Increasing reports and complaints from music stores and musicians about the explosion of counterfeit guitars spreading like plague, four of the top known names in the musical instrument business, Ibanez, Gretsch, Fender and Paul Reed Smith (PRS), teamed up in March 2008 to develop the Electric Guitar Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (EGACC) to petition government authorities for enforcing their intellectual property laws against unauthorized counterfeiting.
Sources tell us that complaints were pursued with the Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Beijing, China concerning the activities of two Chinese companies operating as paylessguitar.com.cn and musoland.com.cn. The two companies were believed to be in violation for distributing and sales of counterfeit guitars through several websites targeting overseas consumers. The four members of the EGACC had all received several complaints about the sites from both consumers and musical instrument retail stores, many of who were on the receiving end of acquiring instruments that turned out to be illegal counterfeits.
The four guitar manufacturers of the EGACC are also collectively working with the international intellectual-property and antitrust law firm, Baker and McKenzie. Baker and McKenzie petitioned the Chinese enforcement authorities for law enforcement assistance. Following numerous months of intensive investigations, the Xuanwu District PSB in Beijing, initiated simultaneous raids on November 26, 2008, against the retail operations and warhouse of both Paylessguitar and Musoland in Beijing.
During this intensive operation, the PSB seized over 1,200 counterfeit guitars and other musical instruments not only counterfeiting all four EGACC group member brands but also those of several other renowned electric guitar manufacturers. Sources tell us that a number of individuals including the owners of these businesses were detained by the PSB during the raids. The EGACC is collaborating with the PSB and prosecutors in their follow-up investigations and prosecution. Should the prosecution prevail, those convicted could face extensive fines and jail time.
The spokesperson for Baker & McKenzie, stated: “This is just the first of actions that will send a strong signal to manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and web sellers – that dealing in counterfeit guitars and counterfeit guitar products will simply not be tolerated by government authorities or the brand owners. Strong action will be taken to protect the group members’ lawful rights and the rights and interests of consumers of all of the affected brands. The EGACC group members are grateful for the cooperation of the PSB, and of other PRC enforcement authorities, including the Xuanwu Administration for Industry & Commerce, for pursuing these law enforcement actions. The EGACC group members look forward to working closely with these and other government enforcement authorities on this and future actions in the PRC and elsewhere.”
Finally! I’m glad to see the Chinese gov’t cracking down on these thieves.
This is good news. The Chinese rip off just about everything.
Hi,
I have an ebay store called Rockstar supply. I have recieved many threats from folks saying they are from your organization. I am certin that is not the case, However, We sell seconds and refurbished guitars…all purchased from a US distributor…We keep alot on hand… The rub seems to come when these folks want us to provide them with a seriel number… Our position is when they purchase we will provide the seriel number of the instrument they will recieve… Then we are told that we will be reported to ebay as well as You folks for selling Counterfit merchendise…. Its probably no big deal… It just pisses me off…..If you need any info from us to insure that we are a US business as well as a company that does it right… Don’t hesitate to let me know…. Thanks Alot….
Dave Engelmann V.P.
Rockstar Supply
Hi Dave,
I, nor my staff harass any used guitar dealers. We do encourage our readers to be suspicious and research to make sure they are not buying fake or counterfeit guitars. Perhaps some of our readers feel your business practices are suspect, as we do encourage them to check everything before making a purchase. I can’t speak for our readers or their intentions. It appears that you have good feedback ratings and your auctions look legit to me. I really don’t know why you are being harassed.
That said, It’s no secret that we here at Gear-Vault dislike eBay due to all the scams, poor management and extremely high fees.
Regards,
Chaz
I don’t appreciate some novice emailing me that my goods are Chinese Counterfeit when his facts to make this claim are clearly wrong. With a snotty demeanor after telling me what was wrong with a guitar, he informed that he was reporting me to alliance against counterfeit guitars whatever the hell that is. I give you one example: He tells me that the warranty card uses the term “Insure” on it, instead (in his mind) “ensure” being the correct word. Well, excuse me , but Gibson has had the word “insure” on their COA’s for at least 10 years. To boot this person has a track record of making false claims against sellers and being a general irritation. I’m all for stopping counterfeits but harassment shouldn’t part of this game.
Hi Chaz,
The idiot thats seems to be causing all the uproar on Ebay Has a user name of
” greatdealz0″ I am confident that he is just tossin your websight name around to sound important. But like all knats he’s just an irritant. This Guy was probably a Permanant Hall Monitor in school…”Where’s your pass” but now suffers from delusions of importance from having his head slammed into his locker once to often…Kepp up the good work…. We’re glad your here.
Dave Engelmann
V.P. Rockstar Supply
I did a search on his eBay username and learned that harassing sellers seems to be his M.O. Out of only 5 feedback scores, two are negative due to being obnoxious. I wouldn’t put too much energy into one guy being an online prick. Your reputable feedback speaks for itself. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Dave and Chaz. I didn’t say it before, but that is exactly who the individual was, “greatdealz0” user name. Thanks for your responses. I can’t swear to it but I think I would be able to spot a counterfeit piece from looking at quite a few. If I do I will certainly be reporting it to you. Peter