Recently I got THIS pop up ad. Now unless these cigars are over 40+ years old, I can think of no way this can be legal. Can anyone enlighten me on this. Maybe I forgot to read something here.
The company is in Panama, which doesn’t have an embargo, and they are not subject to U.S. laws. They have a disclaimer that says:
Which means they plead ignorance as to whether it’s legal where you order from. But then they go on to say
So they do take precautions to make your order discreet. This is the same as ordering any other illegal product from overseas (be it absinthe, certain weapons, some prescription medicines, etc.): the vendor isn’t at risk since it’s legal in their country, but the buyer sure as hell is if Customs discovers the package.
Long story short (I know, too late), no they aren’t 40+ year old cigars; and yes, it is illegal to order from this company if you live in the US.
I thought so!!
I have read that President Kennedy stocked up on Cuban cigars as soon as he realized that his own supply was about to be shut off.
So don’t order. “Cigars From Cuba delivers prestigious, hard to get Cuban cigars WORLDWIDE with most orders shipped from our warehouse within 24 hours.”
and it also says in their
FAQ “Our warehouse is the central distributing warehouse of cigars in transit out of Cuba to Europe and Asia.”
They admit they try shipping to the US, but I don’t see how this is any worse than advertising my fine Amsterdam “coffeeshop”.
Say, does anyone know what I’d be busted for if I was in the US and bought some? The embargo is to prevent trade, so I figure it’s the actual buying. But what if I bought some, and had them shipped to pkbites?
So it may be illegal in the US, but it’s perfectly legal for us Europeans to buy those cigars. That’s certainly big enough a market for them. This ad just pops up to everyone regardless of where they live, but on the other hand we often get ads promoting something interesting, only to find out that “offer valid in US and Canada only”. Same logic is at work here, I think.
Nanoda, here’s what US Customs has to say about Cuban cigars:
The bolding is mine. As for penalties:
I take this to mean that once the cigars hit the US border, you’re in danger of these penalties. You, in Canada, would be safe, but pkbites might be screwed. You can’t bring them to the States no matter where you’re from.
The joys of being Canadian. If only our dollar wasn’t so low I could afford to buy some.
By the way, when crossing the border, I’ve been asked directly on more than one occasion if I was carrying cigars. They obviously take this seriously.
Does this include people returning from Guantanomo?
The cigars are probably fakes.
http://www.cubamall.com/fakes.html
Some guy supposedly got a hold of a vast stash of pre-embargo cigars, which are not illegal. Two years ago, you could buy a 40-year old cigar out of its original box at the cigar shop at Connecticut and M here in DC for about thirty bucks. Now, the same vendor is selling a “blend,” which sounds suspiciously like nasty old cigars mashed up with newer tobacco. It’s still thirty bucks, if I read the sign right yesterday.
Suspect claim, seeing as though this site is trying to sell you their “authentic” Cuban cigars.
Sounds like you need to take a trip north and buy some non-functional vibrators to ship back home.
FranticMad, I had a look at your link, but it doesn’t seem to be very informative on fakes.
A lot of the cigar smokers I know point to this site as one of the Web’s best primers on spotting fake Cuban cigars. Everything you need to know, and then some–and the fellow who posted it is not in the business of selling cigars, so he has no interest in trying to get you to buy from him.
Pkbites, I don’t know if you’re thinking of ordering, but it might be an interesting exercise to see how your Panamanian advertiser addresses some of the issues raised in the primer that I linked to. I’d be wary, for example, if I was ordering unboxed cigars, and was thus unable to examine the stamps and seals for myself.
You are technically correct, but let’s be realistic. The buyer is really only at risk if Customs discovers the package AND can demonstrate that the buyer arranged to have the package shipped. Contraband in a package being shipped to you is not sufficient reason to issue a fine or convict you of any crime.
If it was, imagine how easy it would be to get other people in trouble. Just drop some illegal drugs in an envelope, mail it to your adversary, and make an anonymous tip to the police…
Customs may very well have good reasons to suspect that you knew about the package, but in order to try to get you in trouble, they would have to subpoena your telephone records or your financial records to seek to demonstrate that you had placed an order for the contraband, or at least knew about the contraband.
It goes without saying that Customs does not start that sort of costly and lenghtly process because of a few Cuban cigars. In fact, a lot of small quantities of drugs that are intercepted in the mail are simply confiscated without any follow-up. The customs agents empties the package and sends the empty box on to you with a note saying that the contents were seized and that you are welcome to contact Customes if you want to dispute the confiscation. (I imagine that disputing the confiscation would be a bad idea.)
You may also be interested to know that while Barbados has a modest reputation for making very fine cigars, you would be hard pressed to find an actual tobacco farmer on the island.
They procure their raw tobacco from… other sources… and cure it there on the island.
Having been to Gitmo many times, I’d guess that Cuban cigars aren’t even available there, although to be honest, I never checked for them. The only stores are US Navy and Marine stores, and I’d doubt seriously that they are authorized. There is a standard US Navy Exchange complex with a McD’s and commissary, and a Marine Corp exchange up the hill. I could be wrong, though. We always got our Cubans in the Domrep and Bahamas.
Ooops! Did I say that out loud?:eek:
it sounds like the old definition game to me. the company is named ‘cigars from cuba’…when i looked at the ad i thot it was a description. they could be sending you their ‘authentic cuban cigars’ model of their ‘el crapo’ line. let’s be real…this ‘we won’t send them in the original box but we’ll send you the bands later, but we don’t guarantee that we will send them’…it sounds like the old scam where the black guy goes to some white boys with his trunk raised and sells a glitzy watch for ‘only 20 dollars’ when he could have bought it himself for $9.
