Are there any tell tale signs of a counterfiet Fender Stratocaster guitar?
I recently purchased a fender Stratocaster, made in Mexico. off craigslist for about 300 dollars sold as like new condition. Recognize the name of the gentleman I bought it from. and I noticed that he's selling the same fender stratocaster after telling me that he was selling two and I was buying the last one. I see his ads pop up alot. and now for around the same price he is selling a translucent blue MIM fender strat(RARE), that seems fishy to me. He wasnt a local buisiness, just a lone guy.
I checked the serial number on my head stock and was able to look it up, where it was made etc. but is there a way to check if it was counterfiet? like buying cheep guitars and sticking decals on them? I dont mind taking the guitar apart to verify it's authenticity. Please share your knowledge.
Thank you

Post pictures here. Its easier to identify a model if we have something to look at

I will post some online. is there ant particular place that I should concentrate on? Head Stock, Body, Back, Etc?

The more detailed pics the better. We all enjoy guitar porn around here!

+1

It's easier to see what you have and work from there instead of taking a stab in the dark and guessing. Forgers are unfortunately very creative and there is really no "telltale signs" that all of them use. There is no consistancy since all scammers do it differently. For example, some might mess up the decal while others get it right.

That being said, it is not often that a scammer would take their time to counterfeit a $300 MIM Std. If they are going through the trouble of spending money and hours to fake a guitar...it is usually going to be a rip off of a Custom Shop or some other MIA Fender so they can make as much profit as possible.

But who knows for sure unless you post some pics.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

That's the right idea! Front and back of headstock. Closeup of the bridge. Back of the guitar body (fakers never get the trem cover screw hole pattern correct. Hey, I guess that IS one telltale sign after all).

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

There are tons of fake Epiphones, so I wouldn't put it past counterfeiters.

I did not know that. What is this world coming too?

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Look how long this thread is

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphon ... ad-ii.html

Translucent MIM Not at all rare, I think the color you are referring to is Saphire Blue Transparent, one of the translucent colors in the MIM Deluxe Player line, I have a Crimson Red model. I see them every so often for sale, most are in a sunburst color scheme, but once in a while a blue or red one appears on the sale's list.

The serial number should be on the back of the headstock, below the tuners, look it up in the Fender Support-Knowledge-base- product dating page.
$300 seems quite reasonable for a Player's Deluxe in like new condition.
Your source is a bit liberal with his sales pitch, but I don't see anything unethical with telling you it was the last one if there were only two. It's possible the other was reserved to someone who may have reneged at the last moment. But, was that the last one in your particular color which is
Either way if you got a very nice playing MIM guitar for $300 then I don't see the problem.

You must post high resolution pics (digital camera Please ) of the front and back of the headstock, a pic of the entire body front and back, a pic of the entire strat front and back.
To sell an alleged MIM Strat for $300 and for it to be counterfeit is unlikely. Just because the sum of the parts needed to pull this off convincingly far outprice what you payed for the guitar. If it is actually a Squier Bullet, then that will be immediately apparent from the pics. Then there is no way to pass it off as an MIM as the necks and the bodies are completely different from the MIM's or for that matter the MIA series.
I would not fret too much

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

This thread brings up a topic which I find rather fascinating.
The number of people who immediately believe that they bought a counterfeit Fender.
Fender sells thousands of Strat's. each year, if you walk into every GC in the Country and count all the MIM's, I think one would have to sit down and take a couple of breaths.

The majority of the aftermarket guitars are not so much counterfeit ( we are not talking currencies ) in so much that they were modded by their previous owners, which ironically was exactly what Leo Fender and his crew had in mind when they developed strats and Tele's.
Provide a musician an affordable, high quality instrument which he or she could easily maintain and/or exchange, repair any of it's parts quickly and efficiently and still be able to get back to playing the next day at the latest.

Of some of us who have owned Les Paul's and SG's, that is not the case with Gibson's.
Though I do miss my LPC at times

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

I wouldn't be overly concerned if the guy has several for sale. Like said, he may be a bit free with his marketing but so are a lot of people.

I know a guy locally that scours garage sales, craigslist, bulletin boards, music stores, etc. to pick up gently used Strats and flips them. He may only make $50-$75 per guitar but it helps support his habit of buying goodies for his own guitars.

The fellow you're talking about may be doing the same thing.

Jeff

mim's seem to be more common at some guitar shops. I noticed mim's 10 to 1 mia's. Chances are it is not fake. Just do some research. mim's are still good Fenders.
Keep Jammin! Enjoy Life!

Where did you check the serial number, with whom? Was it Fender Consumer Relations? You can call this number 480-596-9690. Give him the serial number. He can tell you everything about it. If the guitar matches his description, year, color, neck type, and whatever else he tells ya then you can be almost 99% sure it's real. You may have already done so but just trying to help. If the guitar is not too old, then it's in the data base. I'm not sure how far it goes back but it's many years.

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"Damn Right I Got the Blues"

Just to add to bshane84's post - Fender's database goes back to around 1994.

From what I've heard Fender got a new computer system and that the old records were destoyed in a warehouse fire (the old records could have been hard copy or could have been some type of electronic media).