay himself). I think this is simply a matter of protecting our own. Then again my opinion is worth about :2 :r

[icehog3]

I can see how the mob mentality could take over. But it appears as if Jay posted this on multiple forums and has said that Drew Newman himself declared them fakes. Also it seems that a larger than normal maduro opus have been for sale on ebay. This confirmed retailer of fakes could easily sell a fake on ebay and nobody would be any wiser as they sure looked real to me!! Jay has said he'd ge glad to post the name and address of this shop which could at least be a small victory for opus lovers. I mean if I was sold fake opus and had Drew or similar declaring them as such then I would have no hesittion to out the retailer.

Negative feedback is just as important as positive feedback. I mean heck, there are some GREAT retailers here who helped me get some opus at great pricing (including Jay himself). I think this is simply a matter of protecting our own. Then again my opinion is worth about :2 :r

Andy, my answer wasn't the definitive one, the TOE are actively discussing the matter...it is a decision we don't take lightly, in part to reasons Peter and I outlined above. I would hope that the inmates who read this thread would be wise and wary enough not to buy any of these cigars on eBay based on what we already know here. There will be plenty of other suckers who don't belong to an on-line cigar board lining up for purchase. And those inmates who don't read the thread wouldn't see the name anyway.

Your points are all well taken, and we will consider them in our discussion. :)

[montecristo#2]

Wow - so did Drew actually visit the store? Did the owner say anything about them stopping by to check out the cigars?

[Only Fuentes]

I respect that and am glad to hear that the TOE is taking this seriously. :tu

[barbourjay]

Wow - so did Drew actually visit the store? Did the owner say anything about them stopping by to check out the cigars?

Well lets put a little perspective here. The newmans are all based out of tampa so when i contacted drew by email he contacted the local rep (i'm assuming they see a lot of each other). the local rep (mike, who i've never met but know because of all the shop owners calling him all the time) went to the shop to investigate. drew then communicated it back to me that they were fake. today i went to the shop and got my money back, while the owner was cussing me out and threw the money back in my face. I did contact mike (the local FN rep) and let him know about my experience. he expressed his disapproval of their behavior but he cannot talk about what their consequences were for them.

this place was an authorized fuente dealer and authorized opus x dealer. since the owner banned me from their stores i won't be able to go in there to find out what happens in the long run. thankfully i'm sure that some of the other people from our area who have already PM'd me about this shop will drop in and check in on them from time to time.

at the very least i hope that the people who were ripped off got their money back.

[T.G]

True, but how far down the line does this vendors Faux X supply go?

Some of us buy regular production Opus X cigars from out of state due to the ridiculous taxes incurred when buying locally.

[Brooks W]

I am not sure I would believe that a store has an Opus Maduro anyway, never mind 20 of them...there are only like 300 known to exist of each size (as far as I know, and I am obviously talking about the ones that were not sold commercially, like the xXx Maduro)...And they are worth quite a bit more then $25 each...

~brooks

[barbourjay]

And they are worth quite a bit more then $25 each...

~brooks

true but the shops that usually get these kind of things are gifted them and can charge what they feel like. i see where you are coming from. either way these shops need to be reported.

i feel really bad about the guys who were taken by this shop, i was contacted by a few locals who had bought some stuff. i really hope they got their money back.

[bobarian]

Thanks for bringing this fraud to light. I personally do not need the source as I dont buy Opus or Anejo's. But its always good to bring these things out. How a legitimate dealer would feel the need to increase his profit by dealing in counterfeit's is beyond my comprehension. :2

[DougBushBC]

I will be in Tampa in three weeks and would LOVE to know where to go to get my Maduro Opus cigars for Gasparilla.

[barbourjay]

I will be in Tampa in three weeks and would LOVE to know where to go to get my Maduro Opus cigars for Gasparilla.

ROFL. no offense but did you read the thread?

[68TriShield]

ROFL. no offense but did you read the thread?

oops :rolleyes:

[neoflex]

Thanks for bringing this fraud to light. How a legitimate dealer would feel the need to increase his profit by dealing in counterfeit's is beyond my comprehension. :2

This is my thought especially since you have all the big wigs of the manufacturer right in your backyard. His greed definitely got the best of him because I would hope that Fuente would no longer make him a dealer let alone an official Opus retailer.

[JJG]

This is my thought especially since you have all the big wigs of the manufacturer right in your backyard. His greed definitely got the best of him because I would hope that Fuente would no longer make him a dealer let alone an official Opus retailer.

That's what I thought too. This guy has got to be incredibly stupid and/or greedy to risk his his good standing with Fuente by selling fakes.

[Only Fuentes]

Ill be going through that area next month (actually right by the shop) and it will be fun to stop in and ask them if they have any maduro opus or sharks for sale. rofl ! seriously though they looked damn real to me.

[barbourjay]

This is my thought especially since you have all the big wigs of the manufacturer right in your backyard. His greed definitely got the best of him because I would hope that Fuente would no longer make him a dealer let alone an official Opus retailer.

it's too bad that they won't discuss what they are doing about the situation.

[rizzle]

I will be in Tampa in three weeks and would LOVE to know where to go to get my Maduro Opus cigars for Gasparilla.

:tu:tu

One of my favorite "holidays".
:r

[barbourjay]

if anyone else has had dealings with the B&M that seem shady please email drew@cigarfamily.com

if they sold enough there could be felony charges associated with it. at the very least PM me to discuss what happened.

[icantbejon]

I asked about NC fakes not too long ago and I was basically told via this forum that they don't really exist as a problem. I found it hard to believe then, for basically this reason right here. Some of the rare expensive stuff sells for way more than the average CC. I would think there would be a hell of a market for a forged rare Padron. Sorry you had this experience Jay, but glad you got your money back.

[JJG]

I've asked about NC fakes too, having never heard them discussed much until now, and from the pictures, those Opus bands look pretty damn good. so I'm curious. Do you think they actually had those printed, or are they legit bands acquired through not so legit means? I don't know much about printing but those look fairly sophisticated, definitely not a home job.

If they were printed, I would think that should be cause for real concern, because whoever made these is clearly capable of producing believable counterfeits.

[Only Fuentes]

not to mention that a cigar like the shark is not an easy cigar to make. everything about these look good at first glance! scary!!

[montecristo#2]

It is pretty easy to remove opusX bands from cigars. The bands are so think, they usually come off pretty easily for me without tearing. A little hot air would probably make them come off even easier. So the bands could be legit, just not the cigars.

[neoflex]

For all we know the problem could be deeper rooted than just a local B&M. Like Only Fuentes mentioned, the Shark is not your run of the mill roll so for all we know it could be someone in the Fuente factory or an ex employee of the Fuentes creating these fakes. If this were the case I would be curious to see if they are sneaking out tobacco and using the same tobacco for the fakes and if in fact they taste the same or even similar for that matter. I highly doubt it but I would be curious to know what the deal is on these. Wasn't there an issue with fake BBMFs making their way around last year too, especially on Ebay? Again, not an easy cigar to fake. I guess just like CCs the more rare NCs should be inspected for authenticity just the same except in this case you can't even trust the authorized dealer.

[T.G]

I've never heard of a good tasting Opus X fake. Everyone I know who has smoked them has said that they tasted both awful and absolutely nothing like a Fuente, no matter how perfect they looked.

Also, Sharks aren't that difficult to roll. The BBMF style shape (which is not exclusive to Fuente BTW), yeah, a bit more complex, but nothing a good roller can't master. Plus, repetition will teach precision; if all the person is going to do is crank out the same shaped fake all year long, it won't take them long to master one shape.

[barbourjay]

I've never heard of a good tasting Opus X fake. Everyone I know who has smoked them has said that they tasted both awful and absolutely nothing like a Fuente, no matter how perfect they looked.

Also, Sharks aren't that difficult to roll. The BBMF style shape (which is not exclusive to Fuente BTW), yeah, a bit more complex, but nothing a good roller can't master. Plus, repetition will teach precision; if all the person is going to do is crank out the same shaped fake all year long, it won't take them long to master one shape.

well they didn't do a great job pressing them. rolling them is easy but getting them to keep the square foot and body is tough when you are rushing production. here's a few other pics.

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/P1020005.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/P1020008.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/P1020012.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/P1020004.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/jaybarbour/P1020010.jpg

these really are much better quality fakes and i believe that the bands and the ribbon are the real thing. someone at the factory is probably leaking them out or they are just taking them from the other cigars (as mentioned earlier about how easy it would be).

[AD720]

Did you smoke one?

[barbourjay]

Did you smoke one?

nope, took them back and got my money. i'm not going to risk inhaling mold or some other unknown agent.

[T.G]

well they didn't do a great job pressing them. rolling them is easy but getting them to keep the square foot and body is tough when you are rushing production. here's a few other pics.

these really are much better quality fakes and i believe that the bands and the ribbon are the real thing. someone at the factory is probably leaking them out or they are just taking them from the other cigars (as mentioned earlier about how easy it would be).

Ick, yes, that is a bad pressing job. Looking at that cigar, it makes me wonder if a roller was even involved in this, or someone (ie: the shop) just took some existing torpedo with a similar looking wrapper and after possibly cutting the cigar down to size, just jury rigged up a half-assed pressing arrangement of some sort. Same wonder for the maduros, are those even custom rolled, or did someone just take some inexpensive maduro that comes in a cedar sleeve and swap the band (the sizes don't match up to a FFOXM, but the 5 Vegas Serie A was the first thing that came to mind looking at your most recent photo).

Anyway, if those are real bands, how many were made would likely give an indicator as to where the bands came from. Recycling bands from legitimate cigars is possible, but not practical for anything more than a small quantity of fakes, so for a large quantity, I'd lean more toward "smuggled out of the factory" or "stolen direct from the printers" - from my experience, bands normally come packed in boxes like what business cards come in - same quantities too- 200, 500, maybe even 1000. Then multiple business card boxes packed into larger cardboard boxes for transport. Probably not that hard to make one or two of the smaller boxes disappear.

[T.G]

Oh, and I don't think the ribbon is that special that you couldn't easily find dozens of rolls of it at any number of different sewing & craft stores in the US.

[DougBushBC]

ROFL. no offense but did you read the thread?

Yea man I have been involved it was a sarcastic joke.

[barbourjay]

just to update. the owner has taken it upon himself to try to slander me. kind of funny how i'm the one who got ripped off and he is attacking me. shows how shady he really is.

[MiamiE]

So whos the culprit? Anyone in South Florida?

[Sauer Grapes]

What's he doing to slander you? Classy guy that owner.

[barbourjay]

What's he doing to slander you? Classy guy that owner.

posting crap on his facebook account about me. trying to make it seem like he is the victim and that he only runs a legitimate business.

[Sauer Grapes]

You should link it, or at least PM me the link.

[Only Fuentes]

Was there ever a decision made by the mods to post the name of the shop? :confused::confused::confused:

[barbourjay]

Was there ever a decision made by the mods to post the name of the shop? :confused::confused::confused:

dunno as i never heard from them.

[spud2]

The Opus Maduro's I have do not have dark wrappers like Anejo's have, much lighter wrapper. That was the first thing I noticed in Jay's photo's. Since one of mine was from a personal trade with Carlito (he loves 98' Trini Fundore's), I know the authenticity is correct. If the deals to good to be true, it probably is!

[Deputy]

Oh my god...those Maduro Opus X look FANTASTIC!

[chippewastud79]

Oh my god...those Maduro Opus X look FANTASTIC!

Read the thread before the post. :hm

[barbourjay]

Oh my god...those Maduro Opus X look FANTASTIC!

i hope that is sarcasm because they are fake :confused:

[twenty5]

I can understand not posting the name if we still were not sure if they were or were not fakes. Being that this has been looked into, they were found to be fake and the owner seems like less than a stellar guy, I think it would be beneficial to all if we knew the name of the shop. JMO

[systm]

Or Rather the Name of the owner. It's one thing to sell something fake, but another to harass a customer personally.

Well, Former customer.

[barbourjay]

BTW, i guess some of his clients do not care. one of them on his FB account just stated that he bought some GOF from him and they were real so the rest of his product must be real also. ROFL. how naive can you be.

the funny part about all of this is that i found out all they did to the dealer is confiscate the product. nothing else. they are afraid of losing the revenue i guess and are okay with having themselves affiliated with a shady person. crazy they would keep risking their reputation when there are numerous other dealers in the area who could pick up his account instead.

[barbourjay]

You should link it, or at least PM me the link.

just to update this again, he pulled it off his facebook account as i guess it was bringing too much heat. not to mention i contacted the newmans about it and gave them the link. i'm sure they didn't appreciate it.

[neoflex]

You would think after sending them the link that they would see what they are dealing with and pull the account but I guess the dollars and cents part of it is far more important than trying to protect their loyal customers. Like you said they could give the account to a stand up retailer in the area and keep the revenue coming in and protect their reputation that could be tarnished if someone were to buy and smoke one of a these fubar HTF cigars and decide it tasted like rolled up dog terds and spread the word that these sticks are POS' or word spreads that they continue to let this guy sell fakes.