jheath Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 This one is just so painfully bad, I actually laughed for a while...99 GIBSON J-50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Sadly, those Epi-headstock "Gibsons" show up all too frequently down on the 'Bay. They seem to show up in spurts, with a whole bunch coming on, then nothing for a few days/weeks, then more, etc. This one has a starting bid of $600, and it is likely not worth more than $150 or so, even without the Gibson decal and the goofy label. The current bidder has a zero feedback rating; wonder if it's a shill bid done by a friend or acquaintance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Wonder how long it will be before e-bay starts to lose it's appeal because of problems like this? I really feel sorry for the people who don't know they're buying fakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noahclem Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 I am the bidder on that. How do you know it's a fake? I plugged in the serial number (it's supposed to be #53 from Bozeman). What do I do now (he says, obviously not wanting a fake and having slated the Gibson hunger anyway with an AJ)? Any and all advice welcome. Noah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 I am the bidder on that. How do you know it's a fake? I plugged in the serial number (it's supposed to be #53 from Bozeman). What do I do now (he says' date=' obviously not wanting a fake and having slated the Gibson hunger anyway with an AJ)? Any and all advice welcome. Noah[/quote'] Fake Gibson headstock: Real Gibson headstocks: Epiphone DR300 headstock and entire guitar: Fake label: Real label: Incorrect, square-shoulder body shape with overly complex rosette: Correct, round-shoulder body shape with simple rosette: Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 I hate to say it, but the headstock on it certainly does not look legit... I'm not that familiar with e-bay, but is there someway to contact the seller and e-bay? I just checked e-bay and there is a Live talk panel on it and a Help button to contact e-bay, they should be able to help you out there. QM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noahclem Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Well, thank you very much!!!!! I can't believe I didn't see the square shoulders - the diagonal picture looked round. I reported it on e-bay's form. After trying out so many guitars in person, I think I am more wary than ever of ordering online (and not just for fraud reasons). Individual guitars seem to differ so much. Again, thank you all very much!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Looks like you did the right thing while I was editing my post to include reference to the Help and Live panels on e-bay. QM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Well' date=' thank you very much!!!!! I can't believe I didn't see the square shoulders - the diagonal picture looked round. I reported it on e-bay's form. After trying out so many guitars in person, I think I am more wary than ever of ordering online (and not just for fraud reasons). Individual guitars seem to differ so much. Again, thank you all very much!! [/quote'] A real J-50 should run you about $1000 - 1400 used, and you should be able to locate such online without too much difficulty. J-50s, in my experience, are nice Gibson guitars. As a matter of fact, I just tried another one today, a 2007 model. Super loud guitar, very nice, but priced around $2K. Buying online from a reputable dealer after doing a little bit of research is not as dodgy an affair as is sometimes made out. Yes, you've got to go in with your eyes open, but the thing is, not everyone has a dealer around the corner who has a J-50 in stock. G'luck! Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewoody Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 It's worth pointing out that this fake, like all the others I've seen, has the belly-down bridge (as does Fred's WM45). Legit J-50s have belly up. But the headstock is the first and obvious give-away. I sent the seller an e-mail other day; no response. E-bayers like this should be locked up with Kenny G for a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noahclem Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 So I emailed the seller, emailed ebay counterfeit department, called Gibson customer service, retracted my bid and still that listing was out there. Some poor guy "won" with a bid of $672. I hope the "winner" finds out in time. This could have been me - thank you all for this thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jheath Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 So I emailed the seller' date=' emailed ebay counterfeit department, called Gibson customer service, retracted my bid and still that listing was out there. Some poor guy "won" with a bid of $672. I hope the "winner" finds out in time. This could have been me - thank you all for this thread![/quote']Glad you got out when you did. I'm afraid the guy that "won" didn't get anything other than an overpriced Epiphone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticat Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I heard way too many stories about evil-bay. I personally would never buy from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thestrangeblue Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Thanks to shrimer for very detailed and helpful discussion of the fakes. I recently put my J45 up for auction and heard back within 30 min from two people telling me it was fake. I immediately withdrew the post and started looking into it. It's definitely fake--matches all of the pics shrimer posted. I contacted the guy who sold it to me and asked to return it, but now I don't feel I can do that because he'll probably sell it to someone else. Can anyone advise me about what I should do now? Obviously I want my money back (I paid $1200) but I also want this guy investigated. I suspect he knew it was fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I was one of the people that contacted strange blue yesterday about the fake. I directed him to this thread. What a heartbreaker of a story. Man, it's just terrible. I wish I had some kind of worthwhile advice to offer. I guess if you bought it off of ebay, you could contact them for some remedy. If not, and you bought it from a local person and have all their info, you might contact your states attorneys office and see if there are any avenues to prosecute for fraud or grand theft. Good luck and remember, this forum is a wealth of info from some very knowledgeable and generous people. I've learned a great deal here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewoody Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Glad you got out when you did. I'm afraid the guy that "won" didn't get anything other than an overpriced Epiphone. The guy that won the auction is an experienced e-bayer, from the looks of his history. In any case he has seven days to return the item. I thought about e-mailing the buyer, but it makes me feel creepy, like I'm the e-bay police or something. On the one hand it's none of my business, on the other it's a shame people get ripped like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Shrimer - Great compare and contrast of real Gibby and Epiphone imposter. The headstock is always a giveaway. I just wrote to the buyer and gave him the info and told him to get his money back. I'm not the ebay police, but I am a Libra and Justice must be served!! lol I pointed this out to a seller once and he retracted his auction, apologized all over the place and admitted that he had been taken and thought it was a real J-45. It was a 'burst that they sell at GC all the time for around $129! Anyway, I think it's great if we save people from these scamming, bloodsuckers! Play a real Gibson, be happy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Always_Black Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Play a real Gibson' date=' be happy!![/size'] Yep. That's what Libra's do ! (I share 10/9 with John Lennon). On a serious note, good CSI work ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thestrangeblue Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I'm grateful to jannusguy for letting me know about the fake and helping me find documentation. It's hard for me to believe that the vendor, a pawn shop, was unaware of these Gibson fakes, or that no one pointed it out to him in the 2 weeks he posted this guitar. I think he did it knowingly which makes it a first degree misdemeanor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 This one is just so painfully bad' date=' I actually laughed for a while...99 GIBSON J-50 Kewl!! Another one: Latest "J-50" auction Just love that BIN price of $1699...... Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 can you believe it? here's another one! just went up this evening. http://cgi.ebay.com/VERY-NICE-Gibson-J-50-Acoustic-Guitar-J50-1NR_W0QQitemZ150203757004QQihZ005QQcategoryZ33025QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 i notified the latest seller of the J50 fake and here is his response: "There is nothing doctored on this guitar. Good luck with your assumptions." he's either a thief or a fool. beware of pawnmaxstores on ebay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Its pretty amazing what some people will mislead others with! A few earlier posts were 'dissing' Ebay as 'evil bay' etc. I think Ebay is a viable and good system.....Its just some jerky,dishonest people that can mess it up! As in any transaction, Ebay or otherwise, do your homework before jumping in. If it sounds too good to be true....It probably is. Let the Buyer Beware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Well, it's very evident that some sellers just have no idea what they have or what to look for. After some back and forth with the folks I mentioned in my most recent post, they removed the listing for the fake J50 and I'm fairly certain they had no intent to defraud. I guess it just goes to show that an uneducated buyer could be the victim of an uneducated seller as easily as being a victim of intentional fraud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Or maybe they just got caught with their pants down and didn't realize that there are people that actually know about these things and will call them on it??? Whatever the case, at least they did the right thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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