Don't get ripped off with fake cigars !

I often get asked 'How can you guarantee that your cigars are authentic Cubans ?'. It is always a questions that surprises me, in so far that, the answer lies in one factor and one factor only. If you do not want to get taken for a ride, loose money and end up with fake cigars, the only way to guarantee total authenticity, is to buy your cigars from an Official Habanos S.A. Distributor, on or off line. All Official Habanos S.A. distributors will have the Habanos S.A. logo clearly in view. I hear you say, 'that's easy, anybody can put a Habanos logo on their site.' This is true, but a verification is just as easy, as you can find each Official Habanos S.A. Importer, per area, along with all the local official Habanos S.A. Distributors per country on the Habanos web site (www.Habanos.com). The second factor that one must remember is that hand rolled, long filler Cuban cigars are a top end luxury product and they come with a top end luxury product price tag. If you are looking for cheap deals, the simple answer is that you should not be smoking Cuban cigars. If you are wondering why you find merchants who have cigars at half the price compared to other merchants in the same country (it is important to compare prices between merchants in the same county, as the tax on tobacco changes from country to country and effects national price norms. Example - the UK and Canada have very high taxes on tobacco, whilst Switzerland and Spain have lower taxes on tobacco importation. Remember, an Official Habanos S.A. Distributor must be in the country, not in a tax free area. It is not permitted to be an Official Habanos S.A. distributor and be in a tax free area), then check if they are official distributors or not, chances are they won't be. Smoking hand rolled, long filler Cuban cigars is a life long journey of discovery, an accumulation of knowledge, a sharing of experience, a challenge to your senses, therefore take the time to properly choose your cigar merchant based on credibility, trust and enjoyment of the product and service and not on price alone, as you will find that the better deal you think you are getting, the higher the chances you run of being ripped off.