Because your "good fuckin; grief" remark implied that somehow I'm either being unreasonable or am an idiot, for not immediately recognizing your source for cheap, fake guitars.

Fair enough. I suppose that my thinking there was that if you are going to make a big stand and hold forth defending the idea that no one would ever make a fake Epiphone that your certainty is based on being acquainted with the fake guitar market, and TradeTang is the most notorious, widely known source of fake guitars of them all. It seems odd to me that someone could be so certain about something that they haven't taken the time to look into.

And because a whole lot of morons are downvoting my justifiable skepticism

I get that you are incensed that people have down voted you, but frankly that has less than nothing to do with the veracity of my comments. You could post the cure for cancer here and it would get down voted. And once you actually complain about being down voted, people will make a point of down voting you just because they know it bothers you. Also, don't know that anyone has said that there is "a plague of fake Epiphone guitars out there flooding the market" except you.

Jesus people. If you're going to spend a few hundred dollars on an instrument, buy it from a reputable source if you're concerned about that. If you don't care, fine.

That is sound advice.

But don't pretend as though the used / new guitar market is somehow awash in fake budget-level instruments. It isn't, unless you intentionally seek out shady websites, or are too stupid to bother to check before spending your hard earned money.

Again, the only person suggesting as much in the thread appears to be you. Are there fake Epiphones out there or not? Yes, there are, as vexing as that idea is. No idea how many. OP is a beginner looking for guidance. I'd call that being prudent.