When advertising a guitar is it safe to reveal the serial number

jaymenon

As the title says really...

as a prospective buyer, I would of course want to know the serial number. There again you find various genuine advertisements with the serial number concealed. Is there a purpose behind this? And is it unsafe to reveal the serial number?

Kittyfrisk

I think that it probably has the same pro's & cons as covering up car registrations when selling, there was a thread about this not so long ago  https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/183347/

pintspiller

As a buyer, it would show honesty in the seller if a serial check matches the official spec from the manufacturer.

But at the same time. Anything can be faked I suppose. 

LastMantra

I don't think so. Someone could copy it but if you're really worried about that you'd need to keep it covered all the time and protect it like your pin number. Shops would be putting tape on all their guitars.

Adey

Who really cares about serial numbers being shown?

It's not like someone cloning your car number plate onto a similar model, or is it?

If someone goes through a speed camera in a cloned car above the speed limit, the actual owner gets a speeding ticket.

This is in much the same way that when a crook has spent £300 cloning a £250 guitar and then the new buyer is witnessed playing a few bum notes at a gig, the real owner gets lambasted all over the internet for being a bit crap...

Or is it?

Adey

And it's also not likely that a specific guitar worth say £10k is going to get copied well enough for it to fool an expert.

I would imagine most copies just have any old serial number that looks vaguely OK on it.

People like to overworry and fixate about something really unlikely.

Or does someone know different?

TheBigDipper

The cynic in me suspects the best reason for hiding a serial number is to prevent the owner it was stolen from several owners ago from asking for it back. 

I don't sell guitars, so it's academic for me. (Well, just a couple in 40+ years of playing). I do show serial numbers on amps, though.

Funkfingers

Some sweeping generalisations.

Removed serial number = stolen.
Badly typeset serial number = counterfeit. 

Pixilated serial number = owner fears cloning.
Serial number absent from metal hardware = neck anchor plate or bridge change.

DeeTee

Funkfingers said:

Some sweeping generalisations.

Removed serial number = stolen.
Badly typeset serial number = counterfeit. 

Pixilated serial number = owner fears cloning.
Serial number absent from metal hardware = neck anchor plate or bridge change.

I bought a Squier Mustang privately and freaked out when I got home. Part of the serial number had been drilled off. I'd bought someone's stolen guitar! I took it to the cops to see if they could check the serial number and get it back to the owner. I advertised on local groups, with some details obscured that the owner should know. I didn't play the thing because I felt so guilty.

Later found out that the number was drilled off because it was a factory second. There was also a "Used" stamp on it. There's a company called MIRC that handles them. It wasn't stolen after all!

RaymondLin

Shops list that in the ad, i wouldn't worry. 

octatonic

Not an issue.

Tom Anderson has all of his guitars searchable on a database.
It is normal to have a TA guitar listed with a serial number so you can check the spec.

hassleham

Kittyfrisk said:

I think that it probably has the same pro's & cons as covering up car registrations when selling, there was a thread about this not so long ago  https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/183347/

Except nobody is going to clone your guitar serial and go and rob a bank with it

Kittyfrisk

^  Fair point.
Although you never know...