Fake Martin and Gibson guitars on this site. Halifax!

[twistedtele]

There appears to be a poster who continues to try and sell fake Gibson and Martin USA guitars on this site under musical equipment/guitars for sale/ halifax. Many people have tried to post ads trying to warn the public but this guy keeps reposting his ads. I have sent many red flags to kijiji to try to get this guys ads pulled before someone who is not well versed in musical instruments gets burned buy paying thousands of dollars for something that is only high priced firewood. These guitars are only
Chinese copies(frauds). They say made in the usa and use Martin and Gibson logos which is illegal to resell as such. The last time the poster put up his ad was about 1 hour ago, Sat., Jan.26 under musical instruments for sale - guitars - halifax nova scotia.
p.s. I verified through Martin USA via phone with copies of his ad that these are indeed fakes. - cheers

[Dermwick]

These guitars have fake written all over them, for some reason this guy can only type in caps, and is a terrible speller, so if he or she changes their name look for this.
I don't want to see any fellow musicians getting burned on these fakes.

[twistedtele]

Fully agree with you. I find the lack of spelling abilities delightful to read. Hopefully this helps others to stay away from his crap. I heard that one guy drove an hour and a half to check them out only to find what pieces of crap they really were. That being said, not everyone is that savvy and could get burned. I hope KIJIJI shuts this guy down for good.

If someone wants to buy a copy of an instrument , ie.Ephiphone, Squire, Pan, or whatever, power to them. Not everyone can pay what it costs for higher end guitars. As long as they are sold for what they and represented as such, no issues. Fakes should never be allowed to be sold at any time. If these fake Martin and Gibson guitars were discovered by Custums, they would have been seized and destroyed. Copyright laws are in place in North America. - cheers!

[Angus Black]

Were the ads claiming the guitars were Martin and Gibson?
Were prices listed?

I just removed his ads based on him posting in Halifax and living in Truro. He is supposed to post in Truro.

The only ad I saw that was suspect was one showing a Gibson but was fairly generic saying he had guitars starting at $200.

[twistedtele]

Agnus, the guitars in question have close up photos of inside the sound hole of the Gibson that says made in the usa. The Martin guitar in question has clear shots of the sound hole as well with burn marks stating c.f. martin & co., made in the usa. This poster has been putting up these ads for over two months now and there was a couple of occasions where he did state that he wanted $3500.00 for the Martin guitar. He advertised the guitar as a Martin D-45s.
Apon checking with Martin Guitars in Nazareth,PA., the representitive who saw this poster's ad in December told me that in fact the guitar in question was a fake.

[Angus Black]

Thanks but don't call me Agnus.

I would like you to contact me when you see his ads again.
I am sending you my email address.

I am a guitar player and own a real Martin so I do know there are fakes.

[Angus Black]

[twistedtele]

This guy is more persistant than Wile E. Coyote. Seems he has a ghost-writer doing his ads for him now. Now posting under the Truro site.

[twistedtele]

At the end of the day, anyone considering buying a high end guitar, should stick to real music stores. If, one is to consider buying used, given the amount of potential fakes on the market, be sure the seller has all the proper documentation for the guitar being considered.
Most high end guitars can be traced by their serial numbers by calling Fender, Martin or Gibson USA.
In the event that anyone doubts that there are fakes on the market, Google 'chinese guitar fakes'. dhgate.com sells almost every high end model of guitar you can imagine from Fender, Martin, Gibson and PRS. All with the made in the usa logos on them.
Again, I know most posters are probably legit and are just trying to sell their used gear, but for the love of god, before dropping thousands of dollars to just anyone, get the thing verified by a reputable dealer. -
Cheers!

[twistedtele]

I knew it would only be a matter of time before someone was going to be burned by the guy selling fake Martin guitars on this site. After numerous attempts of trying to get that sellers ads removed, the guy managed to sell one of his fake Martins to an unsuspecting buyer. I saw the disgruntled ad this morning saying this person got burned bad. I wish there is a more sure-fire solution of getting rid of sellers who are trying to sell conterfeit products.
I know that I reported this guys ads numerous times, with detailed reasons why they should be banned, but kijiji allowed this guy to continue posting the same ads repeatedly. This scumbag should be banned.

[twistedtele]

Judging with the amount of posters that struck one dude out of the water, there are a few guitarists that want fraudsters off this site. If I am wrong, contact me....Some mods worked well to remove posts and I struggled to keep certain posters off of here. There are some others that still exist. For those of you who are trying to sell high end Ibanez guitars....for pennies on the dollar....it equals fraud. Anyone caught with these 'dhgate guitars from China....can end up in jail. For those who bought them....you just bought very expensive firewood.

[Angus Black]

Any item with a brand name on it that wasn't manufactured by that company is a counterfeit item.
Counterfeit Products are specifically not allowed to be posted on Kijiji.
Kijiji has no problem banning people posting a fake Coach purse but doesn't seem to have the same interest when counterfeit guitars are posted daily.
Some are obvious fakes, a $3000.00 Ibanez JEM7V selling for $285.00, but another con artist is selling counterfeit Martin guitars at prices nearer to what you would expect to pay for a real Martin, although the prices are still low enough that experienced guitar owners should know they are fake.

What is not allowed on Kijiji

[twistedtele]

Thanks Angus. This is from the Ibanez website
http://www.ibanez.co.jp/world/Counterfeit_Warning/index.html

Top 10 faked guitars
1.Martin Acoustics D-28
2.Gibson Les Paul Goldtop
3.Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty
4.Gibson Les Paul Slash Signature
5.PRS Custom 24
6.Gibson Firebird
7.Fender Telecaster Thinline
8.Ibanez jem Steve Vai
9.Fender SRV Stratocaster
10.2009 Fender Stratocaster sunburst

These fakes are always on this site and little seems to be done about it. It is not buyer beware when you are dealing with fraud. Calling these instruments reproductions is the same as trying to pay your taxes with reproduction $100.00 bills

All high end manufacturers have the same warning as Ibanez and if caught with these instruments, a person can be charged, fined and imprisoned.

[multiflakes]

Are the acoustic instruments actually any good?

[twistedtele]

Martin d series guitars are the industry standard when it comes to acoustic guitars. The model in question from China is in no way comparable to the real Martin. It is also illegal to sell or possess these counterfeit guitars.