Nearly an Entire Box of Liga Privada 9 Ruined

[Partially Deaf]

Hi. I am completely frustrated because I just realized that a box of LP9 (belicoso) that I bought is basically ruined. The box I bought from an online retailer was not packed properly and was able to rattle around a lot. As a result, the wrapper is cracked at the head on close to 20 of the cigars.

Here is an example of the damage. As I said, nearly the entire box is like this.

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/ab68/EthertonSwitch/image.jpg

I also bought a box of Liga Undercrown and Feral Flying Pig. I need to look at both of these boxes more closely now... I remember a FFP having a piece of wrapper coming off, but it didn't seem completely cracked like this case.

What should I do? I contacted the retailer and sent pictures, but no reply as of yet. (I'm guessing I should hear back after the weekend). If they do not do anything, would contacting Drew Estate be a good idea?

Thanks.

Edit: I just looked through the box of FFP I bought, and 3-4 of them are cracked at the foot. Smokeable, but not something you want to see when you spent $15 per cigar.

[T.G]

That damage is most definitely due to the box being slammed in shipping and the cigars hitting the inside of the box. Depending on how much room there was between the cigars and the inside of their respective boxes, some of the other cigars might not have taken as much damage.

You're going about it the right way, if it's a reputable retailer, they should own up to their packing mistake and replace or refund the money.

If push comes to shove, you could file a dispute with your credit card company.

As for contacting Drew Estates, you certainly can, they're a great group of people and they do try very hard to help out their customers, but ultimately, they weren't responsible for that damage.

[Bill86]

I don't know what Drew Estate would do for you. It seems like a retailer problem. I think the retailer should allow you to send them back for a refund or replacement. I've never received a box of cigars with that kind of damage. The occasional 1-2 sticks/25 but even that is a rarity.

[EricF]

I would seek some satisfaction from the retailer at a minimum.

[Subvet642]

Oh, Dude, that totally sucks! :td

[area51]

Ah that's a shame. Definitely take it up with the retailer it's their mistake.

[Digs]

We're these full sealed boxes?

[icehog3]

How long ago did you buy them? If you just got them, the retailer should take care of you. If you have been sitting on them for weeks and just noticed the damage now, might be a bit more complicated.

[Partially Deaf]

Yes it was sealed when I got it. I received them about 3 weeks ago, but I didn't smoke them, and didn't look closely until last night. We will see if they make things right. The perils of ordering cigars when it's super busy at work and not having the time to check...

[icehog3]

Definitely makes a case for inspecting your purchases as soon as they arrive.

[SteelCityBoy]

I really hope the retailer takes care of this for you. What a shame to damage such great smokes! :sad

Best of luck to you on this! I hope that everything works out in your favor...:tu

[Partially Deaf]

Definitely makes a case for inspecting your purchases as soon as they arrive.

Well I opened the box and it looked fine, but a lot of the cracks are fine and look almost like seams between the leaves. Also, you can only see the top 4 or so without digging thru the box.

Oh well. If the retailer can't take care of me, we will see if Drew Estates can.

[kelmac07]

I really hope the retailer takes care of this for you. What a shame to damage such great smokes! :sad

Best of luck to you on this! I hope that everything works out in your favor...:tu

X2...hope it all works out Dan.

[jluck]

Well I opened the box and it looked fine, but a lot of the cracks are fine and look almost like seams between the leaves. Also, you can only see the top 4 or so without digging thru the box.

Oh well. If the retailer can't take care of me, we will see if Drew Estates can.

I really don't think DE has any reason to be directly responsible for or loose revenue for a distributors mistake. Maybe they will persuade said distributor to fix the issue.
Good luck.

[CigarSquid]

Hope they do something to take care of it. Let us know. Sorry to see such a waste of fine smokes.

[maninblack]

Damn this stinks! Hope they are good about giving you a refund or a new box. Best of luck!

[CigarSquid]

Might be to late, but a complaint with the shipper?

[mase]

I went to a local B&M a few weeks ago and all but 2 LP9s in a box had significant damage to the foot.

[OLS]

I can take foot vdamage all day long, but that particular problem renders a cigar basically unsmokeable.
If you were Tom Hanks, sitting on an island, talking to a volleyball, sure, you could smoke those, but those
cigars are useless to the average smoker. They will draw all messed up, produce only partial suction
and basically drive you insane. PHOTOS, PHOTOS, PHOTOS...that and a nice but firm email to your
vendor.

[CigarSquid]

I can take foot vdamage all day long, but that particular problem renders a cigar basically unsmokeable.
If you were Tom Hanks, sitting on an island, talking to a volleyball, sure, you could smoke those, but those
cigars are useless to the average smoker. They will draw all messed up, produce only partial suction
and basically drive you insane. PHOTOS, PHOTOS, PHOTOS...that and a nice but firm email to your
vendor.

:tpd::tu

[Digs]

Yes it was sealed when I got it. I received them about 3 weeks ago, but I didn't smoke them, and didn't look closely until last night. We will see if they make things right. The perils of ordering cigars when it's super busy at work and not having the time to check...

The funny thing is how many of us have sealed boxes in our humi's ? So obviously you would only discover the damage when you open them. I don't see any reason the retailer wouldnt take care of you, heck I am sure they see there fair share of sticks damaged in shipping just like yours .

[neoflex]

I really don't think DE has any reason to be directly responsible for or loose revenue for a distributors mistake. Maybe they will persuade said distributor to fix the issue.
Good luck.

:tpd: Exactly, it's not their responsibility. All they can do is apply pressure to the vendor to make it right but your at a major disadvantage in the fact that you are now e-mailing with the complaint three weeks after your tracking number shows delivery so the vendor may be leery of doing anything about it and rightfully so as anything could have caused the damage three weeks in your possession. DE may even be reluctant to do anything for the same reason. I know life and work gets busy but if you have close to $500 worth of cigars showing up and when you open the box and notice less than stellar packing I would make the time to check each and every box closely.
I would be curious to see how it pans out for you and if the vendor does step up and replace it please give the vendor a big shout out as vendors tend to take more abuse than praise on message boards and if they do replace the boxes they deserve the positive rep. It sucks and I feel for you but it has been nearly a month.:2

[Partially Deaf]

Well, thank goodness for reputable dealers. I'm getting the box of LP 9 replaced, and refunded on the FFP. They said they were going to ship it out today, and I can ship the damaged boxes back in the same box; they are sending a prepaid FedEx label.

[icehog3]

Good news, glad it worked out that way. :tu

I would suggest immediate inspection of future purchases, though.

[Remo]

Glad it worked out :tu

[Blak Smyth]

Well, thank goodness for reputable dealers. I'm getting the box of LP 9 replaced, and refunded on the FFP. They said they were going to ship it out today, and I can ship the damaged boxes back in the same box; they are sending a prepaid FedEx label.

Good deal, that is a quality response :tu

[shilala]

The funny thing is how many of us have sealed boxes in our humi's ? So obviously you would only discover the damage when you open them. I don't see any reason the retailer wouldnt take care of you, heck I am sure they see there fair share of sticks damaged in shipping just like yours .
This is one of the reasons I don't have any sealed boxes in my humi. Another is mold. Then there's beetles. The list goes on.
I know guys transfer the "sealed collector's" thing over to cigars as if they're ball cards or action figures, but it doesn't belong here. It's SO important to check your smokes on arrival.

If Dan had found the problem when they arrived and made a call or emailed, any reasonable vendor has to assume it's their responsibility. It makes sense, and it should be a done deal. After 3 weeks, anything could have happened to the cigars under a customer's watch. I'm not by any means implying anything or singling out Dan, I certainly don't think Dan played any part in the damage of the cigars, and hesitate to bring up the point. I'm just talking about the vendor's point of view, and anyone honestly has to at least see the vendor's side in this type of situation.
A vendor will think that absolutely anything could have happened to those cigars in a 3 week lapse, even things that went unknown to an average customer. We know better, because we're totally anal about our cigars. Average consumers are not.
Honestly, things can happen. Something as simple as the wife walking by, knocking the box off a countertop, and sitting the box back on the counter. I've lived in a house full of kids for the last 150 years. Anything can happen to anything unbeknownst to me. Heck, 20 things could happen to those cigars in 3 weeks time were I not so careful to get them stowed away. (Again, I'm sure Dan did, but the vendor may not think so.)

I truly hope this works out in your favor, Dan. I'm pulling for you. It's going to take a huge leap of faith by the vendor for it to happen, and if they do make good, they should be applauded. I don't think most would.

At the very least, it brings up good opportunity for us all to learn from this mess. I know I'll be even more careful, I've gotten lazy over the years.

[area51]

Glad everything turned out well in the end.

[neoflex]

Glad to hear the vendor stepped up and made good on the damaged boxes. :tu

[irratebass]

Right on! Glad it got resolved

[smitty81]

I have noticed the same damage to cigars in some LP boxes I have seen at a B&M shop I frequently visit.

[ironchefscott]

glad it all got resolved...that is a rough thing to have happen to such nice smokes!