Craigslist - Too good to be true ?

S

sonick

Evolving Lead Gorilla
I came across this ad in craigslist out here in Phoenix..... I am very tempted to see what's going on with this. I've only bought from reputable retailers to date; Can you more experienced person-to-person buyers give me pointers on how to vet this individual and the stock ? I can see how someone with cash flow problems might blow out Davidoff at these prices, but of course I have some suspicion.....

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/for/807045928.html

Any input welcome.... oh and if you're in the valley and planning on contacting him, maybe we could go in for a better price ?
 
sonick said:
I came across this ad in craigslist out here in Phoenix..... I am very tempted to see what's going on with this. I've only bought from reputable retailers to date; Can you more experienced person-to-person buyers give me pointers on how to vet this individual and the stock ? I can see how someone with cash flow problems might blow out Davidoff at these prices, but of course I have some suspicion.....

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/for/807045928.html

Any input welcome.... oh and if you're in the valley and planning on contacting him, maybe we could go in for a better price ?
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Craigs List doesn't like tobacco ads, so write the guy's number down now. Then make sure you can recognize a Davidoff - either bring one or more you know to be right, and/or visit the sites with photos of bands and other info on counterfeits, like

http://www.vitolas.net/index.php?cat=16
and
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Static/Counterfeit/count_dapage1.html
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Counterfeits/Counterfeit_Page/0,3391,24,00.html

But the big thing, as with anything, is to see and and get a feel for, first the guy, and then the sticks. In both cases the construction should be straight and firm, without a flowery or too-sweet aroma. Not too easy to get to, but not too hard either. There are many reasons a guy with a collection might want to get rid of them. Be suspicious, but don't be TOO suspicious.

In the end you should wind up with some great cigars for a great price, but not without risk. Be cautious, but realize that to succeed, you have to be willing to fail. Just not too willing!
 
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I would tread cautiously. How would one acquire such a large collection of expensive smokes and now be willing to dump them at a small % of their actual cost? Storage in the desert is critical, how have these been maintained? Caveat Emptor. :2
 
That's that good insight I knew y'all would have. Thanks guys.

I've been busy up until tomorrow, might give him a ring and see if there's any sketch in his voice, do a bit of social recon and see what's up....

I'd be VERY pleased to acquire a stack of viable Davidoff PC's/Perfectos for cheap......
 
levinmiester said:
sounds like they are stolen...

i'd be real careful about this guy
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I wondered about that....

But with all the foreclosures and overspending finally coming to bear, I figure maybe he does need some cash..... but the 'hot' cigars definitely concerns me; I do NOT want to receive stolen merch.

Will report back when i call. I just sent an email asking which blends and vitolas were available.
 
yeah what made me think stolen is the way he posted, it seems like the poster has no idea what kind of merchendise is on hand. "smaller sizes" "really large ones"

but hey dude, if it's legit, they you have one hell of a deal!!!!
good luck :)
 
levinmiester said:
yeah what made me think stolen is the way he posted, it seems like the poster has no idea what kind of merchendise is on hand. "smaller sizes" "really large ones"

but hey dude, if it's legit, they you have one hell of a deal!!!!
good luck :)
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so true, that does raise a huge red flag; the lack of descriptiveness. That's exactly why i used "blend" and "vitola" in my first correspondence to him; see how he handles those...

How cool would it be to score 50 short perfectos for 100 bucks though ? Schwing!
 
One other thing to think about. if you are serious about this meet the guy SOON. The last two times someone posted a "what do you think" kind of thread about craigs list they were sniped by someone on the board.
 
Addiction said:
One other thing to think about. if you are serious about this meet the guy SOON. The last two times someone posted a "what do you think" kind of thread about craigs list they were sniped by someone on the board.
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:r:r Snipe hunted:r:r
But really thats crappy!! BAD KARMA will get those folks..
 
Ask the guy if he can shoot you some pics of the collection and also how they are stored.
 
Addiction said:
One other thing to think about. if you are serious about this meet the guy SOON. The last two times someone posted a "what do you think" kind of thread about craigs list they were sniped by someone on the board.
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Do we know for sure that it was someone from Club Stogie?
Not being argumentative but I would like to know for sure that this is the case. If so then all I can say is "BAD GORiLLA"
 
i wouldn't mess with it unless he provided pictures of the smokes. i only view posts on craigslist that have pic's. just makes it safer for me as a buyer. if he really has the davidoffs and he is serious about selling them, i am sure he shouldn't have any problems providing pictures.
my :2

if he says "i can't provide pic's because i do not know how to upload them or put them on the internet, etc", than go to his house with:

A. a large gun
B. a large bat
or
C. a large friend

:D
 
Yeah this sounds to good to be true. And as posted above it sounds like he has no idea what he has, except there expensive. good luck and hop no one sniped you.... ughhhhhhh
 
Jay Hemingway said:
i wouldn't mess with it unless he provided pictures of the smokes. i only view posts on craigslist that have pic's. just makes it safer for me as a buyer. if he really has the davidoffs and he is serious about selling them, i am sure he shouldn't have any problems providing pictures.
my :2

if he says "i can't provide pic's because i do not know how to upload them or put them on the internet, etc", than go to his house with:

A. a large gun
B. a large bat
or
C. a large friend

:D
Click to expand...

I would Say go with Both A and C! :r

Sounds like he would be willing to meet, have a look at the merchandise and the Seller. You should be able to get a feel if things are not up to snuff! Still bring A and C!

Good luck and let us know how it turns out, but move quickly!
 
This sounds pretty curious. Ask for pictures and ask for technicals using terminology a cigar smoker (particularly a Davidoff collector) should know (blend, vitola, wrapper, etc.). If he appears to not know what he's talking about, I'd be wary. In either case, I'd meet him - that's the best way to make a judgement. You can see him and his behavior in person as well as the items in question.

If you find out that these are legit with a clean background and you go for it, I'd be interested in buying a couple ;) There's only one shop in this damned state that has Davidoffs, and I want to try some.

Good luck :tu
 
VERY interesting.... and odd....

I just spoke with him. The cigars are well-stored, he knows all the nuances and such of the blends, BUT.. "the cigars don't have bands or boxes" because of some sort of insurance payoff can't re-sell something insurance something loss recoup something something something. lol.

BUT..... he's like you can come pick any size any sick and if you know Davidoff, you'll know well that it's a davidoff. Which is true. Thing is, I'm NOT an expert and may get snowed. I DO smoke plenty of davidoff, but I am not an expert by any stretch, so I'm not sure what to look for.

He even gave me the name of two reputable businesses that looked at the collection to purchase it, but didn't buy it because of the lack of bands and customer wariness. He said if I ask about the collection, they wil verify the authenticity.

BUT, he's very open to testing and validation and such and so forth, and this is why this price is low. They're all aged at 70% for 6+ years. He also has 12 opus x churchills that are so old the cellophane is brown. WITH bands. obviously not as cheap.

I don't know enough about davidoff to prevent myself from getting ripped off. If anyone has any tips or can make any sense of why insurance claims would result in sticks without bands, i'm all ears.

He was very charismatic which scares me a bit. Not in a new car sales man way though. He was very take it or leave it.... feel free to smoke one of each size you're buying to verify. He gave me his location; it is in a very rich area of Scottsdale.

Odd. Just, odd.
 
If anyone from the valley wants to go over there together and it turns out they're legit, maybe we could combine funds to get a better deal....

have 5-6 botl's show up there..
 
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