Recently purchased 2 - 5 packs from CI.  Arturo Fuente Best Sellers and Signatures.  I ordered 2 day shipping USPS Priority and received them in about 2 days.  I tossed them in the humidor 66% and after a day attempted to burn not one but 2 of the Best Sellers.  The cigars were hard as a rock, draw very tight,  and the wrappers split on both cigars along the length of the cigars.

I called them and they advised leaving them in the humidor for the same number of days that it took to deliver them ( 2 days) and they should " return to life". I followed up with another call today and was advised that they would accept the un-smoked cigars back for credit but would not credit the other 2 cigars because they had been cut and lit.

Anybody shed any light on the process ........ guess I am out the $ for the cut cigars?

In dealing with internet sales I have NEVER been sent cigars that have to be resuscitated!  

Weird, usually they are pretty quick to correct an upset customer.  The only thing I will say is I have had issues, especially draw and wrapper, with Fuente's mid-level and lower sticks.  Not specifically the Best Seller, but I have certainly had a tight Signature before, and wrapper problems on others.  Not speaking out against Fuente, the high-end are always spot-on for me, and the vast majority of the others have always been fine.

I also think that even 2 or 3 more days of rest would not have changed a thing.  I rest almost everything, ESPECIALLY online purchases a minimum of 2 weeks, usually more.  Just my two cents.

I'm with Michael on this, more rest may have been good for them. I usually try and give them at least 2 week's to acclimate before smoking.

Usually I find that cigars sent from the big online places are more often over humidified rather than under, but the same basic principle applies. I know it can be hard to resist temptation, but letting them rest for 2 weeks to handle either situation seems like a best practice to me.

Can't say for CI as they don't ship to the GWN but all other vendors I've dealt with gave me the impression they would solve such a matter fast and to my satisfaction. I've never had that specific problem but did depend on CS to resolve other issues without a glitch.

As far as "leaving them in the humidor for the same amount of time it took to get them" that, is a strange proposition at the very least.

How they were kept prior to being shipped (RH and Temp), how did they travel (Plane with Drastic Temp, RH and pressure changes or a truck with whatever it is outside that day) are all things that will affect the state of the cigar when you get it. So it's pretty much impossible to say exactly how many days it takes to stabilize a cigar in a given environment. One thing is certain, a day or four won't change much for a cigar, better leave it at least a couple of weeks for it to get to where it should be, where you like your cigars to be.


Although I sometimes fail, I do try to keep new cigars in there for months before I even think of smoking them. The bigger my stash, the easier that gets. After a while, there is always something you haven't tried other than the stuff coming ROTT so it's easy to fall back on something just as new and exciting but that you know for sure is right how you like it.

Just my $0.02.... about $10 worth of it  

I try to let anything I get from CI rest for at least 2 weeks before I smoke them. Sometimes they come in over humidified, sometimes not. I do not have as many problems with other vendors, and will smoke one ROTT

I've followed a general rule of thumb with any order....one week for every day in transit and this has proved to me over and over a good way to keep QC with my cigars.  Impatience tends to cause what you've described as most warehouses tend to overhumidify their stock...then all of the changes that take place while they are in transit is a bit of a shock to any cigar.  I don't buy the explanation of 2 days just like Stogie Dad explained and I don't agree with 'dry boxing cigars for a day or two' as well.  Do we really expect to take a 70% RH cigar and change its chemistry in one or 2 days from the foot to the head where it's magically going to be 67% all the way down?  I tend to use B&M's for those cigars I read about and want to try but don't have the patience to wait my usual resting periods.

I let mine sit at least a month before smoking em. If I get a 5pk or more of something I really want to try, I will wait at least 2 weeks to try one, but that is very rare. Letting em sit and settle makes for a happy cigar!    

When I also bought from CI when living in the east I also had them rest for a few months actually.

Anything I buy, especially online, I let rest for a minimum of two weeks in a humidor before even trying to smoke. As others have mentioned, CI tends to ship their cigars pretty wet. Giving them the time to adjust humidity will probably correct a lot of the problems you reported in your original post. A day or two is not nearly enough time for the humidity in the cigars to adjust and even out.

Anything that comes in has to sit, 2 weeks is a bare minimum, 2 months is more like it. Bright side of 2 months is i usually tend to forget about em after a few weeks, by the time i get back to the cigar its been a half a year or more (i admit this is easier in the wintertime since i smoke much much less cigars and stick to aromatics pipe tobacco or smoke my shisha; i have a non-smoking lease and i cant get away with cigarettes or cigars inside).
Resting a shipped cigar to smokeableness takes time and IMO 2 weeks just isnt enough...

Hey fellows ........ CI came through for me.  They sent me a replacement 5 pack with one day shipping and free shipping to return the unwanted cigars.  Had to haggle a bit but in the end 100% satisfied. Cigars resting comfortably ......... lol

Thanks for the suggestions.

CI is usually pretty good at customer service. All good advise onetting them sit a while. I give them min 2 weeks

Good to hear man!

Hum, glad to hear it worked out. I had a problem with some cigars from CI. I took pictures of them and sent them with an explanation of the problem and I never heard anything back from them. I have learned over time, that the cigars may have needed to stay in the humidor longer, but I would have thought they would have at least responded.