Is this a copy?

[johnhall]

He can kiss his eBay account goodbye.

[thx1955]

Nice touch openly admitting he'd blurred out the Rickenbacker TRC because of copyright infringements .. duh !!!!

[atomic_punk]

Ebay won't suspend him....they never do for long. The jerks always find a way back on. I wish they really did crack down harder on these kinds of people, or people who copy others' auctions, or hijack accounts.

[rickfan60]

Jeff Thomas hit the nail on the head. It was a bait and switch auction. Excellent call there Jeff!

[bobcat]

Wait, what exactly is not okay with him selling a Rickenbacker copy? Is it the fact that it's a copy, or the fact that it has a Rickenbacker TRC, or what?

[headbanger]

While you're there JH....
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/70s-not-a-rickenbacker-4001-Bass-Beatles-McCartney_W0QQitemZ7362810762QQcategoryZ38080QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[rickfan60]

Robert: The seller first tried to sell a Rickenbacker copy using a picture of a real Rick that he lifted from Gbase. He correctly identified it as a copy but the picture suggested otherwise. Given the current state of eBay, that is suspicous behavior and just plain dishonest. Then he relists and keyword spams again by putting "not a Rickenbacker" in the title. Of course, the real TRC did not help matters much either. He violated at least two eBay listing policies.

[rickfan60]

The price went up from last time ($542). Inflation, I guess. From the seller.....

Hi,

This is the 2nd time that Ebay has pulled the auction on this "70's 4001
Lawsuit Rckenbacker" the headstock actually has the Rickenbacker logo (
which I had to blur out). I have been offered $565.00 for the bass, it is
in Mint condition let me know if you are interested.

Cheers.

[rickaddict]

$565? As if!

If it does in fact have a genuine RIC TRC, I'd say its worth a little closer to $87.52

[johnhall]

Robert- Unlike some other brands, we have trademarks (not only filed but upheld by federal court action) on the heads, bodies, pickup shape, truss rod cover, and other details, not to mention the name and script. Also unlike the others, we've enforced them vigorously, which under decisions concerning the Lanham Act gives us additional protection keeping these out of the public domain.

Putting a Rickenbacker nameplate on fake product goes even further and in some jurisdictions becomes a criminal issue under the counterfeiting statutes.

Some feel we're overly aggressive about this but given that these are our most valuable assets acquired over 75 years of effort, we're not about to lose them. Most owners of genuine RIC products also appreciate how much additional value this has created for their guitars in the marketplace.

[david_schwab]

John, good for you! I would hate to see every other cheap bass in a store looking like a Rick... just as we have oh-so-many Fender strat and P/J bass clones out there... boring!

[rickaddict]

High-fives for JH! I, too am very glad that the signature RIC shapes are not as ripped-off as they otherwise would have been. I've only seen one Rickenfaker in person. I should have bought it to destroy it.

There seem to be a LOT of these things on ebay, though. Why is this? Is it because the quality is so poor that the owners want to sell them immediately? Or is it the guilt and shame of knowing that you contributed in some way to the attempt at erroding the RIC brand?

Are there a relatively small amount of Rickenfakers that their owners keep playing "hot potato" with, or are the numbers greater than I think?

And speaking of Rickenfaker:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rickenbacker-4003-bass-lawsuit-copy-70s_W0QQitemZ7362931951QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Paging the RIC law department!!

[david_schwab]

I played a Univox copy of a MG 4001 back in the 70's in a music store in NJ. It had a bolt on neck. Was no where as nice as my real 4001.