It seems there is another rash of fake Yamaha flutes listed on eBay. The ones that I have seen have been listed as Yamaha 211S and 271S. I have reported these to eBay and hopefully they will crack down and remove them, but in the meanwhile, if you see a Yamaha flute listed, please be wary, especially if the price seems extraordinarily low.
Here's a comparison photo. The real Yamaha is on the left, the fake is on the right. Notice that the Yamaha logo is not quite correct on the fake and the engraving is not in the Yamaha style. Yamaha uses a hollow outline style font for "Yamaha" while the fake does not.
Yamaha Compare.jpg (158.96 KiB) Viewed 53073 times
"Never give a flute player a screwdriver."
--anonymous--
We are warranty agents for yamaha, I pointed out close to about 6 years ago the existence of these flutes, my contact at yamaha instantly got hold of ebay, within a week the person was shut down, a week later they opened up under a different user name, this went on for about 6 months, my contact at Yamaha eventually gave up, ebay does not care or enforce the rules even though they are aware of the situation, onoly after complaints are made do they act.
Thank you for the heads up Pied Piper. Online shoppers like me depend on it!
Counterfeit is an ongoing problem but collective awareness of it and the accompanying decision not to support it is the biggest step towards thwarting these guys. Keep up the good work mirwa.
Thankfully my Yamaha USA verified Made in Japan 2009 Yamaha, rescued from a US pawnshop (found out by default by googling) by an amazing (& honest) hobbyist-refurbisher called xxxxxxx-flutes is not one of them.
Last edited by flutego12 on Tue Feb 05, 2013 5:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Fake or Counterfeit means "not authentic nor of the same origin" but an imitation or pretense to be so.
Hence neither made in Japan nor Indonesia which is where Yamaha Flutes are typically made.
Thank God for the blatant distinguishing features, imagine when the counterfeit is that good that we can't tell them apart, now that would be disastrous. Hence Caveat Emptor.
Last edited by flutego12 on Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bumping this thread. Many more fakes on eBay, with blatantly wrong logos. I tried reporting one last night but it sold for almost $200 with several bids. Ugh. Reported two more I noticed today. BUYER BEWARE!
The photos show what appears to be a genuine Yamaha box, but they don't show enough detail about the flute itself to make a definitive assessment. The pricing is more than the typical fake Yamaha, but that is no guarantee either. This may be a legitimate Yamaha dealer, but there is no real way to tell if this is one of them. If you choose to buy from a foreign vendor, you assume the risk in exchange for a lower price.
"Never give a flute player a screwdriver."
--anonymous--
I do live sound and the counterfeit microphones coming out of China have become so good that it's very difficult to tell. Hopefully the counterfeit instruments will remain easy to spot .
Hi, I'm new to the world of flutes, I am a piano teacher and I understand the importance of having a good instrument for beginner player. I took a risk and bought a secondhand flute for my son, a 9 year old flute beginner.
I have to admit the info about flutes that I red on the internet is so very confusing. All I knew I need to buy Yamaha, which I did but now, after discovering your site I am concerned if the flute I bought on ebay is any good.
Could you please tell me your findings or where I can get information about it. Thank you for your time in advance.
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