Ralph:

so sad your jealous ,,and you cant afford it.

 

I can't believe there are fake modern Epiphones.

 

They sell fake guitar strings, name brand strings that say made in USA on the package, sold direct from China super cheap. They'll fake anything, absolutely anything, they can to get US$ sent into China, and their government turns a blind eye to it. No other country would allow the rampant counterfeiting to go on the way China does.

 

I can never tell how you can tell these things.

 

Easy, the headstock says Epiphone but these are Gibson Pickup, Gibson tuners, Gibson electronics... so it's a fake Epiphone

 

I would say that is a hell of a good start

 

The Silverburst was fairly obvious. I didn't check the ad but the Alpine White didn't set off any red flags immediately.

 

Some obvious clues on the white one.
Knob pattern should be parallel to the neck. Sometimes lens distortion can make it look wrong, but not this one.
Domed tail piece posts heads.
Tail piece lower or equal to bridge volume knob.
Wide domed tuner washers.
Crooked or misplaced headstock diamond inlay.
Epiphone never used that kind of fonts for the serial.

 

A "busted burst" ...in more ways than one!

 

Ads were reported. Private sellers is one thing, businesses (pawn shops or not) are another. They know these things and they can't NOT know they are passing off counterfeit as authentic.

 

These Chinese fakes are all over Southern Ontario
I almost bought a 'Slash' Gibson Les Paul , till I had a closer look and sure enough , another fake

 

Never thought that there would be Epiphone fakes out there. Pretty weird, but it makes sense considering these copies are too crap to pass off as an authentic Gibson, but less people would question the quality of an Epiphone. Found a thread from another site that delves into this from years back. Once you look at the body proportions and the cutaway though, it becomes clearer. They even include the custom decal on the back.

 

God that burst looks so bad

 

You lads should start a wiki on checking for authenticity of gear...definitely some knowledgeable eyes on this forum.

 

The info is out there, you just have to look for it.

The New FAKE Epi thread
The Fake Epiphone Thread II

 

There are actually lots of Epiphone fakes out there. I was looking for an Epi LP for my daughter at one point. She loves Slash and I had found a Slash signature model. These normally go for a lot as they have Gibson pickups, real thick maple top, and upgraded electronics. Anyway, it became clear that it was a fake. There's a whole group on Facebook devoted to discussing Epiphone fakes. It's an interesting group: Epiphoney - the facts about FAKES! | Facebook

 

If pawn shop is in the title, it's fair game to 'watch out'.

My brother used to have a fakey just like that Silverburst, it played like a typical Epiphone of that time except for a really cheap finish. Not bad playing, not great either.

 

Gear Hunter | Epiphone - EILCSBNH

And you can buy the real deal for less...

 

I think even the legit ones look as bad Clownbursts, if not worse.

 

You know ralph means vomit, these fakes make me wanna ralph🤢.

I only know that because my dad’s name is ralph and anytime mom says it to him “ I wanna ralph”
He starts gagging