If you are thinking of buying a Deering or Goodtime banjo, and you head over to eBay, we urge you to tread carefully.
Thanks to a handful of our wonderful and loyal customers, it has been brought to our attention that there are a select few sellers who are trying to fool banjo buyers into believing that they are buying a Goodtime banjo. To be clear, these are NOT Goodtime banjos. They are fake imitation replicas, and honestly I believe my 8 year old could do a better job of imitating one.
Beyond the overwhelming feeling of disappointment, buyers of these banjos will actually receive a cheap, non-US made item that vaguely looks like a banjo. Or as our former Sales Manager, Barry Hunn affectionately called BLO's or "banjo-like-objects".
Those of you who know Deering will all agree that this is not the feeling that we want our customers to experience with anything carrying our name. Not only is it negative for us as a long standing American brand, but more importantly, it dampens the players entire banjo journey - not the kind of start you want when you are just starting out.
There appears to be a few specific sellers all pushing the same listing, including "uioesy" "lightshh", and "bidtast".
When you dig a little deeper, these sellers are offering anything from "BLO's", to dog crates, widescreen TV mounts and temporary hair dyes. It is safe to say that these sellers are NOT authorized Deering retailers.
If you are curious, this is typical of the banjos in question. Note, the Deering Goodtime in the title. Also note the 5 string open back description, alongside the 6 string, resonator image.
Of course, we attempt to be as vigilant as we can in these circumstances. However, often times, it is our amazing customers that keep us informed.
So, what can you do? If you have an eBay account, you can report the item by clicking the very discreet link on the right hand side, just above the shipping and description section of the item listing.
Most importantly, if you have an hesitation about a banjo being advertised as a Deering, or whether the seller is an authorized Deering retailer, here are a few things you can do:
An interesting point to note: At the time of writing, we had reported all items to eBay, sent multiple cease and desist letters and during a phone call with eBay, they informed us that we must wait 3-4 weeks to get a response on this activity.
When we challenged this, we were told "this is just the way it is".
This is how eBay chooses to support and represent long standing businesses who try to uphold the integrity of their brand in the face of such gross fraudulent behavior.
In the meantime, we are blessed and fortunate to have such incredible customers who genuinely care, and bring these things to our attention. Thank you so much for all of your continued support. We wouldn't be here without you.
Thank you!