It seems recently eBay is being inundated with (brand name) guitars that are frauds. China it seems is the country of origin flooding eBay with too good to be true on named guitars such as Fender, Gibson, Martin, Gretsch, Jackson  and ovation just to name a few. They continue to be advertise Les Paul’s, Telecaster’s, Stratocaster’s and flying V’s  There are a few tips you can use to definitely identify fraudulent listing

1. The listing is from China

2. They always offer to sell you larger quantities at a lower price

3. If you ask the seller a question They will tell about China's culture and what great pricing they can give you

4. The listing info is very vague in the guitars description, if they even list a description.

5. You will find numerous seller ID’s with private feedback’s (so you can not see who they have burned) listing the same item over & over again

6. Many will claim to be Powersellers and have aboutme pages! Don’t be sucked in, check their eBay member date and you will see most have signed up in the last day or two! 

7.China fraud artist will offer these fake name brand guitars for next to nothing prices .99 cents of $5.00.

8. If you are in doubt about the item ask the seller on Gibson for example to email you a serial number. With this you can go to the Gibson website and see if it is a Gibson.

9. Last but not least if it is too good to be true, it usually isn’t. The old saying you get what you pay for goes a long way here!

Just for kicks I recently purchased as a fraudulent Gibson Les Paul even though a China seller on eBay, (Remember the seller said it was an authentic Gibson Les Paul).

Since musical instruments are my life and what I do for a living. I thought it would be important to inspect the quality since our company’s guitar factory is in China. Our guitar name is Panache and we don’t try to pass any of our guitars off as  name brands,

Needless to see I was not surprised, their guitar was not only a fraud but poorly manufactured. The neck was crooked and had a visible scarf joint just waiting to fall and break easily. The nut was not aligned with the bridge, The finish was garbage; rubbed off in you hand, the tuners were loose and would not keep the guitar in tune, the pickups were liked homemade humbuckers with covers soldered on, the hardware was tarnishes as if exposed to sweat or salt, and the body was not mahogany, with a maple top like a LP should be but rather some kind of compounded wood perhaps plywood? The inlays were plastic and not aligned correctly in the neck!

China has legitimate guitar factories, that make high quality instruments such as ours, but fellow ebayers be cautious of a Chinese sellers claiming they sell real deal guitars such as Fender, Gibson, Martin, Gretsch, Jackson  and ovation just to name a few. Happy shopping and Rock on!

Musicianlovers (factory direct seller for Panache Guitars)

PS. If you are looking for a quality guitar, please keep us at Musicianlovers on you favorite seller list