# Selling a Parts Guitar... moral dilemma



## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

I am looking to thin the herd of a few guitars. I have way too many (yes, that's a thing). I would like move some I really don't play or I'd consider "doubles", and possibly add really nice pieces instead. I'd like a PRS or an SG. 

Which brings me to a parts Strat. It has a lot of actual Fender parts. As in body, pups, and such. I upgraded the tuners, and bridge (non Fender). The dilemma comes with the neck. It's a "Fender Licensed" Allparts neck. And it just says "Fender". Doesn't say MIM, MIJ, or MIA. I will be 100% forthcoming in the ad that it's a licensed neck, not a factory neck. I don't think I'd sell for more than $300. 
This issue, is some guy on Kijiji will flip it to an unsuspecting newb for way more. They will (possibly) float it as a legit Fender. 

Without damaging/marring the neck, how do I help in preventing this? Or, is this the lay of the land that I need to accept? 

It's honestly the biggest reason I have not moved it sooner. 

Thoughts?


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Sell something else then? Or just sell it on here?


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## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

I agree - speaking from recent experience, you have no control over the predatory behavior of others once you've sold them something. Sell it here or part it out if it's that much of a worry for you...or solace yourself that you're not the a-hole screwing someone else over.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Budda said:


> Sell something else then? Or just sell it on here?


I hadn’t planned to sell it here. It’s a little low end. But, I’d feel better if I did. If I sold to a forum member, I’m pretty confident they would be as open as I’m trying to be when they moved it. So it would have good karma for at least two owners. 
As for “sell something else”, it’s honestly the top one (or two) to move. I hope to have both gone by summer.


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## slag banal (May 4, 2020)

Damage the headstock! Burn ”Not a Fender” on the back, with a soldering iron. Etc. You ARE responsible for it...forever.


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## Gavz (Feb 27, 2016)

Partscasters move on here fairly well.
Folks here know the value of the parts and the effort. Let's see a pic anyway. 

Sent from my SM-A205W using Tapatalk


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

SWLABR said:


> I hadn’t planned to sell it here. It’s a little low end. But, I’d feel better if I did. If I sold to a forum member, I’m pretty confident they would be as open as I’m trying to be when they moved it. So it would have good karma for at least two owners.
> As for “sell something else”, it’s honestly the top one (or two) to move. I hope to have both gone by summer.


low end? I've sold parts casters to people here for $100, $200, and up. Is that low end enough for you? 

there is a market for it, and selling to people here who you sort of know & trust is a thousand time better that kijiji or FB Marketplace. (in my mind anyway)


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

SWLABR said:


> "Fender Licensed" Allparts





slag banal said:


> Burn ”Not a Fender” on the back, with a soldering iron


I'm guessing that it's printed 'Fender' on the butt?
Do as slag suggests. Burn 'Allparts' by the 'Fender'.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

What it gets listed for in a Kijiji ad by someone intending to flip it may be more than what they actually get for it.


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

Lincoln said:


> low end? I've sold parts casters to people here for $100, $200, and up. Is that low end enough for you?
> 
> there is a market for it, and selling to people here who you sort of know & trust is a thousand time better that kijiji or FB Marketplace. (in my mind anyway)


I bought one of these and it is one of my favourite guitars! I do feel a bit funny about Fender on the headstock though, so I definitely see where @SWLABR is coming from. I'd be more comfortable selling it somewhere like here.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

DeeTee said:


> I bought one of these and it is one of my favourite guitars! I do feel a bit funny about Fender on the headstock though, so I definitely see where @SWLABR is coming from. I'd be more comfortable selling it somewhere like here.


That was a stage I went through. At some point, I started "thinking" that my parts caster were better than Fenders and I stopped putting Fender decals on them. Seems funny looking back on it now.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

SWLABR said:


> I hadn’t planned to sell it here. It’s a little low end. But, I’d feel better if I did. If I sold to a forum member, I’m pretty confident they would be as open as I’m trying to be when they moved it. So it would have good karma for at least two owners.
> As for “sell something else”, it’s honestly the top one (or two) to move. I hope to have both gone by summer.


I'm a low end buyer! Matches my playing ability.. Haha.. 
There are plenty of buyers here looking for budget parts.

All parts means it was made in japan or usa?
Is it rosewood? 

If you're worried about it, sand the fender decal off?


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## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

SWLABR said:


> I hadn’t planned to sell it here. It’s a little low end.


Some of us here can't afford $3500 guitars and this is the realm we live in. A good partscaster to some is like owning a CS they can never buy. Don't discredit your gear because of the level of other's gear. I've been told that a few times.


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

I really think there should be far more low end sales here. If there were I'd be in a lot more trouble though!


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## crann (May 10, 2014)

slag banal said:


> You ARE responsible for it...forever.


I get what you're saying, but I don't agree. Once OP sells it, if the buyer passes it as genuine, that's between the new buyer and the seller, not the OP. If someone is naive enough to be fooled and doesn't do their research/DD, that's a tough but important lesson. Maybe I'm just a jaded human being.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

tomee2 said:


> If you're worried about it, sand the fender decal off?


It's not stated whether it's a decal or stamped 'fender' on the butt like an 'allparts lic. by fender' would be.
I've put fender decals on a coupla' partscasters that I've sold including pics of the 'warmoth lic. by fender' logo's on the butt.
Bottom line, cover your ass.


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## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

I always thought that putting a "Fender" decal on a neck (or any part) not produced by Fender (even though it's licensed by them) is really just outright fraud no matter what the justification. If someone wants a Fender, they should just buy it. They're not that expensive.

And branding the guitar with something showing it's blatantly not a Fender will quickly devalue it, it will look like a child's guitar and be worth about the same. Not to mention insulting the buyer because you think he can't curb his criminal tendencies. I think we all know deep down (while we're building them years before) that Partscasters are risky to sell and you'll lose a lot (just like mods on a sports car).

IMO, it's out of your hands. You can't remotely lay down your morality to others if they want to go crooked.

Just get what you can for it.


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## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

There are more of us here that play in the lower end of gear than you might think. Hell even the heavy hitters like a good bargain partscaster from time to time 🙂 I have one nice acoustic I paid a couple grand for. Everything else is a lot less. Not a Strat guy but would like to see it listed here.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

laristotle said:


> It's not stated whether it's a decal or stamped 'fender' on the butt like an 'allparts lic. by fender' would be.
> I've put fender decals on a coupla' partscasters that I've sold including pics of the 'warmoth lic. by fender' logo's on the butt.
> Bottom line, cover your ass.
> ...


I was assuming the delema was a headstock decal put on by someone else.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

crann said:


> I get what you're saying, but I don't agree. Once OP sells it, if the buyer passes it as genuine, that's between the new buyer and the seller, not the OP. If someone is naive enough to be fooled and doesn't do their research/DD, that's a tough but important lesson. Maybe I'm just a jaded human being.


Nobody here is going to fake a Fender serial number to go with that iconic fender headstock decal. That's a China thing. 
No serial number = parts caster.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

SWLABR said:


> It's a "Fender Licensed" Allparts neck. And it just says "Fender". Doesn't say MIM, MIJ, or MIA. I will be 100% forthcoming in the ad that it's a licensed neck, not a factory neck. I don't think I'd sell for more than $300.
> This issue, is some guy on Kijiji will flip it to an unsuspecting newb for way more. They will (possibly) float it as a legit Fender.


It should be marked 'licensed by Fender' on the heel like Larry posted. If so, that's good enough for them, good enough for Fender, and should be good enough for you.


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

You don’t need to feel guilty for upgrading the neck. Sand off the decal if you are worried about it.

If it already has a plastic finish, you can reapply the poly afterwards with a spray can.

If you disclose to the next buyer you are fine.
If they try to flip it, that’s not your issue.

It’s not like you are selling a $50,000 Strat and lying about a refin or replaced components etc. Fenders legal team isn’t getting out of bed until you start making a couple hundred grand off of replica necks lol.


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## Jim Soloway (Sep 27, 2013)

Just my opinion but if it has a Fender decal on the headstock then I consider it to be a counterfeit. (And I don't really care what's on the heel. People shouldn't have to disassemble a guitar just to know whether it's legit). The easy answer is that if there is a decal on the peghead, then just keep the neck and part out the rest of it.


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## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

I agree, Jim. People get sucked in a lot, however, because they don't spend the hours we do on the forums and online obsessing over guitars - even with Fenders. I had an old '96 Strat a few years back that got broken due to a fall. I had it repaired, refinished in sonic nitro, and then I put a Firebird in the bridge position. Eventually I traded it to a very upstanding member here, and somehow or other it ended up in a "high-end" music store in Montreal through various sales and trades. This guitar wa sa legit Standard series with the serials intact, and by that point had a Suhr humbucker in the bridge - it came up for sale locally for a ridiculous price a year ago being marketted as a limited edition 50th anniversary Strat. I wrote the guy and inquired about it - he over-paid dearly at the store based on what the sales rep told him the guitar was. He could have checked it out by the number, but didn't, and refused to believe me when I told him what it was and what to look for. He removed the ad - hopefully he enjoys playing it to this day.

With parts-builds, they seem to be catching as much if not more money with the kijidiots these days than real Fenders.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Has the OP listed it yet?


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Botton line, you just have to disclose all the information about the guitar and it's up the buyer to decide whether he would take it as is or not. 

About that thing about sanding the logo on the headstock, I have a Fender MIM neck and body on my Esquire partcaster although I didn't buy them together. The neck has the logo of course and a serial number, although I've never tried checking it out. 

I guess what I am saying is, I am not going to sand off that logo because it is a partcaster. In my mind, my esquire is a souped up MIM Fender esquire. It has all Fender parts except for the Fralin Blues Special Pickup, Carparelli Esquire Wiring Harness and the Rutters Brass Compensated Saddles. In essence it still is a Fender guitar, I just have to disclose that it is a partcaster.

Now if I sell it to someone and that person later on sells it and claim that this is a modded MIM Fender Tele converted into an esquire with upgraded pickups, wiring and saddles, Well that's off my hands and whatever that person decides to do with it after, is on him.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

You can’t be responsible for what someone else does.
if it keeps you up at night, part it out and sell them individually.


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## pipestone62 (Nov 14, 2013)

Assume as a buyer that it’s buyer beware if buying a bolt on neck guitar. I got scammed 10 years ago on a tele and will never buy a tele without taking neck off to check. I’m also fine when selling a tele if buyer wants to take neck off and have a look.


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## crann (May 10, 2014)

Jim Soloway said:


> People shouldn't have to disassemble a guitar just to know whether it's legit).


Perhaps they shouldn't, but in purchasing any used item I hope for the best but expect the worst. There's a chasm of difference between an outright forgery (Chibson) and a fully licensed product. Even if OP removes the decal, the buyer can then stick a new one on, is OP still responsible for it then? 

Sell it or keep it, either way move on, there's bigger moral quandaries to wrestle over. I vote sell it as is.



pipestone62 said:


> will never buy a tele without taking neck off to check


Tough lesson, but one you'll never forget.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Thanks to everyone for giving me your feedback. 
To answer some questions... no I have not posted it yet. No, I did not apply the watermark. I didn’t even buy the neck new... but It is a legit Allparts Fender license neck, with heel stamp. A stamp I would include in the sale pics, but could easily be omitted upon resale to forward the con. 
Reminds me of when my nephew sold his old Mustang, and the shady individuals who showed with cash in the sum of full asking price. My brother in law and I knew that car would never ever get registered. We made sure he held onto that sales receipt. If the cops came knocking, it would be out of his hands. 
Similarly the story shared here about an honest transaction turned into a $50,000 resale attempt. No fear of that happening with this guitar... ha, ha... but, perhaps on a smaller scale. 

“Parting it out” could be a solution. But I’ve had a couple PM’s letting me know there’d be interest. As I said, selling here would be piece of mind cause it ups the chance of the same openness if they were to move it. 

I suppose at the end of the day, the moral dilemma is not really mine if I do the right thing with full disclosure. Once it leaves my hands, I can’t control the outcome. It’s not like I’m selling an unregistered firearm. 

Thanks again for all the great responses.


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## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

Pic's or it didn't happen ;-)


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## DeeTee (Apr 16, 2018)

You can only act in good faith and hope that the next person does the same. Otherwise, where does that chain of causation end? You could drive yourself mad. 

Imagine you had a Gibson that suffered a catastrophic neck break.* You get it repaired and the repair is good quality. It's a solid colour and you can't see evidence of the break. You decide to sell it, but you're an honest sort, so you make it clear in the advert what happened to it. If that buyer later sells it without being particularly honest about the break, there's no way you could be held responsible. There's only so far your personal liability can extend.

* I mean, just _imagine such a thing. _Shocking.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

I think if there's that big of a concern over it being passed off as a fake in the future then you do have the option to part it out rather than sell it as a whole.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

When building parts guitars I try hard to avoid any necks with logos on the peghead. Even if I swap out a neck on a stock Fender with a replacement, I prefer the new neck to be sans logo.

I'm not saying there's anything intentionally deceptive, but as soon as that logo is on a neck that wasn't made by that company there's a path to someone eventually selling it as something it's not.

I have even gone so far as to scrape them off.


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## Permanent Waves (Jun 2, 2020)

I've seen people on YouTube burn the word "Fake" on the back of instruments deliberately made to be hard-to-spot counterfeits so no one else would get ripped off. However, I don't think this is the case here - there is no intent to deceive. If AllParts is allowed to sell the neck as it is, so should you. The absence of other neck markings should be a clear indication it is not Fender original. If the buyer decides to go all out with some fake waterslide decals, it should be fairly obvious. 

Back in the mid-80's, I picked up a fake cheap Rickenbacker copy made by a company called Joo-Dee (clearly marked on the name plate, single truss-rod) but sold it a year later since I needed the money. It was a pretty good looking fake, with checkerboard binding, which is unusual for fakes. About 20 years later, I saw it at a local shop with a Rickenbacker name plate and the shop owner told me someone had paid full price thinking it was real. That sucks, but someone laying down that kind of money should have looked for dual truss rods.


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## GuitarT (Nov 23, 2010)

I have Squier Jazzmaster that was re-decaled with a Fender decal by the previous owner. He fully disclosed that it was re-decaled when he was selling it and it was priced at a Squier price point. I'll do the same should I ever decide to sell it. That's really all the due diligence I feel responsible for. Whatever a future owner does with it down the road is not a big concern of mine. Even if I were to remove it it would be quite easy for some unscrupulous person to stick another one on. We really live in a "buyer beware" world.


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## slag banal (May 4, 2020)

“Consequentialism is an ethical theory that judges whether or not something is right by what its consequences are. For instance, most people would agree that lying is wrong. But if telling a lie would help save a person's life, *consequentialism* says it's the right thing to do.” However, selling guns to gangsters who use them is immoral even though you didn’t actually shoot anyone.
There are other theories. This is the one I embrace.


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## SWLABR (Nov 7, 2017)

Thanks for all the replies.

Incidentally, this guitar is in the “For Sale” thread. Listed as Fender/Mighty Mite Partscaster. 
All you guys who said you’re looking for cheaper alternatives on the site, your wish has been granted.


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