Recent price increases

mbe

I keep noticing guitar prices rising stealthily.

Yamaha prices have increased again. The previous price increase was in October 2016.

Kramer prices have gone up after being held for getting on two years, 

Epiphone prices are increasing too probably three times in the last couple of years. 

They're always hefty hikes as well. Four or five times inflation rate. Probably up by 10% on average then VAT is added like the cherry on top.

Arktik83

Just a forewarning, this thread will probably descend in to a Brexit shitstorm but I agree, the prices increases have been very sharp over the last 12 - 16 months.  I mean you watch YouTube videos from eight months ago and people are saying about how the RRP of guitars/amps was £150 cheaper than it is right now.

Honestly I think some companies are using Brexit as a reason to rinse us but the pound being in a weak position does not help matters.

equalsql

I'm just glad I managed to satiate my gas before all the brexit shit hit the fan. If all the prices go up now, the used market might follow and that suits me fine

Bridgehouse

equalsql said:

I'm just glad I managed to satiate my gas before all the brexit shit hit the fan. If all the prices go up now, the used market might follow and that suits me fine

The used market is a really difficult one to call.

On one hand, new prices going up should push used prices up as demand increases for more affordable stuff.

On the other hand, there's so much out there that the used market is saturated.

I think that used prices will go up for some selected things, and stay stable for others.

Vintage tho, well, who knows with that! 

Funkfingers

Our currency is now worth very little. Smart investors are stocking up on wheelbarrows. Political agitators are blaming foreigners and societal minorities. People, who ought to know better, are turning a blind eye. Next thing you know, we'll all be too busy fighting a war to have much need of musical instruments. We're doomed, Captain Mainwaring. Doomed.

guitars4you

we had this on another blog a few weeks ago so before we get into a blame Brexit scenario remember that Thomann operate in a country that is still in the EU, so no Brexit issues and prices there are comparable to the UK - As such they re experiencing the same set of price increases - Likewise prices  in USA stores have risen,  once you take into account import duty and vat - It is not as though they are selling the same Strat, Tele or Ibanez 10 or 20% cheaper - they aren't - Exchange rates are guilty to a large degree but other factors come into play

Don't compare a few guitar price changes to the inflation rates - They are a set of manipulated figures to suit government interest so you think they are doing a good job - If they showed true inflation and the true cost of living, for many then those figures would look bad - The cost of renting, or indeed the cost of buying a house over the last 10/20/30 years has risen dramatically and these figures are not included in the government inflation figures - Same applies for things like car insurance premiums, holidays overseas and many other expenses

usedtobe

Aren't we still in the EU..?

Jack_

Bridgehouse said:

equalsql said:

I'm just glad I managed to satiate my gas before all the brexit shit hit the fan. If all the prices go up now, the used market might follow and that suits me fine

The used market is a really difficult one to call.

On one hand, new prices going up should push used prices up as demand increases for more affordable stuff.

On the other hand, there's so much out there that the used market is saturated.

I think that used prices will go up for some selected things, and stay stable for others.

Vintage tho, well, who knows with that! 

Yeah, but scientists have forecast that by 2030 half of the guitars on the planet will be in HarrySeven's shed, which will drive up used prices because of supply and demand for the remaining scarce resource.

Adamski

I think used prices have gone up too. 

A couple of of years ago you could get a used USA Strat for £500-550, now you'll be lucky to pay less than £650-700. Similarly, used PRS have seen a spike - you could get properly bargainous Customs and Singlecuts for £1000, now those are a thing of the past. 

Interestingly Gibson haven't seen much of an increase - I think that's because they tried to artificially inflate the industry a few years ago when they increased their range by £300-400. 

FarleyUK

The Helix LT price has increased by about £200 I think....!!

Musicman20

guitars4you said:

we had this on another blog a few weeks ago so before we get into a blame Brexit scenario remember that Thomann operate in a country that is still in the EU, so no Brexit issues and prices there are comparable to the UK - As such they re experiencing the same set of price increases - Likewise prices  in USA stores have risen,  once you take into account import duty and vat - It is not as though they are selling the same Strat, Tele or Ibanez 10 or 20% cheaper - they aren't - Exchange rates are guilty to a large degree but other factors come into play

Don't compare a few guitar price changes to the inflation rates - They are a set of manipulated figures to suit government interest so you think they are doing a good job - If they showed true inflation and the true cost of living, for many then those figures would look bad - The cost of renting, or indeed the cost of buying a house over the last 10/20/30 years has risen dramatically and these figures are not included in the government inflation figures - Same applies for things like car insurance premiums, holidays overseas and many other expenses

The thing is, with brands like EB Musicman, Thomann have always ALWAYS been expensive. I don't know why. I wouldn't even consider paying those prices.

Are we considering the fact that when you go on Thomann, the £ price is shown, which is obviously now going to be higher?

Could be way off target what you are discussing here, sorry!

guitars4you

Musicman20 said:

guitars4you said:

we had this on another blog a few weeks ago so before we get into a blame Brexit scenario remember that Thomann operate in a country that is still in the EU, so no Brexit issues and prices there are comparable to the UK - As such they re experiencing the same set of price increases - Likewise prices  in USA stores have risen,  once you take into account import duty and vat - It is not as though they are selling the same Strat, Tele or Ibanez 10 or 20% cheaper - they aren't - Exchange rates are guilty to a large degree but other factors come into play

Don't compare a few guitar price changes to the inflation rates - They are a set of manipulated figures to suit government interest so you think they are doing a good job - If they showed true inflation and the true cost of living, for many then those figures would look bad - The cost of renting, or indeed the cost of buying a house over the last 10/20/30 years has risen dramatically and these figures are not included in the government inflation figures - Same applies for things like car insurance premiums, holidays overseas and many other expenses

The thing is, with brands like EB Musicman, Thomann have always ALWAYS been expensive. I don't know why. I wouldn't even consider paying those prices.

Are we considering the fact that when you go on Thomann, the £ price is shown, which is obviously now going to be higher?

Could be way off target what you are discussing here, sorry!

sorry but I'm confused about what you mean by the 'way off target' so update me accordingly - My statement was more of an overview - I don't have time to compare every brand with every store on every price - But I would imagine the price on Thomann's site for a MM in £ sterling is the price you pay today, which I dare say is more expensive than it was 1 or 2 years ago - I think Thomann actually bill you in Euros, so when you pay on a card the final price is billed by the card company in £ sterling at whatever today's rate is

Musicman20

guitars4you said:

Musicman20 said:

guitars4you said:

we had this on another blog a few weeks ago so before we get into a blame Brexit scenario remember that Thomann operate in a country that is still in the EU, so no Brexit issues and prices there are comparable to the UK - As such they re experiencing the same set of price increases - Likewise prices  in USA stores have risen,  once you take into account import duty and vat - It is not as though they are selling the same Strat, Tele or Ibanez 10 or 20% cheaper - they aren't - Exchange rates are guilty to a large degree but other factors come into play

Don't compare a few guitar price changes to the inflation rates - They are a set of manipulated figures to suit government interest so you think they are doing a good job - If they showed true inflation and the true cost of living, for many then those figures would look bad - The cost of renting, or indeed the cost of buying a house over the last 10/20/30 years has risen dramatically and these figures are not included in the government inflation figures - Same applies for things like car insurance premiums, holidays overseas and many other expenses

The thing is, with brands like EB Musicman, Thomann have always ALWAYS been expensive. I don't know why. I wouldn't even consider paying those prices.

Are we considering the fact that when you go on Thomann, the £ price is shown, which is obviously now going to be higher?

Could be way off target what you are discussing here, sorry!

sorry but I'm confused about what you mean by the 'way off target' so update me accordingly - My statement was more of an overview - I don't have time to compare every brand with every store on every price - But I would imagine the price on Thomann's site for a MM in £ sterling is the price you pay today, which I dare say is more expensive than it was 1 or 2 years ago - I think Thomann actually bill you in Euros, so when you pay on a card the final price is billed by the card company in £ sterling at whatever today's rate is

No I mean I might have been way off target/going off on a tangent! Didn't mean you.

What I mean in my rambling post was that the prices on Thomann will be more expensive as the £ struggles on, as we have a poor exchange rate (which you no doubt realise). So whilst we could say 'well Thomann prices have also gone up' as badly as our UK prices have, we would have to see what the euro price was before and after. I think I make sense but not sure!

Thomann do have certain brands that are insanely expensive. I have heard the EBMM dealer in Germany charges full whack for a new EBMM guitar. But then they sometimes have very good Gibson deals. I don't really use them to be honest...I've just noticed.

mbe

GAK used to price match Thomann when they were cheaper. I think most of Thomann's prices have gone up a lot recently, partly due to the exchange rate and partly the increase in wholesale costs. 

fftc

It seems to me that the used market prices are up on what I've been looking at.
Going by the old 2/3rds rule of thumb folk are still aiming at that price but 2/3rds of the price now. In some cases that is almost what it was new 18 months ago!

Legionreturns

fftc said:

It seems to me that the used market prices are up on what I've been looking at.
Going by the old 2/3rds rule of thumb folk are still aiming at that price but 2/3rds of the price now. In some cases that is almost what it was new 18 months ago!

This may be true, but there are far too many people optimistically pricing stuff and then leaving it on eBay / reverb forever. This then has a knock on effect on what other people price their stuff at. 

As much as used prices appear to be high, stuff just isn't selling. There's a ton of stuff out there just sitting in limbo because people have unrealistic expectations. I see the guitar market like the used car one. Very few people actually make money, most lose. Only the dealers are making anything. I've sold things at a small loss, which is fine. That's how I'd expect it to work. Too many people don't want to take a hit but still expect people to buy their stuff at the price you'd pay from a shop, with a service and guarantee. 

bobliefeld

We'll hit a point where the very optimistic eBayers will need to actually sell something and drop their prices to reasonable levels.  

In the next few years the government will have to increase the base interest rate to something sane which is going to cause some MASSIVE short to medium term problems.  This will be a huge economy "correction" that'll see a lot of people homeless and a lot of companies shut down.  

When this happens (and it will happen.  brexit is actually planned as a scapegoat for when the shit hits the fan) people will be quite eager to sell their guitars as they'll need to pay for gang protection/back street dentistry/weapons/future-drugs/etc.  If you're relatively well off and take steps to insulate yourself from the effects of a massive interest rate hike it's going to be a fantastic time.  We'll probably lose a lot of guitars - to most people they'll have no more value than fire-wood - but if you shop around you'll be able to pick up great guitars for pennies

Legionreturns

Wow @bobliefeld ...you've been reading Orwell. Right? The dystopian future through the narrow prism of guitar ownership! 

That guy mounted on the front of the truck on the newer, shittier Mad Max film still need a guitar! Admittedly it was quite specialist and may have been cobbled together from the remains of several Gibsons! 


**Edit... I just realised he's not on a truck, looking at those amps, someone's just stuck some wheels on @HarrySeven s shed!**

mbe

Several Mel Gibsons? 

webrthomson

Legionreturns said:

This may be true, but there are far too many people optimistically pricing stuff and then leaving it on eBay / reverb forever. This then has a knock on effect on what other people price their stuff at. 

^^ this, I was just looking at some optimist asking £800 for a Mesa DC5 on ebay - that's £500 all day long:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mesa-Boogie-DC-5-head-/391825694163?hash=item5b3aa19dd3:g:COoAAOSwXXxZUC--

Freebird

Bridgehouse said:

equalsql said:

I'm just glad I managed to satiate my gas before all the brexit shit hit the fan. If all the prices go up now, the used market might follow and that suits me fine

The used market is a really difficult one to call.

On one hand, new prices going up should push used prices up as demand increases for more affordable stuff.

On the other hand, there's so much out there that the used market is saturated.

I think that used prices will go up for some selected things, and stay stable for others.

Vintage tho, well, who knows with that! 

The used market should get bigger in the future, as many guitars are currently owned by "older" people. Also the younger generation are not so mad about guitars in the same way that previous generations were. I envisage a time when old guitars will be used to start BBQ's