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Defaced Tokai opportunity


mrjamiam

Question

Local CL ad offers a Tokai Love Rock.  Problem is that seller claims previous owner changed headstock to read "Gibson" and "Les Paul Model".  Good on him for not passing on counterfeit goods, exactly, but if I wanted to snag a potentially good guitar at a potentially good price, what are my options?  Refin the headstock face to add Tokai stickers, if available?  All I have to go on is what this guy says.  I'm checking out the Tokai forums to try to verify that it's actually Tokai, and Japanese (I wouldn't bother with Korean or Chinese ones due to resale value), and so far pretty good:  correct-looking serial number and two-screw TRC.  I'd try to meet in person to verify no additional TRC holes and that the bridge is screwed directly into the top, which is supposed to indicate Japanese manufacture, instead of screwed into sleeves, which is supposed to indicate Korean and then Chinese origin.

Otherwise it looks clean in the pics he sent, not much evidence of playing.  He doesn't know which particular model it is from 1999, and I'm not finding easy ways to tell either from pics or in person, if I can arrange to meet.  It seems to have to do with the Japanese pickups installed, or the number of pieces of the top, which can be underneath a veneer on the lower-end models, and binding would make it hard to tell, wouldn't it?

Thoughts?

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Answering my own question, I think I'll let it go.  Kind of a shame, really - the guy responded with nice clear pics and complete, grammatically correct sentences.  I just can't see paying what he's asking for a guitar of niche interest that will never be original again.  Not that he'd be terribly out of line for what it is supposed to be, if it were still original, although completed comparable sale listings seem to have occurred at $100 less and included cases, which his does not.  Unfortunately, it seems to me that the vast majority of the (slowly shrinking) guitar-buying public makes purchase decisions based on appearance, and there are fine-sounding specimens more or less randomly dispersed throughout the guitar universe, so that you don't have to pay up for a good-sounding guitar, only for a good-looking one (where the brand label is part of the look).

But I have to do a better job going forward of considering what it would be like to get out of ownership, before I get into ownership.  I could eat used Epiphone money as the cost of playing, but not more.  There may very well be people willing to pay the asking price for what is at this moment a counterfeit Les Paul, but I couldn't let it continue as such.  I'd be better off with a real Tokai, or even an early 90's LP Classic (for over double the money, but I would be unlikely to lose much turning it over).

Adulting sucks.

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I had planned to type up a reply yesterday, but got distracted...   I think the headstock thing would

concern me.  if it's done nicely, you still have something that's trademark infringing.  Down

the road if you ever have to sell,  the item could potentially get pulled from ebay, gear page etc even

if you do a full disclosure.  My other  problem with counterfeits/logo issues (or things that are parted out

like Charvels) is while you may be a stand up guy. the next seller may not be as forthcoming.     

 

    The other option of correcting the brand (if you even know what it is) sounds like for the money

you put in to get it right,  you might as well just buy a non boogered example.   

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