Bought a counterfeit item and its in the post office at this moment.

[aus8070]

Bought a guitar from a UK seller. And found out it is not an authentic item. After a good long search on the internet, and found legit comparison for reference. The guitar that I m getting have many variants from the original. For example, the print on the guitar is way off , the length of the head stock is off, the guaranteed label is wrong, ( the guitar plant has closed down 14 years before that guitar has ever been released), the serial number is wrong etc... I should have taken the responsibility of not checking out the guitar thoroughly before I pulled the trigger.. But whats been done its done. So the item is in the office.. Should i still pick it up anyway first before I return it ? Or leave it in the post office and let the post office to return it ? Been talking with the seller, he insisted to issue refund or what so ever, and claimed the guitar is legit. I m wondering who is out there have been in the similar situation and how have u dealt with it ? Please share ur experience and leave ur comments or advice here. Greatly appreciated for ur help. Cheers. 

[kattinsanity]

I asked before but didn't get an answer~~what is the name brand of the guitar (Fender, etc.)?  If I had the serial number I could have my housemate look it up in the book and tell you if it's a fake or not.

[phono_0490xxxxxx]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@aus8070 wrote:

Bought a guitar from a UK seller.

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Hi @aus8070, to be eligible for the eBay Money Back Guarantee, you will need to retrieve the item. Though I understand you have been researching your purchase and comparing details online to the listing, we are not able to investigate without the guitar being in your possession. Once you have your purchase, if you remain concerned you can open a Return Request and we will work with you from there. Depending on the details of the transaction, we may request additional information and may not require a return based on what is provided.

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Exactly, as I have maintained all the way through, from post 4.

@Anonymous

Now, I read this reply as meaning 'conditional' and 'based on' [subject to] evidence....  of course it is.

Please expand upon the term 'may not'  to confirm 'based on' means Certified  Expert Opinion and [not or] proof of Security Disposal / Destruction [as per eBay directions] evidence being submitted... to clear some of the confusion.

I trust the word 'counterfeit' isn't limited to VeRO items or a narrow band of categories, by eBay and PayPal.

[aus8070]

Oh.. Its an epiphone supernova.

The serial number said S0109536 

[kattinsanity]

Sorry~~I didn't see this until this morning.  We did find the guitar in the book.  It's a Noel Gallagher Epiphone Super Nova.  The serial number  "S 0109536" means~~"S" tells you the guitar was made in Samick Korea.  The "0109" tells you it was manufactured in September 2001.  The "536" tells you the manufacturing number.  These guitars were made between 1997-2005.  Does yours have a flag on it by any chance?  What color is it?

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@phono_0490xxxxxx wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@aus8070 wrote:

Bought a guitar from a UK seller.

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Hi @aus8070, to be eligible for the eBay Money Back Guarantee, you will need to retrieve the item. Though I understand you have been researching your purchase and comparing details online to the listing, we are not able to investigate without the guitar being in your possession. Once you have your purchase, if you remain concerned you can open a Return Request and we will work with you from there. Depending on the details of the transaction, we may request additional information and may not require a return based on what is provided.

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Exactly, as I have maintained all the way through, from post 4.

@Anonymous

Now, I read this reply as meaning 'conditional' and 'based on' [subject to] evidence....  of course it is.

Please expand upon the term 'may not'  to confirm 'based on' means Certified  Expert Opinion and [not or] proof of Security Disposal / Destruction [as per eBay directions] evidence being submitted... to clear some of the confusion.

I trust the word 'counterfeit' isn't limited to VeRO items or a narrow band of categories, by eBay and PayPal.

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it says may not but usually it is required still.  since there is no definition of "strong indicators" and ebay isn't an expert on items usually they still require the return.  If ebay does require it the OP will need to return it.

[Anonymous]

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@phono_0490xxxxxx wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@aus8070 wrote:

Bought a guitar from a UK seller.

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Hi @aus8070, to be eligible for the eBay Money Back Guarantee, you will need to retrieve the item. Though I understand you have been researching your purchase and comparing details online to the listing, we are not able to investigate without the guitar being in your possession. Once you have your purchase, if you remain concerned you can open a Return Request and we will work with you from there. Depending on the details of the transaction, we may request additional information and may not require a return based on what is provided.

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Exactly, as I have maintained all the way through, from post 4.

@Anonymous

Now, I read this reply as meaning 'conditional' and 'based on' [subject to] evidence....  of course it is.

Please expand upon the term 'may not'  to confirm 'based on' means Certified  Expert Opinion and [not or] proof of Security Disposal / Destruction [as per eBay directions] evidence being submitted... to clear some of the confusion.

I trust the word 'counterfeit' isn't limited to VeRO items or a narrow band of categories, by eBay and PayPal.

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Hi @phono_0490xxxxxx, to avoid any exploitation of our protection policies I won't be able to elaborate on these points. Specific details or requests for additional information would be provided to the buyer and seller as needed. Counterfeit concerns are something we take very seriously and are not limited to VeRO or a specific set of categories. We will work to take appropriate action if we are asked to step in and if you personally have a case that you feel needs specific details reviewed you are able to contact Customer Service for additional guidance.

[castlemagicmemories]

@aus8070

Any updates?  Just wondering!

You also have a post with a question here that you might want to answer~is there a flag on the guitar and what color is it.

[aus8070]

Yea.. Its the union jack colourway. 

Awaiting for eBay to step in to resolve this. No solution just yet. 

[castlemagicmemories]

Thanks, just wondering what is happening.  

[aus8070]

I have used "the guitar dater project" and found the same result. But that what's confusing me. The guaranteed label that said Kalawazoo, Michigan. Its not made in korea as the serial number indicated. And yet... This guitar was being produced in 1997. And the Kalawazoo plant haa closed down in 1984. There r other variants that i found on this guitar too comparing with the reference from epiphone web. This guitar looks rather identical to the fake one from other sites..

Hence i m here . 

[dasm-2785]

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@missjen831 wrote:

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

Since ebay doesn't accept anything as far as proof from the seller that something IS as described, and 99% of the time takes the buyers word on it regardless, how can ebay prove that the "proof of 'disposal'" is real?

We all know where the counterfeits went when they were shipped to ebay to 'dispose' of. And we all know what happened to them.

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They can’t and this is why they and PayPal kind of abandoned their policy of telling buyers to destroy the alleged counterfeit items IMHO. IIRC that policy started around 2010-ish? That may be when I became aware of it however. I do recall that they were heavily enforcing this practice, back then I was part of a forum for people who collected designer denim and this policy was widely discussed because many of them had been told to destroy the item and upload pictures to prove it. 

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Have you ever read this article?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/paypal-violin-destroy-return-refund-2012-1

[missjen831]

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@dasm-2785 wrote:

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@missjen831 wrote:

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

Since ebay doesn't accept anything as far as proof from the seller that something IS as described, and 99% of the time takes the buyers word on it regardless, how can ebay prove that the "proof of 'disposal'" is real?

We all know where the counterfeits went when they were shipped to ebay to 'dispose' of. And we all know what happened to them.

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They can’t and this is why they and PayPal kind of abandoned their policy of telling buyers to destroy the alleged counterfeit items IMHO. IIRC that policy started around 2010-ish? That may be when I became aware of it however. I do recall that they were heavily enforcing this practice, back then I was part of a forum for people who collected designer denim and this policy was widely discussed because many of them had been told to destroy the item and upload pictures to prove it. 

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Have you ever read this article?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/paypal-violin-destroy-return-refund-2012-1

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Yes. And what happened to that seller happened to a lot of other sellers (not just ebay sellers), and the policy has been, for the most part, abandoned.

[lilycarver]

I would never buy or sell an item from Asia, you are just asking for trouble and **bleep** merchandise

[nowthatsjustducky]

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@missjen831 wrote:

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They can’t and this is why they and PayPal kind of abandoned their policy of telling buyers to destroy the alleged counterfeit items IMHO. IIRC that policy started around 2010-ish? That may be when I became aware of it however. I do recall that they were heavily enforcing this practice, back then I was part of a forum for people who collected designer denim and this policy was widely discussed because many of them had been told to destroy the item and upload pictures to prove it. 

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I always guessed that the antique violin incident was the big catalyst for them dropping that policy.

[gkyn29]

Contact Gibson and ask.