I don't consider Cigar.com to be the best price estimator, especially after I found one of the sticks they were trying to sell for ~$30 for $13 at a local B&M a few months after looking. The prices you have there are about what you'd look to pay online, so I'd say spring for as many as you can get. If you want an extremely good smoke, grab the 46. Just had one the other night and :-):-):-)
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The paranoia on this thread is hilarious. This picture should be enough to say, these are clearly legit, the bands were pushed down on a few, but the bands on these cigars can be loose. I see plenty of serial numbers exposed in this photo. The color and embossing on the padron label look fine, beyond that, with the low lighting and flash on a camera phone of course the wrapper colors are going to look off. The only counterfeit NCs I've ever seen truly exposed were some Opux X that were obviously fugazi from the start. We're not talking glass-top Cohibos here.
Those are decent but not bargain basement prices on some great sticks, so you should pick up a 64 maduro principe and see how you like them. I also have a hard time shelling out more than ~12 a stick, but IMO, the larger Padron Anni's are one of the few NCs worth the $20+ price tag, way better than the equivalent Opus or Davidoff. If CCs were suddenly to become unavailable to me, these would be my go-to cigar. :-)
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Well, this is a different photo, isn't it?

I agree that, with respect to this pic, things are looking legit. However, I will also still defend my warning about the previous pic. I wouldn't call it paranoia at all- just due diligence.
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Do you look at their wine with equal skepticism?
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I've never been to this store, but if I saw a picture of some wine that looked sketchy, I would indeed warn someone less familiar with the particular product that it didn't look like the authentic items I'm familiar with.

:-)

Does that seem unreasonable to you? :-)
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Anything is possible, but it appears to be one of the largest alcohol retailers in the state. I don't live here so I wouldn't know, but they're big.

http://www.specsonline.com/

"Browse The Store" on the left side shows all of their cigars and prices, although they only carry a portion in stores. The 2 I've been to varied quite a bit as well.

5% off for cash and about 11.5% for military.
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Doesn't seem unreasonable. But from what I have read on this thread this retailer has become quite large in the liquor trade which means that they have been providing legitimate goods to customers at a proper price for some time. I would therefore hazard the guess that they are not going to blow it all for a box of fake cigars. Additionally out of the literally hundreds of boxes of padrons I have inspected upon opening I have seen all wrapper shades and S/N locations the underband is even backwards sometimes. right out of the box that comes out of the box with the invoice from padron. but what do I know I just sell the things.:-)
To the OP the cigars look fine all of them pick up whichever one you want and enjoy especially that 1926 #35 in the natural wrap :-)
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I picked up a box of the 1964 Exclusivo at Duke City Cigars for.....

$182 shipped...

black friday... 40% off the store.
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My point was that the op didn't ask for an opinion on whether these were fake or not; it was an inquiry on people's opinions of the Padron Anniversary line. I simply find it amusing that any time certain netizens see a blurry, off color picture of some cigars posted online they have to start analyzing every minor detail to sniff out potential counterfeits. I would hate to see the hand wringing that happens when those same people walk into a B&M. Boredom, paranoia, due dilligence, call it what you will, I can understand it in the habanos forum, because we've all seen fake habanos and there is a real and constant need to steer newbs away from the prodigious counterfeits, but really, when was the last time any of us saw a counterfeited NC in person? Especially in a large chain store? I know it happens once every few years; I can recall the big Swisher Sweets ring and a batch of fake Opus Maduros in the last 3 years, but really, to start doubting the authenticity of a major retailer's product from one grainy photo when it wasn't even asked for?... :-)
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:-) nothing wrong with looking out for a new guy. Caveat emptor always applies :-)
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Most of us answered the OPs question, but also voiced our concern based on the photos given. No, NCs aren't counterfeited very often, but these particular sticks have a history of being counterfeited enough that the producer felt the need to put a counter-counterfeit protection in there with the serial numbers on the second bands, so when we see a lack of those serial numbers a red flag is raised. I work in a B&M and have personally never seen naturals with that light of a color wrapper so that was a secondary red flag for me. When I add both of those together and see the price thats low, even for my standards living in a state with one of the lower cigar taxes in the US, I get even more skeptical.

That said, the secondary pictures have clearly shown that the cigars are legit and as soon as that was shown most everyone admitted their mistake and moved on.
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So, if someone posted a picture that raised your eyebrows, along with a note to the effect of "I think I'm gonna pick some of these up", you wouldn't let him know it looked fishy to you?

I'm not trying to push my advice on anyone, but sometimes a question isn't asked only because someone isn't aware that there even is a question to be asked. :-)
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Just to note, in case anyone missed it. The second set of pictures is from a different store than the first.
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Padron 26 #9 still my absolute favorite padron...those looks so tasty...
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Just because they are experienced in the liquor trade, that does not make them experts in the cigar trade. They would probably not sell fakes....if indeed they knew they were fakes. I would agree that in the many boxes of '64's and '26's I've had the pleasure of smoking, there have been some pretty dramatic differences in wrapper shades. Label locations have seemed to be more consistent that what's in the photos, but who knows how these sticks have been handled. What do I know, I just smoke the things....:-)

I don't buy my liquor at the cigar store, and I don't buy my cigars from the liquor store. Worked out pretty well, so far....:-)

Cheers - B.B.S.
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:-)
Look, I'm just just playing the devil's advocate, so don't get too defensive. It's not inappropriate or unwarranted to question authenticity when you see a red flag, it's just that what passes for a red flag in some people's minds makes me smile. Bands get jiggled around when you take cigars out of a box and lock them in a bin, prices are lower in states with low tobacco taxes, and wrapper shades vary quite a bit on cigars whose manufacturers don't dye them jet black with tobacco juice. I know I've been guilty of paranoia in the past, but largely because I was initiated into the culture that goes around on chatboards where we teach newbs to scrutinize every cigar they ever purchase as if fake cigars were as common as fake t!ts in Hollywood. I'm just ribbing you a little, and calling attention to the fact that it takes some of the pleasure out of our hobby to overthink things. It's taken me a while to learn to just relax, buy from sources that I trust and to take slight inconsistencies for what they are. I personally find it keeps my blood pressure much lower. For those who prefer to look at every cigar under the microscope, carry on.
:-)
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Uh, ok. Seems to me like a really odd subject to play devil's advocate on, but whatever floats your boat.

The pic looked fishy to me for several reasons (and I'm not alone) and the guy threatened to drop some cash on it, so I said 'watch out'. I'm sorry if it sucked out some of the fun for you, but if the OP had dropped some significant dollars on counterfeit cigars, that probably would've sucked out some fun for him, too, and I'm just trying to help a brother out.
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Well the store I went to today had a few left and I didn't care for the way they looked. Appeared to have been tossed around by customers a bit, but did in fact have the serial number on the side, instead of on top, which would have been hidden in the first pic. So I passed for now.

However, I did see these in their walk-in. Sad :-) Meant to bring it to their attention but forgot. The small hygrometer I saw sitting on a table in the center read 72-73% I believe. These were stored right next to the door.

Image
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I smoked one of those reserva's today (I think, are there other reserva's with a brown label?). It was a robusto.

I have one pet peeve with the tats so far. The foots of them are often chewed up and cracked. I assume people handle them and f them up. So I handled a bunch too, looking for one without a fissure going up the body of the cigar. I tried to be gentle though :-)

Anyways, it was delectable. No mold.
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Having smoked many Padrons, I too do not have a good feeling about these cigars. Contrast in natural/maduoro, serial numbers, appearance of band... Just looks off. If you're still interested, I may have pictures of mine!
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