Dodgy?

amarok1971

Am i right in being suspicious of this? 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Les-Paul-Guitar-Great-Condition-With-Gibson-Padded-Case-in-Excellent-Condition/202266270194?hash=item2f180259f2:g:9oMAAOSwYJNasNWg

Jack_

Yes, it's a fake.

amarok1971

Jack_ said:

Yes, it's a fake.

Really? i was more concerned by the finish defect at the top of the neck, i.e. a possible neck break repair

StuartMac290

Yeah, complete fake. Avoid.

Jack_

I'm fairly sure it's fake, the headstock just looks all wrong, the Gibson logo is really low, the texture of the finish doesn't look right, the truss rod cover looks like it's come from an Epiphone. I don't remember Gibson ever selling full fat Les Paul's with a soft case. Tuners have no branding. Sticker on the cavity cover looks like something you usually see on fakes.

Funkfingers

Yes.

Metric bridge/tailpiece, Asian humbuckers and mounting surrounds, Asian control knobs, fret ends over binding rather than nibs, naff inlay material, truss rod cover looks like shaved Epiphone type, cheap Asian Kluson replicas, blah, blah.

The guitar is Korean but not necessarily an Epiphone.

Fortheloveofguitar

If it’s good enough for you it’s good enough for me!

Modulus_Amps

so much wrong with that auction, obviously a fake... what is the deal with "I will only pay £3 ebay fees" he is having a laugh I think

amarok1971

yeah i've just noticed the tuners are cheap copies and the slotted bridge screws. had me fooled for a min!
cheers

flying_pie

Have you read the description? It's brilliant. 

I sold this. They took it to a guitar shop and sent it back to me. I'm selling it again with no refund. 

Funkfingers

Modulus_Amps said:

what is the deal with "I will only pay £3 ebay fees"

Interpretation #1 - The vendor is exploiting one of those eBay capped seller fees promotions.
Interpretation #2 - The vendor has no intention of paying any more than £3 towards the fees and expects the buyer to cough up the remainder. 

Last time I bothered to check, openly passing on the seller fees was against eBay rules. Vendors have to do it sneakily. Traditional methods include hiking up the postage charge.

amarok1971

He's (she's?) either very clever or very stupid, i'm erring on the latter for the time being

Snags

Jack_ said:

I don't remember Gibson ever selling full fat Les Paul's with a soft case.

Studio's used to come with a gig bag (well, unless Coda were lying bastards back in the 90s, which is possible as I was a little taken aback at the till when that happened); as far as I know Standards have always come with a hard case though.

crunchman

I'm not a real expert on these things but the bridge posts don't look right, and the truss rod cover looks wrong as well.  I'm sure that there are other things that the more knowledgable will come up with.

Bod

I have no comment to make on the authenticity of the item, but I would never deal with someone that comes across as such an obvious arse in their listings.

Panama_Jack666

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake

Funkfingers

amarok1971 said:

He's (she's?) either very clever or very stupid, i'm erring on the latter for the time being

Allow me to play devil's advocate. I suggest that the vendor knows exactly what he or she is up to.

Notice how the photographs are all poorly lit - most especially the one of the rear of the headstock. This conveniently disguises any modifications to the headstock outline. e.g. Restoring the corners that Epiphone leave off. 

The auction title has all of the right keywords to attract search engines and gullible buyers. The item description does not actually claim that the guitar is a Gibson. In the mind of the vendor, no fraud is occurring. 

A truly honest vendor would have written the actual words, "THIS IS NOT A GIBSON" somewhere in the item description. 

nickb_boy

I'd tend to avoid buying any guitar that's got heavy rubbing to the neck from having the bar code played

Jonathangus

I struggle with playing bar codes, too.  Some of the stretches are huge.

Edit: beat me to it, @nickb_boy !

Plectrum

I believe the White Stripes used bar codes a lot

LuttiS

It's got to be real? There's a fancypants sticker on the back saying "original Gibson equipment"  - They don't just stick that on anything you know!