ya that crap is fked up!

Hi lite ash stratocaster: this is ostensibly an Ebay type trading website rather than a manufacturer's website - am I seeing that right?

Many things should ring alarm bells in anyone's mind. For example:

http://www.tradetang.com/for-sale/-NEW- ... 88068.html

Putting aside the price (US$164.71 - 207.52... well, which?), we can't help noticing that the pictures of the guitar come from Ebay, as the little icon in the bottom corner show. Here on the Forum we've seen other fraud operations where stolen photos are a sure sign of what's really going on. And indeed a leaver of feedback lower on the page says he was sent "the wrong guitar" - did the seller ever have the "right" one?

In other words, I bet the guitars that finally turn up bear little resemblance to those in the photos, and they just hope the buyers are too stupid to notice, or give up in the face of the idea of sending trash goods all the way back to China.

What is bemusing me is that they appear to accept real credit payment: Visa, Paypal and such. First thing I'd be doing if I received fake goods when I "innocently" thought I was getting a real Fender or Gibson would be to get my payment back from the credit card provider. And they in turn would snatch it back from the merchant - that's how it works. Wouldn't be long before the seller has their credit facilities withdrawn - so how come that appears not to be happening?

Presumably this TradeTang.com website will claim to be merely an honest broker, like Ebay. But any fool can see in a second that it isn't, so how do they keep their financial facilities with those banks/credit card companies? Bizarre.

Who were you thinking of reporting it to, by the way?

Interesting. Thanks for posting.

Cheers - C

That one is pretty cool actually.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

What amazes me more is people actually buy this crap. Shame on them and they deserve everything they get. The people who but this stuff probably think it "fell off the truck" if you get my drift and that's why they think it's a great deal. You have to be really stupid or very naive to think you can get a real,original high end guitar for those prices.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Yeah I think they use pics of real strats, then send you something else. Ones I've seen have squier type saddles, and tuners that are screwed into the back of the headstock.

There's another website like this, that actually has pictures of the fakes. Let me see if I can find it.

http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/electri ... -lc-12-2-2

Check out this pic. They don't even have the tuners lined up straight

There's been a guitar like that here on craigslist for awhile. They guy says it's a fake and he's asking $500 for it. lol people keep flagging his ad.

I don't know how many people would fall for this, but if someone thinks they can get a MIA Strat like the one in Ceri's link, for $168.00 or $200.00, They ought to have their head examined. Personally I'm even a bit leery about purchasing a Guitar online from reputable companies, Like Musicians friend, or Sweetwater. I like to pick up and hold any guitar I'm going to buy. Not to mention things that go wrong during shipping. The old saying goes, Buyer Beware, Who are going to get customer service from on the internet? You'd be lucky to get someone to contact after they took your Hard Earned Money! My advice to anyone looking to buy a guitar is, Get in the car and find a guitar store.

I have seen a lot of fake fenders on ebay for sale. I agree with you, if you are in the market for a guitar then the best thing to do is to go to a local store and buy one. Anyone can photoshop a fake one into looking like the real thing.

I played one of these fake Gibsons at a guitar shop in Tennessee. They had a big sign over it that said "Not A Gibson!! Chinese Fake!!" It was the biggest POS I have ever played.

Could be a new production facility and they are still trying to work out the kinks . . . . . .

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

I had a discussion with someone about all the fakes in the market nowadays. He says he buys them, that "whatever works for me", " nobody can hear the name on the guitar when it's recorded". Supposedly he owns a recording studio.

Its prevalent.

If you want authenticity, you should pursue authenticity with awareness.

If you want an unrealistic bargain, caveat emptor.

"Buyer beware," said the sign in the ancient Roman marketplace.

It kind of drives me nuts when someone posts a Fender guitar on Ebay with the words, "50th Anniversary Stratocaster."

It turns out that it’s a Strat with a little gold foil emblem on the back of the headstock stating,"Fender 50 years of excellence." THIS IS NOT AN ANNIVERSARY STRATOCASTER! These are normal run of the mill Fender Strat built during Fender's 50th Birthday.

I own an actual 50th Anniversary Stratocaster (American Series). It comes 1 color, 2-color sunburst.
There is in fact a gold one, but I think it is a MIM, the Custom Shop made one also in 2-color SB and there is the 50th Aniv. Strat Deluxe w/noiseless pickups.

I just saw on e-bay two “50th Anniversary” addition Strat Fakes. They have the correct neck plate, but everything else is wrong (like the color).

I hate to sound petty, but someone who doesn't know about guitars is going to get taken by false advertisement. There are a lot people saving their pennies to get something nice and they get taken instead.

When advertising your guitar for sale, know what the heck you are talking about.