a lesson in "bloom" from nrich239

[Thegreek]

It all started quite innocently. 4 PSD#4s. Then 5 BHK 52s.

After sending Nate the following pictures, he said
[color=red]"I saw them. I didn't see any major damage. Just a minor bit of bloom on the tip"[/color]

Did I mention he put the PSD4s in the same bag as the BHKs?

Ok, forget packaging. I assume that he meant "plume." Is he just that new? Maybe......

But I have some questions for the group. After the still photo show.

To his credit, he did send me the money back, but I had to force my hand and cajole. But I have a feeling it was because he got caught. After looking at these pics I am of the belief he sent said cigars and hoped for the best. I am sick about this. I have never received cigars like this before and hope I never do again.

[IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc508/TheJackal68/IMG_5977.jpg[/img]

[IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc508/TheJackal68/IMG_5979.jpg[/img]

[IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc508/TheJackal68/IMG_5981.jpg[/img]

[IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc508/TheJackal68/IMG_5989.jpg[/img]

[IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc508/TheJackal68/IMG_5987.jpg[/img]

[IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc508/TheJackal68/IMG_5985.jpg[/img]

[IMG]http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc508/TheJackal68/IMG_5988.jpg[/img]

Q1) Is there ANYBODY (new or not) capable of not noticing evidence of MOLD, especially given the ultra-premium nature and price point of this cigar?

Q2) Can I assume that we are all in agreement that the evidence pointing to this being mold and not plume is overwhelming and that if you sent someone $190 and got these cigars you would not only be pissed but incredulous when someone tried to say they were okay aside from some "bloom?"

Q3) Would you trust this person as to what year the PSD#4s were from? Oh, wait, that is now irrelevant due to the, you know, [b][color=green]MOLD![/color][/b]

I just wanted people to know that as I am closing in on my 100th transaction, this is the first time I have ever received bad cigars or had any sort of SNAFU aside from waiting (life happens) or the occasional broken foot (it happens, like life).

The kicker? NO APOLOGY OR EXPLANATION.

and this is going to make you laugh. The last txt I received nrich239 read as follows, "[i]send me the DC# when you send the 9 cigars back.[/i]

Hey, douche-bag.....you got my MOs in 48 hours, YOU ARE THE ONE who is slow and dishonest, not me. :finger:

I would be interested for others to chime in as to how they would feel or handle the situation.

Scumbag or not?

p.s. I would order something other than the Partagas or Cohibas off the "239" menu, assuming of course, that his whole stash isn't a breeding ground for mold.

[tksamtec]

Those BHKs look rough... none of the ones I have or have seen have those blemishes (or seeds popping through) like the ones shown in your pics.  My BHK wrappers are smooth as silk with no poorly trimmed caps, and the construction looks perfectly flawless, with a very smooth (and not very veiny) wrapper.  The mold is bad too... I think it takes several weeks of improper storage, and high RH to grow mold like you have in the feet of those cigars.  Plus, plume takes years to develop, and its unlikely that it will be on a stick rolled in '10, plus it wouldn't look like mold either.

Definitely grounds for a bad TC and no one here should be trying to pass off moldy sticks as bloom (or plume).  This may even be grounds for a scumbag list addition, refund or not.

As far as what you paid, that seems about in line with current market pricing for recent sticks that don't have any mold.  Glad you got your money back, but stuff like this just shouldn't happen...

[Thegreek]

Todd,

Are you saying this may be an authenticity issue [b]AND[/b] a mold issue? I will admit, I have only smoked one 52 and one 54, but even mold aside, they looked much better than these cigars.

But the bands were authentic, that I know. On the other hand, they slid off pretty easy.

What bums me out even more was I bought them for a meet-up and these were going to be a surprise. Fucking hell...

[Gee-Man]

[quote author=Thegreek link=topic=10628.msg57936#msg57936 date=1313765673]
Todd,

Are you saying this may be an authenticity issue [b]AND[/b] a mold issue? I will admit, I have only smoked one 52 and one 54, but even mold aside, they looked much better than these cigars.

But the bands were authentic, that I know. On the other hand, they slid off pretty easy.

What bums me out even more was I bought them for a meet-up and these were going to be a surprise. Fucking hell...
[/quote]

Mold??? Yes.

Authenticity Issue ?? HELL YES !!!

[tksamtec]

[quote author=Thegreek link=topic=10628.msg57936#msg57936 date=1313765673]
Todd,

Are you saying this may be an authenticity issue [b]AND[/b] a mold issue? I will admit, I have only smoked one 52 and one 54, but even mold aside, they looked much better than these cigars.

But the bands were authentic, that I know. On the other hand, they slid off pretty easy.

What bums me out even more was I bought them for a meet-up and these were going to be a surprise. Fucking hell...
[/quote]
I would say so... unfortunately, but I am not any sort of authority on CCs here... I will leave that to others here who are very VERY good at it.  Hopefully they will come across this thread (namely moki).  There should be no flaws, patches, exposed areas in the wrapper etc, on any BHK sticks.  The ones in your pics all look somewhat questionable to me.  I would be willing to take pics of mine for comparison purposes, but several others here have smoked and seen enough BHKs to know that the problems seen in the sticks in your pics are not typical.  I know my bands are not loose either, and if your BHKs had some mold and were truly overhumidified to the point of inhibiting mold growth, the bands should actually be tighter.

There are alot of pics online of BHKs too... check out moki's site:  ([url=http://www.vitolas.net]www.vitolas.net[/url]), and other places for quality pics of BHKs... you can even find a decent pic of a BHK at Cigar Aficionado, since it was the #1 cigar of the year last year... plus most decent reviews have some quality pics taken during the review of the cigar.

[chenvt]

a) Yes that's mold and not even the a little white dusting that could happen during shipment in rare circumstances.  The fact that it's in the foot too means he has to have seen that bullshit when he put them in a baggie.

b) I would normally say authenticity is difficult, but I will just say this:  I've seen a high number of BHKs since their release, and I couldn't pick out the worst of the bunch and come up with ones that looked like the human equivalent of Amy Winehouse (too soon?)

[tksamtec]

The BHK in this review looks very similar to the ones I have in my collection... very flawless, lighter brown, and somewhat shiny wrapper, BUT, nevertheless, a flawless wrapper with a perfectly applied triple cap.

[url=http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=105942]http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=105942[/url]

[tksamtec]

[quote author=chenvt link=topic=10628.msg57942#msg57942 date=1313767446]
a) Yes that's mold and not even the a little white dusting that could happen during shipment in rare circumstances.  The fact that it's in the foot too means he has to have seen that bullshit when he put them in a baggie.
[/quote]

Chances are with that much mold in the foot, the wrapper surface had some mold on it too, which was probably wiped off before shipping.

Thankfully, I have never gotten any moldy cigars here... a fake, once, but no mold.  :bangin:

[nrich239]

I took the BHK's out the box and put them in the same bag as the PSD's since they all fit tightly and wouldn't get shuffled or beat up in transit.
True, I didn't check the feet before shipping, never had to before.

As for authenticity, I purchased them from PE last June which is a reputable source for many people here.

I also offered to take pictures of the boxes they came out of when you questioned their age.

Not sure where you're claiming I'm slow. You sent me the first MO which arrived on Aug 10 & was short. You sent a 2nd MO including shipping for the BHK's which I got in the mail on Aug 15. I shipped out the entire pack at 9am Aug 16.

You sent me a PM with the pictures last night at 9:53. I was at a baseball game and still responded to you by midnight and had a refund to you after we worked it out at 1:27am.

As for the last text, it was just a request. Didn't have any time requirement on it which is how you seemed to take it.

[tksamtec]

Something just doesn't look right about those sticks... maybe its just the light or exposure of the photos.  Aside from the small flaws in eh wrapper and cap, the wrapper color seems a little darker than any BHKs I have seen, and its way more toothy and alot rougher.

Here is another review with some good pics... you can see the shine and smoothness of the BHK wrapper here.  The one in this review is not toothy at all... silky smooth and lighter brown in color.

[url=http://aussiecigars.com/2010/11/21/cigar-review-cohiba-behike-52-bhk-52/]http://aussiecigars.com/2010/11/21/cigar-review-cohiba-behike-52-bhk-52/[/url]