I'm fairly certain for instrument like that they would rather have the guitar than the money.
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Sweetwater reports major theft
- Thread starter 40Hz
- Start date
I'm fairly certain for instrument like that they would rather have the guitar than the money.
Hopefully they were just going to flip it. Like the unsigned ones that are Buy It Now for $20,000 on Ebay now.
Not that I'm a huge opportunist, but man I wish I'd had that kind of foresight. MSRP is $6K for a normal AJ LP or 10k for an aged one... Buy 2, flip 1, bam, free guitar. Must be nice.
As to the theft, wooooo they'd have had a much easier time fencing everyday normal Pauls, not the high profile stuff. Like stealing a Lamborghini instead of a Honda Accord; just kinda easy to trace.
I wonder what impact this will have on the saleability of the other 200 ~ 300 instruments that are legitimately owned in the future? Everytime one goes up for sale it will fall under serious scrutiny and I'm sure a certain percentage of buyers will be very reluctant to trust the sellers.
Another thought - Counterfeiters can use the list of stolen serial numbers to make counterfeits. If done well, they can sell at the bargain price of $5K each because they are 'stolen'! I would bet alot of people would buy them thinking they were authentic stolen Gibsons.
Another thought - Counterfeiters can use the list of stolen serial numbers to make counterfeits. If done well, they can sell at the bargain price of $5K each because they are 'stolen'! I would bet alot of people would buy them thinking they were authentic stolen Gibsons.
Sure, but he said worse case; that would be losing the guitar and the money paid for it.
That's somehow better?
I don't want a stolen instrument. Also, if you're going to the trouble to counterfeit, why would you counterfeit one that'll lead to increased scrutiny?
That's somehow better?
Also, if you're going to the trouble to counterfeit, why would you counterfeit one that'll lead to increased scrutiny?
Do you not think that stolen artwork, stolen guns, stolen guitars, stolen cars, etc get passed around in circles of collectors and wannabe collectors? Unfortunately there are many people out there willing to buy knowingly stolen merchandise. If not for that market, there wouldn't be much thievery to begin with. For an individual well versed in creating counterfeit Les Pauls this could be an opportunity to sell a few for $5K each instead of $500. The known serial numbers would add authenticity to them and the rarity of the real instruments would render very little street knowledge of feel and other intangibles. For the same reason that there are probably more 1962 Jazz Basses in existence now than were ever built, I could see the population of AJ Les Pauls grow a little bit. There is money in it. Combine that with the fact that most suckers are self-defeated by their own greed makes a good recipe for this to happen. It's all hypothetical at this point, but I would not be surprised at all to hear about it a year or two from now.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
So anyone downplaying this - don't complain he next time prices go up anon the equipment you want.
Story reminds me of JFK airport in the 60's. It was a truck hijackers paradise and most of the truckers were in on it.
Wait longer on limited run? Doubt the buyers will receive a replacement.
Not that any of this matters. The shaging dirtbags who stole deserve pain and misery.
Perspective is thieves are maggots. Nothing else needs added.
It won't have an effect. All of the serial numbers for the stolen instruments are public.
A counterfeiter can't brag about selling a stolen guitar in public. That immediately reduces the size of the potential market. They'd be better off using a fake SN, which is what (AFAIK) they usually do.
Inside job. Thiefs know the factory invoice/order/waybill numbers. Can trace online day and time of shipment. Get a small rental van, wear official looking shirts and caps, carry a clipboard, bolt cutters in a bag, climb over pallets until you find the correct waybill, box cutters to the shrink-wrap, look casual as you offload the goods, wave bye as you drive off, nobody saw nuttin.
Except that the reporting is:
"An entire pallet of newly released Gibson Adam Jones 1979 Les Paul Custom electric guitars has been stolen – and Gibson is asking guitar enthusiasts to help recover the missing models.
The pallet containing 13 guitars was taken from a Sweetwater music truck at the Flying J Travel Center in Whiteland, Indiana, on October 30." [italics mine]
$95k worth of Gibson Adam Jones 1979 Les Paul Customs stolen in premeditated theft | Guitar World
That would indicate that a handlift or jeep was used.
I'll go further: few box trucks (2-3 axles) have lifts that go above the box-truck floors. If the pallet was on an 18-wheeler (typically 5 axles, BTW), then they likely backed one semi up to the other.
"An entire pallet of newly released Gibson Adam Jones 1979 Les Paul Custom electric guitars has been stolen – and Gibson is asking guitar enthusiasts to help recover the missing models.
The pallet containing 13 guitars was taken from a Sweetwater music truck at the Flying J Travel Center in Whiteland, Indiana, on October 30." [italics mine]
$95k worth of Gibson Adam Jones 1979 Les Paul Customs stolen in premeditated theft | Guitar World
That would indicate that a handlift or jeep was used.
I'll go further: few box trucks (2-3 axles) have lifts that go above the box-truck floors. If the pallet was on an 18-wheeler (typically 5 axles, BTW), then they likely backed one semi up to the other.
