Official Luthiers Forum!

So I occasionally check on eBay to see if some used guitar making tools are being posted for sale. I now see that there is some outfit that has named itself "StewMac" (not the full name) and they sell knockoffs of things like straightedges and sanding sponges. They have a logo on the products that says "StewMac" in large font, instead of the familiar logo. They have also appropriated some of the real company's photos in the product descriptions here and there, so you can see inconsistent groups of photos. They claim to be importing and shipping domestically from some unspecified location in Kentucky.

If they want to build products that are not legally protected intellectual property, at comparable quality and a lower price, that's their right. But it is a no good, low down, bushwhackin' sidewindin' so-and-so sort of thing to steal the shortened name of the original brand.

Caveat emptor.

Thanks for the warning. I have no use for thieves.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

You're right Don. No account varmints for sure.

I would be surprised if they last with that name but hard to say how a faceless entity like eBay will deal with it. Hopefully SM will bring it to their attention.

Yeah, the other listings are for toilette seats and picture frames. Don't think StewMac sells those. Actually, the seller doesn't claim to be StewMac, just the brand tools they are selling. I doubt the seller even knows what or who StewMac is. Probably just went to one of those eBay sales shows put on all throughout China and bought an eBay "package".

Did you email Stewart McDonald? They are really in the best position to do something about it.

Dirt bags. I sent a message to the real Stew Mac with a link to one of their auctions and gave them their seller name. Told them to contact eBay under the VERO reporting service to get them shut down. I like saving money on tools just as much as the next guy but I hate it when these bootleggers defraud buyers and screw the legitimate rights owner out of a sale.

To be fair... A lot of those Stewmac tools are made by some Chinese or Taiwanese makers too, and some of them may be selling the same tool at a lower price, but copying logo is intellectual property theft.

I have seen vises sold by Stewmac sold by various people in Taiwan's version of ebay. They are the exact same stuff except without the name. I saved a few bucks that way (not having to pay international shipping for something heavy is a plus). I still have the nut vise, since they're light enough to take with me on a flight...

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Tai--

It is a fair point that some items we buy are simply rebranded imports. I agree with your approach of buying the product at the best price, regardless of the brand, when we know that is the case.

This particular situation bothered me because of the appropriation of the "StewMac" name. In my opinion, it is 100% intended to mislead the buyer into thinking she/he is buying a Stewart MacDonald product, when in fact they are not. So, I see it as a different issue from cutting out the rebranding middleman when buying rebranded imports. StewMac is a name with value attached to it, based on decades of goodwill and honest dealing. I might as well sell brown carbonated sugar water and name it "Coke." It is dishonest and wrong to steal that name.

I thought the recipe was supposed to be a secret. Now it's all over the web.

Wait until I blow the lid off that Colonel Sanders "11 herbs and spices" nonsense. According to Mike Myers, "the Colonel" puts an addictive chemical in the chicken to make you crave it fortnightly.

you forgot the best part of the quote, 'smarta**!'

skip your wording, it's illegal, end of discussion...

in general, you get what you pay for...I'll be the first to admit that skimping on tool costs can sometimes be the way to go...for example, I had to buy a polisher/buffer once and only planned on it being a 2x thing, so I got one from Harbor Freight for pennies on the dollar...it lasted longer than I thought it would, but from my view died pretty quickly. I got my money's worth for sure, but it did have issues.

on the real side, quality rules...I'm from the old school and have issues with the present day disposable attitude as I use my tools to pay the bills and I expect them to not only be accurate, but also last...I have little disposable time to either have to replace a tool or take it in for service. my present miter saw is a Makita LS1211, it's 17 years old and has been rebuilt 2x in it's life (new armature, bearings, worm gear assembly), and that is what I expect from a properly made tool, NOT the present day environment of Makita's having blade wobble because of *edited* Chinese bearings, and not the POS DeWalt products with the same Chinese bearings that eat themselves real quickly when put to day to day use.

so yeah, some outfit stealing StewMac's moniker is disgusting and illegal too boot.