Well, this was interesting. A few days ago I changed out all my strings - 2 mandolins, 2 guitars and a banjo. Once I finish that, the next step is to order replacement strings so they are on hand in another 3 weeks when I want to change them out again.
This time, I ordered through Amazon, and with my Prime membership had the strings arrive in 2 days.
Life's good - sort of. I had ordered a 3 pack of EJ16 guitar strings, and unlike the packaging from my last string order, this time it was three sets of EJ16s in three cardboard packages, within a shrink-wrapped envelope. And proudly on the front of the shrink wrap is a sticker proclaiming the strings as "Made In China." And, in the lower right hand of the cardboard packaging, it states "USA MADE."
An obvious contradiction, as the photo below shows.
Called Amazon, they're sending replacements. Spoke with George at D'Addario, and he was apologetic and frustrated. I am not the first person to have had this problem with Amazon selling counterfeit strings.
The replacements that Amazon is sending should arrive tomorrow. It will be fascinating to see if they send me another batch of counterfeits. I promised George I'd let him know how the saga turns out.
I wonder if I can trust the rest of the strings...?
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