Fake Fenders

[intothevoid]

You often hear about fake Gibsons being sold as the real thing on ebay but you never hear of the same thing happening with Fender guitars, why is this?

[Sadowsky13]

I've wondered the same thing. Don't know if maybe it has anything to do with the facts that a strat can be easily taken apart and examined more closely than a neck through, thus making it a little more difficult to pass off. Les Pauls sell for a good chunk of change so when they make them and sell them they make more money. As for strats you have MIM, MIA, etc that all vary, as a result people are more cautious with strats because we know the parts interchange and just because someone says that it is MIA doesn't necessarily mean it is, as the neck could have been changed, etc.

 

IMO for a counterfeit to make money they would have to go for the custom shop version and in many of those cases a close examination would make it difficult to use crappy woods, (ie: clear finish, figured maple necks, etc. If they had to invest in those woods to pull off the scam they would cut into profit.

 

I don't know if any of this is right or not but they are some of the things I have thought about.

[FUBTAG]

 

I've wondered the same thing. Don't know if maybe it has anything to do with the facts that a strat can be easily taken apart and examined more closely than a neck through, thus making it a little more difficult to pass off. Les Pauls sell for a good chunk of change so when they make them and sell them they make more money. As for strats you have MIM, MIA, etc that all vary, as a result people are more cautious with strats because we know the parts interchange and just because someone says that it is MIA doesn't necessarily mean it is, as the neck could have been changed, etc. IMO for a counterfeit to make money they would have to go for the custom shop version and in many of those cases a close examination would make it difficult to use crappy woods, (ie: clear finish, figured maple necks, etc. If they had to invest in those woods to pull off the scam they would cut into profit. I don't know if any of this is right or not but they are some of the things I have thought about.

 

 

It's the same reason that you don't see couterfeit one dollar bills. If you going through the hassle.. do the one that will make the most $$.

[stormin1155]

I'm guessing that there are a lot of guitars being sold as MIA Fenders that really aren't. All the parts are readily available on the internet, right down to the Fender Custom Shop decals. So for a few hundred $ you could slap together whatever signature, reissue, CS, or relic model you want that would bring nearly as much as a Standard LP.

 

I've bought quite a few cheap guitars online, but wouldn't consider putting down serious money unless I've personally seen the guitar.

[walfordr]

 

I'm guessing that there are a lot of guitars being sold as MIA Fenders that really aren't. ...

 

 

I think this is the right answer.

 

Fender essentially make their own "fakes" at every price point so there is not as much demand and where it happens it is not as noticeable.

[tinwhisker]

Some of the most commonly faked vintage Strats are the ones with rare custom colors.

[newmaxnew]

There have been way more vintage Fender guitars sold in recent years then were ever produced. That means that many of those vintage Fenders are fakes. It is real easy to fake a vintage Fender that is why I would never buy one.

 

Max

[tinwhisker]

I remember back in the late 80's early 90's at the guitar shows...If you walked into a guitar show with a tweed case, you were mobbed by Asian buyers offering pretty much whatever you wanted for your vintage Fender. Then you'd see em on the payphones standing by stacks of tweed cases arranging shipping. Sad to say most of that stuff is gone and alot of what is floating around is fake.

[Alan Roberts]

There are plenty of fake Fenders out there.

[Electric Blues]

 

I'm guessing that there are a lot of guitars being sold as MIA Fenders that really aren't. All the parts are readily available on the internet, right down to the Fender Custom Shop decals. So for a few hundred $ you could slap together whatever signature, reissue, CS, or relic model you want that would bring nearly as much as a Standard LP. I've bought quite a few cheap guitars online, but wouldn't consider putting down serious money unless I've personally seen the guitar.

 

+1 Agreed.

I think there are truckloads of "fake" Fenders on the market. There are so many models, built in different countries and times that it's almost impossible to be sure.

 

Besides, there are perfect aftermarket parts built to original specs that it complicates things even more. Also, the construction is so basic it's very easy to copy... not to mention the decal that is available anywhere.

[Kramerguy]

 

You often hear about fake Gibsons being sold as the real thing on ebay but you never hear of the same thing happening with Fender guitars, why is this?

 

 

because most of the fakes are better than the real ones?

 

/duck

[Mrrikki]

You get fake everything now-a-days but the Gibsons retail for higher value on average due to MIM strats etc, so more money to be made.

[UllyssesSB]

I actually have a fake Fender. I couldn't pick it was a fake until about a month after I bought it. I ended up getting my money back from the prick who sold it to me, and kept the guitar.

[mistersully]

 

I actually have a fake Fender. I couldn't pick it was a fake until about a month after I bought it. I ended up getting my money back from the prick who sold it to me, and kept the guitar.

 

 

ebay?

[Midcitysaint]

I got burned on Ebay by a guy trying to pass off a Fender Squier body and electronics bolted on to a Fender Standard neck. The problem was that the body wasn't a flat black but instead some kind of sparkle black that didn't look right. Sure enough it was a hunk of crap with a decent neck.

 

I wrote him asking for a refund. After a week of no action I finally filed a claim and he got all pissed about it and immediately refunded my money. The crappy thing is that I couldn't leave him bad feedback because he could just have easily busted my balls on the feedback too. So I left nothing, but I bet the sh*t stick is still on there. His name was some kind of number then the world "trains" like 123trains or some such. At least Ebay is cool enough to force a refund if you get screwed.

[UllyssesSB]

 

ebay?

 

 

nope local classifieds

[dinky1]

the site that all these people are getting fake gibbys from also has fake fenders too. and ibanez/gretsch/prs/esp etc. etc.

[Professor Tom]

 

There are plenty of fake Fenders out there.

 

 

There are, lots especially vintage ones.

[intothevoid]

Oh ok, I'll admit I didn't research it too well. It was more based on the is this Les Paul a fake? threads. How can you spot a fake fender?

[Midcitysaint]

Edited for posting the right comment in the wrong thread...I'm an idiot.

[tinwhisker]

 

Sweet juniors...keep 'em coming.

 

 

 

wrong thread?

[ElectricFactory]

I don't know if anyone has already mentioned this but there's one major reason why there are so many more Gibby fakes- the stupid amounts of money LP's bring.

You'll RARELY see vintage Strat selling in the same 'stratosphere' [ sorry] as 50's era Les Pauls do. 50K ? Piece a cake . 75K ? All day long. I've personally seen a certain '59 Les Paul Standard selling for $210,000.00

And it sold.

[Electric Blues]

 

as 50's era Les Pauls do. 50K ? Piece a cake . 75K ? All day long. I've personally seen a certain '59 Les Paul Standard selling for $210,000.00 And it sold.

 

 

Wrong. There are even fake Epiphones on the market.

[IBDBB]

Gibson is without a doubt the most common fake and comprises about 75% of the fake market.

With that said, they do make Epi's, Fender's, Ibanez's, Rick's, Gretsch's, and I even saw some Hofner copies not too long ago.

[Midcitysaint]

When I was working for a large, popular guitar store chain, we had a lot of concern about fake Fenders coming through. There were all kinds of fake Fenders being brought around or misrepresented Fenders, etc. People would do things like remove the electronics from an original vintage Fender and try to pass it off as all original, or they'd swap around necks and bodies or they would flat out make attempts at duplicating the originals, etc. Either way, there are a lot of fakes floating about.