eBay fakes

OldFartRocker · February 8th, 2010, 08:16 PM

How is that someone can take a "squier" guitar neck, sand off the decal, apply a "fake" decal, put a coat of clear on it and sell it on eBay? I report these clowns all the time, yet I see eBay still allows them to sell. The fraud level on eBay seems to over the top. (The "parts-o-casters" are a whole other story). Rock On!

stratohawk · February 8th, 2010, 09:37 PM

I agree that frauds are getting worse, when I find "fakes" I send the seller a message letting them know that someone is on to them.

corosith · February 8th, 2010, 09:42 PM

Can't see if it is a problem if a private seller changes the decals and advertises the fact that they have done so in the listing - not everyone can afford a $1000+ guitar I guess. Lately I have seen what are advertised as Fender USA necks from an ebay shop, but with oddities like two string trees on 57' style strat neck??? Buyer beware I guess - if it is too good to be true, then you are most likely getting ripped off.

If you are after a particular guitar or part, then research makes all the difference - alarm bells should start ringing if the seller starts making excuses for crappy photos, or lack of, and will not divulge any critical details on the history of the instrument or part involved.

gliderider22 · February 8th, 2010, 09:46 PM

It's all about being an educated consumer.

67Strat · February 8th, 2010, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gliderider22

It's all about being an educated consumer.

I agree. This isn't unique to guitars, everything requires research. Unless somebody holds a gun to your head you have nobody to blame but yourself if you didn't take the time to verify what you are buying. It's not always a scam either, there are plenty of ignorant sellers out there that don't know what they are selling or have some incredibly high price in mind because they don't know any better.

Hugh · February 8th, 2010, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gliderider22

It's all about being an educated consumer.

^
This

gliderider22 · February 8th, 2010, 10:03 PM

You said it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 67Strat

I agree. This isn't unique to guitars, everything requires research. Unless somebody holds a gun to your head you have nobody to blame but yourself if you didn't take the time to verify what you are buying. It's not always a scam either, there are plenty of ignorant sellers out there that don't know what they are selling or have some incredibly high price in mind because they don't know any better.

stratohawk · February 8th, 2010, 11:02 PM

That's why I don't like buying off ebay. Ive only bought 2 things A mij foto flame that was an hour away from me so I checked it out before I gave him his cash, and the pots and switch out of a 57ri hot rod strat.

scotzoid · February 9th, 2010, 09:17 AM

Educate yourself, & leave the scam items to the people with more money than sense.
I believe it was W C Fields who said, "It is morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money!"

gliderider22 · February 9th, 2010, 09:40 AM

P.T. Barnum said,"there's a sucker born every minute." Good for the scammers I guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotzoid

Educate yourself, & leave the scam items to the people with more money than sense.
I believe it was W C Fields who said, "It is morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money!"

peskypesky · February 9th, 2010, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 67Strat

I agree. This isn't unique to guitars, everything requires research. Unless somebody holds a gun to your head you have nobody to blame but yourself if you didn't take the time to verify what you are buying. It's not always a scam either, there are plenty of ignorant sellers out there that don't know what they are selling or have some incredibly high price in mind because they don't know any better.

this is true. i've learned the hard way. good thing all the guitars i bought were cheap as dirt.

the sellers sometimes do not know the problems with the guitars, or the fact the the guitars were modded, or parts replaced. i bought one guitar that was missing a chunk of wood under the pickguard. the seller said he had no idea because he had never taken the pickguard off. another guy sold me a guitar with a couple of damaged frets. he said he didn't know because it was his son's guitar.

for these reasons, be VERY careful when you buy off fleabay.

still_fiddlin · February 9th, 2010, 10:33 AM

Stick with sellers that have 100% feedback ratings, and have recently sold similar items, or at least items in the same price range and have satisfied buyers.

If you ignore that, and try to get a bargain, you are asking for trouble. If something seems to be selling too cheaply, there's often a reason for that, and one reason might be that knowledgeable buyers are staying away.

And, don't worry about the rest of the world. You can't fix it, because eBay doesn't care.

peskypesky · February 9th, 2010, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by still_fiddlin

Stick with sellers that have 100% feedback ratings, and have recently sold similar items, or at least items in the same price range and have satisfied buyers.

i don't feel like i can trust those ratings, since almost everyone seems to have really high ratings. i think buyers are afraid to give a bad rating, because then the seller might retaliate and give the buyer a bad rating.

still_fiddlin · February 9th, 2010, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskypesky

i don't feel like i can trust those ratings, since almost everyone seems to have really high ratings.....

Well, it's not the *only* piece of data to use, but it really is one of the best ones you've got, along with the history of kinds of items bought & sold by that eBay member. Obviously, I hope, someone with a record of selling 100 $0.50 items who just listed a $1500 guitar would still get a pass by me, but a 98% rating would probably not get even a 1st look. It's not like anything I can afford won't show up sooner or later by someone with a solid 100% rating, so why add risk to the transaction to try and save a couple bucks? That's just me, of course.

67Strat · February 9th, 2010, 11:06 AM

Feedback doesn't mean as much to me as a listing with lots of pics showing detail and a description written by someone who demonstrates knowledge about what they are selling. Someone with nothing to hide tends to be very descriptive, they are trying to attract buyers and take the time to put up an informative listing.

OldFartRocker · February 9th, 2010, 01:37 PM

Some time back I purchased a "Fender" maple neck off eBay. Turned out to be a Warmoth "Lic" by Fender neck with a "Fender" headstock decal. I personally thought that to be fraudulent. (no help from eBay or seller) I see this still going on today, even more so as of late. Seller has 100% pos feedback. Go figure. Oh well, live and learn.

67Strat · February 9th, 2010, 01:51 PM

Usually the licensed stuff is stamped so it's pretty tough to mistake one. Did the neck you bought not have a stamp on the heel?

still_fiddlin · February 9th, 2010, 02:27 PM

I'd have to see the auction to pass judgement on whether it was a fraudulent transaction. If it was clearly misrepresented, use your credit card company to undo it, is the best recourse, and let the seller, eBay and PayPay know that's what you're doing.

One sobering fact I try to keep in mind: everytime you win an eBay auction, you just paid more for something than the rest of the entire world thought it was worth. That's why I only buy things on eBay I can't find locally and *need*, keeping my "wants" in check by doing that shopping in the real (vs. virtual) world. (I've been on eBay since 1998, but my rating is based on less than 50 total transactions. I am pretty careful there.)

erock · February 9th, 2010, 02:30 PM

damn I was born on the wrong minute.

erock · February 9th, 2010, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskypesky

i don't feel like i can trust those ratings, since almost everyone seems to have really high ratings. i think buyers are afraid to give a bad rating, because then the seller might retaliate and give the buyer a bad rating.

THIS.

peskypesky · February 9th, 2010, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by still_fiddlin

One sobering fact I try to keep in mind: everytime you win an eBay auction, you just paid more for something than the rest of the entire world thought it was worth.

ummm. no. the entire world isn't watching the going price of every single item on ebay. it's a very, very small percentage of the world population that is watching when any particular item sells. like maybe 5 or 6 people out of 6 billion.

67Strat · February 9th, 2010, 03:17 PM

I've never paid too much for something on eBay. No doubt some stuff gets crazy money but not all. One thing many don't know about eBay is a lot of the items in eBay stores doesn't show up in the regular searched listings. If you don't have favorite sellers saved and check on their items from time to time you'll miss good deals. Not sure why eBay's search does that but it does. There's a bunch of stuff there most never see. Just putting in "Squier Japan" won't pull everything up that's there.

T-Bodz Terry B. · February 9th, 2010, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskypesky

i don't feel like i can trust those ratings, since almost everyone seems to have really high ratings. i think buyers are afraid to give a bad rating, because then the seller might retaliate and give the buyer a bad rating.

I sell my previous racing seasons R/C Car stuff on ebay all the time. As you
mentioned above, previously the buyer could be in fear of a Negative Feedback
response left for them however the seller is no longer allowed to leave the
buyer negative feedback / only positive can be left nowadays from the seller.

peskypesky · February 9th, 2010, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-Bodz Terry B.

I sell my previous racing seasons R/C Car stuff on ebay all the time. As you
mentioned above, previously the buyer could be in fear of a Negative Feedback
response left for them however the seller is no longer allowed to leave the
buyer negative feedback / only positive can be left nowadays from the seller.

that sort of sucks if you're a seller then and get ripped off by buyers...

still_fiddlin · February 9th, 2010, 05:19 PM

Of course I didn't mean 6 billion people were watching the auction, but if you sell anything with wide interest, you might be surprised how many people actually look at it. It's not 5 or 6. Maybe you're talking about something other than Fender Stratocaster guitars, necks, but that was what I was thinking about.

I think it's not an exaggeration to say that, on any given day, all the people in the world (and, by that I mean all the people, in all the places the item could ship to, that view eBay as a valid exchange for that kind of commodity) have the opportunity to bid on and buy whatever it is you are bidding on. If they're actually in the market for that item, they are your competitor for it.

If you win, you paid more for it than anyone of those possible bidders was able or willing to.

Maybe that means you were smarter than they were; maybe it means the smart people with money in the rest of the world weren't online or didn't submit a proxy bid, so you got lucky; or, maybe, it simply means you had more to spend than anyone else on that item. Don't take it literally, or personally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskypesky

ummm. no. the entire world isn't watching the going price of every single item on ebay. it's a very, very small percentage of the world population that is watching when any particular item sells. like maybe 5 or 6 people out of 6 billion.

amstratnut · February 9th, 2010, 05:33 PM

I've been lucky I guess. I try to make sure seller is either large instrument retailer, or if its a small operator then I try to make sure its an individual, like myself, maybe selling one or two things for themselves.

scotzoid · February 11th, 2010, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peskypesky

that sort of sucks if you're a seller then and get ripped off by buyers...

I was going to say it, but tbodz beat me to it.

As a seller, the only way you get ripped off is by buyers not paying, & no seller ever ships w/o being paid first (if he intends to stay in business). You do get the buyer slapped with a non-payment strike, which will eventually lead to being banned if they do it enough.