Fake Alert-It's not just Lesters

[EvLectric]

Loufed62 on the "other" forum posted this & I asked if he minded if I posted it here, and he agreed this should be shared. Here is his post:

As some of you may know, I am a U.S. Customs Officer.
Recently our Officers that work in the Chicago International Mail Facility have been seizing many counterfeit Firebirds, Flying Vees, EDS style doublenecks, SGs, and acoustics too, especially Hummingbirds.
It's not just LPs that are being counterfeited.

We are also seizing many counterfeit Fenders and Martins.

I have tried to educate our Officers about counterfeit guitars being imported, and many more are being seized here now.

We cannot stop every counterfeit product from being imported- we just don't have the people to do it.
Be very careful about any online purchases, including ebay, and verify what you're buying.

Buyer Beware! Thanks Loufed!

 

[EvLectric]

And yeah, I know a lot of you know this, but nothing wrong with educating the ones that don't.
Thanks Tate!

 

[TateTheGreat]

I just reported a fake Zakk LP for $2600...I really am disgusted with these people ripping off others.

 

[EvLectric]

I just reported a fake Zakk LP for $2600...I really am disgusted with these people ripping off others.

Yeah I saw that. If you look through some old threads you'll find me going freaking ballistic over this crap. It just ain't right!

 

[sharky007]

Ya they copy everything ... V, Firebirds,Explorers, Icemans, and double necks. The ones I have seen are so bad that that it's easy to see there fake. They seem to try harder to copy LP's.

 

[Sharky]

while searching a Korina Flying V some months ago, I stumbled over a chinese website where you can custom order more or less every valuable Gibson guitar (faked of course) for right under 500 bucks. They are even using the original pictures taken by Gibson for their websites.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Good lookin' out, brothas.

 

[CHUNKYNECK]

I was hoping they had moved on to fake ferraris and hot chicks.
They have been faking those guitars listed for years now. Fingers crossed the new wave of complaints puts a stop to it. What we need is somebody to go over there and kick their asses.

 

[Dino Velvet]

He's five years too late. Payless and the others have been making every model of guitar there is since day one. Payless of course is long gone but the other 1/2 dozen places are still at it. Remember kids, its never going away.
You just have be smart. Fake Rolex watches have been around for over 40 years now.

 

[jp1969]

while searching a Korina Flying V some months ago, I stumbled over a chinese website where you can custom order more or less every valuable Gibson guitar (faked of course) for right under 500 bucks. They are even using the original pictures taken by Gibson for their websites.

I think i know the exact site you're talking about. i've thought about having one custom made with a different headstock inlay then it's not really a counterfeit right?

 

[Gear.Pig]

They copy other brands as well. They've tried to copy ESP's too, especially the Hetfield style EXP Explorer. ESP ships their guitars with a clear plastic fretboard insert that slides under the strings. It has an ESP logo at the end near the body. The Chinese fakers looked at it and assumed that was part of the guitar so the early fakes of those had this abomination of a logo at the end of the fretboard where frets were supposed to be, it was funny. Clearly they were copying from pictures and did not have an actual model from which to copy.

 

[EvLectric]

ESP ships their guitars with a clear plastic fretboard insert that slides under the strings. It has an ESP logo at the end near the body. The Chinese fakers looked at it and assumed that was part of the guitar so the early fakes of those had this abomination of a logo at the end of the fretboard where frets were supposed to be, it was funny. Clearly they were copying from pictures and did not have an actual model from which to copy.

That's funny as h3ll!
Hey, thanks for the thanks guys!

 

[Zack]

make sure your buddy isnt seizing genuine guitars from a lack of knowledge!

 

[EvLectric]

make sure your buddy isnt seizing genuine guitars from a lack of knowledge!

IIRC, he owns a 58 burst.
Not an R8, a 58 burst.
I promise you, he knows his sh!t.
I'm really holding my tongue here.