What’s funny is one comment on that video said something along the lines of “well with that logic that fake Slash Snakebite guitar you bought wasn’t a scam because you put down the money and they delivered you a product.” Had me dying lol.
@@BrodyCox I didn’t see the reply but that sounds like something he’d say. I kinda lost respect for him when he traded some kid an old shitbox bass that was barely playable for a rather nice Schecter Synyster Gates when it was clear the kid was young and naive didn’t know he was fixing to get burned but what can you do? So it doesn’t shock me that he defended this established titles thing until it was clear he wasn’t going to win.
I remember that! It was an old cheap Kent bass that wasn’t worth more than $90 for a nice Schecter Synuster Gates thats in the $500-700 used I thinks he definitely swindled that kid for his trade Tuesday series
@@MrDream-zm1pw yea and the shit he had to do to make it slightly usable kinda made it feel like that bass would’ve never been 100% playable in its lifetime. But karmas a bitch because Trogs been burned multiple times since then.
Trogly has flipped out over smaller deceptions in his guitar purchases. If he were to hold his advertisers to the same standard, they would be in jail.
@@StringTension Why do you youtube defenders always say "make a living". You realise youtubers who accept shady sponsorships like this arent "making a living" they're making a fortune. Big youtubers get paid tens of thousands per video sponsored, thats not making a "living". Thats rinsing as much money out of your audience as possible
@Robstrap You sound like a broke hater with that socialist mentality. It IS making a living and he has 3 children and a wife to support. It's a man's duty to give his family the best life possible. Your logic is flawed because you don't have to watch or purchase anything right? This attitude that because he makes good money its bad is ridiculous.
@@jski718 Wrong on all counts. Shocker. I’m all for making a good living at a profit, but not at the expense of morality and decency. Trogly’s pulled way too many shady deals to just be considered a good businessman. Wipe your chin, you’ve got some of Austin’s baby batter on it 😉
I’m a big Trogly fan and just want to say that I thought you covered this very fairly and I’m glad you cover this kind of stuff so fairly in general! Number 1 guitar news journalist!
I like his show when he does the trade up thing and when he shows the interaction of buying somebody's cool guitar. I called his support of the Est. Titles scam like many did I'm sure, and I thought his explanation was a load of crap, he didn't have to say anything and shouldn't have defended them, a scam is a scam and this one was obvious. He just should have dropped them when audience began calling it out or before.
@@mpirron1 Agreed. Yeah, I'm also a fan of his "Trade Tuesday" series. I'm flabbergasted he was able to take some crappy effects pedals and eventually flip them for a Custom Shop guitar! Watching the actual trades and interactions was pretty interesting.
Austin Trogly usually is a pretty harmless UA-camr. His defense of scammers and hoarders is crap but he is usually not someone you would expect bad things of. Then again, I never saw the more iffy side of Stevie T until Kelan did his vids on him so... who knows.
Troglys entire business is based on him driving up the prices of Gibson guitars. He's only harmless as a youtuber, but his kind serves only millionaire collectors
I love how you always get down to brass tacks. I loved Scott’s video because he called it like it is. I really like Trogly. He was blatantly wrong on this issue. Just goes to show you how deep our biases go. Thank you. Bottom line it’s a SCAM no matter how you look at it and Scott was 💯 in calling them out. We need more UA-cam telling the truth.
@@AnodyneHipsterInfluencer Dude, it’s brass tacks. It comes from a measuring reference where textiles and fabrics would be sold by the yard, and brass tacks would be laid out by the merchant and hammered on a counter at yard and half yard spacing. FFS...
I remember a trogly video where he talks about sending half of his collection to someone who ended up selling off (or trying to) most of them, at which point trogly KEPT SENDING GUITARS. I could be misrepresenting this due to the amount of time it’s been since I’ve seen the video but with this in mind I don’t think trogly is that great at spotting scams 😂
Pretty sure you indeed are misrepresenting here, He didn't know that the person was selling off his guitars and he only sent him more guitars because he got regular progress updates on his guitars being worked on. once those updates stopped he realized it was a scam.
He also just didn't give them back for years. And one of the guitars was also a scam. The man saying it is not a scam bought a fake guitar, getting scammed out of a lot of money, then proceeded to send the guitar to someone who also ended up being a scam. And is now claiming a scam is not a scam.
Trogly: "It's not a scam if you get something out of it" Also Trogly: Multiple videos about him being scammed by receiving a fake snakepit signature. The guy flips guitars, not too surprising he's dishonest.
This guy is like a used car salesman, except these aren't cars, they're more like a tool. So he's selling used tools to his fellow tradesman at a markup, and we're supposed to like him? I don't get how it's endearing or appealing to watch imo. I watched for a little bit during the pandemic, and then he bragged about the house he was moving into and it just rubbed me entirely the wrong way. I checked out his shop and heard some of the prices he paid compared to what they were on sale for and I was like dude... why would I ever pay that when you just said you got it for less than what you're selling it for? lmao. At that point I checked out and unsubbed. He just came across as "I dictate what you should pay for a used instrument" while he was getting rich off of it, and seeing as used guitar prices soared during the pandemic, I completely blame people like Trogly for inflating the prices on the used market. It's really no different than scalping GPU's, selling used cars, etc. Like other people said too, there was a scummy feeling to him, like he'd swindle an old lady out of her dead husbands guitar just to make a couple bucks and feature the guitar on the channel. Idk man. Bad vibes from him made me tune out, the bragging about his collection, house, etc while also still reselling guitars at a markup made me tune out. I mean, this guy isn't in this business because he's a musician or a guitar player, he's in it to take advantage of every deal he can possibly come across. I'm cool selling my shit to another musician and taking a hit knowing it's going to a loving home, rather than sell it to a markup man like him where it'll be shuffled around in peoples collection, unplayed. I'd rather support an enthusiastic musician, than a greedy businessman.
His whole channel seems like advertising guitars to try to get his "fans" to buy the guitars he features at inflated prices. I guess I can't blame him, but it just seems weaselly to me.
What got me was some of the Troggly fanboys defending him. "Oh dont you want his family to eat three meals a day..."... seriously? The guy lives in a big house he bought in the last few years, buys and flips MULTIPLE 4-10k guitars a week, gets money from his forewarding service and private help sessions. His personal guitar collection alone (going by his last yearly summary) is probably worth more than my house cost. I like seeing video's of guitars I'll never afford to own (though he does get VERY "Retired investment banker wall hanger collector piece")... there is just something about the guy that is... off.
I read somewhere he got a huge inheritance which is how/why he has the collection he does. He referenced working in a grocery store when he was younger a few times in his videos.
Yeah I've been watching him for like four or five years now and my opinions have changed over that time... At first I was like.... Ok dorky rich kid but loves guitars whatever... Then it evolved the first time I spoke to him about in a help session... I left that interaction with the feeling like... Seems nice enough but he isn't as SpongeBob soft as he seems... Not when it comes to money... And now I'm not sure at all... Like... There's some level of greasiness there is what it seems like... Like ya said... Can't quite nail it down but something not quite right... Homeschool vibes was what i though at first... Very sheltered etc... And that's a part of it but he's also got some thing else going on.... And make no mistakes... When it comes to cash he is cutthroat as they come.
He's exactly the type of person he's defending them of being. The idea that there's dumb people out there selling guitars cheap and he's not going to educate them when he can triple his money off them. I would never buy from him, since it's likely a guitar he convinced some nice old lady at a garage sale wasn't worth much because it's old, just to flip it for 2035 prices. It's like the guy with the little resale shop that always has a few terrible cars for sale for $3000 over value, that he payed $300 a piece for from people who were desperate. Wealth achieved through deception or feeds of the unfortunate isn't success, it's a loophole I wouldn't want on my conscience.
I remember a video where he said he makes 30k a year from his day job. This was from several years ago. If that's true, his "side hustle" or inheritance is what's paying the bills.
@@joeydurant6267 I’ve interacted with him also, and I completely agree that he is as cutthroat as anyone when it comes to his business. However, in the interaction I had with him he was very upfront with me, and told me that I would come out better not doing business with him. Those who choose to do business with him whether it is buying or selling are not being forced to do so.
Cheers KDH. You've been a huge asset to the guitar community in your integrity. You see sense and are a down to earth individual with admirable skills of auditing fairly. You deserve way more subs with all your hard work. Realist guitar-orientated UA-camr ever.
I like Trogly but I have a problem with the way he expects to pay bottom dollar for guitars (including from his viewers) but expects to sell them at the top of the market prices! This includes scalping new guitars from the Gibson Mod shop and Demo shop adding thousands to the price of a guitar he just bought, not that he's alone in this, as the scalpers have ruined the guitar industry! But he literally buys guitars off viewers at rock bottom then put them on his website at top dollar with the excuse that he's a 'guitar dealer'.
Lol what do you think EVERY business does?? Sell things at a loss or for no profit just to make childish dorks happy and not pay what somethings actually worth?
@@Ycjedi His business is making UA-cam videos not selling guitars, he will moan about people scalping guitars then do the exact same thing himself! For him to tell a viewer your guitar is worth $3500 then turn around and sell it for $5000 is dishonest and he sells himself as just another fan of guitars not a dealer who pays tax on his sales, nor does he sell enough to warrant it! So take your dumbass takes elsewhere!
@@S-T-E-V-E Yeah you are literally retarded and have no idea how a business, guitar store, or resale shop works. They aren't here just to make you happy dumb a**
@@Ycjedi Clearly there are a lot of people who have zero understanding of how businesses operate. I was in retail management for over 20 years. One of the first things I always asked new employees was “What do you think is the most profitable item we sell in our store?” It never failed every time their answer was one of the most expensive items in the store such as an electronics item (tv, video game console, etc). The actuality was that those items not only have a very small profit margin (usually 10% or less) but the store could days without selling those items. However, there were several items in the store that we sold for $1 where our cost was only 10-15 cents, and just about every customer who came into the store bought at least one those items. That being said the actual most profitable item we sold was our “protection plan” for the items that qualified for it. However, that was a very hard item to sell, because most people were smart enough to realize they didn’t need and most employees didn’t even bother to try to sell it anyway.
Thanks for the video. I unsubscribed Trogley's a few months ago after he ranted about a guitar shipped to him in poor condition. I merely mentioned, politely, the packing was poor, and that major carriers (UPS/FedEx) do not treat their shipments as a holy chalice, and should be properly packed. ...not in a single wall cardboard box with minimal packing material. He then highlighted a reply to my comment, from one of his fans about how wrong I was, blah blah blah. I have 30 years of logistics experience, have dealt with major carriers, and have shipped highly-sensitive electronics ..yet I don't know what I'm saying. Ok.....
As an Irish person living near one of our Tourist Traps here in Ireland, I wholeheartedly agree! Americans, partly due to a deplorable education system and lack of "streetwise", are the most gullible people on the planet. But, thank you so much for buying plastic leprechauns ( that don't exist), fridge magnets with saying that we never, ever, ever say, and recipe books containing " traditional Irish dishes" that we never, ever, ever eat. Trust me. Nobody has ever, in the history of this state, eaten corned beef and cabbage. WTF? Who eats that rubbish?
I wouldn't have cared if he just took the money, did the ads, and kept his mouth shut. What bothers me is he went on to defend it, and had the nerve to call the people "sheep" that complained. 99.9% of people who complained knew it was a scam right off the bat, but chose to chalk it up to typical "paid advertising" tactics. Now he calls those who labeled it a scam "deceitful". That comment he wrote, saying he should be thanked, is the absolute, most tone-deaf statement I've seen. After all this, he emphatically chose the scam money over his loyal viewers(whom he's pitching the scam to), at least until it came back to bite him in the ass. He needs to stick to guitars.
It’s been my experience that, usually when someone resorts to the “sheep” ad hominem, their investment in the thing they’re arguing for has tainted their judgment.
Austin is a curious fellow. His videos are entertaining and he did find a way to provide interesting insight and what to look for when buying used in a friendly, quirky manner. His reasoning and marketing practices throw me off, though, he once replied to my comment on his review of the then just released PRS SE Silver Sky, that the scalers bought all the stock of just to resell for more, and which he followed suit with his own - "just following the market values", he said. All that would slide by as he's a businessman, something we forget for his dorky video persona, yet the fact he's quick to call out sellers who do essentially the same is what shows his hypocritical nature. All in all, he's the sort of person that passes me the "better not meet him" vibes - I couldn't care less if he's a scalper, a trust fund baby or living off inheritance (sure, he may have been more fortunate than you, what we gonna do about it?), but I always get uncomfortable when I sense people are putting in a mask, intentionally or not and, well, it's clear underneath the whole friendly, awkward guy is a colder, preponderous and self-centered person. If he were to just show that upfront, it'd be a lot more bearable.
Free country, but I need zero advice from trust-fund babies. They don't know shit about my life and I seriously doubt they have anything to add that will improve it.
I find the "just following the market values!" Line a little insidious because he positively influences said market values by reviewing guitars on his show and creating demand.
This Trogly guy is nothing but a rich guitar flipper and he lies constantly about the real quality of a lot of Gibson guitars to further increase the prices on the marked. His "reviews" are extremely biased and on top of it he's a very underwhelming player for someone who owns more guitars then most shops. Its almost comical to see him play and I wouldn't put much weight into his opinion on a guitar anyway. 1
It's funny enough how he's so self-aware at times. "This is what the guitar is currently going for, but that will likely change after this video 😃" Even Josh from JHS Pedals has a "we effectively can't review niche gear on this channel without the prices going up because of it. We know. We're sorry" Trogs seems strangely proud of it.
This is probably partly how Trogly bought his massive house with indoor basketball court and rooms a plenty. I forgot the exact details but I do remember wondering how the fuck does he afford this, even as an online guitar shop owner.
@@moisttowelette5353 pissed myself when they blew him out on the greeny🤣🤣 Actually on second thoughts I wish they'd sold him one the irony would have been even funnier. The prices he asks for those shite norlin turds.
@@mickeyknox9341 I've held this belief for a long time. I mean, in reality, if he really wanted to make even more money, he could deal in all kinds of vintage guitars, rather than his dogged fixation on Les Pauls, and nearly nothing else. And he says just enough critical things about Gibson to offer some plausible deniability to him being in bed with them. I wouldn't be surprised.
He was outted obviously this product is trash and they know it as they wouldnt buy it themselves it would be a waste of the money they get from the dumb kid audience
Awesome seeing you cover this, I left a comment pointing out how disappointed I was to see him keep supporting them despite being made aware of that they were a scam and he responded to it tripling down and continuing to lie to himself. Now watching his content just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially given how a big part of his content is exposing scams, feels massively hypocritical on his part.
You know what the really messed up thing is, is how much ET payed these creators per video to sponsor. In some cases upwards of $100,000 a video. So basically the creators had to be aware of how shady it was, yet the money was too good to turn down. These same creators would have advertised for Jeffrey Epstein if the money was right. It's a matter of how poorly these creators look at their audience, when they partner up to empty people's pockets. That's it.... regardless of how many bail on ET and walk back their support, the amount of payment they received from ET to "partner" up and take a nice cut of the scam, should follow these people off the platform.
I used to watch Trogly alot....until, THAT vdeo. Not anything associated with Established Titles, but the one where he had a bad dealing with a shady luthier in I think Tennessee. Long story short, he sent really expensive vintage Gibsons that were owned by other people to a guy who claimed to be a luthier and was going to partner with him. You can guess what happened. The guy took the guitars and ran. I think Trog got a couple back, but he fell for an obvious scam and because of his naivety several guitar owners got hosed. Not really the best person to determine whether something is a scam or not.
He got scammed once so you can't trust him to never be scammed again? He buys himself guitars every day I think he overall does a pretty good job. Except for this established titles nonsense.
Thank u for covering this! so glad someone did. u provide a great service in the guitar community, keep up the good work KDH, we appreciate the heck out of ya
Trogly seems like the exact type of person to try to defend Established Titles. I feel like he'd get a lot of validation from being legally a "Lord." That being said I do watch and enjoy his videos. He as a person I could take or leave, to be brutally honest. I simply enjoy the content and history.
Yeah same i watch a lot of his shit just to get info on some guitars that i might find cool but im not subscribed to him for certain reasons There are definitely some strange things about that guy that i dont really like
Trogly is a... complicated fellow. He seems very meek and well-intentioned but as a guy who basically scalps guitars for a living I can kinda imagine him not being totally innocent in accepting these sponsorships.
Yeah, I stopped watching his videos after he went on a rant about how reissuing old guitars kills the resale value of the originals... like damn, maybe iconic guitars should be available to people who want to play them instead of being locked in some guy's basement?
I just find him extremely CREEPY, can't play guitar worth beans, drives up prices on already OVER priced Gibsons, takes apart guitars like a caveman and then doesn't technically know what he is talking about. and I should probably stay out of comment sections on all videos on UA-cam. there, I said it....
You hit it on the head. More than once he’s gleefully paid significantly below market value from people who didn’t know better and probably could have used the cash, and he brags about it. He’s a bad actor.
My favourite part of this video is discovering that other people dislike Trogly. I'm surprised he even leaves the guitars intact - he seems like the kind of guy who'd buy a mint 59 sunburst and then strip it down to sell each component individually because it would bring in more than the complete guitar.
I'm not the biggest Trogly fan, but if you've seen even one of his videos you would know how ridiculous that is to say. The dude genuinely loves Gibson and historically original guitars.
Trogly referring to "sheep mentality" will never not be my favorite thing. Like, it's that same group mentality that allows him to make videos on expensive vintage guitars and then sell them on at a profit. Sure, a lot of people value these guitars for their history, but the types that can actually afford to buy from him almost certainly do it because "well everyone values them a lot so they must be a good investment" and "well Trogly says they're cool and valuable so they must be!"
So you know absolutely nothing about the held value of these instruments. Mad at a dude because you dont have knowledge of the subject at hand? Sad and bad.
It’s funny I always thought Trogley Would be immune to your videos but I swear the second he started working and advertising for Established Titles I just felt like it was scamy enough that this may come up. The way he frames it as “helping him build his Museum” also gives his fanboys ammo to defend with.
Museum lol! He's never gonna build a damn museum. He's not smart enough from getting scammed himself and losing thousands of dollars. He just brings that museum thing up to keep people watching.
@@Krullmatic He probably got scammed once, did a video about it then realised that "scam videos" when he's the victim, get great views. I don't think he's been scammed as often as he has scammed his viewers.
"Gives his fanboys ammo to defend him" dude you sound deluded. Seriously. get off the internet for a while and go learn to socialise. Trogly posts guitar vids. There were some issues about a sponsor and he said basically by the definition of what a scam is it is not a scam but it is overpriced for what is essentially a gag gift but he would reword it to avoid confusion. There is nothing unreasonable about any of that. It addresses the issue aand gives his opinion on it. To think he needs "defending" sounds like you have som ficticious list of transgression in your head that he supposedly committed. He posts guitar videos. he isnt scamming or ripping anyone off or misinforming people. if anything he is helping the community such as highlihghting the gibson belt buckle scam a lot of people were caugh out with, and several others. Like seriously....what is with the need to constantly have a "target"? Grow up
Glad you covered this. Haven’t watched a Trogly video since, just feels like a rich kid who thinks we’re all assholes. Had the same issue with Music Is Win, I believe fully their love in guitar is real but they rep the worst parts about loving guitar and bass: it’s naturally cost prohibitive and classist. The modern movement of affordable instruments and learning to tech your own gear is changing things for the better, would rather use my viewing time to support the people on board with it. Appreciate the window shopping, especially for the out of reach GASiest gear, but have had enough of that Gibson attitude…
Yup. I think you have summed this up right on the money. And I do watch and like Trogly. But there has always been a " from different worlds" vibe. I cant and wont fault people for coming up different. Your comment did a good job of connecting the dots as to why there is a disconnect. Thanks.
hell yeah glad someone else smells the rich kid arrogance, they all think heir viewship are dumb and so it justifies the bs they try to sell - which they would never buy as they are not that dumb - right
I unsubbed from Music is Win ages ago. Can't stomach his ego any more. He just rubs me up the wrong way. Best guitar youtubers for people who aren't immature (in the worst way) are Robert Baker, Art of Guitar, Marty Music, Rick Beato, Ben from Crimson... Best objective take on the guitar world news is KDH. Don't need much more
It's not a modern movement, but if you're a younger musician than me, all the more power to you! The affordable instrument market throughout the decades would be an interesting video topic. Guitars were never as cheap as they became around 2018, but there were always affordable alternatives, like my 1976 Harmony Strat.
Upton Sinclair once said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." I believe this statement likely applied in Trogly's situation.
He should've just done what most people have been recently "I got got, same as you, I regret partnering with them and will do better in the future" sort of shit. At the very least then he doesn't really stand out as a shitbag in the situation.
@@JosephSmith-lm4ri exactly. Him doubling down being too proud to admit he was grifting and flipping it and basically blaming his viewers if they bought into his grift is pure narcissism
Basically? Lol he totally is. I just watch him because he’s a Gibson guy and I live vicariously through him because I’ve never wanted a Gibson but I like watching people enjoy them.
I mean it's the same reason people watch Pawn Stars or like... American Pickers I guess. No one actually gives a shit about the bland ass hat showing you cool guitars, you just wanna look at cool guitars, and you have no social obligation to hang out with them afterwards. Yeah it's a deeply terrible scummy business, but I guess he's just scamming ass hats with too much money. Could be worse, ect.
I love your channel and your honest takes on everything. It is hard to come by since everyone is so focused on sneak pushing something, which is not bad but it takes away from that "genuine" persona that they are trying to portray. If you're ever in California I'll buy you a beer. Hope the best for you and your channel.
As a long time ex-subscriber, Trogly has a nature for greed. The guitar prices, the way he looks at everything is through the eye of making a buck. This is just an extension.
@@deathbydeviceable There is a difference between putting food on your table and a roof over your head and bullshitting people on the internet for nonsense titles. Now you could argue where this line is between struggling to survive and straight up theft and where fraud, shady programs, landlording, and bog standard capitalism fall on that scale. Given the money talked about Trogly likely isn't struggling for groceries.
@@alexisborden3191 people scam people out of money all the time, what makes this one guy different? Look at the crypto market for example, but you guys are like flies piling on to one turd cause it's the flavor of the week. "wE lIvE iN a SoCiEtY"
@@deathbydeviceable Okaaaay, I mean they're pieces of shit too, it is the flavor of the week because most people don't have the time or mental/emotional capacity to call out or otherwise affect change on every single issue. I mean that's just textbook whataboutism, claiming that one shitty behaviour is okay because tons of other people do it or are also shitty.
@@alexisborden3191 so weekly turd sandwiches are better than admitting everyone will rip you off chasing a bag? I mean, if you're dumb enough to trust anyone has your best interest I guess you deserve to be scammed
he didnt want to bite the hand that feeds him. huge lack of integrity. lets face facts though, anybody who couldnt see that the whole ET scheme was shady as hell, i have a bridge for sale to them!!!
I am paused at start assuming he was just gonna defend him. Not that I 100% condemn him. I don't think he has done anything that bad. Although I did find it hella weird how Trgly tried to make up his own definition for the word scam and state it as fact.
To be honest, Trogly is not an interesting channel beyond 3 videos. How many Gibsons and Fenders can one honestly look at? This doesn’t surprise me at all that he tried to double down and Stan for this scam.
I was a regular viewer of his channel for 2 or 3 years, and I agree, I knew ET was a shady business but I didn't care he was sponsored by them because I know he wants to make his museum, I just skipped the ads But trying to defend them with so poor arguments was the line for me. I haven't had any will to watch his videos since, I want to think it's not that big of a deal, but it feels weird trying to watch him again The sad thing for me is that this is not the first time I feel this way towards his channel, back when the Gibson Demo Shop started he bought everything he could and tried to sell everything as a collection, obviously for a premium...him, who cries about scalpers all the time. And again he justified it with the same "it's just business" arguments
I would have liked to see Trogly explain his change of thought himself, to his audiance especially after backing up Established Titles. Thanks for insight.
Devin @ Legal Eagle did a pretty thorough breakdown of it. Bottom Line: it's a scam, but probably not one people have a clear legal path to fight if they are hoodwinked.
If I remember correctly, their other major thing, Kamikoto Knives, is also a scam. You got poorly made Chinese knives instead of high quality Japanese knives.
The steel is low-grade, and doesn't stay sharp for long. The big selling point is that the steel is made in Japan, but the knives aren't. The company are the masters of weasel words, misleading advertising, and deceptive language.
@@whosaidthat84 yep, but the comment was made 4 days ago. I don't know where I heard they were a scam, but I vividly remember the allegations themselves
Great video, as always. I happened to catch the video when he first uploaded it, and my takeaway was similar to yours. For the most part, I don't pay much attention to what UA-camrs are advertising.
Fun side note: When Trogly does an un boxing, he uses a box knife. That people, is a Wall-Mart employee box knife. (A really bad box knife at that) Just makes me giggle thinking a Wall-Mart employee can afford that many Gibsons.
There are plenty of retail workers who can afford expensive guitars. People have to learn how to be responsible with their money. You can’t progress in life (especially if you are operating your own business) until you escape the paycheck to paycheck mentality that plagues a large percentage of Americans.
If you’re not buying a guitar from him, or paying for his glorified google search service, he doesn’t seem to care about his audience. He claims he refers to his subscribers as troglodytes as a type of inside joke, but I think that’s a cover for how he really feels. He’s definitely only in this for the money, so the whole ET situation didn’t surprise me at all.
No, he's not just in it for the money. He obviously loves guitars he obviously loves Gibson's. And he is a wealth of information. He blew it with this scam but hopefully he'll stay on track now.
I always saw Established Titles as a bit of fun. There is at least one other private estate in Scotland that does a similar thing but cheaper, you get more land and an actual printed certificate rather than the pdf version. The difference is that they don't plant a tree. If you want to get some Scottish land look for other options to ET.
I feel like this was a long time coming for trog. You look at any scalper and money is the top thing on their mind. "Documenting guitars" could have been an early goal for him, but it's just a vehicle to advertise his reverb marketplace in the end. If it wasn't E.T. , it would have been some other sponsor eventually.
Trogly has had some cool guitars pop up on his stuff, but I’ve always disliked that he seemed more interested in guitars as a way to make money. What he does is essentially a slightly harder but much more expensive version of drop shipping.
I applaud you for posting this video. Although I was never tempted to buy into the whole land and title BS the advertising is highly deceptive and misleading. Another UA-camr, whose channel I very much enjoy, was sponsored by ET. He said in his ad that you “get your own plot of land” when you sign up. He also said that the first X number of people to buy into it with the link in the description of his video would get a plot of land right next to his. He also said that the legitimacy of the title was based on land ownership. All of those statements make a pretty clear assertion that one would be buying a physical plot of land.
Yessss!!!! I commented on another persons thread here much the same thing. Trogly said you get a plot right next to Lord Djentmo. Implying an actual physical location. That the buyer would not really own it is obvious, but I thought it was a real piece of sponsored preservation.
Trogly has become too big. He himself is dishonest and has gotten greedy. But hey, looking at the rather high standard of living some of those youtubers have, buying big mansions and expensive cars, they probably have to sell their souls to an extent! It's a pity that it always has to come to this. So much former great content isn't much more than advertisement for big business, in the guise of enthusiasts, who do what they do out of love for it. Actually, it reminds me a bit of amateur porn, which is made to look like amateurs, so normal people can "relate" to it better, but is actually highly professional.I do appreciate Troglys statement at the end though, seems like he put some more thought into it and finally came to the same conclusion, that ET is a little shady.
Sounds just like bands selling their asses to the recording industry, to me. Unfortunately nothing new, and the folks with enough integrity to refuse to participate are fewer than one would like.
ET was indeed a scam. They tried to edit their webiste and remove listings on Facebook and etc to cover their tracks lol. If they were indeed on the level, why they move so fast to try to cover their tracks? Scott, the guy who posted the inital video, posted a follow up just further proving his case.
Great video! I’m actually not sure where or when we learned about Established Titles but my girlfriend and I actually had a serious conversation about it. My grandfather was Scottish/Irish and my girlfriend’s family had some ties as well. When I told her that she (or we) couldn’t build a tiny house there, it was a no!
Some people were getting 50-75K per video....I know that's unbelievable, but according to Legal Eagle it was happening. Established Title was basically selling NFT for land they do actually own.
This was veryk interesting. A channel that I subscribe to (nothing to with music) opened their latest video with the statement that they are no longer going to be associated with ET, so I was mildly curious as to why, and this explains everything really well. Thanks for your video. Oh, and after months of flitting around on the outskirts, I've finally subscribed to your channel. 👍
I’m glad you made this video. I saw this on another channel and was considering getting it as a Christmas gift. I would have been purchasing it basically as a novelty gift but I don’t like how they are misleading people. It sucks.
Not a guitar channel, but "FactFiend" featured Established Titles in one of their "How not to do business" videos - FactFiend are savage when it comes to sponsor due diligence, and will publicly shame sponsors (SurfShark, ManScaped) as well if their terms are terrible, or the product is terrible. Worth a watch for anyone wanting to go down the Established Titles rabbit-hole even further.
@@xerodelacroix5552 You can buy the guitar new for less than $1500. They sell for $500-$700 all day. The bass can be found anywhere from $150-$350 online. Your perceived value of the items doesn't reflect on real world prices. I'm not defending the guy, but you are making it bigger than it really was.
This video just made me a subscriber. I’ve always enjoyed your videos KDH but I very much appreciate your advocacy for the audience and your upfrontedness about all subjects, not just this laughable Trogly situation.
KDH is a real G. getting Lee Anderton of all people to disclose his relation with victory amplification was a huge thing. I remember supporting him when he initially started an investigation into rob chapman and chappers fan boys came at his throat. Since then, he's provided updates and even brought the whole thing full circle by meeting rob at namm. THAT is what's called growth. He lays everything out in a very simple manner, but never sacrifices detail
If it wasn't a scam he wouldn't have to say "it's not a scam" 20 times. You presented a respectable and clear summary of the issue and I appreciate it. Subbed. :)
Yeah the comparison with buying a star, etc, is one that came to mind the first time I saw an Established Titles ad. Trogly does review some interesting guitars (most of which I could never afford, but still interesting) But at a certain point it gets to be, how many LesPauls am I interested in seeing taken apart? The novelty wears off. But when he reviews something different I will check it out. And there are other UA-camrs who do the same.
I stopped watching him when he told me I couldn't afford the signature guitar he and Gibson were planning... I was like really... Gibson is making you that high-end of a signature guitar?! He must have saved them 100's of thousands in the false quality assurance claims after he goes ripping through every guitar that enters his home...
Trogly basically got super defensive since he was sponsored by them. Established Titles ad reads are super misleading by everyone I ever heard. I don't think Trogly ever said "Pay 50 dollars for this piece of paper", which would have been honest, right? I am not a big fan of Trogly anyway. He basically buys any deal he can so that he can just resell it for a mark up. I don't see that he adds any value to the transactions.
I left a couple of comments on his videos with the established titles ads (before they started getting all of this flack) saying I was disappointed with his uncharacteristically lack of integrity about it. I'm glad that its being addressed now.
What’s funny is one comment on that video said something along the lines of “well with that logic that fake Slash Snakebite guitar you bought wasn’t a scam because you put down the money and they delivered you a product.” Had me dying lol.
He responded to me when I left that comment and said "That's totally different because they advertised it as real and it wasn't"
@@BrodyCox I didn’t see the reply but that sounds like something he’d say. I kinda lost respect for him when he traded some kid an old shitbox bass that was barely playable for a rather nice Schecter Synyster Gates when it was clear the kid was young and naive didn’t know he was fixing to get burned but what can you do? So it doesn’t shock me that he defended this established titles thing until it was clear he wasn’t going to win.
@@taylorwerner384 I forgot about that one.
I remember that! It was an old cheap Kent bass that wasn’t worth more than $90 for a nice Schecter Synuster Gates thats in the $500-700 used I thinks he definitely swindled that kid for his trade Tuesday series
@@MrDream-zm1pw yea and the shit he had to do to make it slightly usable kinda made it feel like that bass would’ve never been 100% playable in its lifetime. But karmas a bitch because Trogs been burned multiple times since then.
Trogly has flipped out over smaller deceptions in his guitar purchases. If he were to hold his advertisers to the same standard, they would be in jail.
Yeah Trogly goes full Karen if a guitar has even a minor imperfection.
🤣🤣🤣
I wish Trogly would stop blaming ET for this. He flew back to his planet over 40 years ago now.
He just wanted to phone home!
But he was hanging round kids though so parents might get the wrong idea
He's held a grudge against ET ever since a bunch of his Reese's Pieces turned up missing
Trogly simping for a company that makes most of its money from operating in a legal gray market? I woulda never thought....
Figures Trogly would defend a shady operation. I’m continually shocked people fall for his innocent nice guy act.
Even "nice guys" need to make a living.
@@StringTension Why do you youtube defenders always say "make a living". You realise youtubers who accept shady sponsorships like this arent "making a living" they're making a fortune. Big youtubers get paid tens of thousands per video sponsored, thats not making a "living". Thats rinsing as much money out of your audience as possible
@Robstrap You sound like a broke hater with that socialist mentality. It IS making a living and he has 3 children and a wife to support. It's a man's duty to give his family the best life possible. Your logic is flawed because you don't have to watch or purchase anything right? This attitude that because he makes good money its bad is ridiculous.
@@jski718 Wrong on all counts. Shocker. I’m all for making a good living at a profit, but not at the expense of morality and decency. Trogly’s pulled way too many shady deals to just be considered a good businessman. Wipe your chin, you’ve got some of Austin’s baby batter on it 😉
@@corneliuscrewe677 wasn't even talking to you, so I don't know what you're talking about.
The Ibanez Iceman he WON from Sweetwater (one of his main sponsors) was easley the most greasy thing I've seen in a long time.
Legal Eagle has confirmed that SOME youtubers were paid 6 figures... SIX. FIGURES.....
I’m a big Trogly fan and just want to say that I thought you covered this very fairly and I’m glad you cover this kind of stuff so fairly in general! Number 1 guitar news journalist!
Trogly is a glorified hoarder, you’re an idiot if you watch him.
Ditto
What exactly are you a fan of, I don't get it. He doesn't do anything or play anything
I like his show when he does the trade up thing and when he shows the interaction of buying somebody's cool guitar. I called his support of the Est. Titles scam like many did I'm sure, and I thought his explanation was a load of crap, he didn't have to say anything and shouldn't have defended them, a scam is a scam and this one was obvious. He just should have dropped them when audience began calling it out or before.
@@mpirron1 Agreed.
Yeah, I'm also a fan of his "Trade Tuesday" series. I'm flabbergasted he was able to take some crappy effects pedals and eventually flip them for a Custom Shop guitar! Watching the actual trades and interactions was pretty interesting.
Austin Trogly usually is a pretty harmless UA-camr. His defense of scammers and hoarders is crap but he is usually not someone you would expect bad things of.
Then again, I never saw the more iffy side of Stevie T until Kelan did his vids on him so... who knows.
Troglys entire business is based on him driving up the prices of Gibson guitars. He's only harmless as a youtuber, but his kind serves only millionaire collectors
what's the tldr on stevie t?
@@maggyfrog yes, i'd like to know too. my google searching skills failed
@@maggyfrog check KDH’s video uploads.
I always hoped this busy-body nonsense would never come to guitar UA-cam but here we are.
I love how you always get down to brass tacks. I loved Scott’s video because he called it like it is. I really like Trogly. He was blatantly wrong on this issue. Just goes to show you how deep our biases go. Thank you. Bottom line it’s a SCAM no matter how you look at it and Scott was 💯 in calling them out. We need more UA-cam telling the truth.
Kinda just seems like a jealous dude to me ha
Brass _TAX._ Smh...
@@AnodyneHipsterInfluencer You're mistaken. The correct phrase is brass tacks.
@@AnodyneHipsterInfluencer no you're wrong here.
@@AnodyneHipsterInfluencer Dude, it’s brass tacks. It comes from a measuring reference where textiles and fabrics would be sold by the yard, and brass tacks would be laid out by the merchant and hammered on a counter at yard and half yard spacing. FFS...
Trogly’s tunnel vision for protecting this revenue was worse than his tunnel vision for Gibson.
Everyone knows Fender is better!
@@waycnf7229fenders suck balls, with their weak little single coils and tremolos that don't stay in tune. fenders are just for old people
@@waycnf7229You misspelt boring lol
I remember a trogly video where he talks about sending half of his collection to someone who ended up selling off (or trying to) most of them, at which point trogly KEPT SENDING GUITARS. I could be misrepresenting this due to the amount of time it’s been since I’ve seen the video but with this in mind I don’t think trogly is that great at spotting scams 😂
Pretty sure you indeed are misrepresenting here, He didn't know that the person was selling off his guitars and he only sent him more guitars because he got regular progress updates on his guitars being worked on. once those updates stopped he realized it was a scam.
he comes across as a very naive guy
He's one of the most naïve people I've seen on UA-cam.
He also just didn't give them back for years. And one of the guitars was also a scam.
The man saying it is not a scam bought a fake guitar, getting scammed out of a lot of money, then proceeded to send the guitar to someone who also ended up being a scam. And is now claiming a scam is not a scam.
If I remember that video correctly one of the guitars he sent was a pricey silver burst Flying V
Trogly: "It's not a scam if you get something out of it"
Also Trogly: Multiple videos about him being scammed by receiving a fake snakepit signature.
The guy flips guitars, not too surprising he's dishonest.
This guy is like a used car salesman, except these aren't cars, they're more like a tool. So he's selling used tools to his fellow tradesman at a markup, and we're supposed to like him? I don't get how it's endearing or appealing to watch imo. I watched for a little bit during the pandemic, and then he bragged about the house he was moving into and it just rubbed me entirely the wrong way. I checked out his shop and heard some of the prices he paid compared to what they were on sale for and I was like dude... why would I ever pay that when you just said you got it for less than what you're selling it for? lmao. At that point I checked out and unsubbed. He just came across as "I dictate what you should pay for a used instrument" while he was getting rich off of it, and seeing as used guitar prices soared during the pandemic, I completely blame people like Trogly for inflating the prices on the used market. It's really no different than scalping GPU's, selling used cars, etc.
Like other people said too, there was a scummy feeling to him, like he'd swindle an old lady out of her dead husbands guitar just to make a couple bucks and feature the guitar on the channel. Idk man. Bad vibes from him made me tune out, the bragging about his collection, house, etc while also still reselling guitars at a markup made me tune out. I mean, this guy isn't in this business because he's a musician or a guitar player, he's in it to take advantage of every deal he can possibly come across. I'm cool selling my shit to another musician and taking a hit knowing it's going to a loving home, rather than sell it to a markup man like him where it'll be shuffled around in peoples collection, unplayed.
I'd rather support an enthusiastic musician, than a greedy businessman.
His whole channel seems like advertising guitars to try to get his "fans" to buy the guitars he features at inflated prices. I guess I can't blame him, but it just seems weaselly to me.
@@DudeMcGuybro ECG is selling a '65 Jaguar with a custom finish for $30k.
@@DudeMcGuybroI totally agree. How can everyone not realize all of this?
@BHH223 Used guitars shouldn't really be a place for people to try to turn a profit. Get into some other venture.
What got me was some of the Troggly fanboys defending him. "Oh dont you want his family to eat three meals a day..."... seriously? The guy lives in a big house he bought in the last few years, buys and flips MULTIPLE 4-10k guitars a week, gets money from his forewarding service and private help sessions. His personal guitar collection alone (going by his last yearly summary) is probably worth more than my house cost. I like seeing video's of guitars I'll never afford to own (though he does get VERY "Retired investment banker wall hanger collector piece")... there is just something about the guy that is... off.
I read somewhere he got a huge inheritance which is how/why he has the collection he does. He referenced working in a grocery store when he was younger a few times in his videos.
Yeah I've been watching him for like four or five years now and my opinions have changed over that time... At first I was like.... Ok dorky rich kid but loves guitars whatever... Then it evolved the first time I spoke to him about in a help session... I left that interaction with the feeling like... Seems nice enough but he isn't as SpongeBob soft as he seems... Not when it comes to money... And now I'm not sure at all... Like... There's some level of greasiness there is what it seems like... Like ya said... Can't quite nail it down but something not quite right... Homeschool vibes was what i though at first... Very sheltered etc... And that's a part of it but he's also got some thing else going on.... And make no mistakes... When it comes to cash he is cutthroat as they come.
He's exactly the type of person he's defending them of being.
The idea that there's dumb people out there selling guitars cheap and he's not going to educate them when he can triple his money off them.
I would never buy from him, since it's likely a guitar he convinced some nice old lady at a garage sale wasn't worth much because it's old, just to flip it for 2035 prices.
It's like the guy with the little resale shop that always has a few terrible cars for sale for $3000 over value, that he payed $300 a piece for from people who were desperate.
Wealth achieved through deception or feeds of the unfortunate isn't success, it's a loophole I wouldn't want on my conscience.
I remember a video where he said he makes 30k a year from his day job. This was from several years ago. If that's true, his "side hustle" or inheritance is what's paying the bills.
@@joeydurant6267
I’ve interacted with him also, and I completely agree that he is as cutthroat as anyone when it comes to his business. However, in the interaction I had with him he was very upfront with me, and told me that I would come out better not doing business with him. Those who choose to do business with him whether it is buying or selling are not being forced to do so.
Cheers KDH. You've been a huge asset to the guitar community in your integrity. You see sense and are a down to earth individual with admirable skills of auditing fairly. You deserve way more subs with all your hard work. Realist guitar-orientated UA-camr ever.
I like Trogly but I have a problem with the way he expects to pay bottom dollar for guitars (including from his viewers) but expects to sell them at the top of the market prices! This includes scalping new guitars from the Gibson Mod shop and Demo shop adding thousands to the price of a guitar he just bought, not that he's alone in this, as the scalpers have ruined the guitar industry! But he literally buys guitars off viewers at rock bottom then put them on his website at top dollar with the excuse that he's a 'guitar dealer'.
100% Trigly is a GREEDY geek...lol
Lol what do you think EVERY business does?? Sell things at a loss or for no profit just to make childish dorks happy and not pay what somethings actually worth?
@@Ycjedi His business is making UA-cam videos not selling guitars, he will moan about people scalping guitars then do the exact same thing himself! For him to tell a viewer your guitar is worth $3500 then turn around and sell it for $5000 is dishonest and he sells himself as just another fan of guitars not a dealer who pays tax on his sales, nor does he sell enough to warrant it! So take your dumbass takes elsewhere!
@@S-T-E-V-E Yeah you are literally retarded and have no idea how a business, guitar store, or resale shop works. They aren't here just to make you happy dumb a**
@@Ycjedi
Clearly there are a lot of people who have zero understanding of how businesses operate.
I was in retail management for over 20 years. One of the first things I always asked new employees was “What do you think is the most profitable item we sell in our store?” It never failed every time their answer was one of the most expensive items in the store such as an electronics item (tv, video game console, etc). The actuality was that those items not only have a very small profit margin (usually 10% or less) but the store could days without selling those items. However, there were several items in the store that we sold for $1 where our cost was only 10-15 cents, and just about every customer who came into the store bought at least one those items. That being said the actual most profitable item we sold was our “protection plan” for the items that qualified for it. However, that was a very hard item to sell, because most people were smart enough to realize they didn’t need and most employees didn’t even bother to try to sell it anyway.
Thanks for the video. I unsubscribed Trogley's a few months ago after he ranted about a guitar shipped to him in poor condition. I merely mentioned, politely, the packing was poor, and that major carriers (UPS/FedEx) do not treat their shipments as a holy chalice, and should be properly packed. ...not in a single wall cardboard box with minimal packing material. He then highlighted a reply to my comment, from one of his fans about how wrong I was, blah blah blah. I have 30 years of logistics experience, have dealt with major carriers, and have shipped highly-sensitive electronics ..yet I don't know what I'm saying. Ok.....
Wait a minute! You have to pay extra for the tree planted!? Thats a scam within the scam!
You know if you give ET enough money you could get a promotion from Captain to Lord Obvious 😂
And the scam within a scam within a scam is the $7 they pocket from that extra money.
Scamception
These words whether true or not often come to mind.
"No one has ever gone broke underestimating the gullibility of the American consumer".
As an Irish person living near one of our Tourist Traps here in Ireland, I wholeheartedly agree! Americans, partly due to a deplorable education system and lack of "streetwise", are the most gullible people on the planet.
But, thank you so much for buying plastic leprechauns ( that don't exist), fridge magnets with saying that we never, ever, ever say, and recipe books containing " traditional Irish dishes" that we never, ever, ever eat.
Trust me. Nobody has ever, in the history of this state, eaten corned beef and cabbage. WTF? Who eats that rubbish?
KDH please keep doing your videos. We need somebody like you. To tell us the truth.
I wouldn't have cared if he just took the money, did the ads, and kept his mouth shut. What bothers me is he went on to defend it, and had the nerve to call the people "sheep" that complained. 99.9% of people who complained knew it was a scam right off the bat, but chose to chalk it up to typical "paid advertising" tactics. Now he calls those who labeled it a scam "deceitful". That comment he wrote, saying he should be thanked, is the absolute, most tone-deaf statement I've seen. After all this, he emphatically chose the scam money over his loyal viewers(whom he's pitching the scam to), at least until it came back to bite him in the ass. He needs to stick to guitars.
It’s been my experience that, usually when someone resorts to the “sheep” ad hominem, their investment in the thing they’re arguing for has tainted their judgment.
"He needs to stick to guitars"
Gibsons and Fenders at that, he doesn't seem to know much about anything else.
Thats what happens when a boy tries to play in the shark infested waters of business !!
@@Lomni haha "Trogly's Gibson Show (Feat. Some Fenders)"
You really thought you were buying land in Ireland?...lmfao!!!
Austin is a curious fellow. His videos are entertaining and he did find a way to provide interesting insight and what to look for when buying used in a friendly, quirky manner. His reasoning and marketing practices throw me off, though, he once replied to my comment on his review of the then just released PRS SE Silver Sky, that the scalers bought all the stock of just to resell for more, and which he followed suit with his own - "just following the market values", he said.
All that would slide by as he's a businessman, something we forget for his dorky video persona, yet the fact he's quick to call out sellers who do essentially the same is what shows his hypocritical nature.
All in all, he's the sort of person that passes me the "better not meet him" vibes - I couldn't care less if he's a scalper, a trust fund baby or living off inheritance (sure, he may have been more fortunate than you, what we gonna do about it?), but I always get uncomfortable when I sense people are putting in a mask, intentionally or not and, well, it's clear underneath the whole friendly, awkward guy is a colder, preponderous and self-centered person. If he were to just show that upfront, it'd be a lot more bearable.
Free country, but I need zero advice from trust-fund babies. They don't know shit about my life and I seriously doubt they have anything to add that will improve it.
I find the "just following the market values!" Line a little insidious because he positively influences said market values by reviewing guitars on his show and creating demand.
he is shady as heck.
This Trogly guy is nothing but a rich guitar flipper and he lies constantly about the real quality of a lot of Gibson guitars to further increase the prices on the marked. His "reviews" are extremely biased and on top of it he's a very underwhelming player for someone who owns more guitars then most shops. Its almost comical to see him play and I wouldn't put much weight into his opinion on a guitar anyway.
1
It's funny enough how he's so self-aware at times.
"This is what the guitar is currently going for, but that will likely change after this video 😃"
Even Josh from JHS Pedals has a "we effectively can't review niche gear on this channel without the prices going up because of it. We know. We're sorry"
Trogs seems strangely proud of it.
and it's normally guitars that he owns, or that he's trying to hype up.
This is probably partly how Trogly bought his massive house with indoor basketball court and rooms a plenty. I forgot the exact details but I do remember wondering how the fuck does he afford this, even as an online guitar shop owner.
lol he lives in rural Ohio. His McMansion probably costs $300k.
Daddy's money. I still believe he is a Gibson employee somehow trying to change their image.
@@moisttowelette5353 pissed myself when they blew him out on the greeny🤣🤣
Actually on second thoughts I wish they'd sold him one the irony would have been even funnier. The prices he asks for those shite norlin turds.
@@mickeyknox9341 I've held this belief for a long time. I mean, in reality, if he really wanted to make even more money, he could deal in all kinds of vintage guitars, rather than his dogged fixation on Les Pauls, and nearly nothing else.
And he says just enough critical things about Gibson to offer some plausible deniability to him being in bed with them. I wouldn't be surprised.
Wow, a slimy guitar scalper being slimy? No way!
Trogly changed his script in a way that basically admitted guilt once the scammy nature of the company became public.
It's been public for a long time.
He was outted obviously this product is trash and they know it as they wouldnt buy it themselves it would be a waste of the money they get from the dumb kid audience
You're very uninformed...lmfao!
@@bryonkidder6199 why delete your reply?
@@J.C... I did not delete anything...lol
Awesome seeing you cover this, I left a comment pointing out how disappointed I was to see him keep supporting them despite being made aware of that they were a scam and he responded to it tripling down and continuing to lie to himself.
Now watching his content just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially given how a big part of his content is exposing scams, feels massively hypocritical on his part.
You know what the really messed up thing is, is how much ET payed these creators per video to sponsor.
In some cases upwards of $100,000 a video.
So basically the creators had to be aware of how shady it was, yet the money was too good to turn down.
These same creators would have advertised for Jeffrey Epstein if the money was right.
It's a matter of how poorly these creators look at their audience, when they partner up to empty people's pockets.
That's it.... regardless of how many bail on ET and walk back their support, the amount of payment they received from ET to "partner" up and take a nice cut of the scam, should follow these people off the platform.
1:25 This was the PERFECT place to put an Established Title sponsor spot
IMAGINE 💀💀💀💀
I used to watch Trogly alot....until, THAT vdeo. Not anything associated with Established Titles, but the one where he had a bad dealing with a shady luthier in I think Tennessee. Long story short, he sent really expensive vintage Gibsons that were owned by other people to a guy who claimed to be a luthier and was going to partner with him. You can guess what happened. The guy took the guitars and ran. I think Trog got a couple back, but he fell for an obvious scam and because of his naivety several guitar owners got hosed. Not really the best person to determine whether something is a scam or not.
He got scammed once so you can't trust him to never be scammed again? He buys himself guitars every day I think he overall does a pretty good job. Except for this established titles nonsense.
@@216trixie I totally agree .
Thank u for covering this! so glad someone did. u provide a great service in the guitar community, keep up the good work KDH, we appreciate the heck out of ya
Trogly seems like the exact type of person to try to defend Established Titles. I feel like he'd get a lot of validation from being legally a "Lord." That being said I do watch and enjoy his videos. He as a person I could take or leave, to be brutally honest. I simply enjoy the content and history.
His voice goes right through me.
Yeah same i watch a lot of his shit just to get info on some guitars that i might find cool but im not subscribed to him for certain reasons
There are definitely some strange things about that guy that i dont really like
He gives my very strong Todd Alquist vibes.
@@Rex-golf_player810 ted Bundy gets prison visits from trogly
You don’t legally become a Lord. That’s another part of the scam.
Trogly is a... complicated fellow. He seems very meek and well-intentioned but as a guy who basically scalps guitars for a living I can kinda imagine him not being totally innocent in accepting these sponsorships.
guy is a freakin GEEK...Lame ass is responsible for driving up prices on wall hangers
Exactly, he's a businessman. Also why i stopped watching his channel
Yeah, I stopped watching his videos after he went on a rant about how reissuing old guitars kills the resale value of the originals... like damn, maybe iconic guitars should be available to people who want to play them instead of being locked in some guy's basement?
I just find him extremely CREEPY, can't play guitar worth beans, drives up prices on already OVER priced Gibsons, takes apart guitars like a caveman and then doesn't technically know what he is talking about. and I should probably stay out of comment sections on all videos on UA-cam. there, I said it....
You hit it on the head. More than once he’s gleefully paid significantly below market value from people who didn’t know better and probably could have used the cash, and he brags about it. He’s a bad actor.
Trogly is a dealer and his shows are just advertisements. It is weird to see ads within the ads
My favourite part of this video is discovering that other people dislike Trogly. I'm surprised he even leaves the guitars intact - he seems like the kind of guy who'd buy a mint 59 sunburst and then strip it down to sell each component individually because it would bring in more than the complete guitar.
I'm not the biggest Trogly fan, but if you've seen even one of his videos you would know how ridiculous that is to say. The dude genuinely loves Gibson and historically original guitars.
@@somethingbllol
agreed
Trogly referring to "sheep mentality" will never not be my favorite thing. Like, it's that same group mentality that allows him to make videos on expensive vintage guitars and then sell them on at a profit. Sure, a lot of people value these guitars for their history, but the types that can actually afford to buy from him almost certainly do it because "well everyone values them a lot so they must be a good investment" and "well Trogly says they're cool and valuable so they must be!"
So you know absolutely nothing about the held value of these instruments. Mad at a dude because you dont have knowledge of the subject at hand? Sad and bad.
@@JerryLeeHowell2 truly pathetic, a real man would sell his children to sex traffickers for a Gibson of course. That’s sane.
The instruments are valuable because people have convinced themselves that old guitars are magic
@@WearyKirin😂hence the sheep mentality.
It’s funny I always thought Trogley Would be immune to your videos but I swear the second he started working and advertising for Established Titles I just felt like it was scamy enough that this may come up. The way he frames it as “helping him build his Museum” also gives his fanboys ammo to defend with.
Museum lol! He's never gonna build a damn museum. He's not smart enough from getting scammed himself and losing thousands of dollars. He just brings that museum thing up to keep people watching.
@@Krullmatic He probably got scammed once, did a video about it then realised that "scam videos" when he's the victim, get great views. I don't think he's been scammed as often as he has scammed his viewers.
A museum of Gibson guitars without anything from the 50’s or 60’s 😂
@@Krullmatic he's going to build a humidified closet with his collection and call it a day
"Gives his fanboys ammo to defend him" dude you sound deluded. Seriously. get off the internet for a while and go learn to socialise. Trogly posts guitar vids. There were some issues about a sponsor and he said basically by the definition of what a scam is it is not a scam but it is overpriced for what is essentially a gag gift but he would reword it to avoid confusion. There is nothing unreasonable about any of that. It addresses the issue aand gives his opinion on it. To think he needs "defending" sounds like you have som ficticious list of transgression in your head that he supposedly committed. He posts guitar videos. he isnt scamming or ripping anyone off or misinforming people. if anything he is helping the community such as highlihghting the gibson belt buckle scam a lot of people were caugh out with, and several others. Like seriously....what is with the need to constantly have a "target"? Grow up
Glad you covered this. Haven’t watched a Trogly video since, just feels like a rich kid who thinks we’re all assholes. Had the same issue with Music Is Win, I believe fully their love in guitar is real but they rep the worst parts about loving guitar and bass: it’s naturally cost prohibitive and classist. The modern movement of affordable instruments and learning to tech your own gear is changing things for the better, would rather use my viewing time to support the people on board with it. Appreciate the window shopping, especially for the out of reach GASiest gear, but have had enough of that Gibson attitude…
Yup. I think you have summed this up right on the money. And I do watch and like Trogly. But there has always been a " from different worlds" vibe. I cant and wont fault people for coming up different.
Your comment did a good job of connecting the dots as to why there is a disconnect. Thanks.
This right here.
hell yeah glad someone else smells the rich kid arrogance, they all think heir viewship are dumb and so it justifies the bs they try to sell - which they would never buy as they are not that dumb - right
I unsubbed from Music is Win ages ago. Can't stomach his ego any more. He just rubs me up the wrong way. Best guitar youtubers for people who aren't immature (in the worst way) are Robert Baker, Art of Guitar, Marty Music, Rick Beato, Ben from Crimson...
Best objective take on the guitar world news is KDH.
Don't need much more
It's not a modern movement, but if you're a younger musician than me, all the more power to you! The affordable instrument market throughout the decades would be an interesting video topic. Guitars were never as cheap as they became around 2018, but there were always affordable alternatives, like my 1976 Harmony Strat.
Upton Sinclair once said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." I believe this statement likely applied in Trogly's situation.
Theodore Roosevelt's friend.
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
He knew he was shilling and didnt care until he got called out.
Like every reseller
He should've just done what most people have been recently "I got got, same as you, I regret partnering with them and will do better in the future" sort of shit. At the very least then he doesn't really stand out as a shitbag in the situation.
@@JosephSmith-lm4ri exactly. Him doubling down being too proud to admit he was grifting and flipping it and basically blaming his viewers if they bought into his grift is pure narcissism
I remember commenting to trogly why he deleted the video and he went radio silent with me.
You mean he just didnt reply? He rarely replies to comments.
He reply to mine said "the video was meant for my daily audience, not the trolls of UA-cam"
Clearly BS, but oh well
Trogly is basically a professional scalper and people somehow like it.
And this guys a douche and somehow people like him
It’s cause if you want a demo and/or inspection of like any guitar he probably has one on his channel
Basically? Lol he totally is. I just watch him because he’s a Gibson guy and I live vicariously through him because I’ve never wanted a Gibson but I like watching people enjoy them.
I mean it's the same reason people watch Pawn Stars or like... American Pickers I guess. No one actually gives a shit about the bland ass hat showing you cool guitars, you just wanna look at cool guitars, and you have no social obligation to hang out with them afterwards.
Yeah it's a deeply terrible scummy business, but I guess he's just scamming ass hats with too much money. Could be worse, ect.
I love your channel and your honest takes on everything. It is hard to come by since everyone is so focused on sneak pushing something, which is not bad but it takes away from that "genuine" persona that they are trying to portray. If you're ever in California I'll buy you a beer. Hope the best for you and your channel.
and the comment section was gold in that vid........this situation ruined his channel for me
Same, and were not the only ones.
As a long time ex-subscriber, Trogly has a nature for greed. The guitar prices, the way he looks at everything is through the eye of making a buck. This is just an extension.
That's just existence of many. Why hate one?
@@deathbydeviceable There is a difference between putting food on your table and a roof over your head and bullshitting people on the internet for nonsense titles. Now you could argue where this line is between struggling to survive and straight up theft and where fraud, shady programs, landlording, and bog standard capitalism fall on that scale. Given the money talked about Trogly likely isn't struggling for groceries.
@@alexisborden3191 people scam people out of money all the time, what makes this one guy different? Look at the crypto market for example, but you guys are like flies piling on to one turd cause it's the flavor of the week.
"wE lIvE iN a SoCiEtY"
@@deathbydeviceable Okaaaay, I mean they're pieces of shit too, it is the flavor of the week because most people don't have the time or mental/emotional capacity to call out or otherwise affect change on every single issue. I mean that's just textbook whataboutism, claiming that one shitty behaviour is okay because tons of other people do it or are also shitty.
@@alexisborden3191 so weekly turd sandwiches are better than admitting everyone will rip you off chasing a bag? I mean, if you're dumb enough to trust anyone has your best interest I guess you deserve to be scammed
I was convinced that this ad promised that you would actually own a little piece of land.
It did - repeatedly
i’m glad you called out trogly. his video saying established titles isn’t a scam is a scam in itself.
It’s so obviously a scam
he didnt want to bite the hand that feeds him. huge lack of integrity. lets face facts though, anybody who couldnt see that the whole ET scheme was shady as hell, i have a bridge for sale to them!!!
I am paused at start assuming he was just gonna defend him. Not that I 100% condemn him. I don't think he has done anything that bad. Although I did find it hella weird how Trgly tried to make up his own definition for the word scam and state it as fact.
@@mcbrodz1663 If it's obviously a scam, then it's not a scam. Just saying.
@@zublacus 🤣🤣🤣🤣😀😀😀
Wait, I could have been selling dedicated magic beans this entire time?
*Goddammit.*
To be honest, Trogly is not an interesting channel beyond 3 videos. How many Gibsons and Fenders can one honestly look at? This doesn’t surprise me at all that he tried to double down and Stan for this scam.
If you are interested in a particular model it is good how he shows the neck shape and measurements and a few other things. But uhm beyond that……
Thank you for letting me know Trogly still exists. Dude has always been a tool.
I was a regular viewer of his channel for 2 or 3 years, and I agree, I knew ET was a shady business but I didn't care he was sponsored by them because I know he wants to make his museum, I just skipped the ads
But trying to defend them with so poor arguments was the line for me. I haven't had any will to watch his videos since, I want to think it's not that big of a deal, but it feels weird trying to watch him again
The sad thing for me is that this is not the first time I feel this way towards his channel, back when the Gibson Demo Shop started he bought everything he could and tried to sell everything as a collection, obviously for a premium...him, who cries about scalpers all the time. And again he justified it with the same "it's just business" arguments
I would have liked to see Trogly explain his change of thought himself, to his audiance especially after backing up Established Titles. Thanks for insight.
Devin @ Legal Eagle did a pretty thorough breakdown of it. Bottom Line: it's a scam, but probably not one people have a clear legal path to fight if they are hoodwinked.
Legal Eagle is a retard though
If I remember correctly, their other major thing, Kamikoto Knives, is also a scam. You got poorly made Chinese knives instead of high quality Japanese knives.
The steel is low-grade, and doesn't stay sharp for long. The big selling point is that the steel is made in Japan, but the knives aren't. The company are the masters of weasel words, misleading advertising, and deceptive language.
Same parent company as established titles.
Scott Schafer just made a video on them.
@@whosaidthat84 yep, but the comment was made 4 days ago. I don't know where I heard they were a scam, but I vividly remember the allegations themselves
@@comit7926 oh I was just pointing it out, nothing more. I just thought it was a funny coincidence.
Devon of LegalEagle did a great video focusing on the legal aspect of Established Titles.
Great video, as always. I happened to catch the video when he first uploaded it, and my takeaway was similar to yours. For the most part, I don't pay much attention to what UA-camrs are advertising.
Is it possible that Rob Chapman owns this company and is financing his new custom guitars?😂
Fun side note: When Trogly does an un boxing, he uses a box knife. That people, is a Wall-Mart employee box knife. (A really bad box knife at that) Just makes me giggle thinking a Wall-Mart employee can afford that many Gibsons.
There are plenty of retail workers who can afford expensive guitars. People have to learn how to be responsible with their money. You can’t progress in life (especially if you are operating your own business) until you escape the paycheck to paycheck mentality that plagues a large percentage of Americans.
@@charlesbolton8471 Thanks for your contribution to my reasearch.
If you’re not buying a guitar from him, or paying for his glorified google search service, he doesn’t seem to care about his audience. He claims he refers to his subscribers as troglodytes as a type of inside joke, but I think that’s a cover for how he really feels. He’s definitely only in this for the money, so the whole ET situation didn’t surprise me at all.
No, he's not just in it for the money. He obviously loves guitars he obviously loves Gibson's. And he is a wealth of information. He blew it with this scam but hopefully he'll stay on track now.
I always saw Established Titles as a bit of fun. There is at least one other private estate in Scotland that does a similar thing but cheaper, you get more land and an actual printed certificate rather than the pdf version. The difference is that they don't plant a tree. If you want to get some Scottish land look for other options to ET.
I enjoy games at the state fair, but the games are rigged.
@@An2oine exactly
I feel like this was a long time coming for trog. You look at any scalper and money is the top thing on their mind. "Documenting guitars" could have been an early goal for him, but it's just a vehicle to advertise his reverb marketplace in the end. If it wasn't E.T. , it would have been some other sponsor eventually.
Trogly has had some cool guitars pop up on his stuff, but I’ve always disliked that he seemed more interested in guitars as a way to make money. What he does is essentially a slightly harder but much more expensive version of drop shipping.
Finally someone calls him out on his bullshit, after he unlisted the video I was hoping someone would cover it and now is the time!
All of this really just hammers home to me how much advertising works. Some big time UA-camrs were getting 6 figures to have ET ads up.
I applaud you for posting this video. Although I was never tempted to buy into the whole land and title BS the advertising is highly deceptive and misleading. Another UA-camr, whose channel I very much enjoy, was sponsored by ET. He said in his ad that you “get your own plot of land” when you sign up. He also said that the first X number of people to buy into it with the link in the description of his video would get a plot of land right next to his. He also said that the legitimacy of the title was based on land ownership. All of those statements make a pretty clear assertion that one would be buying a physical plot of land.
Yessss!!!! I commented on another persons thread here much the same thing. Trogly said you get a plot right next to Lord Djentmo. Implying an actual physical location. That the buyer would not really own it is obvious, but I thought it was a real piece of sponsored preservation.
Trogly has become too big. He himself is dishonest and has gotten greedy. But hey, looking at the rather high standard of living some of those youtubers have, buying big mansions and expensive cars, they probably have to sell their souls to an extent! It's a pity that it always has to come to this. So much former great content isn't much more than advertisement for big business, in the guise of enthusiasts, who do what they do out of love for it. Actually, it reminds me a bit of amateur porn, which is made to look like amateurs, so normal people can "relate" to it better, but is actually highly professional.I do appreciate Troglys statement at the end though, seems like he put some more thought into it and finally came to the same conclusion, that ET is a little shady.
100% Trogly is a greedy GEEK.
Sounds just like bands selling their asses to the recording industry, to me. Unfortunately nothing new, and the folks with enough integrity to refuse to participate are fewer than one would like.
ET suspended ads on YT which is why Trogly isn't sponsored anymore. Not because he felt it was a scam.
@@killaken2000 His statement sounded like he has. Let's assume in his favour...
ET was indeed a scam. They tried to edit their webiste and remove listings on Facebook and etc to cover their tracks lol. If they were indeed on the level, why they move so fast to try to cover their tracks? Scott, the guy who posted the inital video, posted a follow up just further proving his case.
All of this, comes back to one fundamental principle, "A FOOL AND HIS MONEY, ARE EASILY PARTED".
Great video! I’m actually not sure where or when we learned about Established Titles but my girlfriend and I actually had a serious conversation about it. My grandfather was Scottish/Irish and my girlfriend’s family had some ties as well. When I told her that she (or we) couldn’t build a tiny house there, it was a no!
Hey KDH,
Troglys didn't choose to stop his sponsorship. Established titles ended all UA-cam promotion.
Good to know.
That's interesting if true - didn't know that. Where did that actually come from ?
@@mordokch the youtuber Scott Schafer who exposed ET initially, posted a follow up video yesterday. Around the 25 second mark.
Everybody's taking credit for cutting ties with ET without explaining that the reality is ET suspended sponsored ads.
@@donttalktome4696 Just watched it. Cheers !
Some people were getting 50-75K per video....I know that's unbelievable, but according to Legal Eagle it was happening. Established Title was basically selling NFT for land they do actually own.
Trogly has always been shady af
Totally agree
His fake hyuck hyuck makes me sick but he covers at least some cool guitars (when it isn't a Gibson so about 1% of the time)
This was veryk interesting. A channel that I subscribe to (nothing to with music) opened their latest video with the statement that they are no longer going to be associated with ET, so I was mildly curious as to why, and this explains everything really well. Thanks for your video. Oh, and after months of flitting around on the outskirts, I've finally subscribed to your channel. 👍
It seems to me that this scheme was inspired by the Manfred Mann "The Good Earth" album from the 1970s. Always wondered how that panned out long term.
I’m glad you made this video. I saw this on another channel and was considering getting it as a Christmas gift. I would have been purchasing it basically as a novelty gift but I don’t like how they are misleading people. It sucks.
Not a guitar channel, but "FactFiend" featured Established Titles in one of their "How not to do business" videos - FactFiend are savage when it comes to sponsor due diligence, and will publicly shame sponsors (SurfShark, ManScaped) as well if their terms are terrible, or the product is terrible.
Worth a watch for anyone wanting to go down the Established Titles rabbit-hole even further.
Remember when UA-cam was for fun and not for a job.
He promoted and SCAM and called his audience "sheep". Good look Trogly
It’s a scam in my opinion. Trogly should just take his lumps and say “i fucked up”
Love your work mate, you really put in the work to research and fairly cover what you're sharing and it shows.
Trogly calling out "Sheep mentality" oh the irony...
I don't understand how anyone ever thought it was anything more than a novelty. I'm not mad at him.
TROGLY GOT OWNED
That Ibanez Les Paul copy behind you is awesome.
Don't forget that Trogly was on video stealing a $2000 Synyster Custom from a 15 year old kid and bragging about it.
need more info on this
He traded the kid a $350 bass for a guitar that sells used for $500.
@@SMITHII_ $50 bass, $1500 guitar in the shape it was in.
@@xerodelacroix5552 You can buy the guitar new for less than $1500. They sell for $500-$700 all day. The bass can be found anywhere from $150-$350 online.
Your perceived value of the items doesn't reflect on real world prices.
I'm not defending the guy, but you are making it bigger than it really was.
Yeah, it’s been blown up a bit. But he still clobbered the poor kid. 😂
Established Titles says; Jump
Trogly asks; How high?
This video just made me a subscriber. I’ve always enjoyed your videos KDH but I very much appreciate your advocacy for the audience and your upfrontedness about all subjects, not just this laughable Trogly situation.
KDH is a real G. getting Lee Anderton of all people to disclose his relation with victory amplification was a huge thing. I remember supporting him when he initially started an investigation into rob chapman and chappers fan boys came at his throat. Since then, he's provided updates and even brought the whole thing full circle by meeting rob at namm. THAT is what's called growth. He lays everything out in a very simple manner, but never sacrifices detail
If it wasn't a scam he wouldn't have to say "it's not a scam" 20 times.
You presented a respectable and clear summary of the issue and I appreciate it.
Subbed. :)
Seeing this all unfold, I feel like there's a scandal also waiting to be exposed at One Tree Planted.
If they pocket the cash they must do their due diligence on behalf of their viewers,otherwise reap the blow back.
It would have been hilarious if KDH put an Established Titles ad in this video. 😂
Yeah the comparison with buying a star, etc, is one that came to mind the first time I saw an Established Titles ad.
Trogly does review some interesting guitars (most of which I could never afford, but still interesting)
But at a certain point it gets to be, how many LesPauls am I interested in seeing taken apart? The novelty wears off. But when he reviews something different I will check it out.
And there are other UA-camrs who do the same.
what gets me is when Trog calls reasonable viewers of his "sheep". I bought your T Trog, I supported you..
I stopped watching him when he told me I couldn't afford the signature guitar he and Gibson were planning... I was like really... Gibson is making you that high-end of a signature guitar?! He must have saved them 100's of thousands in the false quality assurance claims after he goes ripping through every guitar that enters his home...
You should sell that guitar lol. I'd feel dirty playing it!
The gag gift point is correct from andrei because the company's website never stated it was a gag gift before the andrei jikh's vid got popular
Trogly basically got super defensive since he was sponsored by them. Established Titles ad reads are super misleading by everyone I ever heard. I don't think Trogly ever said "Pay 50 dollars for this piece of paper", which would have been honest, right? I am not a big fan of Trogly anyway. He basically buys any deal he can so that he can just resell it for a mark up. I don't see that he adds any value to the transactions.
His library of videos can be quite useful for anyone looking up an old niche gibson model.
I left a couple of comments on his videos with the established titles ads (before they started getting all of this flack) saying I was disappointed with his uncharacteristically lack of integrity about it. I'm glad that its being addressed now.
I love how informative your videos are, and im not a worshipper of guitar youtubers. Thank you for bringing this to light.
I guess his guitar museum is going to take a wee bit longer to make
KDH…if you’re guitar playing doesn’t pan out, you could always go into investigative journalism…you are bad-ass my man😎
Trogly: the gibson guy
I like how you always dig deeper. I don’t make a lot money and if I bought this for a family member I would feel ripped off.