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CyanideJunkie

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP/1010 WINS) — A Long Island company known as the world’s leading guitar string maker is struggling to combat an extensive counterfeit scheme based in China.

That’s the word from U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, who is calling for a federal crackdown.

Schumer says Farmingdale-base D’Addario is losing millions in revenue because of the counterfeiting. The company, which employs 800 people on Long Island, makes 20 million guitar string sets annually.

1010 WINS reporter Sonia Rincon talks with the business owner who says the fraud is hurting his company.

The senator says phony strings allegedly made by D’Addario are being sold as the legitimate item on the Internet. The company learned of the counterfeiting when a British retailer complained about the poor quality of strings it had bought off a website.

Schumer is urging the United States trade representative to pressure China to stop the counterfeiting.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
 
subversion said:
buy from dealers, do not buy online... that'll be much safer.
Click to expand...

I do agree with subversion on this. Considering that there are many websites selling D'addario strings at mad prices and assuming 80% of them are selling fake strings, I wouldn't be surprised if D'addario is losing millions.

According to D'addario's website, we have 4 dealers in Singapore.

City Music

Davis

Swee Lee

Yamaha

However, we cannot assume that all the other stores that carry D'addario strings are selling fakes.

After a quick google search, I found this interesting link to differentiate between the real and fake strings.

http://daddarioinc.blogspot.com/2010/09/play-real-beware-of-counterfeit.html

the best example is always the visual one :) .
 
Interesting, the use of serial numbers, and also a very good way to ensure that people get the real deal. However, it also paints a sad story of the presence of counterfeits. Using serial numbers is a rather last-resort way of controlling piracy for strings, of which maybe a billion packs are sold per year, isn't it?
 
I think serial numbers is a little pointless for strings. I mean, we usually throw the packaging away right after taking the strings out right? who really looks at the packaging for a serial number? well, unless they are looking for some lucky numbers to buy 4D with.
 
The packaging seems to be the only way of distinguishing them...and now the crooks know. :p
Nice link, although i felt it was kinda foolish for D'addario to put it out... Now the crooks will be wary of this mistake!
@loldude: Serial numbers are easy to fake. People are even faking instrument serials and COAs to go along. The only way is to buy from licensed distributors that we trust.

Edit: It seems D'addario are one step ahead...for better or worse.
Look for the D’Addario Play-Real serial number printed on the inner corrosion protection bag for all our string sets. If there is a number on the set, go online and check to see if it is legitimate. Help us by informing us of any sets with serial numbers that are not legitimately coded into our database.
Click to expand...
 
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Jumpin'Jellybean said:
People are even faking instrument serials and COAs to go along.
Click to expand...

Not exactly true. This is only apparent on vintage guitars where people are talking about guitars worth over 5 figures. The truth is, no one till date has been able to replicate the exact font size of the Vintage Fender decals. People do replicate things like decals and neck plates too but there are ways to tell the difference.

If you are referring to Fender Custom Shop COAs, I really don't think people would be interested in faking them because they are just not worth doing so. First, you'd have to mass produce them at some factory, forge the signature on every single cert etc. End of the day, how much can you sell them for? Do you have enough Custom Shop Fender guitars with missing certs to sell them with?

Things like that can be replicated yes but I'm sure people would rather focus more on selling fast moving stuff that already have a market as compared to going through all the trouble just to replicate things that are not worth the effort to do.

In any case if that guy is doing a long term business, I don't think he would want to do such things to ruin his reputation.
 
=relinquish69

Heheh, it would hardly be called a business. personally i'd call it a scam.

1) Vintage or not, this is trending especially in China, where fake Gibsons have a legit serial number. Mostly it's an /03 serial, made in nashville sunburst. The only way to tell it's a fake is because they made it in all colours. And selling a Fibson at 70% of a new Gibson price=tonnes of profit, because the material used is maybe 5-10% of the selling price.

2)When buying online, it's pretty impossible to tell the decals apart, unless the seller is nice enough to place an object there for comparison...but if he's scamming you, would he do so? :) And the differences are probably minimal/negligible with today's technology, and as such, the average consumer cannot tell them apart, even at the shop.

3)I'm not talking about just faking the COA. If you have a legit Fender CS, it will pass any inspection. The point is making fake COAs to go along with fake Fender CSes. The COA is as good a guarantee of the authenticity without having to open and check the cavities... So it's a profitable business that way. Fake Fenders with fake COAs at 50% (of a legit Fender CS), and voila, you have a thriving 'business'.


Everyone knows Gibson/Fender. It is definitely easier to replicate a Fender, get a fake COA and sell it for 5-10 times your cost price, rather than setting up shop with a virtually unknown brand name. Brand name is what matters to many. That's probably why we don't see replicas of Estebans, or TGMs, etc.

Just my 0.02, ymmv.

Peace out~
 
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=Jumpin'Jellybean

1) There is a huge difference between a real and a fake Gibson. One look at the serial number and you know it's fake because on real Gibsons, the serial numbers are stamped in before they spray paint over it whereas the fake ones are stamped after they are being painted. I did mention that it is nearly impossible to get the exact fonts that the original has right? Other tell tale signs include the routings of the control cavity and the electronics used. In a case where you are buying online, just take note of these things and don't be tempted by deals that seem almost too good to be true. "Sotongs" do appear once in a while but in today's society where a lot of things can be found after a 1 minute search on google, what are the chances of meeting a "Sotong"?

2) With regards to Fenders, the placement of their decals are pretty much standardised. The first thing to look out for is the placement of those decals. Now, on to the next step. With regards to American Standards or reissues, the decals are easily distinguishable as you can compare them to most of the shops here in Singapore. With regards to Fender Custom Shops, look at the Custom Shop logo. pixelated? missing a few distinct features? No COA? no problem request to have the guitar opened up.

Reference to Guitar Connection's photo album:
http://guitarconnection.multiply.co...op_1960_Matching_Headstock_Relic_Stratocaster

Even without the COA, you can confirm this is an authentic Custom Shop Fender Stratocaster. If they can't fulfill the request, don't buy. Why spend hard earned money when you can't be convinced? Unless you are saying that the average consumer just buys a guitar just because it's cheap and ignores every other detail. That kind of person to me is considered a "Sotong".

3) There are many pictures to compare with online. most importantly, looking at a close up picture would most definitely help. compare them side by side & you'd get your answer. I have seen many fake Gibsons yes but I have yet to encounter a fake Fender Custom shop guitar. For Fender guitars, just remove the neck and the body and instantly, you can tell whether it's a real or fake because they have so many stampings. Imagine replicating all those stamps. Not practical for business no? Sure you can make good fake guitars but at the end of the day, how easy is it to sell guitars? The market for guitars is pretty niche. Guitars do not sell like hot cakes. If I were to fake something, I would rather make fake LV or Gucci wallets and bags.

All in all, my point is that paranoia is not going help you in future purchases. who knows you might be missing out on a good deal. The best way of course is to arm yourself with the appropriate knowledge instead of being a victim of sales talk. If I'm going to shell out $1000+ on a guitar, I have to read up as much as possible before buying because money doesn't come easy and I would feel a whole lot better if I know I'm paying the right price for the right item.

In any case, buying from retail stores is still the safest. They won't cheat you unless they don't intend to do business for long.

Back to the topic. Compare both the original and fake strings in the pictures. If replicating the original was that easy, why are the tell tale signs so obvious? Think about it.
 
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Sorry, can't access the photos. I'm at work, the computer's firewall blocked out GC's site.

Anyway, i understand what you mean, but the process of making Gibsons, or faes/replicas, is very well known. Even you mentioned that the serial is stamped before the headstock is spraypainted. This means that although guitar geeks like ourselves do research to protect ourselves from scams, there will be crooks/scammers who read the same article hoping to avoid those mistakes.
Good fakes are hard to spot.

Replicating the original is indeed easy with aftermarket parts and the internet. THink about it. THe LP body is easily available, so is the neck. Tuners/bridge/hardware is also relatively easy to get. Laser printer with a decal, and voila. I admit i am paranoid about guitar purchases-it involves quite a sum of money. Especially those on eBay, they are untraceable thorugh certain modes of payment.
I am still convinced that fakes can be very very hard to spot if the producer puts a little more attention to detail. it is, of course, easy to spot a fake when it is side by side with the real thing. but how about when there is nothing to compare it against?
I myself try to research as much as possible before committing to expensive purchases. How ever, how many people do not? That is why eBay scams are running riot.
The same with strings-now the fakers know what mistakes not to commit.
 
=Jumpin'Jellybean

Hmm. It is an interesting link. I've gone through most of the pictures on the website and I would have to agree that most of the guitars there are not safe for the average consumer to buy. I deal a lot with guitars hence I have no problem telling the difference between a real and a fake guitar. To me the differences are not subtle at all but of course I cannot say the same if I were in the shoes of your average consumer.

However I have to disagree with your claim that replicating the original is easy with aftermarket parts. Replicating a LP is not easy at all. For a Strat maybe yes but I really have to disagree about the bulding a LP from scratch. Sure you might have access to the parts but do you know how to glue the neck and body together? I have no idea how to be honest.

Even if you do manage to piece up the parts, what about the decal? The decal is not just a water slide one like Fender. It's cut out from pearloid in most cases. Let's assume the case where it's a water slide decal. You have to finish it with lacquer right? I haven't touched on the body yet but I hope you can tell where I am going with this.

Finally after all that work, how much do you want to sell the fake Gibson for? I rather you take it as a custom LP and sell it as a custom LP without the Gibson logo. I'm sure people are willing to pay more for it as compared to a very well made fake Gibson.

Because of all the effort involved, no on is going to bother putting in the effort to make such a good fake guitar just to earn another $1000 bucks when they can do the same by doing things the legal way.

The theory is simple. Why do people pay thousands for a custom made guitar? Because they are anal about attention to detail. If I want to make quick money, I do a semi good job and sell it cheap for a quick profit. As long as money can roll fast, I can see the money. If every fake guitar is going to be custom shop quality, Gibson should really hire these people to work for them instead of spending the money to sue them.

Please don't take this personally, I don't have anything against your claims really. Everyone has an opinion yes and I'm looking at this from a business point of view. Let's say if you had $5000 and all the knowledge to build a good fake Gibson, would you do it? If so, what is your profit margin going to be like? You have to understand the fact that guitars don't sell as fast as hotcakes. Strings might not sell as fast as hotcakes but they definitely get sold faster compared to guitars :) .
 
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This has been going on for a while now. I have friends who read about this last year already. Makes you wonder how many fake packs have you bought till you read this :O
 
haha...there is no free lunch in this world , we should pay for quality. Same goes for the MP3.... i hope ppl start buying cds and download less on the internet....
 
relinquish69 said:
=Jumpin'Jellybean

Hmm. It is an interesting link. I've gone through most of the pictures on the website and I would have to agree that most of the guitars there are not safe for the average consumer to buy. I deal a lot with guitars hence I have no problem telling the difference between a real and a fake guitar. To me the differences are not subtle at all but of course I cannot say the same if I were in the shoes of your average consumer.

However I have to disagree with your claim that replicating the original is easy with aftermarket parts. Replicating a LP is not easy at all. For a Strat maybe yes but I really have to disagree about the bulding a LP from scratch. Sure you might have access to the parts but do you know how to glue the neck and body together? I have no idea how to be honest.

Even if you do manage to piece up the parts, what about the decal? The decal is not just a water slide one like Fender. It's cut out from pearloid in most cases. Let's assume the case where it's a water slide decal. You have to finish it with lacquer right? I haven't touched on the body yet but I hope you can tell where I am going with this.

Finally after all that work, how much do you want to sell the fake Gibson for? I rather you take it as a custom LP and sell it as a custom LP without the Gibson logo. I'm sure people are willing to pay more for it as compared to a very well made fake Gibson.

Because of all the effort involved, no on is going to bother putting in the effort to make such a good fake guitar just to earn another $1000 bucks when they can do the same by doing things the legal way.

The theory is simple. Why do people pay thousands for a custom made guitar? Because they are anal about attention to detail. If I want to make quick money, I do a semi good job and sell it cheap for a quick profit. As long as money can roll fast, I can see the money. If every fake guitar is going to be custom shop quality, Gibson should really hire these people to work for them instead of spending the money to sue them.

Please don't take this personally, I don't have anything against your claims really. Everyone has an opinion yes and I'm looking at this from a business point of view. Let's say if you had $5000 and all the knowledge to build a good fake Gibson, would you do it? If so, what is your profit margin going to be like? You have to understand the fact that guitars don't sell as fast as hotcakes. Strings might not sell as fast as hotcakes but they definitely get sold faster compared to guitars :) .
Click to expand...

Yep, i agree on your point about Gibsons, definitely. It is definitely hard to make fake Gibsons on a small scale. However, let's say you get a fake Gibson neck plus a Warmoth body, wouldn't that be so much simpler? Of course, the cost : profit ratio would be much lower.
On the flip side, it is so much easier to produce fake Fenders, agreed? That's the other half of the point i'm driving at as well. Decal, cheap TGM neck and body, fake COA and s/n, voila, you can make maybe, 10 times the input. Of course, maybe some of us might be able to tell the difference, but to the average consumer, it will be harder.
 
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