Returned recently from a trip to Athens, Greece, and while there purchased some habanos at a nice cigar store in the Kolonaki (downtown) shopping district. I bought one Partagas Lusitania (recently rated 90+) for 16 euros...the sales girl said that they had been marked down in the last few months from 25 euros....a euro is currently worth $ 1.17. That's the first I've ever heard of the price dropping...the R&J cazadoresI bought were roughly the same price as they were four years ago...has anyone else experienced this phenomenon? BTW, many of the cigars, including the Vegas Robaina, R&J, Partagas and Upmann were really poorly made, had spots of blue mold, flaking...overall not worth the price...we'll see in time if the taste justifies it....

... I hope you got them 'Habana' cigars at an 'La Casa del Habano' ... as I'm sure you are aware of the rampant coounterfeits there are out there ...

... also, if they say 'Habano' on the band, you can be sure it's a fake ...

I’m pretty sure mine are fake… They say “Genuine Counterfeit Cuban” on the band.

I believe that this is related to exchange rates. I am reasonably sure that cuban international transactions are dollar based and the dollar has lost considerable value against the Euro over the last year - year and a half.