Auction item turns out to be fake

hollydays

If it has been misdescribed they are accountable

heeddaball

Its a fake of a Repro. simply put its not a Gibson. the origonal version of this guitar was made in 1958/9 this repro lines up with versions released by gibson in 1995 (they are still doing it today)

But its not a Gibson. Apparrently its the kind of description that if it had turned up on ebay Gibson would have made the auctioneer remove the word Gibson. Its a nice guitar but its not as described.

heeddaball

the description was repro - but my understanding was that it was a repro by gibson. the guitar has gibson inlay on the machine head. this isnt a simple les paul copy its a fake gibson. Apparrently during the auction the auctioneer said it may not be genuine. I don't know his exact words as I wasnt present and could not have retracted my bid anyway. Like I say its only when Gibson wrote to me that I discovered its a fake. IE something that is made to appear more real or valuable by fraud which is what it is

k3lvc

heeddaball wrote: »

the description was repro - but my understanding was that it was a repro by gibson.

What action did you take to make this an 'understanding' rather than an 'assumption'

As a salesman if I read the description I'd be almost positive that it wasn't real. Presumably given the value difference between a 'real' one and what they were offering they'd also decided it wasn't real (or at the very least they had no grounds to spend time/money/energy verifying its authenticity)

IMHO you thought you'd struck a bargain and now have buyers remorse - given the details you've already exposed on here the chances of you getting any comeback from S75 would be minimal

DoaM

Was the price you paid in line with a Gibson repro or was it more in line with what you'd pay for a copy? (Taking into account the condition).

Wookey

It's either a genuine Gibson or it's not, if it isn't then it has been marketed incorrectly whether intentionally or not and there should be some recourse, i would contact Gibson again and ask them what there procedure for clamping down on fake goods being sold inside the USA is and they might be able to point you to the correct avenue for recourse, Gibson take the counterfeiting of there stuff pretty seriously. The trouble when problems arise from goods bought in the USA is that you have different laws in different states as well as federal laws.

heeddaball

Price I paid is in line with a Gibson repro (checked out on ebay - unless theyre all fakes as well LoL), I sold my non gibson toward it for 1/6th of the price.
the thing is that its a fake not a repro - there is a massive difference - Fake is illeagal - Repro can simply be an authorised copy. Repro furniture is not Fake its simply made to the style or spec of the origonal by current craftsmen. A painting made in 1995 signed by John Constable is a fake - its simple. I'd be happy if its a 2017 gibson repro or any other year - but its not a Gibson

heeddaball

Cheers Wookey - Gibson have issued me a cert saying its a fake. I cannot be sold mentioning Gibson and could probably (now) only be sold on by me if put this is a Fake Gibson in the description because anything else is seen as fraud by them. I think I have a case - Gibson will also back me in this (so they say anyway)

AndyMc.....

heeddaball wrote: »

Cheers Wookey - Gibson have issued me a cert saying its a fake. I cannot be sold mentioning Gibson and could probably (now) only be sold on by me if put this is a Fake Gibson in the description because anything else is seen as fraud by them. I think I have a case - Gibson will also back me in this (so they say anyway)

I don't think you're going to be able to prove fraud here as there is no evidence of the seller or auction house acting dishonestly.

The auction house have tried to cover themselves by stating it maybe a repo. I would guess it may take a court case to get a judgement on this one.

heeddaball

k3lvc wrote: »

What action did you take to make this an 'understanding' rather than an 'assumption'

As a salesman if I read the description I'd be almost positive that it wasn't real. Presumably given the value difference between a 'real' one and what they were offering they'd also decided it wasn't real (or at the very least they had no grounds to spend time/money/energy verifying its authenticity)

IMHO you thought you'd struck a bargain and now have buyers remorse - given the details you've already exposed on here the chances of you getting any comeback from S75 would be minimal

I disagree a repro is not a fake