do we think prices will come back down to some semblance of reality?

[andy_tchp]

Tell me about it. I had my eyes on a ‘72 Jazzmaster that was owned by Hendrix. Since lockdown the price has skyrocketed. Ridiculous.

Eh? Hendrix died in 1970!

Thanks for this, managed to wrangle a little discount thanks to this potential hole. Might have been used by Hendrix knocked 1k off. Boom.

Was this a special one off(*) '1972 Jazzmaster' that was released prior to his untimely death in 1970?

(*) Meaning super rare one off prototype, with no provenance (naturally).

[Larsongs]

No. Like dunk'n, Chevy, and Samsung.

We don’t have Dunk’n in So Cal…. Not a contender here. My 2021 Chevy Silverado listed @ $57,000.00… Not cheap.. Samsung TV’s have gone up in Price…

Guitar & Amp Prices have steadily risen over the past several years…..

My point is that setting prices higher isn't always the only or best thing for a business. They do sometimes lower their margins or even sell at cost or a loss as a strategy.

Volts and bolts are cheaper than tesla, Samsung phones compete in market sectors Apple won't even touch, and dunk'n (or Tim Hortons, or whatever the hell is in CA) make less per cup, but sell more cups overall than Starbucks.

The wider the margin, the more arbitrary and strategic pricing can be.

Fender could charge 10 million for a strat, but then they'd sell fewer strats. That's the extent of my point.

No one in their right mind is in Business to lose Money.. The most successful are the most creative & think of all kinds of ways to make you think you’re saving all kinds of money when you buy whatever it is they’re selling…

You know the stories about the wife who goes shopping at the really Big Sale, comes home & tells her Husband how much money she saved him……

Markets change, Economies change.. In fact about the only thing we can count on is change… There are all kinds of reasons why a Seller offers Discounts, Incentives & sometimes lowers their Prices on their Products.. But, even with that appearing to be true, the reality is Prices rise over time.

[Embenny]

You know the stories about the wife who goes shopping at the really Big Sale, comes home & tells her Husband how much money she saved him……

Yes. I, too, have heard Boomers go on sexist rants as though their wife is an enemy who spends "their " money, while the stats show that women of a household are typically left with the primary responsibility of buying the household necessities.

Basically, "I'm going to leave it to you to sort out and go buy what we need to buy for the kids and house, then blame you for spending the money."

I wouldn't wish that marital dynamic on anyone. Sounds like an absolute nightmare for everyone involved.

[seenoevil II]

We don’t have Dunk’n in So Cal…. Not a contender here. My 2021 Chevy Silverado listed @ $57,000.00… Not cheap.. Samsung TV’s have gone up in Price…

Guitar & Amp Prices have steadily risen over the past several years…..

My point is that setting prices higher isn't always the only or best thing for a business. They do sometimes lower their margins or even sell at cost or a loss as a strategy.

Volts and bolts are cheaper than tesla, Samsung phones compete in market sectors Apple won't even touch, and dunk'n (or Tim Hortons, or whatever the hell is in CA) make less per cup, but sell more cups overall than Starbucks.

The wider the margin, the more arbitrary and strategic pricing can be.

Fender could charge 10 million for a strat, but then they'd sell fewer strats. That's the extent of my point.

No one in their right mind is in Business to lose Money.. The most successful are the most creative & think of all kinds of ways to make you think you’re saving all kinds of money when you buy whatever it is they’re selling…

You know the stories about the wife who goes shopping at the really Big Sale, comes home & tells her Husband how much money she saved him……

Markets change, Economies change.. In fact about the only thing we can count on is change… There are all kinds of reasons why a Seller offers Discounts, Incentives & sometimes lowers their Prices on their Products.. But, even with that appearing to be true, the reality is Prices rise over time.

I think we're talking at cross porpoises.

[MKR]

To answer the question originally posed in the this thread: No. we're done.

I saw some of the new squiers listed on long and mcqaude yesterday and they asking $770 for the anniversary jazzmasters. Now i know the CND is a bit off the USD, but stick a fork in it, this debate/topic/question is fucking done.

[graceless]

I think at that point, the spirit of Squier no longer exists in a guitar

[Larry Mal]

I don't know if I've ever seen prices come down, really. If people are paying the prices now, they'll stay where they are.

[MKR]

Yeah there's no way they're coming down unless it's some one off sale or clearance or something.

I would say around 2015 we were really spoiled for choice as far as good options at reasonable prices. It got to the point where a lot of people (myself included) were just picking up guitars on a whim because they were bargains and wouldn't hit you hard in the wallet. Even a MIM fender brand new was well under a$1000. I feel like people treated guitars as something disposable - like a new shirt or something.

It sure doesn't feel like that to me anymore. Only thing i will say is that i really really regret selling some of the guitars i sold over the years because i could never afford to get them back. oh well.

[sugarandopium]

To answer the question originally posed in the this thread: No. we're done.

I saw some of the new squiers listed on long and mcqaude yesterday and they asking $770 for the anniversary jazzmasters. Now i know the CND is a bit off the USD, but stick a fork in it, this debate/topic/question is fucking done.

Yeah my thoughts exactly!

Gibson isn’t helping matters either by selling epiphone for 950$

Only thing i will say is that i really really regret selling some of the guitars i sold over the years because i could never afford to get them back. oh well.

Same!!!! Sold my avri jag for I think 850$
Granted this was some time ago, but still!

Few others ….. some mij’s, cij’s, and some gibsons haunt me as well.

[seenoevil II]

I know they're luxury goods. I know the cost of everything is up. But, like, we simply can't afford these prices now. So, you know, we're going to simply not buy any of them. I think the average guitarist owns something like 7 guitars. We'll be fine. In this age of infinite information on how to upgrade and modify gear we'll simply mend and make do. As for selling gear, to borrow a redditism, HLOD!

Honestly, I just worry for the future of the industry. They can't sell as well at these prices, and young people especially won't be as able to buy into the instrument. Guitar was already on the decline. This might accelerate things.

[Powdered Toast Man]

The only, and I mean ONLY time I've ever seen prices drop was around 09 or 10. When the USD fell in value, the Canadian Dollar rose to at, or even above par with the USD for some years there. It was bad for our economy in Canada because all of a sudden all our exports were worth less. But it was great for consumers because prices fell once stock began to come in that was ordered at the new exchange rates. It took about 6mos to a year for music stores to catch up, but definitely everything went down.

BUT

When the USD recovered and our dollar eventually sunk back to it's historical norm around $0.75 against the USD, holy crap the inflation was painful. Basically guitar gear has doubled in price in Canada since 2010. American Standard was around $999 in 2010. Now an AmPro2 is between $2199 and $2299. MIM Standard was about $549 in 2010. Now the Player is $1099 CAD.

So in Canada we got a double whammy of both price increases by manufacturers and the exchange rate.

[Embenny]

To answer the question originally posed in the this thread: No. we're done.

I saw some of the new squiers listed on long and mcqaude yesterday and they asking $770 for the anniversary jazzmasters. Now i know the CND is a bit off the USD, but stick a fork in it, this debate/topic/question is fucking done.

I know, right? That's way more than MIM Standard models were selling for a decade ago.

I bought my VM Bass VI well under a decade ago for $379 CAD, and it was a "premium"/expensive Squier model.

Actually, looking at their site, the Squier Jaguar HH model is now selling for the same price I paid at L&M for my MIJ HH Special in 2009. That's wild.

Like Larry said, if the market accepts these prices, there is no chance of moving downward. At best you could conceivably get a pause in price increases at some point.

I don't see that happening soon, though.

[Wucan]

The Squiers coming out of Indonesia are very, very good instruments. I've shelved both my MIM Pawn Shop offsets, as well as my '11 VM Jag in favor of the Contemporary Jag and the Paranormal Super Sonic. I was happy to buy them brand new from a shop. 779 CAD is pushing it but I still would sooner buy the 40th Anniversary JM than pay more for either a Player or Vintera.

[Fiddy]

To answer the question originally posed in the this thread: No. we're done.

I saw some of the new squiers listed on long and mcqaude yesterday and they asking $770 for the anniversary jazzmasters. Now i know the CND is a bit off the USD, but stick a fork in it, this debate/topic/question is fucking done.

I know, right? That's way more than MIM Standard models were selling for a decade ago.

I bought my VM Bass VI well under a decade ago for $379 CAD, and it was a "premium"/expensive Squier model.

Actually, looking at their site, the Squier Jaguar HH model is now selling for the same price I paid at L&M for my MIJ HH Special in 2009. That's wild.

Like Larry said, if the market accepts these prices, there is no chance of moving downward. At best you could conceivably get a pause in price increases at some point.

I don't see that happening soon, though.

I bought a burgundy MIM Jazz Bass in 1998 for $399 new at Sherwood music in Kitchener.

[Mechanical Birds]

To answer the question originally posed in the this thread: No. we're done.

I saw some of the new squiers listed on long and mcqaude yesterday and they asking $770 for the anniversary jazzmasters. Now i know the CND is a bit off the USD, but stick a fork in it, this debate/topic/question is fucking done.

Yeah my thoughts exactly!

Gibson isn’t helping matters either by selling epiphone for 950$

Only thing i will say is that i really really regret selling some of the guitars i sold over the years because i could never afford to get them back. oh well.

Same!!!! Sold my avri jag for I think 850$
Granted this was some time ago, but still!

Few others ….. some mij’s, cij’s, and some gibsons haunt me as well.

Yeah I sold that OW AVRI62 Jaguar for something like $1550 after fees and shipping… in March of 2020

A while back I kinda decided to view current Squiers the same way I’d view a lawsuit/MIJ thing because to me, that’s essentially where we are with modern QC and cheaper components. An MIJ Jazzmaster is going to look more like a real Fender, but that vibrato unit is just as shitty, if not more shitty in my experience, than what comes on a Classic Vibe or whatever. Now, those MIJ guitars are being listed for straight up stupid money these days, money that I have to assume people are comfortable parting with because those list prices haven’t gone down either, but I think we can all agree that someone listing a Japanese guitar for more than the AVRI Fenders were ever listed at brand new is fucking stupid and ridiculous.