www.carlcorway.cc

 

This page discussion deals with what is termed as Gray or Grey Market Goods. If you wish to learn more concerning this type of trading please use the following link.Which should give you a better understanding of this process. 

 

I had purchased a Gibson SG Electric Guitar from a large guitar shop in the United Kingdom. The shop is no longer trading but the old premises used has been taken over by another company selling similar products. Although if they are actually trading in these Gray area goods i have no evidence to suggest so.

Unkown to me at the time despite a good visual check of the neck and the guitar itself there were no tale tale signs which would have sounded the warning bells that i was about to step into a very dark black hole.I can honestly say that i have never had such a gut wrenching episode to see something which cost a large amount of money just fall apart in front of your own eyes.

The guitar had obviosuly had some kind of weakness at the neck and the headstock, I have since heard stories of the same thing happening to other people. It seems that with the SG this is a common fault.

The guitar was not dropped or banged the headstock just snapped there in front of my eyes as i was just fine tuning it. The guitar was about 7 months old, I thought it was only three but this just shows how fast time passes.

 

I immediately contacted the shop the very next day only to be told that the other company was no longer trading there, and had gone bankrupt. There was no way that i was going to get hold of this other company I even attempted to contact the receivers who were sorting out the companies debts, but this was also a no go.

I then got in contact with Gibson. I told them what had happened and thought things were going ok and that they were going to replace the guitar or at least replace the neck. But after a week or so they came back to me saying that the guitar being traced through the number on the back of the headstock had turned up as being for sale or sold in Russia.

Gibson told me that the Guitar had been purchased by the shop where i obtained it probably at a much reduced price but as a brand new guitar. The problem that Gibson were informing me that the shop should not had purchased the guitar outside the normal trading routes.

Considering the shop was licensed by Gibson to sell Gibson guitars the shop went through a back door to buy in this Gibson guitar to which there were probably a lot more of them. A term used as Grey Market Goods.

Gibson stated that any Guitar purchased in this way would void any warranty on the instrument. So if you shelled out $2,000 or more on a guitar and anything went wrong you have lost your money.

Gibson totally refused to put the problem right meaning that i have had to pay for a very expensive repair.

The guitar was not dropped or banged. The guitar was looked at by a professional who stated that there were weakness within the grain along the neck of the guitar or that the grain followed an abnormal path along the neck at the point it was joined to the headstock.

I would suggest that if you are buying any guitar from any shop or dealer you get evidence of where exactly that guitar has come from. The problem would not have been so severe had the company still been opperating as i could have returned it for a full refund or replacement.

The problem is you buy any high value musical item you don't know how much longer that store will be trading after so once you buy it and anything happens Gibson will trace that guitar along its route right from the factory and will know where it was originally purchased. Should the guitar have been purchased in the same manner as i have explained then you are going to be out of pocket.

This practice goes for anything not just Guitars, cars also.