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I got a couple of boxes of Cohiba Behikes from my favorite source, and the date code was DIC12.  The last ones were from 2014.  Did I just get lucky or was this an oversight?  The older ones seem to sell for more here....and I understand that aged CC's can be more desirable. They're not that old, just not newer.  Is this a common occurrence or normal?

[quote author=fsfrancis link=topic=32040.msg136471#msg136471 date=1423003509]
I got a couple of boxes of Cohiba Behikes from my favorite source, and the date code was DIC12.  The last ones were from 2014.  Did I just get lucky or was this an oversight?  The older ones seem to sell for more here....and I understand that aged CC's can be more desirable. They're not that old, just not newer.  Is this a common occurrence or normal?
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Depends on your source, who was stamping the boxes that day, the alignment of Venus and Mars that day, etc., etc., etc.

Generally, if you were getting nothing but boxes of 14s and then all of a sudden got 12s - and it's all from the same source- then unless it was advertised as "Aged Stock," I'd say it's a typo.

Did it have the barcode on it, or was that scratched off?

I bought one box last year and it had box code MUO JUL14, and then I got two boxes this year, and both had the box code BTO DIC12.  On all three the bar codes are rubbed off.  The Monte's I got from the same place had an intact bar code.  Is there any significance that they would be rubbed off?  Why would they bother?  Don't they stamp the box codes at the factory instead of the dealer?  Help a newbie CC explorer.

Very common. Grey market vendors (those that buy from out of region official Habanos distributers which is frowned upon by Cuba) scratch off the bar code so the cigars cannot easily be tracked to the distributer who sold outside his territory. Cigars are fine. You usually get recent production but many times I've received 3-4 year old stock which just sat in the back of the humidor for years. Vendors try to sell their stuff on a FIFO basis but sometimes thing get screwey depending on the volume of the seller. I know this happens all the time with PuroExpress and COH

[quote author=mcgoospot link=topic=32040.msg136483#msg136483 date=1423013596]
Very common. Grey market vendors (those that buy from out of region official Habanos distributers which is frowned upon by Cuba) scratch off the bar code so the cigars cannot easily be tracked to the distributer who sold outside his territory. Cigars are fine. [b]You usually get recent production but many times I've received 3-4 year old stock which just sat in the back of the humidor for years. Vendors try to sell their stuff on a FIFO basis but sometimes thing get screwey depending on the volume of the seller. I know this happens all the time with PuroExpress and COH [/b]
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Well, there you go!  I don't typically buy more than one box of a specific vitola repeatedly - it takes me at least a year or 2 to work through a box.

If you trust your vendor, you're all good.  Me, I rarely get boxes with the barcode scratched off.  I've just had too many problems with gray market sticks.

It would seem then that finding a reliable dealer willing to ship here that buys from the distributor in his designated region may be a little more difficult to find.  My source is one of the ones listed.  I was referred to them as being a reliable source.  Smokes seem tasty/authentic as far as I can tell.  Would there be a chance that one of these grey market vendors would be selling fakes?

I know of one vendor that will provide an inventory list and you can request a specific box. Sometimes there are in fact boxes with a few years of age on them in stock.

you need to find a vendor and gain some trust in them... grey market or not.  If you don't trust your vendor(s), then you shouldn't be buying anything from them, let alone illegal cigars.

I have been unclear.  My dealer is great.  Fast delivery, reliable, authentic products.  I have zero complaints.  Only question is if gray market goods MIGHT be a  downside.  No complaints here about the sticks.

I do know of one vendor who keeps all of the average to above average stock he receives, and passes on the rejects to various markets which specialize in gray market and discounted sales.