GHS Boomers - Fraud sets being sold?

[T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r]

I bought some GHS Boomers from ebay - from China which arrived this morning

Ebay item link


they just arrived, but i suspect they're fakes - i.e. Chinese comapany have had the GHS label printed themselves and put their own crappy non-brand strings inside.

I have some proper GHS Boomers (10's) which are genuine, the ball ends look different. Not just in their design, but they're silver, not gold like the proper USA ones. On my USA ones, there is printing on the inside of the main label with advertisments for Rocktron goods, and each string comes in a branded paper bag. The US ones also have a Recycle logo embossed onto the plastic packet wrap.

None of this is present in my chinese set

Heres a photo - could you let me know if any of you have ever bought boomers that have the packaging like this - thanks!



Heres what the proper USA ones look like





and heres the dodgy Chinese ones
Large pic: http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6...boomerssj3.jpg




They are frauds aren't they?

[jlrich]

Could be some kind of "seconds" or irregulars.

[Primeta]

Given the different ball shapes, I'd try contacting GHS and ask...
marty@ghsstrings.com

GHS corporate office: 800-388-4447 ext. 205

[Arlo]

Those look like the Walmart brand. I was getting them there because they were so cheap and to be honest they seemed to be fine.

I noticed that Wally stopped stocking them sometime after Christmas.

So back to ordering from the internet.

The pics you have posted are not so easy for an ol geezer to look at though!!

I just noticed U r in England. No Wally world there.

[Big John]

I see they also do D'addario and Gibson strings too, the Gibson one's appear to be in a strange pack too.

[T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r]

Originally Posted by Arlo

Those look like the Walmart brand. I was getting them there because they were so cheap and to be honest they seemed to be fine.

I noticed that Wally stopped stocking them sometime after Christmas.

So back to ordering from the internet.

The pics you have posted are not so easy for an ol geezer to look at though!!

I just noticed U r in England. No Wally world there.

did the walmart ones have silver ends and the same dodgy plastic sleeve packaging?
(you can click on the images for a larger version)

(i've contacted GHS through the email address and they suspect they could be fakes and have asked for the sellers details)

[Primeta]

I'm still getting thumbnails when I click

I hope GHS can take some action to shut at least this guy down.

[RomanS]

Why did you order them from China in the first place?
I mean, GHS Boomers aren't exactly expensive strings, they cost about 4 € for a set where I live, and only 3.30 € from Thomann (so I always include a few sets everytime I order from them).
Even if you didn't have to pay customs, if I did my calculations right, you're paying 2.65 € per set - not a whole lot saved, and with the added risk of getting a counterfeit (which is very likely whenever buying Western brands directly from China...)

[T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r]

larger pic

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6...boomerssj3.jpg

[guitarzan13]

Originally Posted by T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r

larger pic

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6...boomerssj3.jpg

Does the tone scale on the back of the pack say WELLOW instead of mellow? hmmmm.....looks fake to me

[T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r]

Originally Posted by guitarzan13

Does the tone scale on the back of the pack say WELLOW instead of mellow? hmmmm.....looks fake to me

my God - you're right!

[abraxas]

Originally Posted by guitarzan13

Does the tone scale on the back of the pack say WELLOW instead of mellow? hmmmm.....looks fake to me

You my friend must be an awesome marksman!

[guitarzan13]

If it's any consolation....the inside pacs look like some I used to buy in bulk under the "Rockpack" name.....I LOVED them but can't find them anymore....

[stantheman]

I used to go GHS because that's what SRV used.
Then I went to Ernie Ball "Power Slinky" for years.
Since I discovered "Webstrings" I ain't looked back.
I haven't a clue who makes 'em and don't really
give a hoot because they're a swell string.

Trumpet Players had the smartest parents, no strings
to buy, no reeds to buy, no picks to buy.
Just a 2 ounce bottle of oil every couple of years.
I wonder how much money over the years I've
given to stringmakers and reedmakers.
I quit the picks on my own

[PapaBeef]

Just noticed there were 13 posts to this thread & wanted to get it to 14 for superstitious purposes.
It seems like for every quality product you can buy, there's some inferior knock off coming out of China.
I guess the authorities can't do anything to them over there or something.
We've all seen the crappy Fender & Gibson knock off guitars on Ebay.
Don't get me wrong. There's legitimate stuff coming out of there too.
But the crap just stands out due to its exceptionally craptastic crappiness as well as the creative language used to describe it.

I played trumpet when I was 11 - 12.
The coolest things about it were:
#1 If I was grounded & wanted to go out, All I had to do was start practicing REALLY LOUD
#2 The SPIT VALVES...
Really gross But also really cool when you're 11 or 12 years old.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r

did the walmart ones have silver ends and the same dodgy plastic sleeve packaging?
(you can click on the images for a larger version)

(i've contacted GHS through the email address and they suspect they could be fakes and have asked for the sellers details)

Nope, that they didnt have and I see now what you are talking about. Those look fake for sure. Wally's did a too at first. The must be a generic GHS version but to tell you the truth they were just as good and lasted just as long as the expensive ones.

[Brutalblues]

"If it looks too good to be true......"

Why do so many people want to cheap out on strings? If you want real GHS Boomers, you should buy them online from GC or MF or Sam Ash or some other real established business place. There are enough different places where you are bound to find a sale somewhere.

[Acephspades]

Those don't look like the "Wally World" specials I am buying. The ones I was buying look like the regular GHS brand and the string sleeves are paper but the whole set comes in a heavier, "theft proof" plastic package instead of the light, clear plastic cover strings normally come in.

Those do seem a little unusual.

[guitarzan13]

Originally Posted by Brutalblues

"If it looks too good to be true......"

Why do so many people want to cheap out on strings? If you want real GHS Boomers, you should buy them online from GC or MF or Sam Ash or some other real established business place. There are enough different places where you are bound to find a sale somewhere.

I use webstrings or I catch Super Slinkys on sale....I have 3 guitars that I perform with every weekend and keeping new or near-new on all 3 gets expensive!

[Big John]

T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r, these folk sell well priced strings, are in the UK, are great to deal with and so far i have had no issues with them, give 'em a try ...
stringbusters

[FraKo]

Originally Posted by stantheman

I used to go GHS because that's what SRV used.
Then I went to Ernie Ball "Power Slinky" for years.
Since I discovered "Webstrings" I ain't looked back.
I haven't a clue who makes 'em and don't really
give a hoot because they're a swell string.

Trumpet Players had the smartest parents, no strings
to buy, no reeds to buy, no picks to buy.
Just a 2 ounce bottle of oil every couple of years.
I wonder how much money over the years I've
given to stringmakers and reedmakers.
I quit the picks on my own

Weird...

I use to order from Webstrings, too

...and I also play the trumpet....

You're right, the trumpet is extremely chep to deal with

[T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r]

Originally Posted by Big John

T3L3CAST3R scr33nag3r, these folk sell well priced strings, are in the UK, are great to deal with and so far i have had no issues with them, give 'em a try ...
stringbusters

thanks for that! Great site! Good prices - ive bookmarked that one

[J-man]

Originally Posted by Brutalblues

"If it looks too good to be true......"

Why do so many people want to cheap out on strings? If you want real GHS Boomers, you should buy them online from GC or MF or Sam Ash or some other real established business place. There are enough different places where you are bound to find a sale somewhere.

None of those places you mentioned ship to the UK.

[RomanS]

Originally Posted by J-man

None of those places you mentioned ship to the UK.

But www.thomann.de does!

[kennl]

I buy strings by the 10 or 12 pack from Guitar Center when they are on sale. Ernie Ball Power Slinky or GHS Boomers or D'Addario can be had for about $2.80 per set this way. You can usually bargain another brand as a substitute if they run out of stock on the advertised special. I got a 12 pack of Dean Markleys that way that included an .018" unwound AND .022" wound G. Just like buying a 9-volt battery for $5 at the convenience store instead of a 12-pack at WalMart for $1.50 each - if it's something you're going to need, stock up!
Ken

[GUITARmole]

Some of the best strings I've used (cheapo or otherwise) are the Guitarfetish strings but they seem to have disappeared off of their website ??

[Lostheart]

When I was in college I had to do a presentation on counterfeits and let me tell you...those Chinese fake EVERYTHING! You're lucky that it's just a set of guitar strings...usually it's brake pads made out of pressed sawdust or copycat Stihl chainsaws that fall apart on you!!!