Epiphone serial number's?

[aussie2009]

i cant believe companies like gibson/epiphone don't have a serial no identification site.With so many fake gibson/epiphones coming out of china,i believe they owe it to there customers in providing a service to check identification.You can't rely on the guitar dater project as it is basically useless in identifing fakes,with the china sellers getting very good at using there parts and stealing serial no or just using numbers that show they were made in china using guitar dater project!,it just seems a lot of people that want a gibson/epiphone could go to there site,confirm it is an original or then have the option to go to there local dealer for safe keeping!why do they want these fake guitar's mass spreading worldwide

 

[rob9]

you can always email gibson with lots of pictures, thats the only way to put anyones doubt to rest

 

[aussie2009]

you can always email gibson with lots of pictures, thats the only way to put anyones doubt to rest

The problem with that is it takes them 5 days to respond to photos sent in for verification,they would have to employ hundreds to counter the influx of potential buyers queries,it would be far easier to have their own data base!

 

[rob9]

I dont see what sort of database you would like to see made, I agree that there should be some sort of foolproof way of verifying guitars, but I am 100% that fakers would be able to find a way around it, just like the Guitar Dater Project...

I guess people have to just go to authorised dealers...which is a shame because it will scare people from buying 2nd hand...

 

[aussie2009]

I dont see what sort of database you would like to see made, I agree that there should be some sort of foolproof way of verifying guitars, but I am 100% that fakers would be able to find a way around it, just like the Guitar Dater Project...

I guess people have to just go to authorised dealers...which is a shame because it will scare people from buying 2nd hand...

Surely all guitars made at there plants,that are sold worldwide would be itemised as stock and the serial no should be the way to verify instantly that it is an original from that plant!...they have to tell the tax man how many are made each year at there various plants! DONT THEY!

 

[paruwi]

Beware Web Sites That Incorrectly Identify Fakes as Real Gibson & Epiphone Guitars

What Your Serial Number Can and Can?t Tell You About Your Gibson


Peter

 

[rob9]

beware web sites that incorrectly identify fakes as real gibson & epiphone guitars

what your serial number can and can?t tell you about your gibson

:d
peter

yes!

 

[aussie2009]

Beware Web Sites That Incorrectly Identify Fakes as Real Gibson & Epiphone Guitars

What Your Serial Number Can and Can?t Tell You About Your Gibson


Peter

yes i get the point but it is a real problem,with china in mind as the main source of fakes these days,that they should have a fool proof system,but i suppose that would cost millions and the counterfeiters will still survive,ha we can probably ask microsoft that!

 

[Chimera]

how can there possibly be a foolproof system? All it takes is someone from China to get a REAL serial from a REAL Epi that's the same model they're knocking off, and put that serial on their fakes. According to Gibson's database, it would be the right model made the right day at the right plant, so you'd say it was authentic, but obviously it's not. Would you automatically flag all Epi's with that serial as fake? What about the poor guy who has the original and happens to put pictures of it online? It's a flawed system, and there's no way to fix it that I can think of.

 

[rob9]

how can there possibly be a foolproof system? All it takes is someone from China to get a REAL serial from a REAL Epi that's the same model they're knocking off, and put that serial on their fakes. According to Gibson's database, it would be the right model made the right day at the right plant, so you'd say it was authentic, but obviously it's not. Would you automatically flag all Epi's with that serial as fake? What about the poor guy who has the original and happens to put pictures of it online? It's a flawed system, and there's no way to fix it that I can think of.

thats what I thought about the OP's first thought about it.

 

[aussie2009]

how can there possibly be a foolproof system? All it takes is someone from China to get a REAL serial from a REAL Epi that's the same model they're knocking off, and put that serial on their fakes. According to Gibson's database, it would be the right model made the right day at the right plant, so you'd say it was authentic, but obviously it's not. Would you automatically flag all Epi's with that serial as fake? What about the poor guy who has the original and happens to put pictures of it online? It's a flawed system, and there's no way to fix it that I can think of.

yes that is so true,counterfeiters are just going to find a way,it happened with knockoff fenders and there is a whole lot of things these guys will mass produce to make there money,it has developed into a worldwide problem for i suppose a lot of products,and i reckon it all comes down to doing your homework on any product you want to buy online,but when they put up photos of the real thing and sell you something else,its pretty hard to determine good from bad!....who can you trust these days!!!!...anyway i think the les paul custom plus has been omitted from production,is that correct!,if so that may slow a few of these mongrels up.

 

[rob9]

yeah the custom plus is discontinued, but your average person looking to buy an epi wont know that...

 

[paruwi]

As long as there are buyers or "hunters" for the best deal.... ...........

there will be sellers to catch them.

Everybody, buying a new Epi LP Custom for 300 bucks knows the
real streetprice - or don't they ?

There are so many legit places to buy..........

I never get it !


Peter

 

[Chimera]

I did think of building an Epiphone LP Registry (not just limited to LPs, SGs as well I guess) where people could register their LP serial, post pictures etc kind of like the show-off threads we have in here. We could even have a group of experts who could authenticate new postings before they are allowed to validate them as real, and contact the owners of those they consider fake. I built this system for a Star Wars site that I was just a member of (and now help run), and people loved it : The Rebelscum Registry - Welcome

 

[Woodelectric]

I did think of building an Epiphone LP Registry (not just limited to LPs, SGs as well I guess) where people could register their LP serial, post pictures etc kind of like the show-off threads we have in here. We could even have a group of experts who could authenticate new postings before they are allowed to validate them as real, and contact the owners of those they consider fake. I built this system for a Star Wars site that I was just a member of (and now help run), and people loved it : The Rebelscum Registry - Welcome

I can't help but wonder if this would give the counterfeiters a convenient place to look up more accurate serial numbers for their fakes......

 

[straybeat]

Sorry for popping in here a year later, but the Chinese have their serials down now. I spent the last 2 weeks looking for a new axe and only went to sources where I could get the serial. Nearly every single guitar I came across said it was made in Nashville in 1999 or 2000 and gave the date and Mfg. number. I found a few that said they were made in Montana. They were good too. The date would say July 19th, number 74 or November 3rd, number 56. All were different, but relatively sequential.

I found it funny that I had come across an entire lot of Les Pauls, all made in July, 11 years ago. Wow, business must have been bad that month. LOL The funniest thing though was that they were the smaller Les Pauls. After playing them for 43 years you can tell when something just doesn't feel right. So I happened across the ones that are like 3/8 of an inch smaller than normal and you could feel it. Construction, by eyeball, was superb though. You could look at the neck joint and not tell anything wrong. No weird blemishes or bad glue joints anywhere. Wood grains matched up fine. The neck was straight, guitar sounded okay, just plugging it in to a practice amp and strumming a few chords. But you couldn't get away from the fact it didn't "feel" right.

I ended up with a new Epiphone LP Plus Top from Guitar Center. Never thought I'd own one of these! I'm one of the original snotty purists from the 60's who said, "Ewwww, Epiphone is a crappy copy." Oh well, live and learn. ;-)

Mark