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At it again though, I see.
I wanted a sunburst Strat with a maple board and they just swapped necks. It would've been around 1994 or 1995, because it had a 40th Anniversary badge on the headstock.
As much as it was mildly disappointing that they didn't have the one I wanted in stock already, I just thought it was cool of them that they were willing to do that for a customer. Didn't even cross my mind that there would be any issue with devaluing the bass. I could understand if it was a different brand or a neck from a different priced instrument but since it was the same model I didn't think there would be any issue.
That's an interesting question then for @digitalscream - if it's a Mexican Standard Strat body with a Mexican Standard Strat neck but not the one it originally came with - is that allowed to be sold on here?
Presumably there are cases like that where the seller isn't even aware that that is the case but when the seller does know, would it be allowed?
Could get slightly complicated really - considering the way Fender guitars are made where the neck and body aren't made specifically for each other, they're just put with each other at the factory.
It's not a difficult concept, really...
The logo on the neck is fine, if it's being sold on its own.
However, when you assemble that into a guitar, the logo now represents the origin of the entire instrument, and therefore it's not fine.
This has been discussed many times before and - unlike you and all the other folk trying to rules-lawyer their way around this - I've actually had genuine legal advice about it, because there are direct legal consequences to me. Guess what? The anti-counterfeiting laws are alive and kicking, and partscasters and fake guitars are not a special case just because lots of people do it.
"As far as the next person selling it on as if it were all original, then they are the ones who are breaking the law at that point in the future."
This just shows that you don't understand the law at all.
I'll put it simply: it's either this, or we do it the way Basschat solved the Rickenbacker problem: no partscaster sales allowed at all on this site, whether they've got a logo or not, and anybody attempting to do so will be banned.
So...does anybody still want to argue about it?
Fender USA
So here's a though: if I buy a neck and a body separably direct from Fender, the neck will have a serial number, the body will be stamped in the neck pocket. Aside from the silliness and expense, it's an official partscaster? ;-)
I have even managed to preserve the original logo, and make it look like an original fender decal with some careful sanding when stripping the neck. here it is with a few fresh coats on nitro
i did remove the serials from the back though. only because i stole the guitar
Instagram
So here is the thing... those three US Strats are not real US Fenders, as they weren't assembled in the US factory. Also the serial numbers (on the headstocks) were a year later than the build of the body. However, they were sold as new US Standard Strats - and they were great guitars. Now they are officially "vintage" and I'm sure that with time, they will be as "collectible" as other US Fenders.
Then there are two Gibson Les Pauls that arrived at the store damaged - one had fingerboard issues (can't remember the exact nature) and the other had a separating neck joint. Both were reworked by a local tech - as advised by Rose Morris, who used to distribute them. One gained a replacement fingerboard and the other had extensive work in the neck joint. Both were sold as "new" because they were - and because of the quality of the rework, you'd never know either had been touched.
I've run set up/QC lines for different manufacturers. In some cases, the rework on the guitars took longer than the actual assembly in the first place! Some gained refrets before they left the business. Some were made up out of the best bits of several guitars to maximise the yield from a shipment. I know of one batch that were refinished in the UK due to paint issues. So not exactly as they left the factory, but equally the quality of the work was such you'd never know it had been done.
Equally, I've also seen factory refinishes - where they needed colour "A" to finish a shipment but had colour "B" bodies on the finished rack... so they ran them through the paint shop again to make up a shipment...
Point is - folks have got too worked up about "original" when it comes to guitars. I understand and align with the rules of this site - I don't necessarily agree with the interpretation (and it *is* an interpretation, as all things to do with law have to be), but rules is rules. "Fake" is banded around a lot and some is legitimately "fake" - but there comes a point where common sense has to take place. Even before you get your hands on your guitar brand new, you'd be very surprised what can take place and who has worked on it - and sometimes by a completely third party to the name on the headstock.
As for sanding the logo off... you instantly devalue the neck. Therefore, if you want to sell through here - part it out. Also you will get more money that way, as complete partcasters appear to be about as valuable as COVID-19 infected tissues with some... yet the bits are of interest.
YMMV
Even if you take that out of the equation (which I won't, for the reasons above)...if we used your "common sense" approach, we'd have to make a value judgement on every single partscaster bearing a logo that came up for sale, followed by the inevitable arguments that ensue; literally every single person who's ever had an advert denied on here because it falls foul of these rules has then gone through the site looking for any piece of gear that's had so much as a volume knob replaced and cried "BIAS!" (yes, that really happened) trying to rules-lawyer us into getting their own way.
We don't have the time or inclination for that.
I totally understand and align with your decisions.
EDIT: To be clear (as if I need to), the law covers trademarks and the improper use of them to infer authenticity. When you have a Fender neck, the logo is correctly applied. When you have a Fender neck on a non-Fender body, that logo is implied (by common convention) to apply to the whole instrument, thus implying authenticity where it's not warranted. It's legal to own one, but it's not legal to sell one. Feel free to call Action Fraud if you don't believe me.
LOL - more comedy gold!
"I've got an example of how a lawyer was wrong once on a completely unrelated topic, so all legal advice is just opinion and I'm right."
It’ll never happen[1] but it would be absolutely hilarious if it did... :-)
[1] Apart from anything else I have a vague recollection of Fender operating a scheme/scam[2] to retrospectively bless high profile bitsas with The Holy Seal Of Authenticity.
[2] Delete where not applicable.