pippy Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 We used to see lots of those 'Suprome' fakes here but there's been a bit of a lull recently. Perhaps the counterfeiters are getting better! They are Chinese made and usually cost around $250 - $300. Try to find out if he's the original owner; if he is the original owner then he will know it's a fake as he would have paid that sort of sum for it. If this is the case then he's trying to defraud your shop and the authorities should be informed. If he's bought it from someone else he can try to get his money back from the seller with the threat of legal action if he's denied satisfaction. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Thank you will try that line of questioning. kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Hayden Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Keep in mind that the guy trying to sell it to you might have been scammed too. Let other shops in your area know there are fakes Gibsons making the rounds. This is why you never put Gibson on the head stock of a guitar they didn't make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Just a quick update: We call the owner and he very sheepishly said "is it really?" in reference to the guitar being a fake... so we're guessing he knew the other thing is he has not been back to pick up the guitar and his mobile phone is mysteriously now no longer connected. never mind the guitar can stay in the back room.... I guess the guy will surface one day Thanks to everyone for your warm welcome and friendly advice. I just might lurk around in the background and learn some more about these beautiful guitars Kind regards kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 There are alot of Folks here that can help in Telling you what and What isnt.. you were lucky enough to think of a Forum first and ask as where alot of people dont... and get Duped with those Fakes... Pawn shops get the brunt often.. looking at what they have and the High selling prices .. they have No clue.. Did you felt pen it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Hi slimt, the simple answer is no. In the end I could not bring myself to mark it. There are 4 music shops and a pawn shop within a 100k radius of us and i did shoot them all an email letting them know of fake Gibson's doing the rounds. As well as being an great opportunity to learn about these guitars, it been a learning curve regarding ourself. Dad's an ex drummer - saw a guy down on his luck, and felt for him. Me, I didn't meet the guy and saw a guitar that didn't look quite right. Whilst I'm new to Gibson's I'm not new to guitars, currently owning e/a Takamine, e/a Epiphone jumbo, Daion nugent dreadnaught, and an old Washburn raven. I've never had spare readies to buy a top end electric. Regarding the forum; I'd rather look silly and ask a question than be silly and not know the answer... and after all that's what these forums are for.. looking. learning and asking questions. I wonder how long it will be before this guy actually gets the courage to come in and pick his guitar up. I hope I'm there when he does 'cause I reckon it's going to be one hell of an interesting conversation! kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work in Progress Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 If you have even an ounce of doubt about the guitar, this might help. I saw this Fibson Black Beauty (Black Les Paul Custom) posted on Craigslist selling for $650 USD. Here's a pic of the serial number... Coincidence? Doubtful. Either that or mine came off the line 8 guitars after yours! Again, the guitar I found didn't have an ebony fretboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Wow, same stamp position, same grovers as well! At least your guy was closer to the mark with pricing... makes our guy seem plan greedy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work in Progress Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Wow, same stamp position, same grovers as well! At least your guy was closer to the mark with pricing... makes our guy seem plan greedy! Yeah, that serial number is WAY too much of a coincidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 As it does not belong to us...um yes. we have not bought it. so we have no rights to it So, as a reputable (I assume) guitar shop, you should call the police to let them know someone has tried to sell you counterfeit goods and you're uncomfortable returning the item to them in case they try to pass it off on someone else. Ask them how you should proceed. If the seller is truly a victim, he may still try to sell it to some poor sucker in an effort to recoup some of his money. He can let the police know who he got it from and if he really is innocent, then your not going to get him in trouble for something he didn't do. If however, they show up at his house and he has a dozen of these in his basement... I worked in a guitar shop for several years and if a counterfeit Gibson was ever put into my hands, the owner would have to get it back from the police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hello guys! I've seen some of these chinese fakes. There are some things about them that makes me curious. Usually they have Epiphone hardware (most noticable is the typical Epi bridge). How do they get them? Someone was stealing them from the fromer Qingdao factory? Are these guitars were made there "after hours"? If so, there was no security service? Maybe I am on a wrong path with my thoughts... Anyway, the construction quality isn't that far from an Epiphone guitar, so how come they can't pay attention to such minor details like scripts, correct headstock shape and angle, not to mention the serial number... I have to say these guys ain't too smart, it's pretty easy to spot those fakes - Thanks God! Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anaconda Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Hi guysI work part time in a local music shop in Victoria Australia.Today a guy came in wanting to sell us a "Gibson" I'm not sure if it is genuine. Serial # 017160528.What sent alarm bells ringing is the fact that instead of the script reading "Supreme" it reads "Suprome"on close inspection it has the serial number and made in USA picked out in Gold, the USA stamp seems a little high on the head, the binds are a beige colour and it has black pots.It does have grover gear and come in a genuine Gibson Case, feels and plays a hoot,We dont want it in our shop if its not realI have attached some photosAny help would be appreciatedkind regardskytty This is for sure a 100% fake china guitar, you can find them on youtube. just do a search for china les paul fake supreme. there are a few and they tell you the spelling is wrong. the read Suprome not surpreme. there about 350.00 shipped from china. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 hey guys, been trying all week to locate the owner of the guitar... no success. The police aren't interested because we have not bought the guitar. their line is until the guitar is sold he's just a guy wanting to sell an overpriced guitar. If he states its a fake and sells it ... buyer beware...no crime. We have given the police the details we have on him... hey anaconda, thanks for the youtube... like I said in the initial post.. this guitars does sound and plays a hoot .... if only the guy had been honest. If these Fibson things are so well known why isn't Gibson doing something to stop the sale of them? Surely Gibson would have a better chance of having them stopped under the copywrite laws than any of us mere mortals kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Gibson cant stop them because our government cant really do anything to China for just a "few" fake Guitars. Its quite difficult to stop a operation overseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 I understand Dem00n, logistically it would be a nightmare, There is a number of factories in Asia that are legitimately selling low end look a likes. They are entry level guitars, priced accordingly and don't pretend to be anything else. Reps bring them round all the time. But this is different. This is Blatant, Deliberate, Deception. I cant help but have the "lawsuit" guitars come to mind. Or is that really the problem? it cost so much to gain so little? kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DestructorsKillMusic1982 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 In that first video Anaconda posted, the shape of the upper bout by the switch on that sunburst "Suprome" just looks wrong, the more I look at it it seems too large. The body shape overall appears to have a slightly smaller waist as well, sort of like those Zemaitis metal guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 No one seems to have mentioned the fact that the serial number isn't even a correct Gibson serial number format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-in-KC Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I'd agree with VERY suspect. However - Supremes do have flame maple caps on the back as well as the front. So, I believe the back shouldn't be flat. But then - I have never seen one painted. Many things seem suspect - but if I wanted to be certain, I'd contact Gibson directly. If this was some VERY strange special order, they would know. And of course, if it's just another common counterfit - they'll identify that for certain as well. My $.02. If I had to bet one way or the other, I'd say fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 Hi, been busy trying to get hay finished before Christmas... We still have had no luck in contacting or finding our seller; which is really odd and are beginning to think it may be stolen as well as a fake. the police have asked us to store the guitar as the guy is more like to come back to the store than a police station. Guitarest:... I understand the points you are making in regards to the lawsuit comments and agree with you 100%. My comments re lawsuit situation was more out of frustration than anything... if Gibson could successfully stop a company who come close to their trademark then one would think they'd go guns blazing to stop a blatant deception and fraudulent use of their NAME. Hence my questions re: the fact there coming out of China or was it about the cost of doing so. But I guess those are entirely up to Gibson. After talking again with the local police it appears that is NOT illegal to own or sell counterfeit products so long as you disclose the fact they are counterfeit. Which seems daft to me. Hypothetically speaking now we know its a fake.. legally we could on-sell it as a Gibson Fake made in China for an appropriate price. Before any one writes back WE ARE NOT GOING TO DO THIS! but as it stands legally we could. BobB:... thank you for posting the headstock. It clearly points out the differences between what a supreme should be and what is in our store room. also the only access into the body of this guitar seems to be through the pick ups, no rear access. j45nick:... could you expand on your post? Paul-in-KC.. thank you for you 2cents worth.. and duly noted. If nothing else this has started a bit of a crusade for personal understanding regarding Gibson for me. Though it might take me a while, I just may end up with something from the beautiful line up this stable has yet. Thanks for all you comments and help guys. Keep safe over this holiday period kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 oh, by the way regarding colours? I saw this white one on ebay GIBSON USA Les Paul Supreme Alpine White Like NEW ! | eBay kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malchik Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Who are they trying to kid at that price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 you can buy it with the marshall stack pictured behind it for $9000+ just sayin' kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kytty Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 hey guitarest, I am pleased there are people like you who will stand up for what they believe in! This world needs more like you. That piece of information is worth knowing... if people see these fakes in pubs, stores or online in the Us (or anywhere else for that matter they should contact the authorities, or at least post a link in the forum somewhere ... to help others not get suckered if nothing else. Fraud is fraud is fraud is fraud all day long. And what this guy did was attempted fraud. And probably why this guy seems to have dropped off the planet. Had we have purchased the guitar, maybe the police would be more interested because it would be fraud and more likely to bring about a conviction. Our mistake seems to have been letting him know we knew it was a fake. It is interesting to see the differences in the law between the US and Australia. kytty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mKwatra427 Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Im guessing its a fraud. LP Supremes are proud of their sunbursts and I doubt there could be awhite one. And the "Supreme" headstock logo on the original, as I recall, seems more like a laurel wreath than the globe on this one. But all you out there probably know better than me, so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mKwatra427 Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Im guessing its a fraud. LP Supremes are proud of their sunbursts and I doubt there could be awhite one. And the "Supreme" headstock logo on the original, as I recall, seems more like a laurel wreath than the globe on this one. But all you out there probably know better than me, so... Ah, sorry, I was wrong about the headstock logo. I checked, and it's a globe, as first suggested. Sorry, to all who were lead off track and/or confused by this bogus piece of information I gave. But I"m still holding out on the sunburst thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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