China Guitar Counterfeits, Copies and Fakes

Always wanted to own a signature model Gretsch, Fender or Ibanez? Beware! That deal of a lifetime that you have just spotted on eBay may well be a cheap counterfeit copy made in China. The anonymity and reach of the internet makes it a perfect selling-ground for fakes and eBay, the biggest online marketplace of all, is full of them.

Counterfeit guitars are not a new phenomenon. They have been available from unscrupulous sellers for years. Sadly, it seems that as buyers become more aware, the scammers become even smarter. Guitars are cloned by the thousands in huge Chinese factories and end up for sale here at ridiculously low prices. They are stamped with U.S. manufacturers names, complete with seemingly authentic cases and logos, and look remarkably genuine. Only experts can identify them as fakes and many guitar enthusiasts have already fallen victim to these scams. Guitar lovers buy brand names because they trust and believe in them. To discover that your treasured guitar is not what you thought it was, can be very unpleasant experience indeed.

This is definitely not to say that there are no genuine bargains out there. The majority of sellers on eBay are genuine honest businessmen and there are thousands of good deals to be found. But, if you are looking for an authentic guitar, do be cautious. Not all sellers are as legitimate as they appear. Before committing your hard-earned money, it is important to make sure you that know exactly what you are buying and who you are dealing with. Read this guide carefully and you should be able to avoid most of the scammers out there.

Counterfeiting is a global problem affecting many industries!

The global counterfeiting industry is estimated to be worth $500 billion annually and has about a $300 billion affect on the U.S. economy alone. It is fraud on a global scale and despite its immorality and illegality continues to grow right out in the open. China is one of the largest contributors to the problem. They even have large malls selling nothing but counterfeit goods. Cheap labor, advanced technology, copyright and trademark laws that fall short of international standards and ineffectual policing, if any, make it almost effortless to manufacture fakes at a fraction of the legitimate cost - sometimes as little as 10 cents on the dollar. Buyers in the U.S. who knowingly purchase these fakes also contribute to the problem. After all, if there was no demand, no-one would bother to make them.

There are ongoing efforts curb the counterfeiting problem, but at present it seems that the fraudsters are winning by a fair margin. In 2000, after a fake Richard Diebenkorn painting was sold on eBay for $135,000, some of the protection mechanisms on eBay were improved. Tiffany, in 2004, after secretly purchasing items on eBay and finding three of four to be fakes, accused eBay of trademark infringement saying that they allow hundreds of thousands of pieces to be falsely sold as Tiffany jewelry. The trial began in late 2007 and a favorable judgment for Tiffany could require eBay to invest more in blocking the sale of counterfeit luxury goods. Despite a thorough search, we only found one single incident specific to the guitar industry. In June 2007 Steven Sexton was convicted for selling fake Gibson Les Paul guitars. He received a $250 fine, a 45 day suspended sentence, 18 months of unsupervised probation, and was ordered to pay $2700 in restitution to his victims. Not much of a deterrent, is it?  

While there doesn’t seem to be much happening in the way of enforcement in the industry, counterfeit guitars certainly are part of this global and industry-wide problem. More and more fakes continue to surface and are reported in industry and related publications. The culprit suppliers are certainly not hard to find and seem to be flourishing. The difficulty, it seems, lies in establishing exactly who they are doing business with here in the U.S. As real Gibson’s are only made in the U.S., we did a quick search for ‘guitar Gibson’ on one Chinese trading site, Tradekey dot com. In a matter of minutes we found no less than 18 possible suppliers. Here is a verbatim extract from the sales copy of one:


Buyer’s who have been duped into buying fakes say that the quality and craftsmanship is really poor and that they sound nothing like the originals. Most of the comments describing these fakes that we have heard are quite unprintable and you’ll have to use your imagination to fill in the blanks. To give you a hint, these unsuspecting buyers were understandably angry and many expletives were used in conjunction with the word ‘junk’.
 
Cheaper local brands are a far, far better option, offering far superior quality, backed by both service and warranties.

What can you do to minimize your risk?

Many eBay users have learnt the hard way. Ending up with a cheap fake, rather than your expected, and excitedly awaited, dream guitar, can be soul-destroying, especially when you have spent your savings on it. Luckily there are many ways to minimize your risk.

Scammers are usually pretty intelligent people. They have to be to make a dishonest living out of conning others. Flushing them out is not always easy, but experience and time have highlighted many of the warning signs.

Suspicious Listings – Read between the Lines!

Obviously the place to start is the actual guitar listing. While some red flags are glaringly obvious, others are a little harder to detect, particularly by inexperienced users. Here are the most important ones to look out for:

• Item location – Best estimates are that more that 90% of fake guitars originally come from China. A listing from there should immediately put you on guard. Unfortunately most unscrupulous sellers are a bit smarter than this and have found ways to sell their fakes from within the States. You should therefore also check that the item’s location is the same as the seller’s location. If they are not the guitar could be dispatched from China. A number of sellers here import fakes from China and resell them as the genuine article. If this is the case you will probably not find the clues in this section. 
  

• Item description – A very general or vague product description is always a little suspicious. You would expect a genuine seller to know their product well enough to at least be able to properly describe it and give detailed specifications. Poor English is also a dead giveaway. Although hard to believe, many of those duped by scammers have said that the description was actually more about Chinese culture than about the guitar itself. On the other hand, if the English is very good, this may also be a sign. It may have been copied from a legitimate seller and you will need to search for duplicate listings. Steer clear of listings with wording like "all sales final", "no returns", "ask questions first as all sales are final".  Read between the lines – sometimes what is not said speaks louder than what is.

• Price – In life you usually ‘get what you pay for’ and an absurdly low price is a sure indicator that all may not be as it seems. Nobody in their right mind sells a top-end guitar for a fraction of the market price. Question the seller’s motivation and don’t get caught. The scam here actually lies in the shipping costs and is discussed below.

• Shipping costs - Extremely high shipping costs which are completely out of proportion to the guitar price and size are a definite warning signal. Also, if they are quoted in another currency, usually British Pounds, be wary. Sellers inflate shipping costs in case a buyer insists on a refund. They then offer to refund the price paid less the shipping costs, leaving the buyer, in fact, with no refund at all.

• Feedback – The eBay feedback system is supposed to be an indicator of a seller’s track record, but this is not always the case. Many people have found ways to manipulate the system, so don’t be too impressed by this. Even if it is largely positive and there are an impressively large number, take the time to investigate other avenues. It may have been built by selling a large number of very small and unrelated items. Of course, if it is mostly negative, take the benefit of others bad experiences, and move on.

• Category – Most reputable guitar sellers list their offers in the ‘Musical Instruments’ category. If the listing is in another category, especially an obscure or unrelated one, you should question why this is so. Scammers have been known to do this to avoid scam warnings.

• EBay buttons – A genuine listing always has an eBay button displayed. The most common are ‘Buy It Now’, ‘Make Offer’ and ‘Place Bid’. Be very cautious if none are present. Somewhere in the listing details you will probably also find a request to contact the seller privately or to visit their website. This may be a sign of a Western Union con. It could also be an unscrupulous seller trying to reduce negative feedback or to lure you to a scam webserver. As a rule, never buy from an international seller who refers you directly to their private website. Not only does this contravene eBay’s rules, but it may be a trick to extract your personal information or much worse.

• Discounts – Look out for sellers offering discounts for larger purchases. This also contravenes eBay’s rules and could be a counterfeit manufacturer trying to lure a local supplier.

• Listing period – Another possible red flag is a seller listing an expensive item for a very short period, say one or two days. Why are they so desperate to make a quick sale? There are a number of reasons people do this – some are valid, but most are not. 
  

• Private Auctions – Private auctions allow sellers who repeatedly sell fakes to unsuspecting customers to continue with their dishonesty in a more furtive manner. As bidders are kept private, honest eBay users who recognize a potential problem cannot contact the bidder to warn them.

• EBay status – EBay places a number of icons in the ‘Meet the seller’ section of each listing to indicate the seller’s status. Although not fail-safe, the positive ones to look out for are: Power Seller, About Me page and ID Verified. Be a little wary if you see the ebay icons that show that the user has been registered for 30 days or less or has changed their ID in the last 30 days, respectively. It is always better to deal with reputable, well established and experienced sellers, but it always be a single honest guy trying to get a start in the business by offering a great deal.

• Other listings – Check to see what else the seller is offering. If the other items are completely unrelated to guitars and are all high-priced items, be wary as this is unusual for a legitimate seller.

Further Investigation – Knowledge is Power!

A number of other suspicious tell-tale signs can be found by studying listings for similar guitars. Here are a few to look out for.

• Multiple listings – Look out for the same wording and pictures listed over and over again by supposedly different sellers. Beware if you find a number of standard sounding listings. You should also search through matches that have already closed. Enter keywords from the heading to search through completed listings.

• Stolen pictures – Many scammers lift product pictures from genuine listings for the same product. Scroll through the listings to see if you can spot any duplicates. If you do consider them suspicious and investigate further. 
  

• Product information – Specific details about the guitar you have your eye on is the best weapon in your arsenal, so gather as much knowledge as you can. Most of the leading brands have many distinguishing features and you can usually find all the details on the genuine manufacturer’s website or through the search engines. For example, Fender normally places the serial number on the front or back of the headstock, and, sometimes, depending of the year, on the neck-plate. With specifics like this it is far easier to ferret out a conman, so do get as many details as you can. Most manufacturers will happily verify a serial number and offer tips on how to check a guitar’s authenticity. There are also many expert opinions that can be found through the search engines. It is often the one, seemingly irrelevant, detail that is the key to spotting a fake. If you are very new to the world of guitars or a little overwhelmed by all the information, get some expert advice. Most honest guitar lovers hate fraudsters and will be happy to help.

Communication with the seller is an absolute must!

Online auctions, by their very nature, require heavy reliance on the word and reputation of the seller as it is not possible to physically inspect the guitar before purchase. As a rule of thumb you should only deal with sellers that you feel completely comfortable with. This is absolutely vital and could well prove to be the difference between getting conned or not. Never ignore that little voice in your head and if you have any doubts, either satisfy yourself or walk away. The only inexpensive way to become completely at ease with a seller is through direct communication.

Ask a lot of questions about the guitar and anything else that worries you and carefully evaluate the responses. Here are some things to keep in mind when communicating.

How to communicate – You can contact the seller in writing at any time using the ‘Ask seller a question’ link. For written communication, this is the only really safe way because it is within the eBay system and all of your personal information will remain private. A telephone call is often better because it is person-to-person and allows you to immediately gauge the seller’s responses. EBay will only, however, release the seller’s contact information to you if you are ‘involved in a transaction’. To get hold of the details, place a very low bid on the guitar and then request the details from eBay. If, when you call, the phone number doesn’t work or is not answered, consider this a major red flag. You can use directory assistance or a suitable website to verify that the seller’s name, address and phone number correspond. Also, if you don’t receive a quick response to your inquiries, or if the seller seems evasive on the phone, there is a good chance that you are dealing with a scammer. You may have just saved yourself a lot of money and effort. Never force the issue, this is just asking for trouble.

• Product inquiry – Ask a lot of specific questions about the guitar. Inquire about: the country of manufacture; identifying markings; the serial number and where it is placed; the color, finish and inlays; specifics about the individual parts; accessories and anything else you can think of. If you are an amateur and don’t know much about guitars, make sure that you have done your research before communicating with the seller. If the seller is evasive, doesn’t appear to know much about the guitar, or can’t answer basic questions, there is a good chance that you are dealing with a fraudster. Use your instincts and don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as are necessary. After all, it is your money that is at risk.

• Transaction inquiry – Ask probing questions about the transaction details, such as: alternative payment methods; shipping options and anything else that concerns you. If you suggest an alternative payment method and the seller seems willing to accommodate you this may indicate that he is genuine. Judge his responses for yourself and follow your instincts.   
  

• Photographs – ‘A picture says a thousand words’ and it is always a good idea to ask for more photos of the guitar, especially enlarged ones of the various parts. There are a number of good reasons for this.  Firstly, many scammers use stock pictures stolen from guitar manufacturer’s website or other sellers. These are not too hard to spot and if you have seen the same ones in another listing, be suspicious. Secondly, you can compare the new photos to those in the listing. Are the new ones different, and if so, why? Look closely at the backgrounds – does it look like they were taken in a store? Thirdly, and most importantly, photos give you the opportunity to compare the different parts of the guitar listed to those of a genuine model. This makes it far easier to spot inconsistencies, like, for example, three screws in the truss cover of a fake Gibson, when a real Gibson only has two. This is the level of detail you need to make absolutely sure that what you are looking at is a genuine model.

Find your Dream Guitar with Confidence!

Every guitar is different – each has its own sound, its own soul and its own personality. By now you should be well equipped to track down that ‘beauty’ with confidence. If during your search, you come across something amiss – something that just doesn’t feel right – report your suspicions to eBay and help the next guy out there. After all it could well have been you!  

Have fun and Happy Hunting!

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