Convo went something like this:

Me: "By the way, your box of Epernays seem to have some sticks with mold on them. I grabbed one that looked clean."

B&M: "it's probably plume, which is a REALLY good thing as its a sign of age. Was it white?"

Me: "Yes, splotches of white in random areas."

So they go look and confirm its plume and I shrug my shoulders and leave.

The thing is, I thought it was also suppose to coat the whole cigar. Also, I wouldn't think you would find it spreading from th cigar to the box, which appeared to be the case. It definitely looked white, but splotchy and on both cigars and inside of box.

Will plume migrate to the cedar?
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LOL. You were right, he wasn't.
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Here in 2012, an Illusione Epernay would require the use of a time machine to have developed plume.
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Or the patented "Mircowave ageing!" :-)
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You should have kicked him in the groin and said "Sorry for kicking you in the shin!"
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Yeah :-). I'm not sure if they are ignorant or just lying. Either way, left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I was obviously willing to buy it either way. Oh well!
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B&M's do this all the time. It's sad but true. They even train their employees to reply "oh that's just plume".

All you can do is walk out.
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IMHO there is no need to bring it to the attention of the staff/owners. They either a) don't know it's there or b) think it's plume. In either case it shows ignorance.
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This post made me laugh pretty hard, Hugh. I don't know exactly why, but it did. Thank you.
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A) The guy probably was wrong. It may have been mold. And he probably didn't know it.

B) You immediately assume the best thing to do is to treat this person as if they're lying, ignorant, incompetent or trained to reply "It's Plume" at which point you shrug and walk out of the store.

Yeah, it could have been plume... It could have been mold. I think either way, there's probably at least I dunno... 1 cigar... in that humidor that you could have purchased at which point perhaps you could have taken an hour or so to attempt to enlighten the employee. Not everyone is as experienced as you'd like and we were all noobs once. If all you ever do is shrug your shoulders and leave, you're not making it any better for the next guy who walks in who might not know any better. Or maybe it's just a young guy who's still learning. I just feel like this is only the 100th thread like this and many are quick to jump on the bandwagon and say the retailer was an ignorant person. Well, some day you may find yourself in want of a good retailer only to find that none exist anymore because the knowledge of the hobby was never passed along...
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I've learned at my local shop not to point it out to the owner, but to point it out to the other guy who works there. He's more knowledgable and actually cares for the stock. Best part is if it's still smoke able he gives you a discount. Mmmmmm penicillin
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I didn't mean to sound like I didn't purchase anything. I actually bought 4 cigars (one being an Epernay from a moldy box), plus a tin of pipe tobacco. I had 3 of them actually tell me it was plume, including the manager/owner (not sure on his role other than he does the ordering).

I just wasn't sure if plume on a cigar could start creeping up the side of the box too. It seems like it would be more of a trait of mold, but honestly unsure.
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A picture would be really helpful. However I think the quality of a B&M is directly related to the knowledge of the staff. How greatful I am to have a mentor (thanks Greg) and an Asylum Riddled with great info and minless wonder. I have learned more in a few months here than in years of smoking.
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I have some cigar wrappers currently not on cigars that have plume, you can clearly see on mine that it is a very fine crystallization, and does not look fuzzy.
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ive seen legit plume in a shop once. i have seen mold many times.

it is very frustrating to walk into a shop and know more about cigars than the people that work there yet they continue to push wrong information on you.
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I didn't mean to make it sound like I was singling you out either.

The point I was trying to make was that there are plenty of people out there who would just rather consider the employee stupid than taking the time to help. Not saying you're one of those. I guess in a way I'm just trying to stand up for retailers out there. It's not as easy as it seems.

To answer your question though, without having seen it it would be hard to cast judgement on what the white stuff was. Sounds like mold... but... always room for error. Another possibility is that which occurs when bad or very hard water is used in the humidifier rather than distilled water. It also causes a white-ish material to build on cigars and boxes.
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I have never been into a B&M that acknowledged mold. NEVER. I just don't understand.
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One local B&M to me has some cigars with a white crystal type powder in the cellophane wrappers. I'm sure it was on the cigars too I really couldn't see clearly through the cellophane though.There temp and RH are always inconsistent and waaayyyy off. Oh yea....there prices are high too.

Does this sound like plume? or maybe another byproduct of neglect?
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Exactly. They always say it's plume.
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It really depends on the level of knowledge possessed by the staff. In a lot of instances, they simply don't know or have been instructed incorrectly by someone who doesn't know. Remember, at a number of B&M's, the staff are not as fanatical about their cigars as the members you find here.

I have seen B&M's take responsibility for moldy cigars that they weren't aware of.

I have also seen people who own extensive collections and have been smoking for years be rather proud of what they think is plume but is actually mold.

It's all about just knowing which is which.
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