Beetles

[uptown_isy]

Called the retailer this morning and they said there was nothing they can do. She did offer a freebie of some sort if I were to place an order with them again (not likely). I tried to argue my point that even the purchase was in May the cigars were sent with beetles it just took time to reach the right conditions to hatch. No luck.

So if I freeze these could I smoke them even if they have holes? I just can't fathom loosing $200 in cigars.

Here is what you do ... place an order from them for the exact same box. When it comes switch the good one for the beetle box and ship the beetles and destroyed cigars back to them demanding a full refund for shipping beetle infested crap. :whistling:

I don't see why CI would have an issue with this. I'm sure Graycliff would take them back from CI, so I don't know why CI would even care. Every manufacturer stands by the product. If a retailer has a problem with them, the company will take them back. I have yet to have an issue with a company in taking product back, be it with beetles (happens rarely) or with mold.

 

[jepe]

Called the retailer this morning and they said there was nothing they can do. She did offer a freebie of some sort if I were to place an order with them again (not likely). I tried to argue my point that even the purchase was in May the cigars were sent with beetles it just took time to reach the right conditions to hatch. No luck.

So if I freeze these could I smoke them even if they have holes? I just can't fathom loosing $200 in cigars.

Here is what you do ... place an order from them for the exact same box. When it comes switch the good one for the beetle box and ship the beetles and destroyed cigars back to them demanding a full refund for shipping beetle infested crap. :whistling:

That is pure evil or genius :laugh:
Depend how you're looking at it.

 

[Anthem]

Called the retailer this morning and they said there was nothing they can do. She did offer a freebie of some sort if I were to place an order with them again (not likely). I tried to argue my point that even the purchase was in May the cigars were sent with beetles it just took time to reach the right conditions to hatch. No luck.

So if I freeze these could I smoke them even if they have holes? I just can't fathom loosing $200 in cigars.

Here is what you do ... place an order from them for the exact same box. When it comes switch the good one for the beetle box and ship the beetles and destroyed cigars back to them demanding a full refund for shipping beetle infested crap. :whistling:

That is pure evil or genius :laugh:
Depend how you're looking at it.

To a TEE...This is exactly what I would do. I may order it under your wifes name or something just in case they keep a record, but they should honor your purchase and protect their customers by backing their product. Also, there is no way that if they told Greycliff they had a bad box they would not get reinbursed as a company. They want to give you a hassle, give it right back. :angry:

 

[CigarMan Andy]

Bummer.

 

[Nimrod]

I would not throw away the cigars.
Here is what I did.

1.) Freeze cigars
2.) Place all Graycliffs in a separate container
3.) Buy fruit pectin at your local grocery store


After the freeze process is finished and they are ready to smoke again.
Take your worst offender.
1.) Cut the cap and keep the remains.
2.) Mix fruit pectin
3.) Place cap tobacco on top of the holes
4.) Use fruit pectin to keep it in place
5.) Blow out of the cigar to remove all unwanted dust and stuff.
6.) Smoke away

Not perfect, but works fine.

I do not think the culprit were the 1666 ones. If you kept the cello on them, they might have fared better.

 

[ProBe]

Here is what you do ... place an order from them for the exact same box. When it comes switch the good one for the beetle box and ship the beetles and destroyed cigars back to them demanding a full refund for shipping beetle infested crap. :whistling:

That's what i would do. why should you be out $200.00 worth of cigars.

 

[Goldie]

That really sucks. Sorry to hear about your infestation, but it looks like they are at least salvageable

 

[LilBastage]

Called the retailer this morning and they said there was nothing they can do. She did offer a freebie of some sort if I were to place an order with them again (not likely). I tried to argue my point that even the purchase was in May the cigars were sent with beetles it just took time to reach the right conditions to hatch. No luck.

So if I freeze these could I smoke them even if they have holes? I just can't fathom loosing $200 in cigars.

Here is what you do ... place an order from them for the exact same box. When it comes switch the good one for the beetle box and ship the beetles and destroyed cigars back to them demanding a full refund for shipping beetle infested crap. :whistling:

I don't see why CI would have an issue with this. I'm sure Graycliff would take them back from CI, so I don't know why CI would even care. Every manufacturer stands by the product. If a retailer has a problem with them, the company will take them back. I have yet to have an issue with a company in taking product back, be it with beetles (happens rarely) or with mold.

I agree with Israel. Did you go up the chain of command at CI or did you just speak with the first person that answered the phone? I'd go as high as I could up the ladder until I got satisfaction.

I would not order a new box and switch them, but maybe that's just me.

Makes one hesitant to jump on these "deals" doesn't it? It's one of the reasons I haven't purchased anything from CI for a couple of years.

 

[BlindedByScience]

- Run up the chain of command at CI. Ask to speak to a supervisor. Ask him his (her) name. If they don't get it, ask to speak to his supervisor. Repeat as required.
- If you get nowhere, tell them you plan to post pics of the damage on a busy cigar forum and accurately represent their response to the issue so others can make up their own minds weather to do business with them going forward....or not.
- As a last resort, you could contact Graycliff's distributor directly.

Good Luck - B.B.S.

 

[Humidor Minister]

I'm very sorry to see that. I worry because it gets over 105 degrees here in Tucson and In the summer it's hard to get my humis below 80 degrees. What can a person do to keep the temp down? The A/C runs all the time so I can't run the temp down. This would be a disaster due to the number of cigars in the humi.
i wonder if home owners ins would cover this?

 

[KoukiS14]

I have found beetles in graycliffs three separate times, from three different source in three different lines. I know the pathology of tobacco beetle breeding but honestly I am pretty leery of Graycliff product now.

Guess its a Graycliff curse. I too have had beetles in my Graycliffs, not quite as bad as the OP but beetles none the less. Now im not sure what caused this to happen seeing as my humidity is within normal range and my temps are low due to my humidors being in the basement. I can only think that from factory to humidor was the cause in my case. As they were brought back by a friend from the Bahamas. I was lucky to not have many beetles and that i kept the cello on so they couldn't get to any of the other sticks.

They were Graycliff Crystal Pirates. There were a few more holes near the head of the cigar.

 

[rectifythis]

Just my opinion, but I would not smoke or keep the ones with holes. A cigar filled with powdered beetle crap tends to lend a bitter taste.

 

[Jonesy]

Just my opinion, but I would not smoke or keep the ones with holes. A cigar filled with powdered beetle crap tends to lend a bitter taste.

x2 on what Mike said. Granted you've spent some money on them, but it's really not worth it at this point.

 

[themoneycollector]

I'm very sorry to see that. I worry because it gets over 105 degrees here in Tucson and In the summer it's hard to get my humis below 80 degrees. What can a person do to keep the temp down? The A/C runs all the time so I can't run the temp down. This would be a disaster due to the number of cigars in the humi.
i wonder if home owners ins would cover this?

If you're going to keep a sizeable collection, this is why it's worth it to spring the money for humidity and temp control.

I feel for you, but getting beetles several months later is a bit of a stretch. I would recommend another call with CI customer service. They usually are very good about CS, I'm surprised they didn't do anything for you. Maybe they're feeling the pinch as well.

Buying a new box and doing a return of the old box is just flat out wrong, but that's just my opinion.

 

[tsmckenney]

My only experience with beetles was also a Graycliff purchase from CI. I sent them back, they sent new ones.

 

[Joebiech]

I too had a break out from the same CI buy. I froze all the greycliffs and then discarded those with visible holes or droppings. For me it seems that only the double espressos were infected but I do worry about the 1666s as well. If I had known that so many people were going to have the same problem I wish I had saved the infected sticks for evidence purpose.

 

[rectifythis]

I bought this deal as well with no outbreaks BUT I made them hold my order until October when shipping temps were reasonable.

 

[verhoevc]

I too had problems with this deal. They took back the problem sticks though and sent new ones... however, this now makes me want to put these things in a box instead of a singles tray...
I was lucky and have had beetle scares int he past when my collect was small and have since adopted a "DMZ Humidor" approach for all new purchases. I tap EACH cigar after several weeks. I caught these Graycliff's with black dust at the end of the DMZ period.
Chris

 

[KusoJijii]

It looks like CI is still running these. I just had a Graycliff Espresso thanks to jfields and really liked it. Should I get these and freeze them or not even bother?

 

[verhoevc]

I say get them, freeze them, and keep them in a well sealing box in your humi just in case!
Chris