Beware PUROREY!!!

[cohiba]

I don't think I have ever experienced such bad customer service,
professionalism or courtesy than with this firm. The "so-called"
manager, one Damian Bancroft, is some sort of lunatic. He should
be digging ditches, not managing an online store.

Here is the story:

I ordered over US$700 worth of cigars, 4 boxes. His site says
1-3 days processing. Well almost 3 weeks later he sends the
cigars. I asked him to mail them regular post, he sent them
Fedex. I asked him to put "Made in Cuba", he put made in
Honduras or something. (I live in South Korea and Customs can
actually read an invoice and then the box cover!) Obviously
customs flagged this box and I had to pay US$200 duty and
wait an additional week for it to clear. I finally received the box
at work and instead of 4 boxes of cigars there were 3!!! Damian
neglected to mention that he had run out. Although he still charged
me for 4 boxes shipping. I sent him an email asking him if he was
an idiot. He got so hysterical that he said he would wait the full
90 days before he would credit my VISA card with the cost of the
missing box.

This person is a menace to commerce - BEWARE

[basil]

I'm confused. That's a pretty significant order to do with someone you don't have an established relationship with.

[cohiba]

I have had bad experiences with online cigar stores in the past,
but none were an absolute nightmare like this guy. I thought
it was a reputable firm. I was buying cigars for me and two friends.
(who were not too impressed with my choice of retailer) Anyways,
US$700 is not a lot of money split 3 ways.

I didn't think I needed a personal relationship to conduct business.
I have customers who regularly send my firm US$50,000 as an advance
payment for products. We have our reputation, which is worth a lot more
than US$50,000.

[ggiese]

I gotta side with Basil on this one. There are an awful lot of websites out there that are willing to take your money and ship cigars to you. Some are great, some are good, others are ripoffs. Whether or not they take your money is not an indication of whether or not they're a good retailer.

My shop treats me special because I buy a lot of product from them. I buy a lot of product from them because I am treated special. It's a relationship. I walk into every cigar shop I see to look at their inventory. I usually buy one or two cigars to test the waters. I never start out with a huge box purchase, even though it may be very tempting, or I've been told they're a great place to shop. Once I trust and respect my retailer I start doing large purchases.

Stick around - post - converse with the other members. In time you'll REALLY know where to shop, and you'll have some bargaining power...

[basil]

I have had bad experiences with online cigar stores in the past,
but none were an absolute nightmare like this guy. I thought
it was a reputable firm. I was buying cigars for me and two friends.
(who were not too impressed with my choice of retailer) Anyways,
US$700 is not a lot of money split 3 ways.

I didn't think I needed a personal relationship to conduct business.
I have customers who regularly send my firm US$50,000 as an advance
payment for products. We have our reputation, which is worth a lot more
than US$50,000.

And that reputation is built on the relationships you have with your clients. You may not think $700US is not a lot of money split 3 ways, but the grief you bought with that money says it would've been better spent testing the waters. It's too bad these guys were such a pain in the ass, but like GGiese says, stick around, pay attention, and you'll find some folks who'll gladly take care of you.

[reaganyouth84]

Ggiese and Basil are right. Stick around and some of the guys on here that are "in the know" will give you some good retailers to check out.

-Mike

[damban]

The only thing true is that he lives in South Korea which I advised him that we could not ship cigars by mail and our only method is Courier at that time. He was also told that "made in Cuba" can not be written on airway bill as the package has to go through the US first and would surely be siezed.(Actually the courier company would not accpet in the first place declared mentioning Cuba)
The reason for the delay is that he wanted me to assure him that no duties would be charged and I can not answer this as it is up to the importer to find out the rules and laws of there local customs.He finally got back to me a couple of weeks later and still wanted me to send and he would take the chance of any duties.
I fairly warned him that my policies state that we are not responsible to pay any country and that if you send back the package that the buyer pays ship back fees and is refunded once items are received in good condition and less that 20% is used.

He refused to send them back becuase the shipping was almost US$200 and opted to pay the duties and was upset that package was detected although I declared as "Dominican Cigars" for 1 per stick which i mentioned before shipping that this was the only choice or method we ship by.I did my best in all circumstances to protect my client , but sometimes people think I have control over governments!!!
He agreed and this is his way of slandering my buisness. You can also see that he joined this forum just to post these negative remarks and aquisations an.d since then has never posted here again. I just recently came across this and would like explain my side of this story.

[badwhale]

The only thing true is that he lives in South Korea which I advised him that we could not ship cigars by mail and our only method is Courier at that time. He was also told that "made in Cuba" can not be written on airway bill as the package has to go through the US first and would surely be siezed.(Actually the courier company would not accpet in the first place declared mentioning Cuba)
The reason for the delay is that he wanted me to assure him that no duties would be charged and I can not answer this as it is up to the importer to find out the rules and laws of there local customs.He finally got back to me a couple of weeks later and still wanted me to send and he would take the chance of any duties.
I fairly warned him that my policies state that we are not responsible to pay any country and that if you send back the package that the buyer pays ship back fees and is refunded once items are received in good condition and less that 20% is used.

He refused to send them back becuase the shipping was almost US$200 and opted to pay the duties and was upset that package was detected although I declared as "Dominican Cigars" for 1 per stick which i mentioned before shipping that this was the only choice or method we ship by.I did my best in all circumstances to protect my client , but sometimes people think I have control over governments!!!
He agreed and this is his way of slandering my buisness. You can also see that he joined this forum just to post these negative remarks and aquisations an.d since then has never posted here again. I just recently came across this and would like explain my side of this story.

Your side of the story....5 years later.

[nhcigarfan]

Note to all you new guys.

Cuban cigars are illegal in the US.

[Mizicke5273]

Your side of the story....5 years later.

Wasn't Back to the Future on this weekend?

[BigMacFU]

I'm waiting to read a thread about cocky or scroto and see some vintage Bill.

[CoventryCat86]

I'm waiting to read a thread about cocky or scroto and see some vintage Bill.

Scroto is still an a$$hat but I was dead wrong about CockyHoskins, he's a great guy. We've since become what I consider to be pretty good friends.

He's still running his CockyTalk website with his brother and some family members, the site is absolutely HUGE and one of the best college sports BBs on the net. I'm still in touch with him from time to time and hope to meet up with him someday. He's had some ups and downs like most of us but last I knew, he's still hangin' in there.

His birthday is coming up on September 26th so I gotta remember to start another Happy Birthday thread for him.

[BigMacFU]

Scroto is still an a$$hat but I was dead wrong about CockyHoskins, he's a great guy. We've since become what I consider to be pretty good friends.

He's still running his CockyTalk website with his brother and some family members, the site is absolutely HUGE and one of the best college sports BBs on the net. I'm still in touch with him from time to time and hope to meet up with him someday. He's had some ups and downs like most of us but last I knew, he's still hangin' in there.

His birthday is coming up on September 26th so I gotta remember to start another Happy Birthday thread for him.

Good to read.

[Reddog]

You could tell there was something wrong with the complaint because the buyer wanted the seller to mark the cigars falsely as being Cuban,
The whole explanation stinks of lies. That person should be banned from the site for spreading bad information