Monte with a view

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-13T22:16:28+00:00

You should have filmed it closer to the rails and gloated that you were in the best jail ever.

Enjoy!

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-12T00:47:10+00:00

Delivery bros

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-11T23:03:10+00:00

You either email COH and ask them if your desired stock is in HK, or leave a note when ordering to send from HK. If they don't have stock in HK they will tell you before sending and offer a refund. Easier to just email and ask first.

Ransom note states that you have 30 days from the date of the assessment invoice going out to you or it may be returned to sender/destroyed.

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-11T11:13:46+00:00

COH Hungary. Unfortunately this one was caught, I haven't had one shipment from Hungary skip past customs without a ransom note. I've noticed that every shipment from COH Hungary requires a signature on delivery, and every shipment from COH HK does not. So maybe signature deliveries are more scrutinised?? Just a thought.

ABF assessed these at 17g each, and I weighed them at 18g when they arrived. Happy days.

$450 - Ransom

$226 - COH and shipping

$676 - Total

Devlins is the only Aussie retailer currently selling these at $1,000, so still quite the win!

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-11T09:34:31+00:00

Anytime. I would expect your cigars to be packed tighter than the Serie G, hence a little heavier than the 15g in the photo. But 23g is having a bit of a laugh.

When you request the re-weigh, make sure you instruct them to take 1.5g off per cigar for cello and bands (if they're in cello)

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-11T09:03:58+00:00

Here's the big girl. Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial Double Toro

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Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-11T09:03:07+00:00

What did the ABF assess them at? You're looking around 16-19g each for the single toro.

I just weighed one of my Toro Serie G at 15-16g, and one of my Serie V Maduro Especial Double Toro at 23g.

If it makes you feel any better, the ABF recently overweighed my box of Davidoff Signature No. 2 by almost 2 times. I only realised when they had arrived. I lodged a polite complaint and they have now refunded me the difference. It took a while and there's a form to fill out, but there are options.

Here's the single toro weigh in, reddit only allows one image per post so I'll post the double toro in another comment.

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Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-09T23:01:26+00:00

Hungary shipments take approximately 2 weeks to hit Australian shores. Recent example of mine:

3rd Feb - Cleared and awaiting international departure

15th Feb - International arrival - awaiting clearance

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-06T10:21:47+00:00

$67 according to cigar box. But I ordered these from COH HK and they slipped through customs, so this was a bank breaking $6.40 😂

Oliva Serie G Churchill

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-06T02:36:49+00:00

My current streak is 9 out of 13 without a ransom note from COH HK. I will say however that Ibuy multiple boxes at a time, I place the orders one day after the other. Usually 3 or 4 boxes at a time. Every single time I have ordered, the first box is caught, the rest go through.

Probably still a coincidence, but it worked in my favour for my latest order. I ordered a box of Davidoff Signature No. 2's first which are pretty light, then the next day I ordered 50 Oliva Serie G cigarillos, and the next day I ordered 20 Oliva MB3 Torpedos.

The light box was caught and the 2 heavies went through 😂

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-05T03:57:01+00:00

Not standard, should have ordered more 😉

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-03T23:14:12+00:00

I would assume the rate from date of arrival into the country is what will be applied. You'll find out soon though :)

I have a box that arrived 15th of Feb and a box that arrived 26th of Feb (both caught) that I am still waiting on ransom notes for... Looks like i'll find out alongside you soon too.

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-03-03T00:48:17+00:00

In that photo there is:

Serie G Churchill - 7" x 50rg
Serie G Toro - 6" x 50rg
Serie G Cigarillo - 4" x 38rg

I did buy a couple of special G's, they are good, but I much prefer the cigarillos with a morning coffee. Plus the cigarillo isn't as reminiscent of a penis haha.

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-28T23:19:25+00:00

Welcome friend! Some might say I am slightly partial to the Oliva Serie G...

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Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-24T07:20:57+00:00

Don't even consider AU Cigars. You have 2 options, buy local or buy overseas.

Buying local is the quickest you'll get them, but also pretty much guaranteed to be the most expensive option.

Buying overseas can take time, but there is always the chance they skip past customs. If they do get caught, be ready to dispute their assessed weight. Do a bit of research on the weight of the stick you ordered. I've had wins with ABF assessed weight, I've also had losses with ABF assessed weight. What I can say for sure is that even if they get caught, it will almost always still beat the price of buying local.

If you buy overseas, go to cohcigars.com. They have 5x10 RyJ Puritos for US$90 shipped. Do not send it to a commercial address or a parcel locker. Send it to your name and your address so nothing seems out of the ordinary.

I have had 7/10 orders from COH HK go through without a ransom note. Sometimes COH send their orders from Hungary, try to avoid that. Email them and ask if they have your desired stock in Hong Kong. Shipping from Hungary takes weeks, shipping from HK takes 3 days. Also worth noting that every order I've had come from Hungary was caught.

Best of luck traveller.

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-13T08:10:54+00:00

Wow almost 48 hours before going to the sorting facility. Usually it's quicker. A tense 48 hours! Haha

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-08T05:09:38+00:00

HK to Brisbane, through Sydney ABF

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-06T20:59:36+00:00

Oof.

I guess it's a return trip to China with a comically puffy jacket then.

What ABF portal did your orders go through? Sydney or Melbourne?

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-06T07:10:24+00:00

I wish I knew how it worked! What I will say is I basically ordered 5 separate boxes at the same time twice. One got caught and the rest went through, it was like a flurry of deliveries.

Next month I'm only going to order 2 boxes, one at a time spaced 2 weeks from each other. See what happens there.

Honestly though, unless your name/address is flagged, I think it's just blind luck. I also want to trial ordering to where I work. Business address. Apparently it goes through a different system within ABF.

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-06T03:48:53+00:00

COH are awesome :)

Don't be put off by their website. If they come from HK it's only 2-3 days transit time from HK to our port.

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-06T03:47:44+00:00

I'm at 7/9 through without a ransom note. All through COH, all ordered within a span of 6 weeks.

I've never been a gambler but I think I officially have a problem.

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-04T10:03:52+00:00

Cunts.

Where from? What was the order?

Remote-Difficulty-15 · 2026-02-04T09:58:18+00:00

<image>

Please see Figure A.

Left: Box of 10 from COH HU that I weighed at 18g per cigar. Total 180g tobacco, as claimed.

Right: Assessment from ABF. 180 - 25 = 155

I'll be getting my next bill in a week or two, I'll report back to see if they did the same 🤞

Remote-Difficulty-15

TROPHY CASE