If you're reading this, chances are that you're already aware that there are fake Gibson guitars being bought and sold on eBay, and there are several guides already posted by other members that can tell you how to spot a fake Les Paul. I'm just posting this message to let buyers know that there are people from the United States and Canada buying these fakes and then turning around and trying to pass them off as genuine US made Gibsons on eBay. Unfortunately, I discovered this the hard way. Alot of the pictures shown in the listings look like pictures of the real deal, but unless the item is located in China, you might not even think "Chinese fake" , when, in fact , that's exactly what it is. I looked at one seller's profile, and discovered that he purchased eight fake Gibsons from a seller in China for an average of ten bucks each (I don't know how much shipping cost him). The seller has a white Les Paul Custom  currently for sale at the time of this writing that he purchased for ten bucks plus shipping relisted with a reserve price that hadn't been met yet at five hundred and eighty five dollars.

If you're going to bid on a Gibson Les Paul, the FIRST thing to do would be to contact the seller and ask if it's a genuine USA made Gibson Les Paul or a copy. Explain to the seller that you don't intend to insult their integrity, but with all the scam artists out there it pays to be cautious. Don't be satisfied if they just tell you it says "made in USA" on the headstock, as the fakes have that on them as well. An honest seller will be more than happy to give you detailed info on the item you're interested in, and I imagine a decent scam artist will give vague, sketchy details. The seller I mentioned in the paragraph above wouldn't respond when I flat out asked if his Les Paul was real or a Chinese fake.If they don't want to communicate with you, don't deal with them.

I hope this keeps someone from learning an expensive lesson.

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