If you found yourself in a bidding war for Jimmy Page‘s Gibson Double Neck or an autographed guitar from Slash of Guns N’ Roses fame — you got bamboozled.
WJLA reports that U.S. federal agents seized roughly 36 guitars — all counterfeits — from China. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted the packages at Dulles Airport in Virginia.
Basically, fraudsters replicated about $160,000 worth of Gibson, Fender, Paul Reed Smith and CF Martin guitars. Some even touted to have once belonged to rock legends like Ace Frehley, a Gibson that held a price tag of $9,000.
A expert inspected each guitar and concluded not a single one was legitimate — meaning, some people lost a good chunk of money over a cheap knockoff.
The guitars were set to be shipped to 21 states and Australia.
Since then, U.S. feds are reminding collectors to double check the reputation of all potential vendors — no matter how great a “steal” may be advertising.
CBP’s Acting Director of Field Operations in Baltimore, Keith Fleming, said in a statement, “Transnational criminal organizations will counterfeit anything that generates illicit revenues, and unscrupulous vendors line their pockets by preying on unsuspecting consumers… Protecting intellectual property rights is a Customs and Border Protection trade enforcement priority, and CBP officers will continue to seize counterfeit and potentially unsafe consumer goods when we encounter them.”
In addition, the CPB says China and Hong Kong make up 83 percent of “counterfeit and pirated goods” that make up “92 percent of the value of seizure.”