| Author | Message | ||
| hasse
New Username: hasse Post Number: 9 Registered: 4-2004 |
her is what I wrote to the seller of this item: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4713&item=3741798022&rd=1 This is not a question. And your bass is not an Alembic. And You know it! let us see how he respond to that. Not that I think he could fool any member of this club. Well enough of my time wasted on that swindler. best regards Hasse | ||
| bsee
Intermediate Member Username: bsee Post Number: 189 Registered: 3-2004 |
You would think scammers would limit themselves to 24 hour auctions so they can get it done before anyone notices. Maybe the guy just doesn't know. Sure, the auction still needs to be pulled, as does the headstock sticker on this bass, but don't be so hard on the guy from the start! That is, unless he has a history I am not aware of. -Bob | ||
| pace
Junior Username: pace Post Number: 32 Registered: 4-2004 |
These all seem to originate from the Texas area, no?!?!? Hmmm..... | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 307 Registered: 9-2003 |
I'm surprised Mica hasn't homed in on this one. Alembic is very protective of their name and reputation (and rightly so). Sic 'em , Mica! LOL! | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 1859 Registered: 6-2000 |
Actually, I contacted the seller about this yesterday. I prefer to work directly with the seller if they will cooperate, as most of them are victims. When all else fails, I go through ebay's Verified Rights Owners program and get their assistance. I've only had to resort to that twice. | ||
| kmh364
Advanced Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 309 Registered: 9-2003 |
I'm glad to see you're on top of your game. The fakes not only sully your reputation, they de-value the owners real Alembics. Thanks for you diligence. | ||
| flaxattack
Intermediate Member Username: flaxattack Post Number: 108 Registered: 4-2004 |
simple- contact ebay and advise them it iis a bogus bid | ||
| bsee
Intermediate Member Username: bsee Post Number: 192 Registered: 3-2004 |
Guys, Mica is on top of it. She/they are always on top of it. You may not see a lot of public hoopla when they look into something like this, and that's for good reason. If you were the sleazy individual creating these counterfeits, would you be responsive to people yelling about you being a crook, or would you drop out of sight? I'm sure that Mica's top priorities include not only stopping this particular sale, but also trying to track down the creator of these instruments. I'm not sure the 'help' we're providing by berating sellers, having eBay shut them down, and publicizing these issues is really help. For my part, I think it would be more effective to send a private message to Val nd Mica when I see one of these. Of course, I could be wrong. Again. -Bob | ||
| flaxattack
Intermediate Member Username: flaxattack Post Number: 110 Registered: 4-2004 |
just spoke to susan and emailed ebay- | ||
| zappahead
Member Username: zappahead Post Number: 85 Registered: 10-2002 |
I dont see that bass anymore so something tells me it got taken care of one way or the other. The thing about these fakes is that they are such obvious fakes. Nothing about them even remotely looks like an Alembic. I think Ive seen probably 5 or 10 or so of these and none of them have fetched any kind of serious money or even any bids that make me think anyone is really fooled by any of it. That being said it would still tick me off if someone were doing that (as Im sure it does have this effect on the people at Alembic like it does the owners of Alembics). | ||
| bsee
Intermediate Member Username: bsee Post Number: 193 Registered: 3-2004 |
Worse than the fakes is this listing, take a look before he edits it (if he does): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=3741871011&rd=1 | ||
| effclef
Advanced Member Username: effclef Post Number: 218 Registered: 1-2004 |
Bsee - WOW, incredible! I still think Alembic should stick a photo of some fakes on their site so people can refer to them. I don't know who gets fooled. Some of them show up as listings from pawn shops, so it makes you wonder if the person got $1000 from the pawn shop owner for the fake. EffClef | ||
| bsee
Intermediate Member Username: bsee Post Number: 194 Registered: 3-2004 |
Okay, the listing I was referring to has now been edited and just represents an exotic guitar for sale. back to our regularly scheduled program... PS - I am too superstitious to discuss this any further, so if you didn't see it, don't ask. | ||
| zappahead
Member Username: zappahead Post Number: 86 Registered: 10-2002 |
I saw what you saw too bsee, Im sure he was just misinformed and probably made an honest (albeit pretty terrible) mistake. | ||
| mica
Moderator Username: mica Post Number: 1861 Registered: 6-2000 |
Yeah, I'd love to shut the maker of these obvious fakes down. It's unclear if he's still making them or if these were made in a group years before. I've got leads. I can't say that these fakes devalue real Alembics any more than a fake Rolex devalues a Rolex. A fake is a fake. Of course, it's hard to even call these fakes - they are more like frauds. I didn't see what you saw in the exotic guitar listing before - but I know that guitar and it is a one-of-a-kind. We've never used that template again as far as I know - note the angled cut near the bottom end (shows up best in the back shot). It looks original, but I wonder where the other backplate is. | ||
| zappahead
Member Username: zappahead Post Number: 87 Registered: 10-2002 |
I like that guitar a lot, never seen anything like it, Alembic or not. Its probably a good thing you didnt see the listing before.... Like I said though, I think it was an honest mistake and he changed his posting very quickly. | ||
| alemboid
Member Username: alemboid Post Number: 93 Registered: 5-2003 |
Darn! I thought Alembic finally made a cool bolt-on!!! :~) ...somebody take my wife... Alemboid | ||
| bob
Advanced Member Username: bob Post Number: 288 Registered: 11-2002 |
This is really getting confusing... so let me try to recap. 1) The first eBay link is to a bass, which is an obvious fraud. 2) Mica was on top of this, and (give or take a couple of hours) was working it before it was mentioned here. 3) Mica/Susan/Alembic in general are extremely proactive in dealing with these things (one of my visits was interrupted by a series of phone calls on just such a case), and they really don't need a bunch of us to play policemen for them. Noble as it may feel to play knight in shining armor, it seems the best approach is to simply contact Alembic and let them deal with it directly. (Sorry, flax, but I just don't see any reason for you to have contacted the seller and eBay hours after Mica said she was working on it, unless there was some issue with the timestamps here.) 4) Now, the second eBay link is for a guitar... and if I read Mica's post correctly, there is a good chance this one is legitimate. Having studied the pictures, everything except the bridge looks pretty good to me, and Mica suggests they did make exactly one with this shape. I think the question about the missing backplate is just because the guts are exposed, and maybe they did that to show the interior. So even though she talks about fakes in the same post, my interpretation is that the guitar referred to here is probably the real thing. (But still pretty beat up, for $3500...) 5) No reason I can see to be so mysterious here: the earlier posting on this guitar had a parenthetical reference of (now deceased) to your dad, Mica, which has since been removed. Obviously that was wrong, or you wouldn't have been posting later in the day - you would have missed him at lunch :-) And please say hi to Ron for me, it's been a while. Just trying to clear things up and restore a sense of balance, hope I'm not off base. -Bob | ||
| bracheen
Senior Member Username: bracheen Post Number: 543 Registered: 11-2003 |
I've seen many guitars with vibrato bars missing back plates due to someone along the line adding or removing springs. I just assumed that was the case with this one. Sam | ||
| zappahead
Member Username: zappahead Post Number: 88 Registered: 10-2002 |
I dont recall there being a question about that guitars authenticity. The guys got a serial number even in one of the picks. There also wasnt really any question about the bass either, that thing was beyond an obvious fraud. I think the bidding was at like 25 bucks when it was closed. As for people from here or wherever reporting frauds to ebay, to me its your responsiblity as an ebay user to report fraud. Surely Mica and Alembic carry more weight than a club member, but the the more people who report fraud the quicker the persons account can be shut down. To me I just cant see the harm in someone taking time to report such an obvious fraud. I dont think anyones trying to be "knight in shining armor" or whatever, and to be honest I dont understand why that would bother you. The guys a fellow club member and he was trying to help out, kinda perplexed as to why you felt the need to call him out. | ||
| somatic
Junior Username: somatic Post Number: 12 Registered: 11-2003 |
Zappahead said "Im sure he was just misinformed and probably made an honest (albeit pretty terrible) mistake." Whilst that's likely true for this auction, recently I saw an auction come up (from a 'searches' email; I check them all out), and when I clicked on the link, there was a bass I'd bought not long before. I emailled all the bidders, and the seller, and the seller and I then emailled eBay. The auction was pulled about 24 hours later. The pix and the text, which was only slightly modified, were stolen directly from the previous auction. Some of the response I got from the bidders on the 'fraud' auction were, well.... let's just say they were rude (about the seller, not me for telling them). The fortunate thing with it being an Alembic is that Mica and gang keep a registry, and it's a small enthusiast community where we're more likely than most to know of / pick up a fraud or mistake. |
