Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Boys and Girls,

I just cruised Rickenbacker on eBay. If not the majority, pretty darn close to it, are "... from Japan."
Some/most of them aren't even rarities (as if they'd come from a collection).


Can anyone shed some light on why this is?


Thanks in advance,


JKC

A lot of the listings from Japan are fraudulent (or semi-fraudulent, meaning there's many people listing photos of the same guitar, all trying to land a sale from a real physical seller. But often a guitar is "sold" on eBay that is technically not available anymore in real life.

Read through this thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=415760

All that said, there are some spectacular guitars in Japan, and the collector market was very strong there for many years. Either many Japanese sellers are starting to open up to western sales channels like eBay, or the market is rough there and people are liquidating their collections.

If I get really bored one day I'm going to find one of those guitars that 4 or 5 people are trying to sell, and hit the BIN's on all of them at once just to see what happens!

Colin,

Thanks for the link. I was trying not to ruffle any feathers, but yes, the prices are absurd most of the time. I also noted what appeared to be repeat listings dropping down the stratospheric "... but it now" price in increments. (I can drive down the street to Atlanta Discount and pick up a lot of these models for half the price and my "... shipping" charges are a gallon of gas. Plus there is gyro place on the way home)!

More than a little bit annoying.

Mendelson, thanks for the laugh! I think it'd be great if we got all the mischievous members here to do a mass "... buy it now on any and every duplicate from Japan, or frenzy shill bid on them and spin some heads around!

Alternately, I'm going to list my 1970's 480 Jetglo under "... buy it now" for $12,999.00, $12,959.00, $12,11,999.00 ad neaseum... From Japan.

jcreasy wrote:Colin,

Thanks for the link. I was trying not to ruffle any feathers, but yes, the prices are absurd most of the time. I also noted what appeared to be repeat listings dropping down the stratospheric "... but it now" price in increments. (I can drive down the street to Atlanta Discount and pick up a lot of these models for half the price and my "... shipping" charges are a gallon of gas. Plus there is gyro place on the way home)!

Yeah, I suppose when you have dozens of people listing the same thing with no real skin in the game (since they're "selling" an item that they don't even have), they might as well start high with a wish and a prayer that some sucker comes along.

Usually the real owner/seller of the guitar is in on the deal, authorizing many of these people to go out and list the same guitar as brokers. They have their bottom line, and anything above that is just profit for the brokers.

It's insane, and the third party who is complicit in the scam is eBay. As long as they get paid, that seems to be all that matters... buy on Reverb instead, people!

jdogric12 wrote:If I get really bored one day I'm going to find one of those guitars that 4 or 5 people are trying to sell, and hit the BIN's on all of them at once just to see what happens!

Well the BIN is also pay it now, so it would be a costly experiment Jason. As to what will happen...four of the sellers will write to you shortly afterwards to express forgiveness that they were unable to supply you the guitar you wished for (although they may be able to supply an alternative if you have one in mind) and they will beg you, for the sake of their good name as an honest seller, pretty please to not give them negative feedback. The remaining seller will have been the one who got to the actual shop selling the actual guitar first and will send it to you. If they were selling it at the lowest price (after a considerable mark-up from the original shop) they may send it to you without a cardboard box to save their profits, but with a charming origami gift to help it on its way across the world in bubble wrap

As of this moment, there are 510 Rickenbacker listings on eBay, but only 123 of them are based in the USA.

Wow Mark. That’s amazing, never seen anybody ship a guitar without a cardboard box!

Cheap bastards... that’s pretty sad.

collin wrote:Wow Mark. That’s amazing, never seen anybody ship a guitar without a cardboard box!

Cheap bastards... that’s pretty sad.

It was pretty shocking to see Collin, but I have had one other sent like that in the UK. Both times the guitars arrived in absolutely fine shape with hardly a mark on the bubble wrapping even - almost as if clearly seeing what the package was helped it through smoothly. Maybe a carton box is seen as challenge.

The Japan eBay purchase was an experiment to see if would be ok and really I got lucky that it was. I would have preferred to have gone through the bricks and mortar shop in Tokyo where it was a little cheaper, but they just would not ship to me...and I really needed that guitar!

"As of this moment, there are 510 Rickenbacker listings on eBay, but only 123 of them are based in the USA."


For some reason I cannot put my finger on, that is annoying to a fairly large degree. I get it if there was a few collectors over there and most of these were rarities...
But if the practice is as described by some above, it is, if not dishonest, certainly shady. It is also kinda predatory.


My thoughts, at least. And, glad I asked this question.


JKC