Customs seized my guitar

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The internet doesn?t care where you are located, but customs agents do. My husband has a 3D printer. He orders a number of things from China, because that?s where the product is made. Not all accessories and add-ons are available from US distributors. Never a problem because no intellectual property is being stolen. And that?s what was happening with the guitar - stealing intellectuals property. Doesn?t matter if you like it or don?t like it; it is the law. BTW, this happens in lots of industries, not just music. Clothing, accessories, electronics - all have had big customs seizures.
 
SeilerBird said:
I have no clue where he is really from. His name is Chinaguitar so he probably is from China.
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I know this wont help you now but it will explain the process, when you get to the site look a trade lot of information on imports. https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export
 
SpencerPJ said:
I would guess because they know you buy products continuously from a Communist country.
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This seems a little rough.  So do we ALL!  2019 imports from China = 451.6 BILLION (source: US Bureau of Census).  Did you use any tools, use any electronics or wear any clothes lately, then you used and bought a product from a Communist country. 

On the other hand, I wonder if they are horrified that they imported $23.8 billion in agricultural products (read as FARMERS) from a Capitalist country, and from 2000 to 2017, increased those ag imports from the USA by 700%. Soybeans are China's No. 1 agricultural import from the U.S., with a 52% market share.

It's called trade and it operates both ways.

Linda
 
Back in the early 80's, I brought a talented engineer over from our UK plant for a couple of months. Chris and I played tour guides some weekends. When we went to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, he went in every gift shop and picked up every item. He wouldn't go home with a gift that wasn't labeled "made in the USA". But everything he picked up in these tourist traps said "made in China". In retrospect, I should have pre-printed some labels and stuck them on the bottom of things in a store.
 
Dreamsend said:
2019 imports from China = 451.6 BILLION

On the other hand, I wonder if they are horrified that they imported $23.8 billion in agricultural products

It's called trade and it operates both ways.

Linda
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Great stats, even more reason ALL of us need to take a better look in the mirror.  Trade should be somewhat even, and it's hard to compete with labor laws like they have.  It's one thing to buy because it is not available from other sources (tvs etc).  It's another thing to buy simple because it's cheaper.

Back to Tom's dilemma, I'm sure that Gibson is tired of fake knock-offs and are spending $ to stop it.  Personally I would take the letter you got from Lawyers as a serious warning, intentional or not on your part. 

 
SpencerPJ said:
Great stats, even more reason ALL of us need to take a better look in the mirror.  Trade should be somewhat even, and it's hard to compete with labor laws like they have.  It's one thing to buy because it is not available from other sources (tvs etc).  It's another thing to buy simple because it's cheaper.

Back to Tom's dilemma, I'm sure that Gibson is tired of fake knock-offs and are spending $ to stop it.  Personally I would take the letter you got from Lawyers as a serious warning, intentional or not on your part.
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Trust me, I am taking this dead seriously. I am no longer buying guitars, I have enough of them. In fact I am thinking of selling a few.

I am sure Gibson is sick of the cheap knock-offs. But it has been going on for over 50 years. The horse left the barn a long time ago. The problem for Gibson is that they price their guitars exceptionally high leaving lots of room for the knock-offs. Imagine a 14 year old wanting to buy a Les Paul. The two basic choices are a genuine Gibson for S1500 or a $200 copy. And there are not a lot of guitar players that could tell the difference between the two. For the extra $1300 all you are buying is a name.
 
Intellectual property protection has to start somewhere and has to continue.

The only sustainable competitive advantage is invention - We used to be and arguably are the best country in the world at invention. IN my business the holy grail is material technology.  Our company uses such high tech metals that no one can come close. Our own company is petitioning the State department to allow us to move materials engineering off shore (India, China and Poland) - so far no one is saying yes. Thank God. The reason is these materials are used in military jet engines. You can even be on some hardware teams if you are not a US citizen.

My brother worked for an IT company that developed a gateway (patented chip) so "remote monitoring" systems for machines like MRI and CatScan equipment could penetrate corporate firewalls. i.e. you put this box on the machines internet connection and remote diagnostics can be done without having to open a port etc.

6 months later the Chinese were selling them.  When they got a hold of one it was an exact copy of the companies chip. They didn't even bother to change the logo.

Yeah - You pay for a name. A name that was earned. And if some Chinese guy builds a knock off we should do everything in our power to stop them.

After invention it is a made of mass reproduction at the cheapest price and with China's average wage being like <$12,000 a year US companies are put out of business...
 
darsben said:
Oldgator beat me to the answer
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I'd have to second Oldgator on that. There are so many LP Clones it surprises me it got seized in the first place.  As a nearly exclusive Gibson player myself, I don't like to see so many copies or outright forgeries out there.  Could be the new management at Gibson is starting to crack down once again. Ebay allows these sales and should make it right with you. Not to be a particularly snarky person, but the Epiphone LP's I'm hearing aren't too shabby and are somewhat reasonably priced compared to a similar Gibson branded one.  I'm sorry but I bought my first LP Custom in '71 new (still have it) and have several others and costly or not, I'd rather see them stay in business. 
 
[quote author=Robert K]hmm must be my post was thought to be political?[/quote]
It became a lightning rod and was moved out of sight by a forum staffer along with a number of replies.
 
Item was not delivered, so start a Paypal dispute.  Buyers win with Paypal. Also request money back from the seller for offering counterfeit goods.
 
Darn I never got to see them. We are traveling in Florida and Georgia now so had not been able to check the forum. 8)
 
Update 6-21-2021

I found out yesterday that Gibson is on the verge of bankruptcy which would explain their aggressive behavior.

I also found out that my $248 credit card charge has been reversed. So I got my money back because BofA is a great bank to do business with. I put in the complaint a long time ago and it finally went through. So I am a happy camper.
 
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