Gibson CS Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/bobostarxd/product-detailgeomzsqyXxYh/China-Gibson-Les-Paul-Standard-Guitar.html your source for wholesale lots of fake gibsons cheat the little man, make millions selling fake guitars on ebay, ask me how !!! good job gibson way to take actiion against these losers=d> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- not to sound like a smartass, but its time to end all of these posts about fake gibsons, and time to get gibson to do something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakatone Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 yeah,fake Gibsons are really quite often these days....i don´t really thing that Gibson will do anything,even though they should.putting a couple of these guys behind bars should really scare the **** out of the other bunch.i the meanwhile....don´t buy trough e-bay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I just posted this in another thread, but it's so relevant to this thread as well I'll copy and paste it here (forgive me)... ________________________________________________________ I'm not saying that Gibson isn't concerned with the whole issue of counterfeits, but it actually works out in their favor. They "warn" consumers about this terrible problem of fake Gibsons. In other words, make sure anyone even thinking about buying a Gibson knows about all the fakes lurking out there and how they're soooo good, that even some experts are finding them hard to distinguish from the real thing. Then they say, more or less... "We're doing our best to combat the problem (wink, wink), but your safest option is to buy a shiny new Gibson from an authorized dealer. Don't risk your hard earned money buying a used Gibson (which we don't make a penny off of) from some scary person you don't even know." Why would Gibson want to get rid of all the fakes? Then it would be safe to buy used or off of ebay again. Gibson doesn't make any money from those sales. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this. Gibson is in business to sell guitars and make money. This just encourages buyers to seek out authorized retailers. If the fakes were gone and it was 100% safe to buy used again, would you buy a new LP Standard from musiciansfriend for $2299 or a used one from craigslist for $1500? Which one do you think Gibson wants you to buy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 you are damn right guitarjunkie... for gibson it is a win-win scenario... i havent thought of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Oh my God!! I hope I don't start getting bombarded by replica Gibson e-mails/spam like I do for Rolex watches, viagra and penis enlargement.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxx Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Good points, however it seems if the market does eventually get flooded with chinese knock offs, then Gibsons overall reputation for making a quality instrument would be tarnished, making people seriously consider buying ( New or used ) other brands. It would be as if they were slitting their own throat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gutch220 Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 money going towards buying the fakes is money that Gibson isn't getting so it hurts them. Also as mentioned, there is a breaking point where there will be so many fakes that it will destroy Gibson's reputation for their new guitars. I don't get how they can blatantly advertise those fakes as real Gibson's. You'd think the FBI would be all over it somehow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjay777 Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Idk, but this is what befuddles me why Gibson admin. tend to stay out of these threads.B) I really hope someone's cracking down on the b.s. I really do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 I don't get how they can blatantly advertise those fakes as real Gibson's. You'd think the FBI would be all over it somehow Not Gibson nor the FBI can do anything about the Chines knock-offs.... The FBI has ZERO weight in China... Its more a political thing that has to do with trade agreement standards between countries. China can produce, guitars, watches, designer clothes, anything they want and get away with it. What they may be able to do is get that website closed down and even that is iffy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Why would Gibson want to get rid of all the fakes? Then it would be safe to buy used or off of ebay again. Gibson doesn't make any money from those sales. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this. Gibson is in business to sell guitars and make money. This just encourages buyers to seek out authorized retailers. If the fakes were gone and it was 100% safe to buy used again, would you buy a new LP Standard from musiciansfriend for $2299 or a used one from craigslist for $1500? Which one do you think Gibson wants you to buy? The thing with buying from Ebay is, most of the Gibsons I see are just as much as buying a new one from a store. Why would I buy a 5 year old LP, even if it's in mint condition, for $2000+ when I could get a brand new one with warrantee for almost the same price. And then on top of that, you have to worry if it's a genuine Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I just posted this in another thread' date=' but it's so relevant to this thread as well I'll copy and paste it here (forgive me)...________________________________________________________ I'm not saying that Gibson isn't concerned with the whole issue of counterfeits, but it actually works out in their favor. They "warn" consumers about this terrible problem of fake Gibsons. In other words, make sure anyone even thinking about buying a Gibson knows about all the fakes lurking out there and how they're soooo good, that even some experts are finding them hard to distinguish from the real thing. Then they say, more or less... "We're doing our best to combat the problem (wink, wink), but your safest option is to buy a shiny new Gibson from an authorized dealer. Don't risk your hard earned money buying a used Gibson (which we don't make a penny off of) from some scary person you don't even know." Why would Gibson want to get rid of all the fakes? Then it would be safe to buy used or off of ebay again. Gibson doesn't make any money from those sales. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this. Gibson is in business to sell guitars and make money. This just encourages buyers to seek out authorized retailers. If the fakes were gone and it was 100% safe to buy used again, would you buy a new LP Standard from musiciansfriend for $2299 or a used one from craigslist for $1500? Which one do you think Gibson wants you to buy?[/quote'] BINGO. That is why I was so crazy in the other thread about counterfeits that I had to stop talking. The only real competition for Gibson in terms of its niche is--surprise--used Gibsons. And the whole authorized dealer thing, coupled with the less than stellar response to counterfeits, does nothing but make it less and less likely that someone should do anything other than buy a new Gibson at an authorized retailer. And that in the end harms the resale value of the used instrument. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I'm going to have to watch myself with these conspiracy theories. Next thing you know I'll be wearing tinfoil hats to keep the Gibson corporate satellites from reading my brain waves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefin Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Running and working at Gibson is a stellar job in itself. Gibson is doing what we want them to do, produce some of the finest guitars in the world. In this world of 6.6 billion people, it would be impossible to stop counterfeitting. It would not be cost-effective to even try. Spending money to do so would be a poor business decision, period. However, I feel the answer is to use a SECRETLY embedded logo on all future instruments. Example: an infrared embedded logo, or something like what is found in US currency. If they did this, all buyers first questions will be "Does it have the logo?" They need to combine this with a websight that WORKS. One that can provide customers with ALL specs regarding their instrument. ALL specs!! For example, very few people know how the numbered run works on the new PAGE, even the managers of guitar centers across the country can not answer their customers questions about how the numbers work with reguard to which ones have the Bigsbys and which ones don't, and how the numbers work. Their own top dealers cannot find official information on Gibson guitars!! Looking on their websight is sort of like pissing into the wind. CONFUSION........Just and idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluefin Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 By the way, for all of you who hate buyers and sellers on Ebay, I understand your frustration. I must point out that the buyers and sellers on Ebay have single handedly raised the value of used/vintage Gibson guitars. This is good for everyone. As I have learned through owning many Gibsons: BUYER BEWARE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Pup Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Two points you all may want to consider. 1. China has no copyright laws, so making fakes in China is not illegal. 2. As daveinspain already said, The FBI has no pull in China. China has never done anything to help foreign law enforcement of any country battle counterfit items coming from China. Why?, Because the drug trafficing, human slave trade, and counterfit goods all bring millions into Chinas underground economy. The money of course filters its way up the ladder through bribes and pay offs to officials who look the other way. Fake Gibson's are nothing compared to fake Rolex's, designer purses, clothing, jewlry, cosmetics, and other items that pore out of China every day. Unfortunetly, all Gibson can do is warn people that the fakes are out there. The rest is buyer beware! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuaLeaD Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Do any official Gibson reps browse/post on these forums?? That would be nice.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archer993 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Maybe we could do a GROUP buy and get a better price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson CS Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 I go into a mall and they are selling fake CK, and Chanel....right at the mall! Everyone knows they arent the real deal, yet, nothing happens to these vendors. Id never buy private, so im not going to worry about it anymore. We all know theres fakes out there...lets move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I go into a mall and they are selling fake CK' date=' and Chanel....right at the mall!Everyone knows they arent the real deal, yet, nothing happens to these vendors. Id never buy private, so im not going to worry about it anymore. We all know theres fakes out there...lets move on.[/quote'] I think those fake fragrances, however, are licensed knock-offs. That's why they never have quite the same name as the original, and those serve a good purpose, too, when they are licensed: they never smell as good, so when a woman (or the person who loves her) tries the fake as a cheap sample and then gets to experience the real one down the road, the person moves up to the expensive brand. The fake serves as an easy way to try something, but it hopefully moves you up the ladder. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 re; thread title .... 9. Do not post topic titles in full capitals, or include an obscene amount of full-stops (periods) or exclamation marks, question marks etc. just sayin . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Unfortunetly' date=' all Gibson can do is warn people that the fakes are out there. The rest is buyer beware! [/quote'] Actually, there is a lot Gibson can do, and none of it involves lawsuits or big-time changes in production: 1. develop a legitimate serial number system. Gibson's system just begs to be abused, and Gibson itself even re-uses numbers so anyone connected to the industry knows the serial number means nothing other than to get a description of when the guitar (or the original that was copied and its serial number stolen) was made and what it looked like. Unrepeatable, random serial numbers with both letters and numbers generate a unique identity. And then, just like Harvard University does, Gibson should have a link on the front page of its website in which people can click to set up an inquiry about whether a given guitar is real. (Yes, Harvard has so many fake diplomas running around that they have a verification service available on the website. I suspect there are still more Gibsons in the world than there are Harvard diplomas, though, so Gibson has no excuse.) 2. the hidden logo or microchip is also a great idea--as long as the industry is aware it is there, and (like money) it is hard to duplicate. 3. expand the authorized dealer market. The reason people can pass counterfeits off as real is because in this day and age, most people in America, much less in the rest of the world, do not have ready access to Gibsons to see what a new original looks like. There was no authorized Gibson dealer in my hometown of 42,000 people in Wisconsin. I did not see a real, new Gibson guitar in person until I was out of college. And there are even fewer authorized dealers now. 4. do better with the large corporations that are dealers. Let's face it; the people working at Guitar Center (and now in the instrument sections in Best Buy) do not know their Gibson products. They often are one of the single biggest sources of mis-information available. I have a strong suspicion that Larrivee sends secret shoppers to their dealers (because I was mistaken for one once!). Can you imagine what Gibson might learn if they sent secret shoppers to act as buyers in every Guitar Center? They would realize that their biggest authorized seller is often completely in the dark--and confusing consumers as well--about what makes a Gibson a Gibson. 5. stop selling so many guitars on the Internet. This is related to #3. If most of us actually could try out decent chunks of the Gibson line, we might not need to buy blind on the internet. But because of this, most of us have never seen most of the Gibson line in person. Related to this is to abolish the MAP policy. All that has happened with the Minimum Advertised Price is that Guitar Center has forced the price of guitars up because they never sell extensively below MAP; MAP is now just the new retail price. By setting that so high, it forces the small shops to do the same--and it suddenly is in no one's interest except Guitar Center to keep selling these guitars. I think the MAP policy has done more to inflate the price of new and used guitars than has ebay. 6. (this is more hypothetical) give every authorized reseller a fake, and let them hang it in the store with some p.r. materials on what makes it a fake. Hey, it could even offer information on what to look for in competitors' fakes as well. Imagine the good p.r. if Gibson took the lead and helped the whole industry see what are the differences between a fake and an authentic Gibson--and one of those would be the stress on how the guitar plays and feels. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archer993 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I go into a mall and they are selling fake CK' date=' and Chanel....right at the mall!Everyone knows they arent the real deal, yet, nothing happens to these vendors. Id never buy private, so im not going to worry about it anymore. We all know theres fakes out there...lets move on.[/quote'] Right, and fake Rolexes, Piagets, etc have been on sale here for decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Here in ecuador you can go to a mall and buy pirated movies from 2 or 3 different specialized (in pirate dvds, yes) stores... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaphod B Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Why would Gibson want to get rid of all the fakes? Then it would be safe to buy used or off of ebay again. Gibson doesn't make any money from those sales. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with this. Gibson is in business to sell guitars and make money. This just encourages buyers to seek out authorized retailers. If the fakes were gone and it was 100% safe to buy used again, would you buy a new LP Standard from musiciansfriend for $2299 or a used one from craigslist for $1500? Which one do you think Gibson wants you to buy? That's an interesting viewpoint, but were I the CEO of Gibson I would be thinking of --Copyright infringement --Direct sales lost --Damage to reputation - which is probably the biggest thing Gibson has going for it Don't forget - all these new-manufacture Chinese clones that are being sold as used guitars would still have represented a "new" sale from Gibson at some point, so there is still a direct sales impact although displaced in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Were I the CEO of Gibson I would be thinking of --Direct sales lost --Damage to reputation - which is probably the biggest thing Gibson has going for it Don't forget - all these new-manufacture Chinese clones that are being sold as used guitars would still have represented a "new" sale from Gibson at some point' date=' so there is still a direct sales impact although displaced in time.[/quote'] You said it yourself, 99% of the fakes are being bought as used guitars (at least the one starting to show up in North America) so they wouldn't have otherwise been a "new" sale for Gibson. These are people buying on the used market. Buying a clean used example just makes good financial sense. You get the same product (minus a warrantee) for hundreds less. Gibson can't control the used market. Now along come these crooks who are flooding the market with fakes of varying quality that are scaring people out of buying used Gibsons. If you were the CEO of Gibson, you couldn't have done it better yourself. As far as harming the reputation of Gibson, why would it? If I'm gibson, all I have to say is "Of course that guitar is junk. We didn't build it. If you want to guarantee you get an authentic, quality, U.S. made Gibson, just visit an authorized retailer." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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