Chender, Part One

We’ve all heard about counterfeit guitars from China.  The phenomenon certainly isn’t new but the internet has given it wings.  Illicit imports are now so common they have pet names, such as  “Chibson”  for a Chinese made fake Gibson.  

The instruments are illegal to sell in the USA due to violations of copyright law but of course the internet transcends political boundaries so they remain a bit of an ‘open secret’.  Many players seem to be tight-lipped, only reluctantly admitting to knowing anything at all. If tasked to reveal a source website they speak in furtive whispers - as if telling a guy where he can buy a Chibson is equivalent to obtaining alcohol for minors (even though there are often banner ads in plain sight online).

Youtube user reviews of various Chinese bootlegs have only piqued my curiosity regardless of the reviewer’s intent.  Most of them conclude with something like “This $300 counterfeit of a $5000 Gibson (Martin, PRS, what-have-you) wouldn’t fool an expert but it is a very nice guitar for what I paid.”   I cannot deny that I have been tempted and very curious to get the ol’ Ballpark Franks on a bottom-dollar bootleg and find out for myself.  

... but we all know what curiosity has done for some other species.

My short list of dream guitars would include among other things the Danny Gatton signature Fender Custom Shop Telecaster ($4760 @ MF) and the Merle Haggard signature Fender Custom Shop “Tuff Dog” Tele (MF price $6780).  


A few months ago I nearly pulled the trigger on a counterfiet Danny Gatton Tele for $399 US shipped,  but managed to resist. 

 Last month when I found a counterfeit Merle Haggard Tuff Dog Tele for $237 US shipped I didn’t resist any more.

In this edition of Mr. Weller & The Ballpark Franks I will share the experience from order to receipt.   In Chender Part Two you’ll see what I found upon unpacking and I’ll render my opinion on how good a counterfeit this guitar is, then in Chender Part Three we’ll ignore brand names & legalities to discuss how good a GUITAR it is and whether (or how much) it needs to be upgraded to be stageworthy.

Order and arrival:

This particular dazzling irresistible bargain was found on Alieexpress-dot-com which isn’t a merchant, but a marketplace.  Therefore just like on eBay the buyer must educate themselves to each seller’s policies, particularly the shipping charges.  I saw guitars offered with shipping charges ranging from free to nearly $200 US per unit.  Many things are sold there, not just music gear.  Ordering was straightforward and no problems presented themselves.

One feature that helped alleviate fears was that Alieexpress-dot-com holds payment in escrow until  the customer is satisfied with the merchandise.  The seller must list an estimated delivery date.  The marketplace holds payment in escrow for a period extending a few days past the delivery date.  The customer marks the transaction in one of 3 ways:

• Received and satisfactory
• Received but not satisfactory
• Item has not arrived, please extend escrow

A mark of customer satisfaction releases the payment to the merchant.  Since many satisfied customers will simply ignore this, if there is no response within the escrow period then the transaction is assumed to be satisfactory and payment is released to the seller.

This system provides a safety net to both the seller and the buyer in case the other party is negligent, and it seems quite fair to me.

This seller estimated that the guitar would arrive in 4-6 weeks.  Ten days later it arrived by Express Mail.   It must have cost a good chunk to send a guitar via Express Mail.  

It arrived in ... no box.  No corrugated paper, no hard outer layer, just a big 

styro wedge with a removable lid and an interior contoured for guitar. The chunk of styro was then completely mummified in yellow plastic packing tape.  With no dense outer layer to resist penetration it seemed inadequate to me but in reality the guitar arrived undamaged. The packing provided plenty of proteciton against any kind of blunt impact but very little to thwart penetration by a sharp object.  At any rate, one can always imagine things that didn’t happen and choose to be fearful, but the reality is that this guitar arrived unscathed.

So what about the guitar?  Come back for Chender Part Two, to be published within the next few days.