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Epiphone Dot Fake or Real


Son of Dodai

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Posted

Hi,

 

I am trying to buy a Epiphone Dot of craigslist. I guess it is a "vs" model? (it says "Dot vs" inside. . .whatever that is. Vintage sunburst? Can anyone tell by if this is a fake or not. Plays pretty good, but it has some strange things about the way it looks.

 

1. One the back of the headstock is engraved into the wood( stamped) with the word "Used" and right under that is a sticker with I guess a serial number (that doesn't show up in any database search)

 

2. No "Dot" on the truss rod cover

 

3. No "E" or trace of one ever being on the pick guard

 

4. quite of few rusting screws (not sure if this is just cheap or was left out of a case too long)

 

5. On the headstock the logo when matched to other logos does not match. E.G., the "n" looks funny.

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Posted

So what I am hearing you say is that this is not really a fake, but rather "refurbished" from real Epiphone parts?

 

No, it's not a fake. Apparently it did not pass QC at the Epiphone factory. This could be for any number of reasons, often a small blemish. These are stamped "used" on the back of the headstock, which voids Epiphone's lifetime warranty. A refurbishing company buys these guitars at a reduced price, fixes them to the extent possible, and resells them.

Posted

So what I am hearing you say is that this is not really a fake, but rather "refurbished" from real Epiphone parts?

 

what Cougar said. sometimes the parts may not be Epiphone parts. they may receive a guitar that has missing pickups or tuners and they will fix whatever flaw it had. so the hardware or pickups might be different but the body is legit.

Posted

No, it's not a fake. Apparently it did not pass QC at the Epiphone factory. This could be for any number of reasons, often a small blemish. These are stamped "used" on the back of the headstock, which voids Epiphone's lifetime warranty. A refurbishing company buys these guitars at a reduced price, fixes them to the extent possible, and resells them.

 

Thank you so much for your help. Epiphone also got back to me with the same info! So not passing QC and then another company coming in the buy bulk makes perfect sense. You know your stuff. The seller is asking a great price and it plays well so I think I'll buy it! Then probably buy a nicer one later :-)

Posted
The seller is asking a great price and it plays well so I think I'll buy it!

 

Sounds like a plan. Yes, you should get a great price on a refurb. Just check it over real good. There are a lot of them on ebay, and occasionally the description will say "The refurbisher couldn't find anything wrong with it." Dots are super guitars. I love my Dot.

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