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I received couple of boxes from the retailer in Canary Island (puro), and I found that the barcode on both boxes are removed. Not the seal, just the portion of the seal that contains the barcode. It is very obvious that someone intentionaly removed the barcode with a razor blade.

Have any of you guys notice that in recent purchase?

Yes they always remove the barcode as do alot of vendors.

This practice is employed so deviations from the distibution chain cannot be detected. i.e. distributor in Canada has a ton of extra stock and they want to move it, so the sell at a reduced price to Swiss vendor. To stay out of trouble with Habanos SA for going outside their normal distibution boundaries the barcodes are cut off.

This is how it was explained to me. The missing barcode in no way indicates lesser quality.

[quote author=tstoner86 link=topic=8040.msg43052#msg43052 date=1299422781]
This practice is employed so deviations from the distibution chain cannot be detected. i.e. distributor in Canada has a ton of extra stock and they want to move it, so the sell at a reduced price to Swiss vendor. To stay out of trouble with Habanos SA for going outside their normal distibution boundaries the barcodes are cut off.

This is how it was explained to me. The missing barcode in no way indicates lesser quality.
[/quote]

This is an accurate description of the process. However, it is important to note that HSA has recently developed a heightened awareness of these large transactions, and has successfully convinced many distributors,  it is not worth the hassle.

Soon, the folks who dont see a spot, where the barcode has been cut off, will be pre-naturally suspicious.

Cheers
Drew P