Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 paypal want a verification about my fake epi. as usual my local shop is crap. the guy couldn't even tell what mahogany looks like. i have no transport and am expected to get someone to tell them it's a fake before they bring the hammer down on their deadline. i gave him all the info why it is fake and he said he is not an epiphone dealer. and just left it to the identification of the wood. which stripped is a very light wood like unvarnished maple or the like. he hummed and harred saying epi may have comprmised on the wood as it was painted... if it was shiped to an epi dealer would i have to pay postage? i am benefits and i live in northamptonshire in the uk. where is my local epi dealer. what to do folks? thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I would try and contact the nearest Epiphone dealer. Yellow pages? Don't ask them to pay for shipping though. You bought a fake(= no official Epiphone distribution network) so basicly you are on your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 http://www.epiphone.com/dealers.asp it seems there are none for the uk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Prolife, Don't know if it will help...Could you Email Gibson costomer service with some pics and see if they will give you a reply that will help you? or... Am I misunderstanding your plight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 i'll have to ask paypal if thats ok. i like that idea very much. then i need a decent camera... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkEpTiKaL Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 What? I can't even tell what you're trying to say. You bought a fake Epiphone? And you tried to sell it to your local shop? Who sold it to you? Am I even close? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 mmm... it's a fake epi bought off ebay. paypal want a third party to verify it's a fake. my local music shop would have been good enough for this but he is not experienced enough to know what the colour and texture of mahogany is like. so i am stumped as i have no transport and am wondering what to do. if all else fails who to post it to and if i would get the money back for the postage some how. i guess there is no official dealer in the uk. i will ask if i get epi to verfify some photos it if thats good enough. i am hoping so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I take it you brought it thinking it was real and its not. So now your filing a dispuit on ebay to get your money back and the only way to do that is with verification from an epiphone dealer which you cant do to lack of transport and no local dealers. Email Gibson as they own epi and send pics, good quality and lots of them. Take pics of the control cavity, headstock, jack socket (usally says epiphone on it) and other ones showing the wood if possible. Be nice in your email and they will reply. I emailed them about Garrison guitars as they now own them and they replied with quite a lot of info and links to help. Ebay might be happy with this and if you explain to them there are no epiphone dealers around may help. Borrow a camera if you have to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicester35 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 i live in northamptonshire in the uk. where is my local epi dealer. Sound Control are a big Epi / Gibson dealer in the UK. (For US folks - they are just like Guitar Center...) http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/ If you live in Northamptonshire, you would have to jump on a train to Leicester (probably the closest branch). They also have a big branch in Birmingham (closer to Snow Hill station than New Street.) Also, have you tried Rosetti - Epi's UK distributor? http://www.rosetti.co.uk/ They have a list of authorised dealers for Northants. http://www.rosetti.co.uk/dealers/northamptonshire.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevics Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 paypal want a verification about my fake epi. as usual my local shop is crap. the guy couldn't even tell what mahogany looks like. i have no transport and am expected to get someone to tell them it's a fake before they bring the hammer down on their deadline. i gave him all the info why it is fake and he said he is not an epiphone dealer. and just left it to the identification of the wood. which stripped is a very light wood like unvarnished maple or the like. he hummed and harred saying epi may have comprmised on the wood as it was painted...if it was shiped to an epi dealer would i have to pay postage? i am benefits and i live in northamptonshire in the uk. where is my local epi dealer. what to do folks? thanks. I bought my Epi Les Paul at PMT in Southend who are Epi and Gibson dealers. They are a very good retailer. I hope the local "crap" shop you are talking of is not PMTs Northampton Branch as their Southend store is very good and the staff have good knowledge. 86 Bridge St Northampton NN1 1PD Tel: 01604 230433 Fax 01604 621267 email: northampton@pmtonline.co.uk PS. For those who dont know PMT stands for Profesional Music Technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 18, 2008 Author Share Posted September 18, 2008 never heard of them... anyway they seem to like making people jump through hoops. it seems i'm not allowed the easy option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munky Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Sound Control are a big Epi / Gibson dealer in the UK. (For US folks - they are just like Guitar Center...) http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/ Soundcontrol went bust about a year ago......damn shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Soundcontrol went bust about a year ago......damn shame. Are they connected to Soundslive in any way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Sound Control are a big Epi / Gibson dealer in the UK. (For US folks - they are just like Guitar Center...) http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/ If you live in Northamptonshire' date=' you would have to jump on a train to Leicester (probably the closest branch). They also have a big branch in Birmingham (closer to Snow Hill station than New Street.) Also, have you tried Rosetti - Epi's UK distributor? http://www.rosetti.co.uk/ They have a list of authorised dealers for Northants. http://www.rosetti.co.uk/dealers/northamptonshire.html [/quote'] Confirm that Sound Control went bust a month or two ago. Rosetti are no longer UK distributors for Epi or Gibson Distribution is via Gibson Europe in Holland Still plenty of Epi/Gibson stockists - Try Andertons (www.andertons.co.uk) based in Guildford but have a big online site and are VERY helpfull. All the staff are musicians in the field they sell ie guitarists selling guitars, drummers selling drums/percussion, etc. Must say from experience that the guys at Gibson Europe Customer Service are really helpful (caveat - not everybody may have had the same pleasant experience as I did!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 mmm... it's a fake epi bought off ebay. paypal want a third party to verify it's a fake. my local music shop would have been good enough for this but he is not experienced enough to know what the colour and texture of mahogany is like. so i am stumped as i have no transport and am wondering what to do. if all else fails who to post it to and if i would get the money back for the postage some how. i guess there is no official dealer in the uk. i will ask if i get epi to verfify some photos it if thats good enough. i am hoping so. If the local guitar shop knows nothing about what mahogany looks like ( and I find that incredible) than how about trying somebody that knows something about wood. How about a wood supply place, lumber store, hardware store, wood carver, furniture shop, any place that works with wood. Seems to me they could help you out. Email them some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 18, 2008 Author Share Posted September 18, 2008 ha! maybe. i will see if this is something i can do. i could find some kind of woodworker here. thanks for that it did not occur to me. =D>/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 I'm glad I could maybe help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixstring19682 Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Yep the best that you can do is to contact Gibson with up close picks of the tuners logo and serial #,though at this pint int he game the serial numbers could match up and not even really be traceable by Gibson you may get a reply in 24 hours or it could be three days,I'm not sure if removing the pups will do any good thats one way to identify a counterfeit Gibson but not sure about Epi's. I'm sorry to hear this,since I've joined this forum I also went looking around one fellow on an Ebay forum estimated at the time he wrote his thread that at least two out of five name brand guitars being sold on Ebay were counterfeit I don't know that its true or not I know this has tapered off somewhat as I've ben watching this closely but they can still be found,about five months ago I bid on what I thought was a redesigned Epi double neck,I then took the pics from the auction and enlarged them to find the name Gibson on the headstock when the pot cover was clearly a design found on the Epi double necks. As luck would have it after talking to Gibson over the phone I found out soon enough to do something about it before the guitar was ever shipped,anyhow I hope this situation turns out in your favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 it seems paypal won't accept photo evidence with or without gibson interaction. shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Gibson Europe Customer Service: call 00 800 4GIBSON1 (00+800-444-2766-1) or email: Service.Europe@Gibson.com. Did Paypal indicate what/who would be acceptable as a third-party to verify it's a fake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 "We suggest that you obtain written proof from an unbiased third-party, such as a dealer, appraiser, or organisation qualified in the area of the item in question (other than yourself), which clearly identifies the item as not authentic. It should be clear from the document how the item you received differs from an authentic one. It should also give a detailed explanation of how the person evaluating the item determined that its not authentic. Its important that the document is on a letterhead which includes the name, address, and phone number of the business or organisation so we can contact them if necessary. Where possible also include a serial number." i took it all the way to a timber merchant who said he would look at the wood and for a fee. yeah it's gonna cost me i thought. then sign a letter saying he though it wasn't mahogany. after i walked all the way with it on some trolley wheels he wasn't allowed to sign anything. his boss wouldn't let him. this is the 2nd time. anyway some use came of it. the pickup cavity is a pain to sand down as it's slim and all i have is a sheet of sandpaper. at the time he saw it though i only exposed the colour. as i thought it should be pinky brown and this is like pine. he pushed a screw driver into it and said he thinks it is pine as it's soft. he came out with some stuff that was what called bleached mahogany i could see the grain but it was very light. i don't know if epi do this to their guitars? my old gibson is real mahogany colour. so i could see why some might be reluctant. i came home and sanded the pickup cavity some more and the wood has no "pits" or grain like mahogany and has what i think of as "ripples" in the wood. alot like the pictures of pine i have seen. http://www.designyourwall.com/store/Pine-textured-faux-knotty-wood-grain-vinyl-wallpaper-WWX243-pr-1064.html a bit like this but i can't see any knots yet. i think i will contact gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiggy Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 One thing to bear in mind is that the 'mahogany' isn't going to be mahogany as a timber merchant or cabinet maker would class it. It's going to be something like nato which has similiar characteristics to true mahogany but isn't the same wood at all and will have a different grain, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 ??? the £100 special 2 epiphone is mahogany why not the £400 ones? http://www.dv247.com/invt/37104/product.htm?gdftrk=gdfV2356_a_7c416_a_7c1181_a_7c37104 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Trying to prove that your guitar is a counterfeit based on wood species is probably a complete waste of time. Even if you had a DNA test, what would be the comparison? See what I mean? I hate to be a wet blanket, but I think you're screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Nazarenie Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 i guess it just needs honesty from epiphone and gibson. do they make their guitars out of genuine mahogany or not. is it bleached or not. i have cheap copies that cost way less than the les paul custom and they are genuine mahogany. my g200 was £200 and it's genuine. so is my cheapy vintage copy. so i don't get your reply at all. sorry. i have asked gibson for help in identifying this as a fake. i'll leave it to the experts. lets see what comes of it. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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