email: is poor flavour a legitimate reason to return a box of cigars?

[El Presidente]

Over to you folks.

Let him know your thoughts. He has the link to this thread.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hi Rob, 

Quick question and as I know that you would be faced with this situation from time to time. 

I am having a problem with a Euro vendor who you may or may not know but that isn't the issue.  The issue is that I have received a box of Partagas D 4 that doesn't taste right.  I have smoked Partagas D4 for a decade and have purchased many boxes over that time.  This is a box from 2020 and they look fine with decent construction but the flavor is way off being bitter and dirty. I have smoked three. They are authentic, just awful to the point that they are unsmokeable.   I know it is not necessarily their fault but I am not made of money and have little to waste on cigars that i can not smoke. 

I approached ********** to return the box for a partial refund and they refused outright stating that they are not liable for poor tasting cigars.  I don't think that is the way to deal with a repeat client.  Knowing the industry inside and out, if you were in my shoes how would you proceed?"

[Corylax18]

If so, I have a dozen boxes of EL's I'd like to return. 🤣

Seriously though, I think its the luck of the draw. Cuba makes some of the best cigars in the world and some of the worst. If your aren't willing to take a risk on buying a box of garbage, than I would look for other source of tobacco, not another vendor. 

[Hammer Smokin']

as a consumer I wish I could return poor tasting smokes. 

but of course we can't. 

as a retailer that isn't a path I would want to go down. I wouldn't consider offering any form of refund. 

the option to this fella is the classic 'partial box' sale or trade. I think that's the most common activity. Smoke a few (or slightly more) out of a box. Don't enjoy any of them? Onto the trade boards it goes. 

And we know what one person tastes (and/or dislikes) doesn't mean someone else will feel the same. So trading / selling is likely the best option. 

(poor construction is another story)

[RDB]

Well, this is where a relationship should make a difference. If this is a decent regular client with a level of trust established, I’d expect the vendor to make a gesture of some value. Closer to the full value of the box the bigger & better the client is.

I’m assuming though that the vendor has no recourse to the wholesaler. @Elpresidente is that right?

Obviously where there’s a chain of accountability and the vendor can get their own refund, it’s different.

By the way I’ve never done this. I’ve had consistently disappointing boxes, and sucked it up. And of course we all get poor cigars in a box. But then sometimes we get lucky. If I had a whole box that was awful, and I was really confident it was nothing to do with me (sense of taste, storage etc), then I might enquire with the vendor.

[El Presidente]

1 minute ago, RDB said:

 

I’m assuming though that the vendor has no recourse to the wholesaler. @Elpresidente is that right?

 

100% correct 

 

[NSXCIGAR]

@Ken Gargett would finally be able to return his Monte Cs!

To the OP, virtually all vendors have some kind of disclaimer in their returns sections covering this. I don't know of any vendor that would accept returns due to subjective taste. They'd be out of business if they did, quite frankly.

I know it is not necessarily their fault

Correct.

I am not made of money and have little to waste on cigars that i can not smoke. 

You're in precisely the wrong hobby then.

[havanaclub]

as a consumer I wish I could return poor tasting smokes. 
but of course we can't. 
as a retailer that isn't a path I would want to go down. I wouldn't consider offering any form of refund. 
the option to this fella is the classic 'partial box' sale or trade. I think that's the most common activity. Smoke a few (or slightly more) out of a box. Don't enjoy any of them? Onto the trade boards it goes. 
And we know what one person tastes (and/or dislikes) doesn't mean someone else will feel the same. So trading / selling is likely the best option. 
(poor construction is another story)

Good point. He could flip these and make money


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tjkoala]

If Rob has the ability to reject cases because of quality I don’t see why others can’t do the same as well. Of course if this is a grey market vendor that might muddy the waters. I think it’s fair to expect a partial refund if they are absolutely terrible quality and the guy/gal is a repeat customer. At the end of the day as an online vendor you’ve got price vs quality and your reputation is critical regardless.

[LordAnubis]

You take the gamble when you buy. No requirement at all for a retailer to refund, other than out of the goodness of their heart.

[westg]

You could always trade ? perhaps for something else. Be honest state you don't like the taste of this particular box. I am pretty sure you will receive trade offers on 22 D4 ....not to many on the net sites for sale

[...]

Tough luck, maybe sit on them for a few years in the hope that they turn a corner?

Doubt any cigar seller could afford to guarantee flavor, Cubans are notoriously inconsistent.

[LordAnubis]

1 minute ago, tjkoala said:

If Rob has the ability to reject cases because of quality I don’t see why others can’t do the same as well. Of course if this is a grey market vendor that might muddy the waters. I think it’s fair to expect a partial refund if they are absolutely terrible quality and the guy/gal is a repeat customer. At the end of the day as an online vendor you’ve got price vs quality and your reputation is critical regardless.

No nothing wrong with quality, only smoking experience, you want the reatialer to smoke the cigars for you and send you the ash and a report of how good it was? 

[Nevrknow]

Suck it up buttercup. I had some Monte 5's I wasn't pleased with. Confirmed by a fellow member, so that makes 2 that didn't appreciate THAT box. Have a drink and try again. These are natural products. Shit happens.

Hint: PSP or HQ. 👍

[Uncle john touch of grey]

Luck of the draw. Win some. Lose some. Part of the game unfortunately. 

The vendor is not responsible.

[tjkoala]

3 minutes ago, LordAnubis said:

No nothing wrong with quality, only smoking experience, you want the reatialer to smoke the cigars for you and send you the ash and a report of how good it was? 

I would consider a cigar that looks nice and smells nice but tastes like dirt pretty low quality. Isn’t that why everyone pokes fun at Gurkha?

[Islandboy]

I agree that you don’t always receive the perfect box and that’s just part of the game, the vendor has little control over taste beyond a simple visual inspection. But I have had several boxes that tasted off when I first got them so I threw them in the back of the humi and forgot about ‘em, only to come back 4 or 5 years later to some pretty decent cigars. Doesn’t always work out that way though, but kind of fun when it does.

[gustavehenne]

I wouldn't have thought this to be a sustainable business practice. Ones taste can change and given that COVID (as an example) can directly impact taste, a retailer getting a partial box return would be both unfair and unwise. The cigars also may be in their "sick" period and need laying down for a while or indeed could be complete duds - such is the roulette of buying Cuban cigars.

It sucks, but it's part of the "fun"

 

[JohnS]

20 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

I am not made of money and have little to waste on cigars that i can not smoke. 

You're in precisely the wrong hobby then.

Well said ! 👍

14 minutes ago, westg said:

You could always trade ? perhaps for something else. Be honest state you don't like the taste of this particular box. I am pretty sure you will receive trade offers on 22 D4 ....not to many on the net sites for sale

This is a great solution to a problem such as this one!

I empathise though with the person who has the problem here in regards to time and money spent on poor cigars. That's why this forum essentially exists, to assist with this very dilemma. (I.e To save people's time and money when purchasing Habanos cigars!)

[Bijan]

I don't think it's fair to expect the retailer to take the cigars back. That being said a box of 24 cigars is not entirely worthless. I think the vendor out of the goodness of their heart could refund minus shipping both ways and a significant restocking fee, let's say money back minus $200, which would be reasonable for anything other than Reserva/Gran Reserva/Behikes.

So he'd get back $50 for his box of psd4. Wonder if OP would send back 24 robustos for a $50 refund 🤔

@LordAnubis's idea to have the vendor smoke the cigars might work, if the vendor had enough free time to smoke a cigar from each box and grade them... But yeah I can't see that saving anyone any money in the long run.

[Chas.Alpha]

I bought a box of R&J Churchill’s back in 2019. They taste like cherry and wood. I was hoping for more of a complex flavor. The construction is perfect, but yet not my blend...

Exchange for something more to my liking?...

Love, Chas.

[Bijan]

1 minute ago, Chas.Alpha said:

I bought a box of R&J Churchill’s back in 2019. They taste like cherry and wood. I was hoping for more of a complex flavor. The construction is perfect, but yet not my blend...

Exchange for something more to my liking?...

Love, Chas.

No sorry your palate is too good and cherry and wood is within spec for RyJ 😉

[RichG]

Better watch what vendor you throw petty gripes at, I can think of someone who would cancel an account over how this exchange would potentially transpire🤣

I feel it’s in bad form to ask. If the vendor caters to this request because you are a repeat customer, they chance risking developing a reputation as someone dumb enough to accept returned smokes because of the taste. It’s not the vendors fault and they shouldn’t allow themselves to get walked on. 

[Chas.Alpha]

18 minutes ago, JohnS said:

Well said ! 👍

This is a great solution to a problem such as this one!

I empathise though with the person who has the problem here in regards to time and money spent on poor cigars. That's why this forum essentially exists, to assist with this very dilemma. (I.e To save people's time and money when purchasing Habanos cigars!)

I study (dubiously) anything online. I ran across FOH by mistake some months ago. Never turned back... It logically shouldn’t make sense that I would buy a cigar from the other side of the planet which are made a mere 90 miles to the South of me, but somehow it does. 🤔

For the Newbies: PSP/HQ is a reliable guide. Clearance are better than what you get anywhere else on the globe. 

[el_papacito]

Prior to finding this forum, I bought a box of RASS. They arrived and looked awfully dry. I waited a month and smoked one - retched bitter flavor. I waited another 3 months and tried again, same result and on it went for 6 months. I decided to send them a note stating my experience and that perhaps they check their storage conditions but asked for nothing in recompense, simply feedback. 

To my chagrin, they instituted a substantial credit on my account towards another purchase. With that, I subsequently bought a handful of Cohiba Esplendidos, far outreaching the paltry credit, in comparison, and thereby spending as much again as I had on the box. 

 

Good way to handle things I thought LOL

[MrBirdman]

57 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

100% correct 

 

I have always wanted to know whether this policy still applied to the completely empty box of Monte 2 you once got…and if so, could you at least get your duties refunded? I can’t help but ask!