£700 4001 (sold as I listed it here.........)

[Beedster]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266155491803?hash=item3df81a81db:g:KSkAAOSwQNtkALwQ&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoHGDb2yj9eBReLdlEkDhMoudILIS%2FtVv8h7tGzGm8jSTSYIjaRlg1bRwzBQhfOIEh9bKfPN0Kh6NGPbMeMj7aPqAI1mZpI93%2FLHpMrYI7W%2FvlsJaGWfOEGFu%2FJOnAItM%2F6PrTPZXBjBOwO0CuS1jc29K8c9sQstCyY1QfzKqzUsMP1I3trfFmfNY6ZGzO8Wc3otpBCLE9%2BnvQaPwMbnldiY%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR9KVk7DUYQ

[Shaggy]

Jeez, you should have jumped on that Chris! 

[Beedster]

Saw it and thoght I’d post here but too slow 😕

[pete.young]

Got to be stolen, surely?

[Beedster]

Hard to say Pete, sometimes these things are actually what they seem, a seller who doesn't know the value of something but needs cash, and a bloody lucky buyer. Sometimes they're not of course 🤔

[yorks5stringer]

The seller is a cash converter type shop,  and they are not known for underselling gear.....

[TheGreek]

..or receiving stolen goods

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Its a faker innit?

 

The shark fin inlays would go all the way to the edges of the of the fingerboard on a real one wouldn't they?

 

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YAgAAOSwkbdkALwS/s-l1600.jpg

[oldslapper]

48 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Its a faker innit?

 

The shark fin inlays would go all the way to the edges of the of the fingerboard on a real one wouldn't they?

 

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YAgAAOSwkbdkALwS/s-l1600.jpg

I thought that until I saw this one 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295458583057?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=UWyyvdG8QT-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=apR0TlihRse&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[Bunion]

50 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Its a faker innit?

 

The shark fin inlays would go all the way to the edges of the of the fingerboard on a real one wouldn't they?

 

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YAgAAOSwkbdkALwS/s-l1600.jpg

 

Depends on what year it is 

[ash]

No it looks to be the real thing as the black plastic tuner ferrules and inlays are correct for a period around late 70s early 80s. Fakers didn’t copy that. Possibly all sorts wrong with it but it’s a bargain. No doubt it will be flipped unless it is a stolen instrument and if it is here’s hoping it’s reunited with its rightful owner.

 

[King Tut]

Wow!

[Beedster]

Well I sincerely hope that it's not stolen, and it's nice to think someone other than a dealer got a real bargain. Had it been pre-lockdown I'd have bought it, but my dopaminergic lust for rare and beautiful gear has been tempered of late and life is somewhat easier as the result!

 

More objectively, I doubt the owner of that business is daft, they sell a lot of expensive gear, so I suspect it's either a ringer or there's an issue, which could be anything from mechanical to legal I'd guess. I suspect either way it'll be for sale somewhere at a significant mark up very soon. And if so, I wonder if the seller will use that classic "Selling my trusty old Ric, been with me since 1978" line 🤔 

[ash]

29 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Well I sincerely hope that it's not stolen, and it's nice to think someone other than a dealer got a real bargain. Had it been pre-lockdown I'd have bought it, but my dopaminergic lust for rare and beautiful gear has been tempered of late and life is somewhat easier as the result!

 

More objectively, I doubt the owner of that business is daft, they sell a lot of expensive gear, so I suspect it's either a ringer or there's an issue, which could be anything from mechanical to legal I'd guess. I suspect either way it'll be for sale somewhere at a significant mark up very soon. And if so, I wonder if the seller will use that classic "Selling my trusty old Ric, been with me since 1978" line 🤔 

….since I found it in my Uncle’s loft 😉

[Bassassin]

4 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Its a faker innit?

 

The shark fin inlays would go all the way to the edges of the of the fingerboard on a real one wouldn't they?

 

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/YAgAAOSwkbdkALwS/s-l1600.jpg

 100% real. No Fakers ever accurately copied the inlay material, that's always a dead giveaway. The elongated string holes on the tailpiece are another Rick identifier. I think this is mid/late 70s from the Hi-Gain pickup & black ferrules - full width inlays were discontinued in 1972 & reappeared on the 4003 in the mid '00s.

 

Even if it's stolen, the seller's just robbed themselves. Look forward to seeing this pop back up with a £2000+ price tag.

 

...it's what I'd do...

[prowla]

My '78 has the headstock heel, black tuner washers, and non full width triangles. 
I would’ve liked that for a project but I was out getting a burger. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by prowla