Are you certain that you're not winning samplers? I have come across ring sizes for the same exact cigar that differ very, very slightly from cigar to cigar, but nowhere near the extreme ranges you're claiming.

It is possible that you were given a wrong vitola during the packing process.

happened once with each brand. I was very surprised. Just wondering if anybody else was having that experience

Having variations of a few RG isn't uncommon really. Ring gauge is determined at the time of rolling, after that point, tobacco can swell or contract with moisture / as it dries, and with settling of the tobacco. Because of this, the rollers and the QC that walks the floor are the ones who check the RG of some cigars with a pass though gauge (a board with holes drilled through it) as the cigars are finished and still wet, once they go to the QC at the back of the floor, they'll only use calipers to spot check a few cigars that might look suspect to their eyes as the sizes could have already changed by a few RG. Depending on the factory, not all cigars get checked. Also, I don't know what you used to check, but if it was one of the the paper printouts with the circles on them, they aren't terribly accurate and 4RG is only 1/16" of an inch error.

wrong avatar for that post though.......he did it without straining

they suck

unless you are a 32nd degree Platinum member.

Meh. No one is doubting what you saw. Just explaining the process. If you want to call cbid liars over what you consider a second and what they sold as a first, that's between you and them. I don't GAF really. I've seen some pretty questionable **** get sorted into the firsts piles at some factories, some of it certainly could have ended up in the bundle that your cigars came from.